DUBAI / WAM In another contribution to the Community Solidarity Fund Against Covid-19, a group of accredited charitable organisations in Dubai distributed over 31,570 daily meals to underprivileged people in Naif, Satwa, Hatta, Jebel Ali and Al Warsan areas. The humanitarian gesture reflects the growing cooperation between social stakeholders to support the community in easing challenges in the current environment. ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) following the UAE Federal Government guidelines in regards to Covid-19 current situation, has taken necessary measures to ensure business continuity and conducting its critical regulatory activities essential for the safety of the public, workers and environment. FANR has setup the Crisis Management Covid-19 Task Force to closely monitor the ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) announced a 45 percent completion of a project to extend the scope of the UAE capital’s running and cycling tracks in 28 sites on the Abu Dhabi Island and Abu Dhabi Mainland. The ADM has said that the AED99.75 million-project stretches 14.12 kilometres for cycling lanes and 39.31 km for ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE conducted over 49,000 additional Covid-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents, using state-of-the-art technology in line with the Ministry of Health and Prevention’s (MoHaP) plans to intensify virus screening in order to bring Covid-19 under control. The accelerated investigative measures resulted in the detection of 370 new coronavirus cases among various nationalities, all of ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong is catching up with global peers in its fiscal response to the coronavirus outbreak with the announcement of an “unprecedented” HK$137.5 billion ($17.7 billion) stimulus package focussed on avoiding mass job losses. The fresh stimulus raises inevitable comparisons with spending measures unveiled by its geographic neighbour and financial-hub rival Singapore, with the two governments among the first ...

Bloomberg Doctors are accounting for a large proportion of deaths from Covid-19 in the Philippines and Indonesia, two of the most medically under-served nations in Southeast Asia. At least 26 doctors have died in Indonesia out of the country’s toll of 240 while in the Philippines about a dozen have passed away among the 182 fatalities, according to the latest ...

Bloomberg Freelancers and entrepreneurs are the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on Malaysia. Statistics department found 46.6% of self-employed workers lost their livelihood while 23.8% of entrepreneurs reported the same, according to a March 18-31 survey. Among the sectors, agriculture was most affected with 21.9% of respondents saying they’ve lost their jobs, followed by services industry with 15%. ...

Bloomberg Thailand said it will explore domestic and foreign funding options for planned borrowing of 1 trillion baht ($30.6 billion) to finance a major economic stimulus programme. The debt is a key element of a 1.9-trillion-baht package to help low-income households, farmers and companies reeling from the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy may contract 5.3% ...

Bloomberg In the villages of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, even some family members returning home from the cities aren’t allowed in. State officials have told village councils to keep returning labourers from entering the town or meeting people due to fears they may be infected with the coronavirus. Instead, they’re forced to stay in schools or farms ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration has a plan for helping drain US storage tanks filling up with crude: Persuade other countries to buy those American barrels first. That “Buy American” pitch is coming in the form of administration officials exhorting foreign allies to prioritise US crude. The effort involves both the departments of Energy and State, said two people familiar with ...