The U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Marc Knapper, celebrated Tet by writing traditional calligraphy. In a video released Thursday by the U.S. embassy Knapper could be seen writing the words ‘Xin chao Vietnam’ (Hello Vietnam) and ‘Chuc mung nam moi’ (Happy new year) on red paper, traditionally used to write calligraphy, …
Read More »Czechs to drop Covid pass despite infection spike
Czechs will no longer have to submit vaccination certificates at restaurants, cultural and sports events from next week despite a spike in coronavirus infections, the prime minister said Wednesday. Since November 2021, only vaccinated Czechs and those who have had Covid-19 in the last six months have been allowed access …
Read More »Meta shares sink 20 pct as Facebook loses daily users for the first time
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc’s shares plunged more than 20 percent late on Wednesday after the social media company posted a weaker-than-expected forecast, blaming Apple’s privacy changes and increased competition for users from rivals like TikTok. Facebook’s global daily active users declined from the previous quarter for the first time, …
Read More »New Zealand to stay closed to foreigners until October
New Zealand will not fully reopen its borders until October, as it cautiously dismantles some of the world’s toughest pandemic border restrictions, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday. Ardern announced a five-step plan to reconnect New Zealand to the rest of the world, beginning with waiving hotel quarantine requirements for …
Read More »Biden orders nearly 3,000 US troops to Eastern Europe to counter Russia
The United States will send nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to shield Eastern Europe from a potential spillover from the crisis over the massing of Russian troops near Ukraine, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Russia has denied plans to invade Ukraine but signaled it was in no …
Read More »Vietnam records lowest count of daily Covid cases in 72 days
Vietnam confirmed 8,722 new Covid-19 domestic cases Wednesday in 55 provinces and cities, the lowest in the past 72 days. Hanoi led the number of new cases with 2,716, followed by Da Nang with 778 and Thanh Hoa with 353. No new death has been recorded Tuesday and the Covid-19 …
Read More »Landslide kills at least 24 people in Ecuador’s capital, 12 still missing
At least 24 people perished in a landslide in Ecuador’s capital Quito, and 12 others were missing, Mayor Santiago Guarderas said on Tuesday. Rescue teams searched homes and streets covered by mud following the worst deluge in nearly two decades. The torrential rains on Monday night caused a build-up of …
Read More »Sony lifts forecast as ‘Spider-Man’ propels quarterly profit
Sony raised its full-year profit forecast by 15 percent Wednesday after posting estimate-smashing quarterly earnings, with the success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” which has become the sixth-highest grossing movie. Operating profit at its pictures business jumped by more than seven-fold to 149.4 billion yen ($1.30 billion) in its fiscal …
Read More »Pfizer/BioNTech seek U.S. authorization of Covid shots for kids under 5
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE on Tuesday said they have begun submitting data to U.S. regulators seeking emergency use authorization (EUA) of their Covid-19 vaccine for children under age 5, despite weaker-than-expected immune responses in their clinical trial of 2- to 4-year-olds. The companies said they started the rolling submission …
Read More »India goes on a spending spree to boost growth, stokes concern over fiscal deficit
India’s government will step up spending to 39.45 trillion rupees ($529.7 billion) in the coming fiscal year to build public infrastructure and drive economic growth, it said on Tuesday, but it involves a wider fiscal deficit than targeted and record borrowing. Asia’s third-largest economy has been on the mend after …
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