Hi all,
In today's bulletin: India eases export restrictions on an anti-malaria drug after a call from President Donald Trump, Indonesia urges Muslims to mark Ramadan at home, key food prices surge, Chinese developers begin chasing real estate deals, scammers try selling the world's largest statue, and more.
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TRUMP'S CALL TO MODI FOR AN ANTI-MALARIA DRUG, AS A COVID-19 REMEDY
Can hydroxychloroquine, a drug used for malaria and autoimmune disorders, be used to treat patients suffering from coronavirus?
Scientists and doctors cannot say that for certain. But US President Donald Trump's insistence on promoting it as one has increased demand for the drug is the US and is causing deep uneasiness in India, the world's main supplier of generic drugs, with the country being pushed by Washington to ease restrictions on its exports.
Doctors and pharmacists from more than half a dozen large healthcare systems in the US now say they are routinely using hydroxychloroquine on patients with Covid-19, even though several also say there is no evidence that it has any effect on the virus. Even the Food and Drug Administration has not approved use of hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment.
Seeing the surge in interest in the drug, particularly after Trump tweeted it would be a "game-changer", India moved to ban exports of the drug and its formulations "without any exceptions" on April 4. However, Trump called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend to discuss supplies of the drug and reportedly warned that India could face retaliation if it didn't withdraw the ban on exports.
New Delhi announced today that it will allow limited exports of the anti-malaria drug.
Read more:
Doctors embrace drug touted by Trump for Covid-19, without hard evidence it works
Malaria drug touted by Trump as possible treatment was first mentioned by China and comes with severe warnings
INDONESIA URGES MUSLIMS TO SCRAP JOINT IFTAR PLANS
It's a time of the year that several in Indonesia look forward to but this year the government is urging Muslims to mark Ramadan in solitude, to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
New prayer and worship guidelines for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, issued by Indonesia's Religious Affairs Ministry, urges Muslims to refrain from hosting joint breakfast gatherings and pray at home instead during Ramadan, that starts on April 23 and will end on May 23.
The move is the latest by the government to ensure social distancing in the world's fourth most populated country where it is still not known how many could be already infected by coronavirus and it has been struggling to stop people from coming together.
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Coping with Covid-19: Amid fear, sadness Indonesians look out for one another
KEY FOOD PRICES SURGING
As the coronavirus pandemic penetrates more deeply into global supply chains, prices for key staples are starting to soar in some parts of the world, raising concerns about social instability in some economies.
Rice and wheat - crops that account for about a third of the world's calories - have been making rapid climbs in spot and futures markets, driven partly by concerns over supply disruptions.
Export prices for rice from Thailand, the world's second-biggest shipper, are at a six-year high. Wheat futures in Chicago, the global benchmark, shot up more than 8 per cent in March, while Canadian durum, the type of grain used in pasta and couscous, is at the highest since August 2017.
Read also:
No need for panic buying, Japan says ahead of state of emergency
Chinese officials urge citizens to refrain from hoarding grains amid concern over global supplies
CHINA'S BIG DEVELOPERS SPLURGE ON LAND
China's top real estate developers have started buying land all over again as local governments look to sell more prime real estate to boost revenue and smaller property firms make distress sales.
Such is the optimism that the property market will improve in coming months that some top firms are saying they do not need to change sales targets for the current, despite the toll coronavirus has inflicted.
China, today, reported a decline in imported coronavirus cases, after closing its borders to virtually all foreigners, and the National Health Commission also reported no new deaths in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, for the first time since the outbreak started.
Read more:
CapitaLand reopens all malls in China, sees rise in residential property sales there
SCAMMERS TRY SELLING WORLD'S TALLEST STATUE IN INDIA AS PANDEMIC BOOSTS CYBER CRIME
An online fraudster tried selling the world's tallest statue of Indian statesman and freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for US$4 billion (S$5.7 billion) saying the proceeds would go to a Gujarat state government fund to fight coronavirus. Police have registered a case and say cyber crimes have gone up in the country since the outbreak began.
Also read:
Irene Tham: Hackers exploiting fear of bug to target computers, gadgets
IN OTHER NEWS
NEW ZEALAND HEALTH MINISTER BREAKS LOCKDOWN: New Zealand's health minister described himself as "an idiot" for breaking lockdown restrictions after revealing he took a 20-kilometre drive to the beach with his family. Thereafter, he offered his resignation to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern but for now he is keeping his job.
WASHINGTON WARNS BEIJING OVER MOVES IN S. CHINA SEA: The United States on Monday warned China not to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to exert itself in the South China Sea after Vietnam said Beijing sank a trawler. Washington urged Beijing to remain focused on containing the pandemic.
TALEBAN BREAK OFF TALKS WITH AFGHAN GOVT: The Taleban has broken off talks with the Afghan government on a prisoner exchange, a main step in peace talks being brokered by the United States after it agreed on a troop withdrawal pact with the militants. A spokesman for the insurgent group said the meetings had been "fruitless" and the release of their prisoners was being "delayed under one pretext or another".
That's it for today. Thanks for reading. Stay safe and we'll be back with you tomorrow.
Shefali
