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SINGAPORE: A day after it was announced that the limit on social gatherings will be cut from eight people to five, indoor playground operator Kiztopia began receiving enquiries from customers who needed to make alternative plans for their children’s birthday celebrations. Around 40 bookings were affected by the stricter COVID-19 rules that will be in place until May 30 to curb the recent rise in community infections. So far, 10 reservations will proceed with a reduced party size. Others are considering shifting their bookings to next month or cancelling altogether, said founder and chief executive officer Heidi Tian. The tightened safety measures come as Kiztopia is gearing up for an expansion. The indoor attraction, which targets young children from two to 12 years old w...

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday that bans U.S. entities from investing in dozens of Chinese companies with alleged ties to defense or surveillance technology sectors, a move his administration says expands the scope of a legally flawed order made under Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump. The Treasury Department will enforce and update on a “rolling basis” the new list of about 59 companies, which bars buying or selling publicly traded securities in target companies, and replaces an earlier list from the Department of Defense, senior administration officials told reporters. The order prevents U.S. investment from supporting the Chinese military-industrial complex, as well as military, intelligence, and security research and development programs, Biden said in...

BANGKOK: A 51-year-old reporter for a now-banned online and broadcast news agency in Myanmar was sentenced on Wednesday (May 13) by a military court to three years in prison for his reporting, his employer said. Min Nyo, a correspondent for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) is apparently the country’s first journalist since the army’s February takeover to be convicted under a recently revised provision in the penal code that critics charge criminalises free speech. It makes punishable by up to three years in prison any attempt to “hinder, disturb, damage the motivation, discipline, health and conduct” of soldiers and civil servants and cause their hatred, disobedience or disloyalty towards the military and the government. Three DVB journalists who fled Myanmar were arrested earlie...

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose at a slower pace of 6 per cent in April, down from the 11.9 per cent expansion in March. Growth was headlined by non-electronics, which rose by 10.9 per cent last month, according to data released by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Monday (May 17). This increase was driven by exports of specialised machinery, which grew by 54.3 per cent, in line with robust semiconductor demand, said ESG. Petrochemicals also rose by 63.3 per cent after declining amid a global downcycle, while primary chemicals grew 104.6 per cent from a low base a year ago. Electronic NODX also expanded...

As peals of laughter echo from the busy workshops above, Nozomi Project founder Sue Takamoto pauses, smiling as she hands me one of the latest pieces in their new jewelry line. “They’re always laughing about something,” she explains, referring to her small, all-female team of artisans. “They have so much fun together.” In their modest headquarters in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Takamoto and the Nozomi team turn fragments of tsunami-broken pottery into beautiful jewelry. Creating work for those left without in the wake of the disaster, the Nozomi Project is a place filled with memories, but has its eyes set firmly on the future. “We have the wonderful job of being able to give new life to broken pottery, and this rebirth feels like really important work,” says Emi Katsumata, who’s been...

KATHMANDU: Former Hong Kong schoolteacher Tsang Yin-hung said on Sunday (May 30) she always believed in aiming high after setting a new record for the fastest ascent of Everest by a woman. Tsang scaled the 8,848.86m mountain in 25 hours and 50 minutes, a Nepal government officer who recorded her time told AFP on Thursday. The 44-year-old reached the summit of the world's highest peak on May 23 and arrived back in Kathmandu on Sunday. "I am ... relaxed and happy because I set this target around four years before," she told AFP. "I have always shared with my students and my friends that if you aim high and expect high, you can achieve high." Tsang had tried to reach the summit earlier in May, but was stopped by poor weather conditions when she was at 8,755m, her guide Pemba Sherpa s...

SINGAPORE: Twenty-four community cases were among 52 new COVID-19 infections reported in Singapore as of noon on Friday (May 14), said the Ministry of Health (MOH). This is the highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases since Jan 30, when 58 cases were reported. Twenty of the new community cases are linked to previous cases, of which 13 have been linked to the Changi Airport cluster. Among them, 16 cases have already been placed on quarantine earlier. Four cases are currently unlinked. CHANGI AIRPORT CLUSTER GROWS A principal at a language school is among the 13 new cases linked to the cluster at Changi Airport. There is also a Singaporean who works as an administrative staff member at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The other cases include a service officer who works at N...

Billions in developing countries remain unprotected, but advanced economies can do more to share vaccines more equitably, says Mohamed A El-Erian. CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: The proper functioning of any interconnected economic system depends on trust. And a global system that has been designed by advanced economies requires a significant level of buy-in from the developing world. Both become even more important as more developing economies, led by China, gain systemic importance. With the world trying to recover from the massive economic shock brought by COVID-19, the mishandling of the global vaccine rollout has weakened trust in the international system that emerged after World War II. Combined with memories of the 2008 global financial crisis, which originated in the advanced ec...

In this article 3690-HK A Meituan food delivery worker on motorcycle in the rain in Futian Central Business District, Shenzhen, China. FroggyFrogg | iStock Editorial | Getty Images GUANGZHOU, China — Meituan has seen around $38.96 billion wiped off its value in the past two weeks as Beijing turns its regulatory scrutiny on the Chinese food delivery giant. On April 26, China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) opened an investigation into "suspected monopolistic practices" of Meituan. It's only the second antitrust investigation into a domestic technology firm. Alibaba was the first to fall into the crosshairs and ended up being fined 18.23 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) as a result. The market regulator is looking at an alleged practice where Meituan forces merchants to choo...

Brian Kemp, governor of Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images They will forgo a cumulative $4.7 billion in assistance, according to the report. The governors of Arizona, Georgia, Ohio and South Dakota — which weren't included in the analysis — also announced they would exit the federal programs. Their withdrawal would impact about 1.1 million more people, according to a CNBC analysis of Labor Department data issued Thursday. (Gig workers and the long-term unemployed would not lose benefits entirely in Arizona; they'd only lose the $300 supplement, according to an official at the state labor agency.) The federal programs in question have been in place since the CARES Act was passed in March 2020. Montana was the first state to opt out of the federal aid, on May 4. "It's abs...