Day: May 20, 2022

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Malaysia Reports 2,124 New COVID-19 Infections, Three New Deaths

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (NNN-BERNAMA) – Malaysia recorded 2,124 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight, bringing the total tally to 4,485,419, according to the health ministry.

They included one new imported case and 2,123 local transmissions, data released on the ministry’s website showed.

Three more deaths have been reported from the pandemic, bringing the death toll to 35,633.

The ministry reported 2,303 new recoveries from COVID-19, bringing the total number of patients cured and discharged to 4,419,997.

Currently there are 29,789 active cases recorded in the country, with 35 of them held in intensive care and 22 in need of assisted breathing.

The country reported that 12,667 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered yesterday, and 85.5 percent of the population have received at least one dose, 82.6 percent are fully vaccinated and 49.2 percent have received booster jabs.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Uzbekistan To Ease Tariff Policy For Energy Sector Reform

TASHKENT, May 20 (NNN-XINHUA) – Uzbekistan will introduce a monthly “social norm” – a limit for state-subsidised gas and electricity, as part of a broader energy reform the country is facing, the government said yesterday.

The country’s market needs phased reform, to attract private investment and increase capacity to meet rising energy demand, said a joint statement of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy, and Ministry of Economic Development.

Consumers who used gas and electricity beyond the monthly social norm will have to pay extra money, in accordance with the rate based on free market price, it said.

“The growing demand is satisfied by increasing the volume of natural gas purchased at free prices on the market. As a result, it also increases the amount of direct and indirect costs to maintain the current level of subsidised (or below the actual cost) natural gas tariffs, at the expense of the state budget,” the statement said.

It added, the nation of 35 million people, needs to attract private investments to create new energy capacities, and reform the energy market to make it more attractive.

The statement said, the government will soon draft a law on the social norm for electricity and gas, which will envisage protection of the vulnerable part of the population.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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PHILIPPINES RECEIVES DONATIONS FROM SAUDI ARABIA FOR HEALTH FACILITIES, COVID RESPONSE

PASAY CITY – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) facilitated the official turnover of two sets of donations, cash and in-kind, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KS Relief), to the Philippines, through the Department of Health (DOH), on 19 May 2022. The donation is part of the Kingdom’s commitment in securing and distributing aid to the victims of the Marawi siege, as well as in working with PH in responding against COVID-19.

The cash donation amounting to USD 1.5 million cash donation aims to support the development of health facilities in Marawi City, Province of Lanao del Sur, in particular the installation of medical equipment and training of medical personnel.

The in-kind donation worth USD 1.7 million in the form of medical and personal protective equipment such as surgical sterile gowns, non-sterile surgical gowns, KN95 masks, surgical masks, and nitrile gloves, in addition to 53 ventilators, which arrived a few weeks ago and have been partially distributed to their identified recipients, aims to support the response measures of the Philippine Government against COVID-19.

In turn, the DOH awarded a certificate of appreciation to the Saudi Embassy in Manila and the KS Relief for their general contributions for the improvement of COVID-19 response operations and emerging infectious diseases testing capacity of the Philippine Government.

The event was attended by Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs Lourdes O. Yparraguirre, Saudi Ambassador Hisham S.A. Alqahtani, Health Undersecretary Leopoldo J. Vega, DFA Assistant Secretary for Middle East and African Affairs Alfonso A. Ver, Health Assistant Secretary Romeo Ong, and KS Relief Director Dr. Abdullah Saleh M. Almoallem. It was also attended by Dr. Shalimar S. Rakiin, Chief of the Amai Pakpak Medical Center, which is one of the beneficiaries of the donation. Representatives from the DFA, the DOH, and the Saudi Embassy were likewise in attendance.

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

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PH AMBASSADOR TO TEL AVIV, SAINT LUKE’S MEDICAL CENTER DELEGATION DISCUSS MEDICAL, HEALTH SCIENCES INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

TEL AVIV 20 May 2022 – Philippine Ambassador to Israel Macairog S. Alberto received a delegation from Saint Luke’s Medical Center (SMLC) on 17 May 2022 visiting Israel for the BioMed Israel 2022 Exhibition.

SMLC President and CEO Dr. Arturo S. de la Peña shared that his team visited Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) and Sheba Medical Center to discuss possible institutional linkages, training opportunities, and exchange of visits by medical personnel. The SLMC team is also in town to connect with Israeli start up companies with expertise in telemedicine, with a view to sharing and tailoring the novel technology to benefit Filipino patients.

Ambassador Alberto apprised the SLMC team of the robust cooperation between the Philippine and Israel in the field of health, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, where Israel sent two medical teams to assist in strengthening the Philippines’ capabilities in pandemic response and management.

Ambassador Alberto also emphasized the need for the Philippines to transition from a traditional importer/end user to an actual producer of medical products and technologies, as this arrangement creates more jobs for our kababayans and also helps our local economy. The Ambassador thus gave assurance of the Embassy’s continued support for Filipino firms and government investment promotion agencies (e.g. PEZA) working to bring in impactful Israeli investments to the Philippines, particularly in the field of medical and health sciences.

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

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PHILIPPINES REINFORCES STRONG DEFENSE TIES WITH BRUNEI

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Philippines-Brunei bilateral relations received a boost with the three-day official visit to the Sultanate of Philippine National Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana on 16-18 May 2022. The visit sought to reaffirm and move forward bilateral defense relations with Brunei Darussalam.

Secretary Lorenzana was accompanied by Philippine Ambassador-designate to Brunei Darussalam Marian Jocelyn R. Tirol-Ignacio during his call with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

During the call, the Philippines extended its appreciation to His Majesty for the active involvement of Brunei Darussalam in the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and the International Decommissioning Body (IDB) in the Philippines and apprised His Majesty of the gains achieved by the Philippines in the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in 2019.

Secretary Lorenzana also met with Minister of Defence II Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof. Both sides identified key initiatives for bolstering the close defense relations between the Philippines and Brunei, and discussed current initiatives in ASEAN to forward the regional security agenda with a focus on natural disaster response and post-pandemic recovery.

Source: Republic of Philippines Department Of Foreign Affairs

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Brunei’s Total Trade Rises 92.8 Percent In Jan

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 20 (NNN-ANN) – Brunei recorded 2,607.8 million Brunei dollars (1,890.3 million U.S. dollars) of total trade for Jan, 2022, a 92.8 percent year-on-year increase.

The latest statistics, released yesterday by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, showed that, Brunei’s exports increased by 128.9 percent year-on-year to 1,487.7 million Brunei dollars, mainly due to growth in mineral fuel exports.

Mineral fuels recorded the highest contribution to total exports (72.1 percent) with a value of 1,072 million Brunei dollars.

Imports increased by 59.4 percent year-on-year to 1,120.1 million Brunei dollars for Jan, 2022.

The highest share of exports went to Japan with 24.7 percent, followed by China at 21.8 percent and Singapore at 10.2 percent. The largest export commodity to Japan was mineral fuels, while that to China was chemicals.

Brunei’s imports from Russia accounted for the highest share of 39 percent in Jan, 2022, followed by Norway at 10.8 percent and Papua New Guinea at 10.7 percent. (1 Brunei dollar equals about 0.72 U.S. dollars)

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK