However, the company has insisted that the vaccine is not being withdrawn over side effects but due to commercial reasons. Global pharma giant AstraZeneca has decided to withdraw its Covid-19 vaccine worldwide after the company admitted in court documents that it can have dangerous side effects, according to a report published by a leading British daily. However, the company has insisted that the vaccine is not being withdrawn over side effects but due to commercial reasons. Due to low demand and having been superseded by updated versions of the Covid-19 vaccines to fight new variants, the company has stopped making…
Author: Asia News Network
The key role of media cooperation in promoting Asian cultural heritage conservation, as well as the importance of amplifying Asia’s voice, was emphasised at a recent forum in Beijing attended by media experts and heritage conservators from various Asian countries. The Forum on Cultural Heritage Conservation, themed “Civilisations in Harmony”, was co-organised by the China Daily, the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Asia News Network (ANN). It was held on September 5 following the ANN’s annual board meeting the day prior. Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and…
Representative of 15 media outlets in Asia emphasised the need for elevating cooperation to a new level and making Asia’s voice heard, as they gathered at the Asia News Network (ANN) annual board meeting in Beijing on September 4. The meeting marks the first in-person assembly of the leading regional news alliance in Asia since the Covid-19 pandemic, building new bridges for collaborative efforts among Asian countries and between Asia and the rest of the world. Also in attendance was Ly Tayseng, the publisher of The Phnom Penh Post. Representatives explored the possibility of establishing an independent newsroom with reputed…
In a devastating turn of events that has left the world in shock, the Titanic submersible mission to explore the fabled wreckage of the Titanic has ended in tragedy. The ill-fated submarine, named the Titan, was carrying a crew of five individuals who embarked on an adventure. Among the victims were Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, British adventurer Hamish Harding, and the esteemed French deep-sea explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. Therefore what was meant to be an awe-inspiring journey turned into an unthinkable nightmare as the vessel reportedly imploded, tragically…
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the victim of a fatal gun attack while taking part in a campaign for the House of Councillors election in Nara city on July 8. After being shot at around 11:30 (0230 GMT), he went into cardiopulmonary arrest, according to firefighters. He was transported by ambulance and medical helicopter to Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara, Nara prefecture. According to police sources, Abe, 67, was shot from behind in the upper back area, with what is thought to be a shotgun. Two shots were heard, according to witnesses. Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, of Nara…
At present, traditional and nontraditional security threats are intertwined, humankind is yet to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, and the Ukraine crisis is already wreaking havoc. The Cold War mentality is resurfacing, and unilateralism is running rampant, upsetting the international order. Once again the Asia-Pacific region stands at another historical crossroad. In the face of the new situation, the Asia-Pacific has assumed a more important place in the world and has a greater role to play. Against this backdrop, the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue will be held from June 10 to 12. Due to the impact of Covid-19, the…
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should maximise his role as the chair of ASEAN next year to accelerate the acceptance of Timor Leste as the 11th member of the regional grouping. Despite its small economic size and poverty issues, the state has geostrategic importance amid the global rivalry between China and the US – with Australia as its deputy sheriff. ASEAN should embrace Timor Leste as soon as possible, before it’s too late. The young nation needs the ASEAN market for its non-oil and gas products. Timor Leste today is probably just peanuts compared to prosperous ASEAN members such as…
Business of all sizes are having to grapple with issues ranging from rising inflation to conflict in Europe and renewed lockdowns in China. Amid these uncertainties, commerce remains an important driver of economic growth, with Standard Chartered predicting global trade will grow by 70 per cent to $30 trillion by the end of the decade. Already a key driver of global economic growth, ASEAN’s trade and innovation hub status is set to help propel it to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030. Home to many of the world’s highest growth markets and the fastest developing internet market in…
Just over a year ago, ASEAN released its mid-term review of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025. The review reported that 54.1 per cent of the document’s line items had been completed, with another 34.2 per cent in progress. The grouping was lauded for having made “notable advancements” towards economic integration, though it also encouraged to “accelerate [its] pace of implementation”. Reading the review in May 2022, this observation appears more like a warning. Amid geopolitical competition between the US and China, the economic fallout from Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some observers have claimed that the…
Perhaps there is no better way to look at the future trajectory of the relations between the US and ASEAN than through the prism of Vietnamese-US bilateral ties. On the sidelines of the May 12-13 US-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington following an interaction between US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman and Vietnamese deputy foreign minister Ha Kim Ngoc, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. “We have seen a remarkable trajectory in the relationship between the US and Vietnam, and we are now the strongest of partners, with a shared vision for security…