Business

US biotech firm Moderna has developed an experimental coronavirus vaccine (mRNA-1273) in just six weeks. The first vaccine batch has been sent to NIAID for Phase 1 clinical trials, which could begin in April. Researchers will test two doses on 25 healthy adults to assess immune response, with a potential approval timeline of one year.

Walt Disney Co. announced CEO Bob Iger's departure after 15 years, with longtime company insider Bob Chapek elected as his successor. Iger will remain executive chairman, guiding creative strategy until December 2021, having transformed Disney through major acquisitions like Marvel, Star Wars, and 21st Century Fox.

Norwegian energy company Equinor has cancelled its plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight after determining the project was not economically competitive. Despite receiving environmental approval in December, the company concluded that the exploration costs were prohibitively expensive compared to potential returns.

South Korea sees a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases from 31 to 833, raising national virus alert and bracing for economic fallout due to disrupted trade and reduced domestic consumption.

Japanese automaker Honda will close its Laguna manufacturing plant by March, affecting nearly 400 Filipino workers. The company plans to continue sales and service operations while reorganizing regional production resources more efficiently.

Japanese automakers have established a task force to mitigate coronavirus impacts on the automotive industry. The New Coronavirus Countermeasures Automobile Council will gather information, provide policy support, and ensure smooth component flow amid plant closures and economic disruption.

Indonesia's central bank reduces rates by 25 basis points to 4.75% to counter potential economic disruption from COVID-19, addressing concerns about production shortages and reduced tourism despite no confirmed virus cases.

A Japanese educational institution's former leaders, Yasunori and Junko Kagoike, were found guilty of defrauding national and local governments by falsely claiming public subsidies and inflating institutional statistics to secure fraudulent grants.

Fugitive financier Jho Low was reportedly seen in Wuhan, China, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Malaysian police are seeking his return after he allegedly siphoned billions from the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Authorities are monitoring international airports for his potential return.

[A US federal court rejected Huawei's constitutional challenge to a law preventing government agencies from purchasing its technology. The ruling affirms Washington's authority to ban Huawei and ZTE equipment from federal procurement, citing national security concerns.]