Indonesia takes part in late-stage China vaccine trial

13 Sept 13:34 Key points summarised by AI

Indonesia commenced a late-stage (Phase 3) clinical trial for Sinovac BioTech's potential COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac, involving 1,620 volunteers.
President Joko Widodo expressed hopes for vaccine production by January if trials are successful, with state-owned Bio Farma expanding its capacity to 250 million doses annually.
Volunteers receive either the experimental inactivated vaccine or a placebo, with results anticipated in seven months, as Indonesia faces one of the region's highest COVID-19 caseloads.

Suchada: Meet the reluctant star of Thailand’s cryptic crypto drama

Yesterday 15:38 Key points summarised by AI

Thai MP Suchada Zhang Thaensap faces intense scrutiny over her husband’s substantial 1.84 billion baht wealth, with opposition lawmakers alleging connections to international scam networks.
A significant portion of her husband, Taiyang Zhang's, declared assets includes a 1.44 billion baht loan to the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which still owes him 1.34 billion baht.
Opposition MP Rangsiman Rome accused Suchada's husband of links to online scam networks and gambling sites, prompting Suchada to vehemently deny the claims, demand evidence, and file a defamation complaint.
Taiyang Zhang's background includes co-founding Ren Protocol, later sold to Alameda Research (linked to the FTX collapse), and some of his former associates have been convicted in crypto company failures.
Suchada, a former actress and first-time MP, maintains her husband's innocence, while her party leaders have distanced themselves from the allegations, deeming it a private matter.