Hi all,
In today's bulletin: Singapore to chart new path now says Trade Minister Chan Chun Sing, US to label imports from Hong Kong as 'Made in China' in a blow to the Asian financial hub, global coronavirus tally crosses 20 million cases, Indian apps race to take over space left by ban on China's TikTok, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte offers to try out Russian coronavirus vaccine, and more.
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SINGAPORE WILL NOT RETURN TO A PRE-COVID WORLD, SAYS MINISTER CHAN CHUN SING
The debilitating and long term consequences of coronavirus in Singapore became apparent today as Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said the Republic will not return to a pre-Covid-19 world, and must chart a new path by building a new economy now.
The nation suffered a deeper recession in the second quarter than earlier estimated, prompting the Government to trim its growth outlook for the year and warn of a slower recovery. Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink between 5 per cent and 7 per cent in 2020, the Ministry of Trade and Industry predicted. Its previous forecast range was -4 to -7 per cent.
The recurring waves of infection and disruption mean that recovery will take time, the Minister said as he cautioned that the current crisis was unlike the 1998 Asian financial crisis or the 2009 global financial crisis.
Read also:
Singapore's recession deepens with worst ever quarterly contraction of 13.2%
US TO LABEL HONG KONG'S GOODS AS 'MADE IN CHINA'
The United States will label imports from Hong Kong as "Made in China" according to a draft government document, in a blow to the Asian financial hub, in a move that comes amid the widening rift between the US and China.
Reports said the notice is set to be published in the US Federal Register today and the new ruling will take effect 45 days later.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, several people rushed to buy copies of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily in a show of support for the owner Jimmy Lai who was arrested a day earlier along with nine others amid a continuing crackdown on dissent. The paper said it had increased its print run to 550,000 from its regular circulation of 70,000.
Read also:
Who is Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon arrested under Hong Kong's security law?
China Web users hail arrest of Jimmy Lai, want him to be tried in mainland
US HEALTH CHIEF AZAR, IN TAIWAN, SLAMS CHINA'S RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS AS GLOBAL CASES CROSS 20 MILLION
US Health Secretary Alex Azar attacked China's response to the coronavirus pandemic while on a visit to Taiwan and said the Chinese Communist Party had the chance to warn the world and work with it on battling the coronavirus, but it chose not to.
The US health chief is the highest level American official to visit Taiwan in four decades, in a trip that has irked China.
His visit comes as the global tally of coronavirus cases hit 20 million on Monday, with the United States, Brazil and India accounting for more than half of all known infections.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, New Zealand shut its largest city, Auckland, after four new cases of Covid-19 were discovered in the city, in the first evidence of domestic transmission after being coronavirus-free for 102 days. And reports emerged that authorities in China found coronavirus on the packaging of imported frozen seafood although the origin of the packages was not clear.
RACE FOR AN INDIAN TIKTOK
More than 10 apps are counting on a surge in techno-nationalism to gain new viewers in the space left behind by Chinese app TikTok, which was banned in June amid tensions with China.
By that time, the Chinese app had gained more than 200 million viewers.
Some of the Indian apps have had to double their workforce at short notice to cope with the new demand, while others have scrambled to spend on gaining new viewers while doubling efforts to hold on to existing ones. Still, there are those who long for TikTok's return, some day.
More on TikTok:
India bans more Chinese apps and questions them on censorship and security
Timeline of TikTok's journey from global sensation to Trump target
DUTERTE OFFERS TO TAKE FIRST SHOT OF RUSSIA'S COVID-19 VACCINE
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte offered to take the first shot of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia, even though it still has to complete crucial Phase III trials. President Duterte also offered Manila's assistance in clinical trials and productions. Russia has raised concern with its move to allow civilian use of the vaccine, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, even before clinical trials have been completed.
Elsewhere...
Sinovac launches late-stage trial for potential Covid-19 vaccine in Indonesia
South Korea's Daewoong Pharma gets India nod to test anti-parasite drug for Covid-19
IN OTHER NEWS
MALAYSIA'S EX-MINISTER LIM GUAN ENG, WIFE & BUSINESSWOMAN PLEAD NOT GUILTY: Malaysia's opposition leader Lim Guan Eng and businesswoman Phang Li Koon have claimed trial to graft charges involving a worker dormitory project, while Lim's wife Betty Chew who was charged alongside them, claimed trial to charges of money laundering. Lim, who was Penang's chief minister, is accused of ensuring that a company, believed to be related to Phang, was awarded a RM11.61 million worker dormitory project in Penang, between Aug 19, 2013, and March 3, 2016, media reported.
THAI PM CONCERNED ABOUT NEW DEMANDS FROM STUDENT PROTEST MOVEMENT: Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said today he is concerned about a growing student protest movement after another student group issued an unusually frank 10-point call for reform of the monarchy. The latest group that belongs to a Thammasat University Pro-democracy Group became the third student protest group to break a decades-long taboo to call for reforms.
BIG TECH FIRMS LINE UP AGAINST TRUMP'S IMMIGRANT VISA BAN: Several of nation's largest tech companies - including Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft - are the latest to join the court battle against President Donald Trump's ban on new visas for temporary foreign workers. Many of these migrant workers hail from Asia. The group asked a court on Monday to be allowed to add the industry's voice to a lawsuit opposing the ban, saying it's causing "irreparable harm on businesses and the nation's economy."
That's it for today, thanks for reading. Have a great weekend, see you on Tuesday.
Shefali
