World

COVID-19 brings three-decade economic boom to a sudden halt in Vietnam
5Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, Singapore, World

COVID-19 brings three-decade economic boom to a sudden halt in Vietnam

For the past three decades, Vietnam has known only good — or great — economic news. The nation’s consistent growth as an exporter, propelled by Communist leaders who began embracing market-oriented policies in the late 1980s, pushed many into the middle class. The coronavirus pandemic changed all that. With garment companies seeing orders slashed and other sectors hit with sudden export declines, Vietnam’s workers are enduring the downside of being tethered to the global economy. The economic slowdown in the U.S. and other markets Vietnam depends on for growth is being felt on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, as well as in villages and tourist centers. Le Thi Hoa, who sells pineapple and mango slices outside Ho Chi Minh City’s Ben Thanh Market in the heart of the commercial hub...
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Commentary: When COVID-19 symptoms last for months, recovery feels slow and strained
5Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Commentary: When COVID-19 symptoms last for months, recovery feels slow and strained

Epidermologist Margot Gage Witvliet says she went from being healthy and active to fearing she was dying almost overnight – and dug into the research to understand what's happening to long-haulers like her. BEAUMONT, Texas: Imagine being young and healthy, a non-smoker with no preexisting health conditions, and then waking up one morning feeling like you were being suffocated by an unseen force. Back in March, this was my reality. I had just returned from Europe, and roughly 10 days later started having flu-like symptoms. I became weak overnight and had trouble breathing. It felt like jogging in the Rocky Mountains without being in condition, only I wasn’t moving. I went to the hospital, where I was tested for COVID-19. PAIN, HEACHES AND FATIGUE More than four months later, t...
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Facebook confirms Zuckerberg interviewed in FTC investigation
5Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Facebook confirms Zuckerberg interviewed in FTC investigation

WASHINGTON: Facebook confirmed chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed earlier this week at a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigative hearing. Politico reported the interview earlier on Thursday. "We are committed to cooperating with the US Federal Trade Commission's inquiry and answering the questions the agency may have," the social media company said in a statement. The FTC has been probing whether the company has engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices.
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Pakistan submits draft report on terror funding to FATF ahead of plenary: Report
5Sep By Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Pakistan submits draft report on terror funding to FATF ahead of plenary: Report

Pakistan has submitted its initial draft report to the joint group of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), showing compliance of the remaining 13 points out of 27 action points pertaining to terror funding.The first draft was sent to the FATF on August 6. Sources said that Pakistan would share its updated version of the progress report to the FATF in the first week of September."A face to face virtual meeting of FATF review group is scheduled to take place from September 14 to 21 where Pakistani authorities will be given an opportunity to defend their position with full force," a top official said.“In the FATF plenary meet, it would be decided whether Pakistan will be continued to be kept in the grey list or get promoted or demoted to blacklist after verifying the compliance on the majority...
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Swimming: India’s Olympic hopeful trio to train in Dubai
5Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Swimming: India’s Olympic hopeful trio to train in Dubai

Three of India's top swimmers will begin two months of training in Dubai next month, sports officials said on Saturday, ending an agonising wait that drove one of them to the verge of retirement ahead of next year's Tokyo Olympics. NEW DELHI: Three of India's top swimmers will begin two months of training in Dubai next month, sports officials said on Saturday (Aug 15), ending an agonising wait that drove one of them to the verge of retirement ahead of next year's Tokyo Olympics. Six Indian swimmers had achieved the lower, or B, Olympic qualification for the Tokyo Games before the COVID-19 pandemic forced them out of the pool in March. India has since allowed some sports facilities to reopen for training, but pools remain closed, prompting freestyle swimmer Virdhawal Khade to announc...
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UK economy slumps 20% in Q2 due to COVID-19, unemployment fears mount
5Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
USA, World

UK economy slumps 20% in Q2 due to COVID-19, unemployment fears mount

LONDON: Britain's economy shrank by a record 20.4 per cent between April and June when the coronavirus lockdown was tightest, official figures published on Wednesday (Aug 12) showed. It was the largest contraction reported by any major economy so far, and a wave of job losses is set to hit later in 2020. Official figures also showed the world's sixth-biggest economy entered a recession as it shrank for a second quarter in a row. There were signs of a recovery in the month of June when output grew by 8.7 per cent from May, the Office for National Statistics said, just above economists' average expectation in a Reuters poll for an 8 per cent rise. Some analysts, however, said this likely reflected a catch-up in activity suppressed during lockdown. The scale of the hit to gross...
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Japan faces World War II anniversary in shadow of COVID-19
4Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Japan faces World War II anniversary in shadow of COVID-19

TOKYO: In a four-and-a-half minute radio speech on Aug 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender in World War II, telling his subjects he had resolved to pave the way for peace by "enduring the unendurable". Seventy-five years later, the unresolved legacy of the conflict haunts Tokyo's ties with China and South Korea, even as the countries cope with a COVID-19 pandemic that is forcing Japan to scale back its Aug 15 ceremony for war dead. In Japan, consensus over the war's legacy is elusive. RE: Japan marks 75th anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bomb Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has adopted a less apologetic stance and wants to revise a post-war, pacifist constitution that conservatives see as a humiliating symbol of defeat. A majority of the public opposes altering the char...
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Commentary: Green offsets let polluting airlines off the hook
4Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Market, USA, World

Commentary: Green offsets let polluting airlines off the hook

Sustainability targets for airlines need to be based on real emissions cuts at their source, says an observer. BIRMINGHAM, England: The coronavirus pandemic has grounded thousands of aircraft, contributing to the largest-ever annual fall in carbon dioxide emissions. At some point though, the planes will soar again and with them, global emissions. Most airlines in the UK have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. From 2026, it will become mandatory for airlines worldwide to ensure that their annual emissions stay flat. But the UK aviation industry also plans to increase the number of passengers it serves by 70 per cent in the next three decades. To pull this off, airlines will be planning to fly planes at or near full passenger capacity and use cleaner burning fu...
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Names of employers suspected of discriminatory hiring practices should be released: NTUC’s Patrick Tay
4Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Singapore, World

Names of employers suspected of discriminatory hiring practices should be released: NTUC’s Patrick Tay

SINGAPORE: The names of companies that are potentially biased in their hiring processes should be released, said a union leader, after the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that 47 firms have been placed on its Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) watchlist. On Wednesday (Aug 5), MOM released a statement saying that 47 employers had been placed on its watchlist of companies believed to have discriminatory hiring practices. The ministry did not name the companies. Most of them are from financial and professional services sectors, while the remaining come from a variety of sectors including those in administrative and support services, manufacturing and education firms as well. In a statement on Friday, the National Trades Union Congress’ assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay said t...
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COVID-19 has prompted stimulus measures, but Southeast Asian governments may be missing the chance to go green: Experts
4Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Singapore, USA, World

COVID-19 has prompted stimulus measures, but Southeast Asian governments may be missing the chance to go green: Experts

Governments around the world are injecting money into their respective economies amid the pandemic. In Southeast Asia though, analysis shows little of those funds are being earmarked for green projects. BANGKOK: Earlier this month, a group of diplomats, politicians and journalists gathered at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok to discuss an issue of global importance - how to manage a green recovery from COVID-19. This year was meant to be a critical year, they argued, for tackling climate change, where big decisions would be made and transformative policies imagined to avoid future calamity. Instead, they noted that major climate conferences had been postponed and a crisis of potentially staggering magnitude had drifted back to being tomorrow’s problem. The event, hosted by the em...
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