February, 2020

• 23 February

  UK to reimpose sanctions on late Mugabe’s widow

  Bloomberg The British government plans to reject a European Union decision to lift sanctions on the wife of the late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, suggesting its approach to financially targeting foreign individuals will diverge from the bloc’s, the Sunday Telegraph reports. The UK suspended an order freezing the assets of Grace Mugabe after the EU’s decision last week, because it’s ...

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• 23 February

  ‘There are attempts being made to topple Malaysian government’

  Bloomberg Anwar Ibrahim, the political leader touted as Malaysia’s next premier, said there are attempts to topple the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which are being orchestrated by members of his own party along with PM Mahathir Mohamad’s political group. Anwar, who is president of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), said some in his group and Mahathir’s Bersatu party met with ...

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• 23 February

  South Korea signals ‘powerful’ measures to contain outbreak

  

  Bloomberg South Korean President Moon Jae-in raised the country’s infectious-disease alert level to the highest and signalled the potential for unprecedented steps to contain a coronavirus outbreak that has killed six and infected hundreds. The government ordered that schools delay resuming lessons after a holiday break as more than 600 people were confirmed to have been infected, a 20-fold surge ...

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• 23 February

  Australia says climate change targets can’t risk economy, jobs

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s government will work to set new long-term plans on reducing greenhouse gas emissions ahead of a key global summit this year, though signalled it won’t pursue policies that pose risks to jobs or growth. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has faced pressure over his climate and energy strategy in the wake of Australia’s deadly wildfires, has criticised opponents ...

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• 23 February

  War with Netflix and Disney looms for top India streamer

  

  Bloomberg As global streaming giants Netflix Inc and Walt Disney Co spend millions of dollars to grab viewers in India, a country that could become their biggest overseas market, a homegrown rival is preparing to defend its turf. Zee5, top domestic streaming platform set up by India’s biggest television broadcaster, is betting on local content to fend off big-spending rivals, ...

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• 23 February

  HK pension industry takes step to do-good investing

  

  Bloomberg For a global financial hub, Hong Kong has been a notable laggard in pushing its investment industry to adopt environmental, social and governance criteria. Now, a key operator in the city’s $125 billion pension system is helping change that. BCT Group will screen new fund managers based on socially responsible criteria for the money it allocates in its Mandatory ...

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• 23 February

  Japanese government sees economy recovering

  Bloomberg Japan’s government stuck to its view the economy is recovering despite the sharpest contraction in more than five years last quarter and forecasts from private sector analysts that the coronavirus epidemic will trigger a recession. In it’s monthly report for February, the Cabinet Office maintained its stance the economy is “recovering at a moderate pace” amid continued weakness in ...

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• 23 February

  Artificial intelligence could fight a future coronavirus

  

  Bloomberg Disease outbreaks like the coronavirus often unfold too quickly for scientists to find a cure. But in the future, artificial intelligence (AI) could help researchers do a better job. While it’s probably too late for the fledgling technology to play a major role in the current epidemic, there’s hope for the next outbreaks. AI is good at combing through ...

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• 23 February

  Protests hit Canadian pipeline project

  

  Bloomberg British Columbia is delaying a decision on a controversial stretch of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and asking TC Energy Corp to take more time to engage with indigenous groups after weeks of debilitating protest blockades along Canada’s rail network. In an emailed letter to TC Energy, the province’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) said it needs additional information to make ...

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• 23 February

  China solar sector may grow 50%

  

  Bloomberg China’s main solar industry group sees the nation’s new installations this year between 35 and 45 gigawatts and said almost a quarter of domestic solar companies are shut by the virus outbreak. Even the low end of the installation forecast, posted on the official WeChat account of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), would be a slight rebound from ...

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