SYDNEY: Australia’s most populous state on Monday (May 25) deployed hundreds of crowd control staff to enforce social distancing on public transport amid an expected commuter surge as schools and offices reopened and coronavirus cases fell. Australia has reported just over 7,100 COVID-19 infections, including 102 deaths, well below figures […]
Day: May 24, 2020
DOHA: Privacy concerns over Qatar’s coronavirus contact tracing app, a tool that is mandatory on pain of prison, have prompted a rare backlash and forced officials to offer reassurance and concessions. Like other governments around the world, Qatar has turned to mobile phones to trace people’s movements and track who […]
LONDON: British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has authorised a bailout plan to rescue companies that are seen as strategically important, with the state expected to buy stakes in crucial businesses that are facing acute financial problems, the Financial Times newspaper reported. Under the plan, which is named ‘Project Birch’, the […]
NEW YORK: Americans sunbathed on beaches, fished from boats and strolled on boardwalks this holiday weekend, but the occasional person wearing a mask was a constant reminder that the world is still battling the coronavirus pandemic. The Memorial Day weekend that signals the start of the US summer is normally […]
HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s security chief said “terrorism” was growing in the city, as government departments rallied on Monday (May 25) behind Beijing’s plans to introduce national security laws and after thousands took to the streets to protest against the move. Police said they arrested more than 180 people on […]
SYDNEY: Australia on Monday (May 25) began the first hearings of a powerful inquiry into the causes of catastrophic bushfires that swept across the country, killing 33 people, destroying some 2,500 homes and razing an area the size of South Korea. Fuelled by three years of drought, which experts have […]
South Korean households are piling up debt for various reasons, from overspending on credit cards to unemployment to gambling losses. The programme Undercover Asia looks at the causes — and the effects. SEOUL: He was earning 620,000 won (S$710) a month, but Koo Young-gyu had four credit cards that gave […]
FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a closed bar during the lockdown imposed to slow down the spread of the coronavirus in Cambrai, France. PARIS: French authorities reported the smallest daily rise in new coronavirus cases and deaths on Sunday (May 24) since before a lockdown began on Mar […]