Singapore, an early success story in Covid-19 containment, has now dropped into technical recession after an official second quarter report of negative growth. The Singaporean economy plunged 41.2% quarter-on-quarter, with the country’s trade-dependent economy battered by the Covid-19 crisis in the South East Asian region. Finance authorities are flagging that they expect Singapore’s GDP to shrink between 4 – 7% this year, as the Covid-19 outbreak, and the restrictions and limitations imposed, continues to pose severe stress on the island economy. Singapore’s economy shrank another 12.6% between April – June, compared to Q1 reporting period. The latest data has been released […]

According to Myanmar’s National Tourism Development Central Committee vice-president, Myanmar’s airports are unlikely to re-open to international commercial flights until at least October this year. There is no guarantee, however, that even if the country opens its skies to international flights, there will be any takers other than airlines offering repatriation flights. Border closures around the world have grounded entire fleets of planes and put smaller airlines in financial peril. Domestic flights are currently operating, as in Thailand, but are restricted to Burmese citizens and foreign residents registered to stay and work in the country. Since the end of March, foreign […]

A Chinese professor who criticised President Xi Jinping’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been reportedly freed after spending 6 days in detention. Xu Zhangrun, a law professor at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, was reportedly taken by a group of more than 20 people from his home after publishing an essay overseas that claimed the Chinese president was “destroying the structure of governance”. He allegedly blamed the coronavirus pandemic on the president’s authoritarianism and censorship. He said the lack of openness contributed to the outbreak in which Communist Party officials tried to suppress the initial news of the virus. A friend […]