The pandemic may have waned, but its economic impact continues to reverberate on the streets of Philippines as the informal economy continues to suffer. Three years ago, Allain Rodriguez sold balut (boiled or steamed fertilized duck egg) on Mabini Street, behind the San Sebastian Church in Tarlac, a city some 130 kilometers away from the…
On April 15, 2023, a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane came under fire at Khartoum International Airport in Sudan. The airline, also known as Saudia, released a statement confirming that the plane was hit during clashes that took place at the airport. There were no reports of any injuries among the passengers or crew. The…
William Lai, the presidential candidate for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has warned that a war between Taiwan and China would bring about a “global catastrophe” that China would find it hard to bear. Lai’s comments came after China staged war games around the island in protest at a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai…
There is no evidence yet showing which animal the COVID-causing virus may have come from, the former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday. George Gao, who was speaking at a London summit on preparing for pandemics, was the head of the agency when COVID first emerged in…
Meta, has launched a payment feature on its WhatsApp service for users and local business owners based in Brazil. The company announced via its website on Tuesday that Brazil’s WhatsApp users can now pay businesses via the app’s end-to-end encrypted chat. The feature operates like a shopping app which allows customers to search…
An African country, Gabon, has pipped into the future of oil and gas with a new hydrocarbons code. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic dampened global demand for oil and natural gas, disrupted the flow of capital, and slashed expansion plans across the hydrocarbons industry. As a result, licensing rounds in many African…
A major annual firework festival in Tokyo will be held this summer for the first time in four years after the display was repeatedly canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event’s organizer said Tuesday. The Sumida River Fireworks Festival, considered a mainstay summer event in the Japanese capital, is slated to be held on July…
Health insurance accounted for the largest proportion (33.2%) of non-life insurance premium revenue in Vietnam last year. Health insurance premiums jumped by 24.3% to VND22.4tn ($955m), compared to 2021, reported vneconomy.vn citing preliminary data received by the authorities. Together, the five branches contributed over 90% of total non-life premiums in 2022. Total insurance premium revenue…
The IRDAI has granted certificates of registration to two new entities to conduct life insurance business in the country. The new insurers are Acko Life Insurance and Credit Access Life Insurance, the IRDAI says in a media statement. With these two additions, the total number of life insurers operating in India is now 25. Before…
The Cambodian insurance industry chalked up gross insurance premiums of about $330m in 2022, an increase of 10.68% over 2021. The increased insurance premiums last year reflected the strength of the insurance market in Cambodia, which contributed 1.1% to the Southeast Asian country’s gross domestic product (GDP), reported The Khmer Times quoting the deputy director-general…
