Training has resumed after a year of coronavirus-related restrictions
The head of the world's largest vaccine maker directly tweeted US President Joe Biden on Friday urging him to lift an export ban on raw materials desperately needed to make more coronavirus shots.
SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed 34 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore on Friday (16 April), taking the country's total case count to 60,769.
Myanmar's military opened fire on protesting healthcare workers Thursday, killing at least one bystander as the demonstrators fled for safety to a nearby mosque.
Business groups in the Philippines called on China to withdraw its ships from a disputed reef as tensions rise in the South China Sea.
How young is too young to start thinking about retirement? Saving for retirement is something we have been told to worry about again and again.
Spiraling Covid-19 cases have put Cambodia "on the brink of death", its strongman premier Hun Sen has warned, as the country imposed lockdowns in the capital Phnom Penh and a nearby city.
Singapore new private home sales doubled to 1,296 last month from 645 units in February, Urban Redevelopment Authority data showed..
Hong Kong police displayed a cuddly bear mascot and unveiled a new goose-step march Thursday as the financial hub held a "National Security Education Day", part of its push to instil patriotism in a city chafing under China's rule.
Chinese President Xi Jinping slammed the European Union's plan for a carbon tax system Friday in a call with the leaders of France and Germany, state media reported.
Israelis will no longer have to wear masks outdoors starting from Sunday as the number of virus infections plummets, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said.
Paris Saint-Germain were revelling in the joy of knocking holders Bayern Munich out of the Champions League in midweek when Neymar offered more cause for celebration.
The head of Pfizer said in an interview aired Thursday that people will "likely" need a third dose of his company's Covid-19 shot within six to 12 months of vaccination, while elsewhere defending the relatively higher cost of the jab.
Relations between Taiwan and the United States are "stronger than ever", an envoy for President Joe Biden said Thursday during a visit to the democratic island as it faces increasingly hostile moves by China.
The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has come under fire again in China for removing a statement on its website about forced labour in Xinjiang without explanation. The world’s largest cotton sustainability programme, which covers 14 per cent of global cotton production, said it ceased all field-level activities in Xinjiang in October due to allegations of forced labour and human rights issues and had suspended all licensing for the region since March 2020. However, the statement was removed when foreign clothing retailers, many of them BCI members such as H&M and Nike, faced boycotts in China for avoiding cotton produced in Xinjiang in March.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The Communist Youth League and Chinese state media publicised the removal of the statement this week, and accused the BCI of being hypocritical and ungrateful. “[Your] face must hurt! BCI secretly removed a statement ‘boycotting Xinjiang cotton’,” the Communist Youth League posted on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, on Thursday. China News Service published a column that said the BCI should acknowledge it made a mistake and apologise. Headquartered in Geneva, the BCI said the statement was removed due to a cyberattack on its website and its policy remained unchanged. The Economist’s China affairs editor Gady Epstein said on Twitter on Thursday that he had asked the BCI about the statement’s disappearance and was told “they took down the statement in response to DDoS attacks and would eventually ‘repost relevant information’”. The BCI told the South China Morning Post it had no comment to make on the issue. Industry bodies in China are stepping up plans to launch a Chinese version of the BCI, which would set national standards for cotton production. Xinjiang court to hear defamation case against German researcher Adrian Zenz over forced labour claims The United Nations and human rights groups have alleged that 1 million Turkic-speaking Muslim Uygur people have been interned in re-education centres and subjected to indoctrination, torture and forced labour. Beijing has repeatedly denied the allegations and said its policies were designed to fight terrorism, alleviate poverty and raise people’s standard of living through job training. Western countries, including the US and Canada, said the treatment of the Uygurs constituted genocide and levelled sanctions against Chinese officials and entities. The US banned cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang in January. Beijing has retaliated with its sanctions of its own and propaganda campaigns to drive boycotts of international brands that do not follow its stance on Xinjiang.More from South China Morning Post:Xinjiang: will the West’s sanctions on China force the issue or unravel?Better Cotton Initiative’s fall a cautionary tale of trying to be all things to all peopleChinese branch of Better Cotton Initiative challenges headquarters and says it has found no evidence of Xinjiang forced labourXinjiang cotton: Western companies in China are between a rock and a hard placeHit by Xinjiang cotton backlash, H&M aims to ‘regain trust in China’This article Xinjiang cotton: BCI attacked for removing statement on forced labour first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was jailed for 14 months on Friday along with four other veteran democracy activists for their roles in protests that helped trigger a sweeping crackdown on dissent by China.
Roma lined up a blockbuster Europa League semi-final clash with Manchester United on Thursday after holding Ajax to a 1-1 draw to go through to the last four 3-2 on aggregate.
India's daily coronavirus caseload has doubled in 10 days, with a record 200,000 new infections logged Thursday as authorities grapple with shortages of vaccines, treatments and hospital beds.
The Israeli military said early Friday it had carried out airstrikes on military targets in the Gaza Strip after a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave hit southern Israel.
President Joe Biden on Friday receives Japan's prime minister for his first in-person summit, with the leaders expected to announce a $2 billion 5G initiative as part of a concerted US push to compete with China.
Citigroup plans to hire up to 500 people in its wealth management business in Hong Kong as it focuses on “wealth centres” in Asia under new CEO Jane Fraser and significantly revamps its consumer banking business in the region. The expansion will include more than 300 new relationship managers in the city in the next five years, as the bank aims to triple its clients and double its assets under management (AUM) in Hong Kong’s wealth business by 2025. The American bank previously said it was planning to expand its headcount across its businesses in the city by up to 1,700 people, including wealth management, as it seeks to tap increasing capital flow from mainland China and rising affluence in the Greater Bay Area.Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. “Hong Kong is a key strategic market for Citi and our Hong Kong franchise is one of the largest contributors to Citi’s revenues globally,” said Angel Ng Yin-yee, the chief executive of Citi Hong Kong and Macau. “Citi has a long history in Hong Kong and we are confident in our future here with a strategy to support and grow with our clients.” On Thursday, Citigroup said it would exit the consumer banking business in 13 markets internationally and focus on wealth centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The revamp of its consumer banking business would include exits from mainland China, Malaysia, Taiwan and other markets where the bank said it lacks the scale to compete. “We will invest to grow the integrated wealth, payments and consumer lending businesses in our Hong Kong and Singapore hubs, which provide comprehensive solutions for customers with global needs and aspirations,” said Citi’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Babej. “Asia is critical to our firm’s global ambitions, and we will allocate resources to drive profitable growth for our franchise.” Citi’s global consumer banking revenue declined by 14 per cent to US$7 billion in the first quarter, including a 9 per cent drop in revenue in its Asia operations. The revenue decline in Asia was driven by lower cards revenue and lower deposit spreads, partially offset by strong investments revenue and deposit growth, the bank said. Citi’s wealth expansion comes as other banks are bulking up their operations in the region as China further opens its financial markets to foreign money and more funds are expected to flow from the mainland’s wealthy into Hong Kong as part of the upcoming Wealth Connect scheme. In February, HSBC said it plans to invest US$3.5 billion and hire more than 5,000 people in its wealth management business in Asia over the next five years as it targets high net worth and ultra high net worth clients. Credit Suisse, another rival, plans to triple its headcount in China over the next three years. “We are already a market leader in wealth in Hong Kong and taking this business to the next level is a strategic priority,” Lawrence Lam, CEO and consumer business manager for Citibank Hong Kong. More from South China Morning Post:HSBC says four senior bankers to relocate to Hong Kong as it extends pivot to AsiaCitigroup to hire up to 1,700 people as it expands operations in Hong Kong with an eye on Greater Bay Area opportunitiesWellington Management plans Asia expansion targeting growing wealth in China and wider regionFTSE Russell moves forward with inclusion of Chinese government debt in flagship index as world’s second-largest bond market opens to foreignersHSBC to hire 5,000 wealth planners as it increases investment, emphasis on Asia’s richThis article Citigroup to hire up to 500 people for Hong Kong wealth management as it trims consumer banking in 13 Europe, Asia markets first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
