Polls Begin, To Pick New South Korean President

SEOUL, Mar 9 (NNN-YONHAP) – Polls began nationwide, early today, to pick South Korea’s new president, amid a neck-and-neck race between candidates of the ruling Democratic Party and the main conservative opposition People Power Party. The election to select the next president will last from 6:00 a.m. local time today…

FAO’s Asia-Pacific Regional Conference Focuses On Post COVID-19 Resilient Food, Agriculture System

DHAKA, Mar 9 (NNN-BSS) – The 36th session of the Asia-Pacific regional conference (APRC) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), kicked off in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, yesterday. The conference brings together 46 Asia-Pacific FAO member states and a wide range of observers, such as representatives of United Nations…

Sri Lanka Allows Rupee To Devalue

COLOMBO, Mar 8 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lanka’s central bank allowed the rupee to devalue to 230 per U.S. dollar, considering the severity of the external shocks and recent developments domestically. The central bank said yesterday, it will closely monitor the emerging macroeconomic and financial market developments, both globally and domestically,…

Lao Health Ministry, Partner To Eliminate Malaria

VIENTIANE, Mar 8 (NNN-KPL) – The Department of Communicable Disease Control, under Lao Ministry of Health, working in partnership with Health and Population Services International, received new funding, to assist pharmacies and clinics to eliminate malaria in Laos. In the Laotian capital, Vientiane, this work is being led by the…

S.Korea Reports 202,721 New COVID-19 Cases

SEOUL, Mar 8 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea reported 202,721 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight, raising the total number of infections to 4,869,691, health authorities said today. The daily caseload was down from 210,716, the previous day, but it was 1.5 times higher than a week earlier, according to the…

Vietnam’s Daily COVID-19 Cases Hit All-Time High, Nearly 4.6 Million In Total

HANOI, Mar 8 (NNN-VNA) – Daily COVID-19 tally in Vietnam rose to a new record of 147,358 cases yesterday, up 5,222 cases from Sunday, according to its Ministry of Health. The new infections, logged in 63 localities nationwide, included 147,335 domestically transmitted and 23 imported cases. The Vietnamese capital, Hanoi,…

Australian Defence Force “Sorry” For Slow Response To Catastrophic Floods

CANBERRA, Mar 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The Australian Defence Force (ADF), apologised for its slow response to catastrophic flooding across the country’s east coast. Major General David Thomae, national commander of the joint task force, in charge of the response to floods in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, yesterday…

Feature: Filipinos Brace For Higher Fuel, Food Prices Amid Supply Shocks

MANILA, Mar 8 (NNN-PNA) – Passenger jeepney driver, Arthur Arsenio, 48, charged his passengers 13 pesos (about 0.25 U.S. dollar), two pesos (about 0.038 dollar) higher than the minimum fare, explaining, the soaring fuel prices in the Philippines forced him to raise the rate. Today, oil companies imposed another round…

Australia, Indonesia Join Forces To Tackle Ocean Pollution

CANBERRA, Mar 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s national science agency and the government, formed a partnership with Indonesia, to address plastic pollution in the Indo-Pacific. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), yesterday announced that, along with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), it has established the Plastics…

Turks Queuing Up To Buy Sunflower Oil Amid Stockpiling, Price-Hike Talk

ISTANBUL, Mar 8 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish people have been flocking to grocery stores and supermarkets across the country, to buy sunflower oil for the past couple of days, as there is talk that supplies are running out and that prices are going up. Videos of people snatching sunflower oil bottles,…