SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) – The southern Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen is moving to outlaw the consumption of dogs and cats as the country clamps down on the wildlife trade that scientists suspect led to the coronavirus outbreak. The proposed regulations from the city government list nine meats that are permitted for consumption, including pork, chicken, beef and rabbit, as… Read more »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s parliament will vote on a new candidate for prime minister on Monday and if nobody can win majority support there will be a snap election, interim prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Thursday. The Southeast Asian country slid into political turmoil this week with the unexpected resignation of Mahathir, who at 94 is the world’s… Read more »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – To escape the confines of his Hong Kong “coffin home”, or two square meters (21.5 square feet) of living space, Simon Wong usually spends his days in the park playing mahjong with friends, only returning at night to sleep. But since the Chinese-ruled city reported its first patient with coronavirus last month, Wong has been stuck… Read more »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s entire school system, from elementary to high schools, will be asked to close from Monday until spring break late in March to help contain the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday. The dramatic escalation of Japan’s fight against the virus follows rising criticism of what has been seen as a lukewarm government response…. Read more »
Oil giant Equinor has abandoned controversial plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight in a move hailed by environmentalists as a “huge win”. The Norwegian firm was granted approval last December to begin exploratory drills in seas off South Australia. But on Tuesday it told regulators the plan was “not commercially competitive” compared to options elsewhere. Australia’s government said… Read more »
SEOUL: From inside his car, a driver is checked for any fever or breathing difficulties by medical staff in protective clothing and goggles who lean in through the window at a new drive-thru coronavirus clinic in South Korea. He drove off after the brief test showed he was clear. Advertisement Others queuing in their vehicles in the city of Goyang… Read more »
KUALA LUMPUR: Allies in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) have stepped up their preparations in expectation of a snap general election to resolve the power vacuum in Malaysia. United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) secretary-general Annuar Musa said in a press conference that the party had summoned its divisional leaders for a briefing on Thursday (Feb 27) and… Read more »
China is preparing to deploy 100,000 ducks to neighbouring Pakistan to help tackle swarms of crop-eating locusts. Chinese agricultural experts say a single duck can eat more than 200 locusts a day and be more effective than pesticides. Pakistan declared an emergency earlier this month saying locust numbers were the worst in more than two decades. Millions of the insects… Read more »
Taiwan has become more and more vocal in recent days about its exclusion from World Health Organization meetings. It comes as the world grapples to contain the growing number of new coronavirus cases that has killed more than 560 people worldwide, most of whom died in China. Due to Beijing’s objections, Taiwan has been denied membership to most international organizations… Read more »
TOKYO (Reuters) – As Japan struggles to stem the spread of a coronavirus within its borders, critics are asking, “Where’s Abe?”Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe listens to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, February 25, 2020. Kimimasa Mayama/Pool via REUTERS Shinzo Abe, 65, Japan’s longest serving prime minister, has failed to take… Read more »