February, 2020

• 29 February

  Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque sees 6.6mn worshippers, visitors

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM Over 6.6 million worshippers, tourists and residents visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during the ‘Year of Tolerance’ last year. According to figures released by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC), the total number of individuals visiting the iconic mosque reached 6,656,818 in 2019. The SZGMC said that it had intensified its efforts to boost ...

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• 29 February

  Mahathir’s removal brings back old regime in Malaysia

  

  Bloomberg Mahathir Mohamad failed in his bid to return to power in Malaysia, as the king approved a government dominated by Malay-majority parties in a monumental shift from the multiracial coalition that took power after a shocking election win two years ago. Muhyiddin Yassin, 72, was named prime minister on Saturday by the country’s monarch to end a six-day tussle ...

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• 29 February

  Trump wins court ruling in fight over McGahn subpoena

  

  Bloomberg Donald Trump defeated Democrats’ effort to force former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify, in a court ruling that bolsters the president’s resistance to congressional oversight. The federal appeals court’s ruling arrives too late to affect the impeachment process, which was resolved with Trump’s acquittal by the Senate in February. But it could have an impact on other ...

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• 29 February

  HK tycoon Lai arrested amid crackdown

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong media tycoon and a prominent democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, who has long denounced as a traitor by Chinese state media, was among activists swept up in a fresh wave of arrests in the Asian financial hub. Lai, 72, was arrested on suspicion of participating in an unlawful assembly last year and intimidating a reporter in 2017, Hong ...

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• 29 February

  Thailand says protests risk spreading virus

  

  Bloomberg Thailand’s military-backed government said pro-democracy protests risk spreading the coronavirus and asked people to avoid rallies. People gathering in crowds could make it harder to control the spread of the disease known as Covid-19, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said in a briefing on Saturday. Confirmed infections in Thailand have climbed by one to 42, the ministry said. “Big crowds ...

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• 29 February

  Korea virus threat puts Trump-Kim ‘face-off’ on hold

  

  Bloomberg The next showdown between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may need to wait until after the virus scare. The US said that it would postpone joint military exercises planned for the coming weeks, as its ally South Korea copes with one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks. The decision removes for now a looming ...

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• 29 February

  Indian poultry sales drop on coronavirus rumours

  

  Bloomberg Indian poultry sales have been plunging on rumours spread by social media claiming that chickens are linked to the coronavirus, according to the country’s top animal feed company. Industry-wide weekly sales have plummeted at least 47% in the past three to four weeks, while prices have slumped almost 60%, said BS Yadav, managing director of Godrej Agrovet Ltd. “The ...

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• 29 February

  Singapore emerges as litmus test for coronavirus containment

  

  Bloomberg As the novel coronavirus starts to gather speed in Europe, the Middle East and the US, there’s one place it is seemingly being contained: Singapore. With no reported virus-related deaths despite 96 cases, and a slowing rate of infection that’s been outpaced by recoveries, the Asian city-state is emerging as a litmus test of whether the deadly pathogen can ...

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• 29 February

  India mulls loans to telcos to pay dues

  

  Bloomberg India is considering options including offering subsidised loans to cash-strapped wireless carriers that owe $13 billion in past dues, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The proposals include asking the companies to pay 20% of the principal upfront and the rest over a period of 16 years at an interest rate of 0.5% over the yield on ...

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• 29 February

  China is making progress in battle to get back to work

  

  Bloomberg China is slowly starting to get back to work, as it battles the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 2,900 people and sickened tens of thousands. Government controls and the fear of going outside have curtailed spending, and many factories are still not working at full capacity due to a lack of staff, with workers still in their ...

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