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Coronavirus: India’s daily cases top 100,000 for first time; Japan imposes curbs in infection hotspot Osaka People wearing face masks on the streets of Osaka, Japan on Sunday. Photo: Kyodo
India s daily Covid-19 cases soared by 103,558 on Monday, the biggest such daily increase, data from the health ministry showed, taking the total to 12.59 million.
The country added 478 new deaths, raising the total to 165,101.
Mumbai authorities asked all private offices to work from home through April as India s financial hub emerges once again as the epicentre of a new wave of coronavirus infections.
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Singapore opposition politician crowdfunds US$98,840 to pay PM Lee Hsien Loong in defamation case Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: Reuters
A lawyer for the Singapore opposition politician ordered by a court to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong S$133,000 (US$98,840) for defamation said he had raised enough cash from donations to fully cover damages.
Leong Sze Hian of the Peoples Voice Party was ordered on March 24 to pay S$133,000 to Lee for posting a link to a Malaysian news site that alleged the city state s leader had helped launder 1Malaysia Development Berhad funds.
Since then more than 2,000 people had donated to a crowdfunding campaign on social media to raise the full amount, Lim Tean, Leong s lawyer, said in a Facebook post on Monday.
Bali vs Phuket: which Asian resort island will win the race to restart international tourism? Domestic tourists arrive at Bali airport last July. Photo: AFP
While scores of countries are reintroducing border closures and travel restrictions to mitigate fresh waves of Covid-19, Southeast Asia s two most popular resort islands - Bali and Phuket - are in a race to open to international tourism.
The stakes in terms of potential benefits and risks are high. The economies of both have been on life support since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic a year ago.
In Bali, which attracted 6.3 million foreign visitors in 2019, GDP shrank 9.3 per cent year on year in 2020, while the unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent is nearly four times higher than the previous year. Phuket, which welcomed a whopping 9.9 million foreign visitors in 2019, saw its economy contract 6.1 per cent last year, and 80 per cent of its tourism-related businesses go bust.
A fearful teenager who found her freedom through travel, Marsha Jean left Hong Kong aged 18 and just kept going Marsha Jean in Sarek National Park, Sweden. The nomadic 23-year-old from Hong Kong has been on the road for almost six years, and has hitchhiked alone from Iran to France and cycled solo through Central Asia. Photo: Courtesy of Marsha Jean
Hongkonger Marsha Jean is not exactly sure where she is. I left Berlin a few weeks ago, by train to Frankfurt, then flew to Spain. Now I m in a little town one hour from Malaga, she says, referring to the province on the southern Mediterranean coast, in Andalusia. I had to have a negative Covid-19 test result to enter Malaga province, and quarantine is not required. Each province/ community in Spain has different rules.
Hong Kong bedding brand Baea wants to ‘let nature in’ using quality, sustainable materials Baea founder Adah Chan. Photo: Handout
Why did you start Baea? I grew up in the textile industry. My grandfather manufactured textiles and my mother had a boutique that was all about bringing in really good-quality homeware, which then pivoted into bedding and bath. In my 20s, I worked for Ralph Lauren Home, sourcing products. I ve opened retail stores and worked for different companies - and I could see an opportunity for bedding with more minimal designs inspired by nature. When I thought about a name, I thought about what home means to me. I grew up between two bays - Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay - and that s what signifies a place of sanctuary for me. We played on the word bay and softened it to the brand.