SHAH ALAM – Malaysian Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali once again denied allegations that he had a homosexual affair with a government official, attacking Mr Haziq Aziz’s credibility while saying he hardly knew his accuser. “I know him from afar. He is a party member,” he told reporters after a Hari Raya event hosted by […]
BERLIN (Reuters) – The outlook for Europe’s biggest economy is subdued for the second quarter due to headwinds from global trade conflicts that are weighing on the export-dependent industrial sector, Germany’s Economy Ministry said on Thursday. Fears are mounting that German growth will slow or even stall in the second quarter. The economy grew 0.4 […]
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday Beijing will not yield to any “maximum pressure” from Washington, and any attempt by the United States to force China into accepting a trade deal will fail. China will not make concessions on matters of principle, ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters at a regular briefing. […]
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – UBS Group AG has apologised for comments from its global chief economist published on Wednesday (June 12) that made reference to a “Chinese pig” and drew criticism on social media as well as from a state-run newspaper. The Zurich-based bank said the remarks in Paul Donovan’s UBS Morning Audio Comment, were […]
TOKYO (AFP) – People in Japan operating drones under the influence could face up to a year in prison under new laws passed on Thursday (June 13) that aim to control the increasingly popular devices. Drunkenly flying a drone weighing more than 200 grams could also result in a fine of up to 300,000 yen […]
SHANGHAI (REUTERS) – China’s Environment Ministry has summoned the mayors of six northern Chinese cities to a meeting in Beijing to account for their failures to meet winter targets to cut smog, it said in a notice on Thursday (June 13). Average air quality worsened significantly in much of northern China over the winter compliance […]
TAIPEI (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday (June 13) won the ruling party’s hotly contested nomination for the 2020 presidential election, domestic media said, in a boost to her administration. Tsai beat her former premier, William Lai Ching-te, in a national tally for the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primary race, several […]
WELLINGTON (REUTERS) – Suspected white supremacist Brenton Tarrant is expected to enter pleas, and will face a new terrorism charge, when he appears in court on Friday (June 14) over the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch. In an attack on March 15 that was broadcast live on Facebook, a lone gunman armed with […]
The High Court rejected a bid by the Central Provident Fund Board to recover nearly $417,000 in alleged arrears of CPF contributions over 85 months for a gym instructor who worked at the now-defunct Jurong Country Club (JCC). The decision yesterday hinged on the court’s conclusion that Mr Mohamed Yusoff Hashim was not an employee […]
Grab Singapore said yesterday it takes data protection and users’ privacy very seriously, pointing to steps taken after it detected the unauthorised disclosures by its ride-hailing firm GrabCar on Dec 17, 2017. On Tuesday, GrabCar was fined $16,000 for the unauthorised disclosure of the names and mobile numbers of 120,747 customers in marketing e-mails. Mr […]