Bloomberg Hong Kong’s government will seek approval from the territory’s legislature for at least HK$25 billion ($3.2 billion) in fresh funding to reduce the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in the city, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said. The amount includes measures to assist tour agencies, restaurants and students, as well as extra cash for the Hospital Authority. The government will ...
Read More »Malaysia plans stimulus as virus may hit growth
Bloomberg Malaysia will announce a stimulus package early next month as analysts slash their growth forecasts to account for the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The package will involve all ministries, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said. Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunos earlier said the measure will seek to support those affected by the coronavirus, including tourism and ...
Read More »Vodafone Idea at risk as court rejects plea
Bloomberg India’s top court rejected a plea by mobile carriers seeking more time to settle billions of dollars in back-fees and began contempt proceedings against the companies, threatening to push Vodafone Group Plc’s beleaguered local venture to the brink weeks after it warned of a potential collapse. The Supreme Court’s three-judge panel, headed by Arun Mishra, said that operators including ...
Read More »China tries its 3,000-year-old traditional remedy for virus
Bloomberg China is administering its centuries-old traditional medicine on patients affected by the coronavirus disease, a top health official said. Treatment in Wuhan hospitals combine Traditional Chinese Medicine, popularly known as TCM, and western medicines, said Wang Hesheng, the new health commission head in Hubei, the province at the center of the virus outbreak. He said TCM was applied on ...
Read More »China’s overseas energy financing drops to lowest in decade
Bloomberg China’s spending on overseas energy projects has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade, as the nation focusses on domestic issues and rethinks its strategy around indebtedness and the world’s energy mix. The nation’s foreign energy financing dropped by 69% to $3.2 billion in 2019, according to data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. Only three ...
Read More »US, Taliban reach interim deal aimed at troop pullout
Bloomberg The US and the Taliban have reached agreement on a seven-day reduction in violence in Afghanistan that’s intended to lead to a broader accord to end America’s longest war. A senior US official said that the two sides have a deal on the reduction of violence that, if achieved, would be followed by a peace plan allowing the US ...
Read More »US to evacuate its citizens from virus-hit cruise ship
Bloomberg The US will evacuate its citizens from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that’s been quarantined in Japan, according to a statement on the American embassy in Japan’s website. The Department of State will provide chartered aircraft to bring American passengers and crew back to the US. The ship is the largest infection cluster outside China. An additional 67 ...
Read More »Flynn saga adds to ‘political cases’ uproar
Bloomberg Attorney General William Barr has ordered a review of the prosecution against Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, adding to a series of interventions this week in politically sensitive cases tied to the president. Barr has appointed US Attorney Jeffrey Jensen to examine the case against Flynn and potentially other matters, according to a person familiar with ...
Read More »Roger Stone seeks new trial before sentencing
Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s longtime associate Roger Stone filed a sealed request for a new trial less than a week before he’s due to be sentenced for lying to Congress, witness tampering and other crimes. The Republican operative filed the request in Washington federal court. US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered prosecutors to file a sealed response by February ...
Read More »Sinn Fein’s win brings idea of ‘united Ireland’ one step closer
Bloomberg Following an unexpected election triumph, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald wasted little time in calling for a united Ireland, demanding a referendum on reunification within five years. Meanwhile, one of her successful candidates regaled his celebrating supporters with the iconic “Up the RA†slogan, referring to the Irish Republican Army, the terror group which fought in the name ...
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