Press freedom india

The USS John Paul Jones "asserted navigational rights and freedoms," inside India's EEZ in line with international law by sailing about 130 nautical miles (241 km) west of India's Lakshadweep islands, the US Seventh Fleet said in a statement on Wednesday (April 8). But an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement that UN rules did not allow such passage without consent. "The Government of India's stated position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is that the Convention does not authorise other States to carry out in the Exclusive Economic Zone and on the continental shelf, military exercises or manoeuvres, in particular those involving the use of weapons or explosives, without the consent of the coastal state," the spokesman said. India's military monitored the movement of the John Paul Jones as it transited from the Persian Gulf towards the Malacca Straits, the foreign ministry said. The US Navy has previously conducted so-called freedom of ... » Learn More about India protests US Navy’s transit through its exclusive economic zone

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Sunday banned the export of anti-viral drug Remdesivir and its active pharmaceutical ingredients as demand rocketed due to a record surge in COVID-19 infections, leading to a crippling shortages in many parts. Authorities have blamed the ferocious resurgence of the virus mainly on crowding and a reluctance to wear masks. Still, religious gatherings have continued and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have themselves addressed election campaigns attended by tens of thousands of people, many without masks and hardly any following social distancing. As new COVID-19 cases surged to 152,879 on Sunday, the sixth record rise in seven days, harried relatives of patients made a kilometre-long queue to buy Remdesivir outside a big hospital in the western state of Gujarat, witnesses said. India, known as the pharmacy of the world, has already stalled major exports of coronavirus vaccines though its supply too has run short in some ... » Learn More about India bans Remdesivir exports as coronavirus rages on; rallies continue

As President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration moves closer to beginning its second year in October, a new Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) poll indicates more Indonesians are satisfied with the government’s performance as they see improvements in four sectors, namely the economy, law, politics and maritime affairs. The number of Indonesians who reported they were satisfied with President Jokowi’s administration climbed from 50.6 percent in 2015 to 66.5 percent in 2016, the findings showed. “The economic sector remains a challenge for the government,” CSIS researcher Arya Fernandes told a press conference on Tuesday. Despite these positive results, confidence in the Indonesian economy is still lacking, with citizens unsure whether the government has managed to boost Indonesia’s economic growth and enhance the country’s investment climate. The number of Indonesians who reported that they were satisfied with the current economic situation stood only at ... » Learn More about Indonesians ‘satisfied’ with govt’s performance: Survey

China has administered 164.47 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday, the National Health Commission said on Sunday. This represents around 24.5 million doses in the past six days, as the country's vaccine rollout continues to accelerate. Last week a Chinese official said the country is expected to produce around 3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year. Chinese health authorities on Sunday reported 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 asymptomatic cases, bringing the country's total to 90,410, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636. The National Health Commission, in a statement, said all the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 22 from 11 cases a day earlier. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mainland China now stands at 90,410, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636. Meanwhile, in ... » Learn More about China administers 164.47 million COVID-19 vaccinations as of April 10

When schools across Singapore put their students on full home-based learning (HBL) on April 8 as part of the circuit breaker measures, Ms Adele Leong remembers the wide-eyed look of hope in her daughter Carolyn's eyes. "Are they going to be postponing the PSLE or cancelling it? How are we going to sit the exams now schools are closed?" she recalls her 11-year-old asking. Ms Leong, 44, is one of many parents grappling with the unprecedented academic changes the coronavirus pandemic has brought. The Ministry of Education (MOE) cancelled all mid-year examinations, but is still proceeding with national ones such as the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), as well as the N, O and A levels, as it says these are "major milestones" and it does not want to disadvantage graduating students. "Technically, it's not my first time doing the PSLE, but since the circumstances are so different, I might as well say it's my first time because it's hard to expect what's to come," says Ms ... » Learn More about Fretting over big exams in a time of Covid-19

SINGAPORE - From June 2, pre-schools will start to resume general services for children in stages, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee said on Tuesday (May 19). Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2 children - five- and six-year-olds - will be the first to return from June 2, while Nursery 1 and Nursery 2 children may go back a week later, from June 8. From June 10, the youngest group of children in infant care and playgroups may return. In tandem with circuit breaker measures, pre-schools have been closed  since April 8 to most children except for a small group who need care support. When they reopen, centres will have to adhere to safe management measures such as compulsory mask or shield wearing for all staff and children aged two years and older, having smaller groups of children during activities, as well as staggering drop-off and pick-up timings of children. Speaking at a press conference by the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19 in Singapore, ... » Learn More about Pre-schools in Singapore to open from June 2 in stages, with K1 and K2 kids returning first

SIBU: A total of 443 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Sarawak on Sunday (April 11) and the total number of recorded cases stands at 20,001, says Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas. Bintulu district tops the list with 89 cases followed by Sibu (83), Miri (61), Julau (43), Kapit (32), Mukah (31), Kuching (26), Sarikei (22), seven each for Matu, Samarahan and Meradong, six each for Subis and Serian, Kabong (five), three each for Beluru, Belaga, Betong and Bukit Mabong, Kanowit (two), and one each for Saratok, Tanjung Manis, Tatau and Sebauh. The state disaster management committee (SDMC) chairman also said that three new clusters have been detected; the Abak Bon Subis and Jalan Badarudin clusters in Kuching and the Nanga Kelangas cluster in Julau. "Of the 49 existing clusters, 10 clusters have new cases today while another 39 clusters reported no new cases," he added. Douglas said at a press conference on Sunday (April 11) that Sarawak has managed to control the spread of Covid-19 ... » Learn More about Covid-19: 443 new cases in Sarawak on Sunday (April 11), Bintulu highest with 89

HOTELS on Penang’s mainland are bouncing back faster ahead of their island counterparts after a period of downtime during the conditional movement control order (MCO). Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter chairman K. Raj Kumar said as more people were returning to offices for work, many factories on the mainland have resumed full operations. “On the mainland, all of the hotels are business hotels and rely a lot on factories. “We have factories in Juru and Batu Kawan and outstation workers need to come in to restart certain parts of them. “That’s the reason why we’ve been experiencing a good average occupancy over the last month, ” said Raj Kumar, who is also the general manager of The Light Hotel Penang in Seberang Jaya. Overall, mainland hotels have been enjoying an average of 70% weekday occupancy rate and 40% on weekends, with an overall daily average of a 55% occupancy rate in March. Commonly, business hotels experience better weekday occupancy over ... » Learn More about Big boost from working crowd

Come with creative investment proposals on tourism products and services to make Putrajaya an iconic ecotourism draw. That is the message from Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa to the private sector, as a way to increase the number of visitors to the administrative capital. “As Putrajaya is already a planned city with iconic buildings and complete facilities, private companies can readily utilise them, ” he said during a press conference to announce a glamping project in Putrajaya Wetlands Park. “This means they will not need big capital expenditure but just add value and run promotion programmes to draw attention to their tourism products and services. “We will be open and transparent so that these companies can help make Putrajaya a major recreational city that is eco-friendly and family-oriented, ” he said during the event held in Precinct 3. Annuar noted that Putrajaya was lacking in pull factor, which explained why the 25-year-old administrative capital ... » Learn More about Putrajaya keen to attract ecotourism projects

QR codes will be placed on telco towers to allow people to get information about the structures, including their legal status. Perak youth, sports, communications and multimedia committee chairman Khairul Shahril Mohamed said with the codes, people could find out who owned the structures and the avenue to lodge any complaint they might have. “People can also scan the codes to complain about issues pertaining to reception. “This is part of the state’s telecommunication infrastructure coordinating agency’s plan to legalise these structures, ” he said in a press conference after a briefing about telecommunication infrastructure development in the state. “There is also a plan to issue permit renewal certificates to telco tower owners to ensure the structures have obtained licences from local governments and the Land and Mines Office, ” he said. He added that the legalisation of the structures was mostly for infrastructural safety purposes. The state has received 712 requests ... » Learn More about Residents can scan code to check ownership of telco towers