By Rebecca Strating HONOLULU (24 April 2020)—Many argue that China’s increasingly aggressive posture in the South China Sea is an attempt to unilaterally alter the US-led regional order, which includes an emphasis on freedom of navigation. In response, the US has stressed the importance of support from “like-minded” states—including Japan and South Korea—in defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and elsewhere. This characterization, however, disguises important differences in attitudes and behavior that could hinder joint efforts to push back against China.

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With little consensus on how best to balance public health against social and economic needs, societies are feeling their way through the trade-offs.

The founder of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has said that the COVID-19 broke out because “the rich abandoned the poor”. According to the Daily Sun, the cleric said “the sickness is not for the poor”. As of Saturday morning, Nigeria had 3,912 confirmed cases of Coronavirus. Of that number, 679 patients have […]

COVID-19: Primate Ayodele reveals why pandemic broke out, warns govt about churches

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has approved amendments to the country's state of emergency that grant him and security agencies additional powers, which the government says are needed to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers says schools only be reopened when authorities can ensure everyone's 100% safety.

South Africa has been praised by the World Health Organization for acting swiftly and delaying the spread of the virus. However, we must guard against being complacent as we begin the gradual easing of the lockdown.

In an interview, medical historian Frank Snowden discusses how the coronavirus pandemic mirrors past outbreaks and argues that we must quickly apply the lessons learned today in preparation for the next disease.

The World Health Organization is the most important authority in the global battle against the coronavirus. But doubts about the WHO’s leadership are growing, and not just in Washington. Is Director General Tedros up to the task?

LG International will expand its palm oil operations in Indonesia for the first time in six years. This is a move for the trading company to focus more on the food resource business. The company recently broke the ground for the palm oil plant. It plans to complete the construction by the end of the first half of next year and start producing 110,000 tons of palm oil a year. This is an increase of 30,000 tons from the current capacity. Back in 2009, LG International jumped into the food re...

Despite the record-high results, the R&D investment level of the nation's petrochemical industry is still miserably low. According to industry sources on August 28, the amount of R&D investment of Lotte Chemical, which achieved a record-high sales revenue of 7,849.4 billion won in the first half, fell short of 44.5 billion won. This is only 0.57 percent of the total sales. Even last year when the company posted the highest operating profit (2,547.8 billion won) among all petrochemical...

SK Engineering & Construction has won a large-scale petrochemical plant project in Thailand. The company said on August 29 that it clinched a deal worth US$210 million to build polyol plant within the Hemaraj industrial zone in Thailand's Rayong. This followed news that the company signed a $1.6-billion project to modernize an oil refinery in Iran earlier this month. The plant, located 150 kilometers southeast of Thailand's capital Bangkok, is commissioned jointly by PTT Global Chemical, ...

As the government pronounced illegal on the practice of companies relying on subcontract workers for a long time such as the cases in Paris Baguette and Mando-Hella, the whole industry in shock. This is not just restricted to manufacturers but is spread to services and the food franchise industry as well. The corporate sector expected on September 24 that companies like Tous Les Jours, Samsung Electronics service centers, and LG U+ will likely face the same problem any time soon after the Min...

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (“SEHK”), wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, has published a consultation paper last Friday 22 September 2017 which proposed changes to the Main Board Listing Rules (“MB Rules”) and the Rules...

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Stock Exchange”) is conducting further public consultation on the listing of companies from emerging and innovative sectors.  The consultation paper published on 23 February 2018 (the &l...

The Chancellor has announced some important changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) regime. These changes may have a significant impact on the tax payable by your employees holding shares in your company traded on the full list. Abolition of taper r...

Belarus has announced that the next presidential election will be held on August 9 as the country’s authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka sought to play down the risks of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sur la base d'une mod�lisation, l'Oms estime que 190.000 personnes pourraient perdre la vie � cause du coronavirus qui infectera entre 29 � 44 millions d'Africains. ......

Jet fuel tanks at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport were targeted in an attack on Saturday that caused a...

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Year end reporting and filing accounts Year end reporting and audit As a reminder, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published advice to all companies and auditors in February on COVID-19 related risk disclosures in year-...

For listed and traded UK companies with a 31 December year end, the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential  for further tightening of restrictions on gatherings and travel in the UK raise particular issues as they enter into reporting and AGM seas...

Listed companies and recapitalisation issuances The FCA has announced a series of measures aimed to assist companies in raising additional capital in response to the Coronavirus crisis, whilst at the same time aiming to retain appropriate protection...

Right now M&A activity has been significantly decreased, and the projected numbers for foreign direct investment and Gross Domestic Product in many countries are concerning. However, we must remember that we have been through many crises over th...

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On 4 March 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) fined four pharmaceutical companies for breaching competition law through market sharing and the exchange of competitively sensitive information relating to the supply of nor...

Key points: • In a judgment supportive of the rescue culture in English insolvency, the court has reaffirmed its flexible approach to the application of insolvency provisions and willingness to look at the practical effect of transactions in re...

On 20th April, the UK Government announced a £500m “Future Fund”, as part of its package of measures to support businesses in response to the coronavirus.  What is the Future Fund? The Future Fund is being set up with the aim ...

  The BEE Commission’s report 2018, between 2017 and 2018, had no significant change in the levels of transformation, with black ownership reflecting a decline to 25.2% from 27% and current management control still sitting at 38% for blac...

As the situation with the COVID-19 outbreak continues to develop in the UK and beyond, there are a few recent developments for UK companies to be aware of. Year end reporting and filing accounts Year end reporting As a reminder, the Financial Report...

Preempt

Preempt

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Japan's ruthless animated hitman has become the latest victim of the coronavirus, as the nation's longest-running manga comic an... ......

(MENAFN - Caribbean News Global) OLDWICK, N.J.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Life/health-related catastrophe bonds face the greatest threat of losses from the COVID... ......

Hundreds of paramilitaries kept people off the streets and virtually all stores have been closed for at least a week. On Friday night, security forces fired tear gas at stone-throwing residents who ventured...

Chance rules. Leaders lie. Deaths become statistics. The parallels between the disease and the war are everywhere. ......

The Seattle City Council will...

Here is how staff and residents of group homes for people with disabilities are coping during COVID-19 in the Southern Tier of New York. ......

Reopening Virginia Phase 1: Haircuts? Yes. Dining inside? No. North Carolina says Outer Banks renters are due refunds. Many find red tape instead. Norfolk students won’t be graded for work done from home during pandemic Virginia beaches could...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will...

In the time of the coronavirus, churches across Hartford are learning to hold their congregations close over livestreams and ease growing levels of hunger, isolation and homelessness in their communities — and they’re doing it without the help of full collection plates on Sundays. Sixty-five percent of U.S. churches report giving is down since the pandemic began, according to an April survey from the National Association of Evangelicals, called the State of the Plate. About 1 in 10 respondents said giving was down at least 75%. Advertisement In Hartford, a number of congregations shared how they’re weathering loss of revenue even as need has increased dramatically due to the pandemic. As...