China has reported no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases for the first time since the pandemic began, marking a major turning point in the global battle to contain Covid-19. At a news conference on Thursday morning, officials from China’s National Health Commission announced there had been just 34 new cases in the past 24 hours — all imported from overseas — and eight new deaths, all in Hubei, the province where the virus was first identified. There were no new reported cases in Hubei at all on Wednesday. The milestone will likely be held up as proof of the ongoing success of China’s sweeping, top-down efforts to control the virus, despite persistent allegations that local officials mishandled the initial outbreak. Just last month, mainland China was reporting thousands of new cases every day, and was considered the most high-risk infection area in the world. In the weeks following the early…

United Overseas Bank and Prudential Singapore launched a financial solution for women in Singapore that combines a savings account with complementary medical insurance for six female-related cancers. United Overseas Bank (UOB) designed a solution for women who may not be placing enough emphasis on their own financial and health needs such as the 37 percent who put the needs of their loved ones before themselves, according to a 2017 survey by UOB and Prudential Singapore. Among married women, this figure went up to 52 percent. The survey also found that close to one in two women (45 percent) say they want a savings account that comes with free critical illness protection. To help women protect their wealth and health, UOB and Prudential Singapore have worked in partnership to offer women a dedicated savings account that comes with free coverage for six female-related cancers. The coverage amount is based on their…

South Korea’s first feminist party has vowed to push for equal pay and tougher laws to end widespread voyeurism against women as it gears up to contest an upcoming election. Due to be launched on March 8 – International Women’s Day – the Women’s Party has signed up over 8,000 members, founded as a growing feminism movement has started to emerge in the socially conservative Asian nation. It is hoping to win four of 300 parliamentary seats up for grabs in an April 15 poll although political analysts said it would be a challenge for the fledgling party. “Women’s [issues] have been marginalized by other parties and we want to put them at the forefront,” Kim Eun-ju, a veteran women’s rights activist and one of the party’s founders, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation ahead of the launch. “We want to highlight the seriousness of discrimination, violence and inequality against women.”…

In efforts to tap into the full potential of women entrepreneurs, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is set to organize for the first time a trade promotion delegation exclusively composed of female entrepreneurs this year. The delegation is scheduled to visit Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia as part of TAITRA’s efforts to help women better explore foreign markets and gain a greater role in Taiwan’s foreign trade in line with the government’s policy and a World Trade Organization (WTO) declaration, TAITRA said. The three countries are covered by the government’s New Southbound Policy, which has been broached by the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen after she assumed office in May 2016, to boost two-way trade and investment with countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand. The reason why these countries were selected is simply because there have been relatively few promotions targeting them,…