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“Federalism should be able to maintain unity among all. But this does not mean that we should boycott regional voices and the voices of ethnic groups.” – Khil Raj Regmi PRESENTED during the Hanns Seidel Foundation-initiated Asia Federalism Dialogues was how functional a specific country’s devolution structure responds to a major crisis such as the coronavirus. Country-specific federal governance structures had two countries employing horizontal devolution: Myanmar governs through local to local governments, while Pakistan, provincial to provincial. Nepal’s structure is through collaboration among central, provincial and local governments while Sri Lanka is through collaboration of central, provincial and local with public and private organizations. A sixth structure — the Philippines — governs through its quasi-federal structure which rests on a powerful center. This country specific contexts enabled participants to appreciate the pros and cons of a country’s mode of devolved ... » Learn More about Federalism: Ethnic voices local to local, central to local

SINGAPORE: A new COVID-19 cluster involving four confirmed cases has been identified in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Wednesday (Apr 14) in its daily update. MOH reported 27 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, including one community case, who is part of the new cluster. The sole community case, identified as Case 61917, is linked to three previously reported infections - Cases 61461, 61470 and 61360 . The 44-year-old man is a Papua New Guinea national who arrived from Australia on Mar 25 for a work project in Singapore. The short-term visit pass holder had tested negative for COVID-19 in a pre-departure test taken in Australia on Mar 23, and in an on-arrival test in Singapore. He was in isolation until another COVID-19 test on Mar 27 came back negative. "Subsequently he was on a controlled itinerary, which was largely limited to his place of work and accommodation," said MOH. After being identified as a close contact of two previously ... » Learn More about 1 community case among 27 new COVID-19 infections in Singapore; new cluster formed

China's CanSino Biologics Inc said on Wednesday (Apr 14) that no serious blood clot cases had been reported in people inoculated with its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. US federal health agencies recommended on Tuesday that use of a similar one-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson be paused after six women developed rare blood clots. CanSinoBIO's shares fell as much as 13.7 per cent and 18.4 per cent in Shanghai and Hong Kong respectively. They pared losses to close down 6.3 per cent and 7.7 per cent each after the company issued a statement in which it said: "No blood clot related serious adverse events have been reported in around one million vaccinations of Ad5-nCoV." CanSinoBIO's Ad5-nCoV vaccine is approved in China, Hungary, Chile, Mexico and Pakistan. European regulators this month said they had found a possible link between AstraZeneca Plc's vaccine and a similar rare blood clotting problem. READ: In world first, Denmark ditches AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot ... » Learn More about CanSinoBIO says no serious blood clots from its COVID-19 vaccine

MANILA, Philippines—Media giant ABS-CBN Corp. is remaking psychological drama Doctor Foster for the Filipino audience after sealing an agreement with British content company BBC Studios. ABS-CBN said in a statement the new television series will be created by ABS-CBN Entertainment and will go into production later this year. “We are most grateful to BBC Studios for entrusting ABS-CBN Entertainment with the Philippine version of Doctor Foster,” ABS-CBN chief operating officer Cory Vidanes said in the statement released on Tuesday (April 13). “It is a privilege for us to be able to produce this highly engaging and relatable story for the Filipino audience,” Vidanes added. Doctor Foster is an award winning series “centred around a trusted doctor whose life implodes when she suspects her husband of having an affair.” The project will be led by Vidanes, ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigak, ABS-CBN Entertainment production head Laurenti Dyogi and ABS-CBN Dreamscape ... » Learn More about ABS-CBN to remake BBC Studios’ Doctor Foster for PH market

For the past three months, the 55-year-old housewife has barely stepped out of her home. She was so fearful of contracting Covid-19 that she made her three children maintain a distance of a few metres away from her at all times in their flat. The woman later called Silver Ribbon (Singapore), a charity that provides free counselling for those with mental health woes, for help. It turned out that she suffers from generalised anxiety disorder, which is characterised by persistent and excessive worrying, said the charity's executive director Porsche Poh. Her condition was stable but she suffered a relapse due to the Covid-19 chaos. Psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors say that while much of the healthcare focus this pandemic has been on those infected with the coronavirus, another key concern is the mental health of the general population, owing to the protracted and uncertain nature of the crisis. Exacerbating the problem is the social isolation enforced to ... » Learn More about Anxiety and worry amid Covid-19 uncertainty

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Ukraine's defence minister accused Russia on Wednesday of preparing to potentially store nuclear weapons in Crimea and warned that Moscow could attack Ukraine to ensure water supplies for the annexed peninsula. Andrii Taran, speaking just before an emergency NATO meeting with allied defence and foreign ministers, also said he could not rule out a possibility that Russian forces in Crimea could "undertake substantive military provocations" this year. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, in a move that triggered Western sanctions against Moscow. "Crimea's infrastructure is being prepared for potentially storing nuclear weapons," Taran told the European Parliament's sub-committee on defence. "The very presence of nuclear munitions in the peninsula may spark a whole array of complex political, legal and moral problems." Taran provided no evidence for his assertion but said Russia was massing 110,000 troops on Ukraine's border in 56 battalion-sized ... » Learn More about As NATO meets, Ukraine says Russia could store nuclear weapons in Crimea

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia on Tuesday to withdraw troops from Ukraine's eastern border in what the alliance says is Moscow's biggest build-up since 2014, ahead of an emergency meeting of allied foreign and defence ministers. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba flew to Brussels for talks with Stoltenberg a day after Kyiv accused the Kremlin of ignoring its request for talks between the two countries' presidents over a build-up of Russian troops near its border. "In recent weeks Russia has moved thousands of combat-ready troops to Ukraine's borders, the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014," Stoltenberg said. Russia has said it moves its forces around as it sees fit, including for defensive purposes, and has regularly accused NATO of destabilising Europe with its troop reinforcements in the Baltics and Poland since the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. "Russia must end this ... » Learn More about NATO demands Russia end Ukraine build-up, West examines options

Despite the annual celebrations, water fights and parties being mostly side-lined this year, Songkran goes on for 2021, albeit in a much-subdued form. Many Thais have decided not to head home, but others have already headed out of the city centres to their homes to be with their families. They are being confronted with new restrictions and delays as they reach home province with many provincial officials now imposing quarantine or negative Covid tests to cross provincial borders. And today, the Bureau of the Royal Household announced the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald will be closed from April 13 due to the current rise in new Covid infections. Other royal palaces are also closed until further notice including Bang Pa In Summer Palace. Even airlines are having to stop their food and beverage services, again. A January CAAT ban was only lifted a month ago (but some of the discount airlines will still ferry you to your flight in a cramped bus!). The best we can do for ... » Learn More about Sawasdee pi mai – The four days of Songkran 2021

GENEVA: The World Health Organization (WHO) does not back requiring vaccination passports for travel due to uncertainty over whether inoculation prevents transmission of the virus, as well as equity concerns, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday (Apr 6). "We as WHO are saying at this stage we would not like to see the vaccination passport as a requirement for entry or exit because we are not certain at this stage that the vaccine prevents transmission," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said. "There are all those other questions, apart from the question of discrimination against the people who are not able to have the vaccine for one reason or another," she told a UN news briefing. The WHO now expects to review China's COVID-19 vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac for possible emergency use listing around the end of April, Harris said. READ: South Korea to issue blockchain-protected digital COVID-19 'vaccine passports' READ: No role for COVID-19 vaccine certificates in England's ... » Learn More about WHO does not back COVID-19 vaccination passports for now