20 year conventional mortgage rates

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo received the country's first Covid-19 jab on Wednesday, as the government kicked off a mass vaccination drive to clamp down on soaring case rates. In a procedure broadcast live on television, the 59-year-old leader, was inoculated at the state palace along with his health minister and several senior officials, as well as business and religious leaders. "I don't feel it at all," he said with a laugh after receiving the injection, the first of two required. He will get the second at a later date. This week, domestic regulators approved a Covid-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac, announcing that its efficacy stood at a relatively low 65.3 percent, according to tests performed in Indonesia. The Muslim-majority nation's top religious body also approved the vaccine as halal -- meaning permissible under Islam -- in a move that could help convince wary citizens. Previous vaccination drives have met resistance among some segments of the country's ... » Learn More about President Jokowi gets first coronavirus jab

The dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital is calling on Thai people to have faith in Covid-19 vaccines and cooperate with efforts to halt the spread of the virus. Dr. Prasit Watanapa was speaking during a Facebook Live broadcast, saying Thailand needs to build up herd immunity if the virus is to be suppressed. With over 100 million people now vaccinated worldwide, Prasit used his broadcast to update Thais on results so far. He says early findings give cause for optimism, with a decrease in the number of new cases and less harmful side-effects from vaccines. A number of countries have now embarked on huge vaccination programmes, with Israel leading the way. The US has so far vaccinated nearly 7% of its population, the UK has vaccinated nearly 13%, while Israel has vaccinated a massive 34% of its population to date. Prasit says the rate of new infections in the UK has dropped from over 62,300 cases on January 6 to 18,000 currently. The country began its vaccine rollout ... » Learn More about Medical expert calls on Thais to trust vaccines and help control Covid-19

CORRECTION: In the first story Jett referred to a Chinese man losing 130 billion baht. The correct amount was 130 million baht. We apologise for the error. Hundreds, perhaps more than 400, investors have been defrauded by a bank manager at a Kasikorn bank branch in Pattaya. The manager, named in a police report as “Mr. Gob”, was promising investors 3.5% interest, per month, yes… PER MONTH… for cash investments. It appears his high interest rate attracted hundreds of people wanting to take advantage of the generous terms. One investor, who only found out about the scam yesterday when he visited the branch for his monthly rolling over of funds, told The Thaiger that he has lost 250,000 baht at this stage, with no official response from the Kasikorn head office in Bangkok yet being made about the situation. Mr B, who has asked us to protect his identity, knows of some investors who invested many millions of baht and even one Chinese man who had allegedly invested 130 million ... » Learn More about Thailand News Today | Pattaya bank scam & Burmese coup update | February 2

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has assured Filipinos that the government is strengthening its efforts to address higher food prices. “We will continue working to augment the supply of meat, particularly pork, to ensure that Filipinos have access to affordable, nutritious and adequate food,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua was quoted as saying in a statement on Friday. This comes after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the country’s headline inflation rose to 4.7 percent from January’s 4.2 percent on higher prices of food, especially pork. The acceleration was the fastest since 5.1 percent in December 2018. The NEDA pointed to the continued outbreaks of the African swine fever (ASF) in the country and lower local production of cattle and poultry last year for February’s consumer price growth. Outbreaks of the hog disease that began in Luzon in the second half of 2019 have dampened supply, leading to ... » Learn More about NEDA: Govt bolstering efforts on food inflation

Aquino (center) with Star Magic talents, from left: Matt Evans, Kitkat, Ejay Falcon, Jane Oineza, Ria Atayde, Hashtag Ryle Santiago and Alex Castro This much is true: Carlo Aquino is good even when some of his films don’t turn out to be as satisfying as his performances. Certainly, it would be foolhardy for his naysayers to throw shade at the seven-time Urian nominee’s skill as an actor, whose accomplishments include award-worthy portrayals in “Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?,” “Throwback Today,” “Dyamper,” “Porno” and “Bar Boys.” Ignore the romance-related intrigues thrown his way. After all, they’re par for the course in the life and career of the 33-year-old former child actor, who has lately been enjoying a career resurgence of sorts Carlo Aquino “Gallen” started the actor’s current run as one of mainstream cinema’s most in-demand screen consorts. “Sobrang nakaka-overwhelm,” Carlo said when we met him for this one-on-one interview. “It did start with ‘Gallen,’ followed ... » Learn More about The 2nd coming of Carlo Aquino

TOKYO : The new president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee has begun holding weekly news conferences hoping to win over a doubting Japanese public with the postponed games opening in just under five months. Seiko Hashimoto is trying to assure everyone that the Olympics will be safe and secure, a phrase she repeated a dozen times on Friday night in her inaugural news conference. Polls show about 80% of Japanese think the games should be postponed again or canceled amid the pandemic. “The situation around coronavirus doesn’t go easy on us,” Hashimoto said. “I understand there are a lot of people in Tokyo and in Japan who have concerns about the games in Tokyo this summer. I’d like to share my thoughts and alleviate some of those concerns.” She also needs to ease fears about the torch relay, which is set to begin on March 25 from the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima. The relay involves 10,000 runners and goes to every corner of Japan. The Olympics open on July 23, ... » Learn More about New Tokyo Olympic president tries to assure Japan on safety

Thailand’s Prime Minister has come up with a novel idea, a two-hour time limit on shopping mall visits to help curb the coronavirus. The Thai PM’s latest brain storm came during a briefing in Bangkok on Tuesday. Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha also said the number of people allowed in at any one time will also need to be restricted. “We’re preparing for the next stage of reopening,” he said. Adding that covid-19 could impact on the economy for another six to nine months. Thailand remains under a state of emergency until the end of May, but has begun easing its lockdown. Slowly allowing businesses to restart in phases. Shopping Malls were popular and crowded destinations before the covid-19 coronavirus. Shopping malls are also drivers of revenue for Central Group and TCC Group. Thailand’s health official reported only one additional coronavirus case and no new deaths Tuesday. A Sign that Thailand’s covid-19 outbreak is ebbing. The number of detected infections stands at 2,988. ... » Learn More about Thailand’s PM Suggests Limiting Shopping Mall Visits to Curb Coronavirus

A powerful earthquake rocked West Sulawesi island Friday, killing at least 37 people, levelling a hospital and severely damaging other buildings, authorities said, as they warned there were people still trapped beneath rubble. Hundreds were also injured when the 6.2-magnitude quake struck in the early hours, triggering panic among the terrified residents of the island, which was hit by a huge quake and tsunami two and a half years ago that killed thousands. So far, 29 bodies have been hauled from beneath crumpled buildings in Mamuju, a city of about 110,000 in West Sulawesi province, while another eight were killed south of the area after the quake struck. "We don't know how many more are missing," said Arianto from the rescue agency in Mamuju, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "There are still people trapped beneath the rubble." Rescuers were searching for more than a dozen patients and staff trapped under a levelled Mamuju hospital. "The hospital is flattened -- ... » Learn More about At least 37 confirmed dead in West Sulawesi earthquake

The public health department office in Southern Thailand’s Yala Province has verified 40 new covid-19 cases after thorough testing. The cases include those recently returned for Ramadan from neighbouring countries. Provincial health department chief Songkran Maichum said on Sunday that intense testing since April 20 had uncovered 40 new cases, now confirmed in lab results. Four new cases were found in Muang, 24 in Yaha, seven in Bannang Satar and five in Raman districts. Dr.Songkran said the new cases would cause some hospitals, including Yaha Hospital, to approach their full capacity. “The quicker we find them, the better it is for health officials,” he told the Bangkok Post . Also adding that officials will be mobilized to prevent the virus spreading out of control. People at risk of infection were Muslim pilgrims returning from religious activities in Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan. Also those working in Malaysia and attendants of Islamic religious events in the ... » Learn More about Covid-19 Cases Spike in Southern Thailand’s Yala Province