Vietnam vaccinates Samsung workers amid battle with COVID variant
HANOI -- Vietnamese authorities have started vaccinating thousands of factory workers at a flagship facility of Samsung Electronics as the country battles COVID-19 in the heart of its manufacturing industry.
The vaccine drive began Tuesday at Yen Phong Industrial Park in Bac Ninh, a northern province, with the goal of inoculating over 15,000 workers in three or four days, local authority said. On the first day, authorities mobilized 80 medical personnel to give out the shots. The doses were from British pharmaceutical company
Philippine central bank open to more easing despite record-low rates
MANILA -- The Philippine central bank is "open to doing more" monetary easing despite already record-low interest rates and still has "a lot of tools" to support the economy's recovery from the pandemic, Gov. Benjamin Diokno told Nikkei Asia.
The central bank chief's assurances come as the Philippines, like some of its neighbors in Southeast Asia, fights a new wave of COVID infections, threatening its bid to turn around a record 9.6% economic contraction last year.
Since the coronavirus
Myanmar coup latest: AIIB says it deals with 'de facto governments'
YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.
The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.
For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.
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Hong Kong quarantine relief for vaccinated bankers draws backlash
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's move to ease border curbs only for vaccinated executives of large companies is irking the city's wider populace just as the local inoculation rate shows signs of picking up.
The local government earlier this week announced that senior executives from about 500 companies across the banking, insurance, trading and payment sectors, as well as directors of large listed companies, can seek exemptions from strict quarantine measures -- provided they have had their shots.
A spokesperson for the Financial Services and the
Japan's COVID mishandling fuels interest in revising constitution
TOKYO -- Support in Japan for discussing changes to the constitution is on the rise, a Nikkei survey shows, as the pandemic spurs much of the public to rethink the government's approach to limiting individual rights.
The poll from Friday to Sunday asked whether political parties should enter into concrete discussions on constitutional revisions, with 77% of respondents agreeing -- the most since a 2019 poll that straddled late August and early September. Just 14% saw no need to discuss the issue in the
Hong Kong's Tiananmen museum forced to close ahead of anniversary
HONG KONG -- A museum in Hong Kong commemorating China's crackdown on unarmed students and civilians in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, was forced to shut just two days ahead of the 32nd anniversary of the tragic event.
The June 4th Museum reopened on Sunday after being closed since last June for renovations in the wake of China's move to impose a national security law over the city criminalizing acts of subversion.
In a notice on Wednesday, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support
South Korean arms makers in spotlight after missile limit lifted
SEOUL -- The scrapping by the United States of a decades-old limit on how far South Korea's missiles can fly has boosted share prices of the country's key arms and aerospace manufacturers on expectations of future business.
The guidelines imposed 42 years ago had prevented South Korea from developing missiles with a range of over 800 kilometers. The decision to end the prohibition was announced during a summit between presidents Joe Biden and Moon Jae-in. It is a milestone for the East Asian country,
China ousts Taiwan as Apple's biggest source of suppliers
TAIPEI -- China now boasts more Apple suppliers than any other country, a sign that Washington's attempt to untangle U.S. and Chinese supply chains has had little impact on the world's most valuable tech company.
Of Apple's top 200 suppliers in 2020, 51 were based in China, including Hong Kong, according to a Nikkei Asia analysis of the Apple Supplier List released last week, up from 42 in 2018 and knocking Taiwan out of
11 TPP members to start talks concerning Britain's entry
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The 11 members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership decided Wednesday to start negotiations for Britain's entry into the regional free trade agreement, a Japanese minister said.
The members made the decision in a virtual meeting of the TPP Commission, the group's top decision-making body chaired by Japan this year, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister in charge of TPP negotiations, told reporters.
Britain filed a request in February to join what is formally called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement
Myanmar coup latest: Junta removes 'Aung San' from bridge name
YANGON/BANGKOK -- Myanmar's military on Feb. 1 detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint in the country's first coup since 1988, bringing an end to a decade of civilian rule.
The Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy had won a landslide in a general election in November . But the military has claimed the election was marred by fraud.
For all our coverage, visit our Myanmar Coup page.
Read our in-depth coverage:
-- Myanmar
