United states

The United States on Wednesday, September 22, promised to buy 50 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to donate to other countries as it comes under increasing pressure to share its supply with the rest of the world. President Joe Biden made the announcement during a virtual summit aimed at boosting global vaccination rates against the coronavirus and rallying world leaders to do more. "To beat the pandemic here we need to beat it everywhere," Biden said as he kicked off the summit, which included leaders from Britain, Canada, Indonesia and South Africa as well as World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "This is an all hands on deck crisis," Biden said of the pandemic that has raged since early 2020, killing more than The additional vaccines will bring US donations to more than 1.1 billion doses, far short of the 5 billion to 6 billion doses global health experts say is needed by poorer countries. Delivery of the new tranche will begin ... » Learn More about Under pressure, US donates half billion more COVID-19 vaccine doses to world

The US-ASEAN Trade and Investment Facilitation Agreement (TIFA) is a framework that defines economic engagement between the two parties. While short on specifics, the TIFA — which was signed in 2006 — sets forth broad goals and principles for the US and ASEAN to cooperatively work toward strengthening trade and investment. ASEAN is currently the US’ fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for over US$354 billion in trade in 2019. As of 2020, the US was the largest source of foreign direct investment in ASEAN, responsible for over US$328.5 billion in investments. Close to 42,000 US companies export to ASEAN, supporting over 625,000 American jobs. As trade tensions with China persist, deepening economic relations with ASEAN has become a higher strategic priority for the US. The TIFA, as an overarching framework, provides a useful guide for how the US and ASEAN will increase their economic integration. Strengthening the relationship The TIFA contains several references to ... » Learn More about The US-ASEAN Trade and Investment Facilitation Agreement Explained

TOKYO - Japan's ruling party votes on Wednesday (Sept 29) for the country's next prime minister in an election that has turned into the most unpredictable race since Shinzo Abe made a surprise comeback almost a decade ago, defeating a popular rival in a runoff. The winner of the Sept 29 contest to lead the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is almost certain to succeed unpopular Yoshihide Suga as premier because the party has a majority in parliament's powerful lower house. Running for the top post are popular vaccine minister Taro Kono, 58, a US educated former defence and foreign minister seen as a maverick: ex-foreign minister Fumio Kishida, a consensus builder saddled with a bland image: former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi, 60, an ultra-conservative and Seiko Noda, 61, from the party's dwindling liberal wing. The race has introduced a rare dose of uncertainty into Japanese politics after Abe's nearly eight year tenure that made him the country's ... » Learn More about Outcome uncertain as Japan’s ruling party heads to vote on next PM

Agencies PREMIUM Beijing, China   ● Mon, September 27, 2021 China on Monday criticized the leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, who held their "Quad" summit meetings in Washington late last week, for "agitating threats" allegedly posed by the Communist-led government. During the first in-person summit of the group of major Indo-Pacific democracies, the leaders of the four countries on Friday showcased their deepening ties in the face of China's security and economic assertiveness. Their joint statement released after the meeting did not directly mention China, but their agenda items were apparently connected to the Asian power's rise, including its territorial claims in surrounding waters as well as trade and other issues. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters that the United States has blatantly interfered in internal affairs of other nat... to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month ... » Learn More about Beijing criticizes Quad leaders for exaggerating China threat

PUTRAJAYA: Interstate travel will likely be allowed during the first half of October, says National Recovery Council chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Muhyiddin said the issue was one of the things discussed during the council’s meeting on Monday (Sept 27), which included several other Cabinet ministers. “During the meeting, the council was told that interstate travel could be allowed early October or latest, the middle of the month. “So, you can start making plans to travel the country after this. But at the same time, do not forget to practise Covid-19 SOPs (standard operating procedure),” said Muhyiddin at a press conference after the meeting. Muhyiddin said the council also discussed the reopening of the country’s borders to tourists and business travellers. “The reopening of the country’s borders was also discussed. This will be deliberated by the ministers involved within this week. “They will be looking into whether to allow fully vaccinated Malaysians to travel ... » Learn More about Interstate travel likely to be allowed by first half of October, says NRC chairman Muhyiddin

JOHOR BARU: Johor police have busted an online gambling call centre believed to have raked in about RM2.4mil over the last four months since it became active. State police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said police raided an apartment in Southkey here at around 10.15pm on Thursday (Sept 23). “During the raid, we arrested seven suspects, including one female, between the ages of 18 and 34 years. They were employed as operators. “Checks found that the apartment unit had been turned into a call centre, offering online gambling to locals,” he told a press conference at state police headquarters here on Monday (Sept 27). Comm Ayob added that the syndicate serviced about 7,000 gamblers and collected between RM15,000 and RM20,000 a day ever since it started operating in June. He said the suspects who were arrested would liaise with gamblers, promoting gambling websites and getting them to top up their credit. “All transactions were done through online banking from ... » Learn More about Johor cops bust online gambling call centre, arrest seven suspects

Singapore is trying not to strain its hospitals, stabilise its healthcare system, and increase its capacity as Covid-19 cases continue to be high, finance minister Lawrence Wong said in an interview with Haslinda Amin from Bloomberg on Sep. 27. Wong reiterated that Singapore's overall strategy has not changed as the country is committed to reopening the economy, but doing so by preventing avoidable deaths and without stressing the healthcare system. However, this latest wave of Covid-19 cases in the thousands each day has applied pressure on healthcare workers and the resources available. Labelling the current one-month restrictions as "temporary", Wong said: "The reason why we had to do these temporary restrictions now – it was a very difficult decision, but we felt that we had to do it, because our healthcare system and our healthcare workers are truly facing tremendous pressures and stresses during this latest wave of cases." Preparing for 5,000 cases daily And ... » Learn More about S’pore preparing healthcare system to cope with 5,000 daily Covid-19 cases: Lawrence Wong

Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg Five plainclothes policemen successfully apprehended a 21-year-old loan shark runner after lying in wait in the pouring rain, reported Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao on Sep. 25. The dramatic incident occurred at about 3pm on Sep. 24, at Canberra Road, in between Blocks 311 and 300. The arrest An eyewitness, surnamed Lin, told Lianhe Wanbao that he had been preparing to drive home, when he chanced across the scene. Lin had noticed two cars parked at the intersection of the car park, and stepped out of his car for a closer look. That was when he saw "a man pinned down to the ground by five to six men". He added: "A motorcycle was parked close by, and a helmet lay on the grass patch beside them. I believe the suspect had just parked, and did not even have enough time to take off his helmet, when he was tackled to the ground." A resident who declined to be named shared that she had ... » Learn More about 5 plainclothes policemen bust suspected loanshark runner in heavy rain at Sembawang