S.Korea Freezes Interest Rate At 0.75 Percent

SEOUL, Oct 12 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea’s central bank, today froze its benchmark interest rate at 0.75 percent, on worry about the COVID-19 resurgence, that slowed the economic recovery. Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor, Lee Ju-yeol, and other monetary policy board members, decided to leave the seven-day repurchase rate unchanged…

New Zealand Reports 43 New Community Cases Of COVID-19 Delta Variant

WELLINGTON, Oct 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand reported 43 new Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in the community today, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country’s community outbreak to 1,664. Forty of the new infections were recorded in the largest city Auckland, and three cases were in…

China Issues Commemorative Stamps For COP15

KUNMING, Oct 12 (NNN-XINHUA) – China Post issued a commemorative stamp yesterday, for the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), that opened in Kunming, the capital of south-west China’s Yunnan Province. A total of seven million of these stamps,…

Earthquake In Indonesia Triggers No Tsunami

JAKARTA, Oct 12 (NNN-ANTARA) – An earthquake that hit Bitung city, in Indonesia’s eastern province of North Sulawesi, was recorded at 5.7 magnitude, triggering no tsunami, the country’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said, yesterday. The epicentre of the shallow quake was located 122 km to the south-east of Bitung,…

Singapore Reports 2,263 New COVID-19 Cases

SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (NNN-CNA) – Singapore reported 2,263 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total tally in the country to 129,229, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a press release. Of the new cases, 1,969 were in the community, 306 were in migrant workers’ dormitories, and eight were…

Maldives Parliament Speaker Returns After Injury Recovery From Terror Attack

MALE, Oct 12 (NNN-IPS) – The Maldives’ speaker of parliament and former President, Mohamed Nasheed, has returned, after spending four months abroad, recovering from injuries sustained in a terror attack, local media reported here yesterday. According to the SunOnline news, Nasheed flew back from the United Arab Emirates, and was…

Thailand Plans To Reopen To Vaccinated Visitors From Nov: PM

BANGKOK, Oct 12 (NNN-TNA) – Thai Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, announced yesterday, a plan to allow fully-vaccinated visitors from “low risk” countries and regions, to enter the country without quarantine from next month. “I have instructed the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and the Ministry of Public Health, to…

Car Bomb Explosion Kills Three In Yemen’s Hadramout

ADEN, Oct 12 (NNN-YPA) – At least three people were killed yesterday, as a result of a car bomb explosion, in Yemen’s south-eastern province of Hadramout, a Yemeni government official said. “An explosive-laden vehicle, exploded on the main street of Seiyun district, in Hadramout, causing a massive blast that jolted…

Syria Condemns Israeli Plan To Increase Population In Occupied Golan Heights

DAMASCUS, Oct 12 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian Foreign Ministry, yesterday, condemned comments made by Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, who announced a plan to increase the number of Israeli settlers, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The ministry said, Bennett’s announcement is “unable to change the eternal fact that Golan was…

Jordanian, Iranian FMs Discuss Bilateral Ties On Phone

AMMAN, Oct 12 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, yesterday, received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, during which they discussed measures for bolstering bilateral relations. The two ministers also exchanged views on solving regional crises and beefing up efforts to strengthen ties, so as…