BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Finance ministers from smaller European Union states on Tuesday opposed a plan to limit governments’ power to block EU reforms on tax matters, in a move that further reduces the chances of introducing an EU levy on large digital firms. EU countries with smaller populations have for years blocked efforts to narrow […]
TOKYO — For decades, a prized, 400-year-old Japanese bonsai tree has been shaped, watered and cared for with all of the precision needed for a priceless piece of art. In the wrong hands, it could die within a week. The tree, a 33-inch-tall Shimpaku, was among seven trees stolen from the garden of Seiji Iimura, […]
Thailand’s Election Commission has dropped Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s elder sister, from a list of nominees for prime minister for next month’s election. The fate of the Thai Raksa Chart Party, which tried to nominate the 67-year-old Princess as its candidate for prime minister, is also uncertain. The party is linked to fugitive […]
SINGAPORE – Mikhy Farrera Brochez, the American who allegedly leaked information from Singapore’s HIV Registry, was not charged under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) back in 2016, as he was already facing other charges that carried heavier penalties. This was revealed by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 12). Brochez and […]
KABUL (AFP) – An Afghan mujahideen commander who fought the Soviets and rose to become the country’s first president after the Red Army retreated has died aged 93, his family said on Tuesday (Feb 12). Mr Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, who commanded a mujahideen faction during the decade-long insurgency against the Soviet occupiers, passed away late on […]
TRUMP & XI TO MEET? Is a deal to end the months-long trade war between the US and China in line of sight? The possibility is stirring hopes after unconfirmed reports that US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are planning a meeting. Two venues are apparently in the reckoning: the island […]
CHENNAI, INDIA (REUTERS) – Camps to protect children from human traffickers have been set up for the first time at the world’s biggest religious festival, the Kumbh Mela in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state. During the event, as many as 150 million people are expected to visit the festival city of Prayagraj to bathe at […]
NEW DELHI — An enormous blaze broke out at a fully occupied hotel in central New Delhi on Tuesday morning, killing at least 17 people, officials said. The fire started before dawn, around 4 a.m., and investigators were uncertain about the cause. As flames curled off the roof of the five-story hotel, lighting up the […]
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s economic growth of 2.3 percent in 2018 was largely boosted by one-off factors and is not sustainable, the economy ministry said on Tuesday, predicting the pace would slow to 1.3 percent in 2019. The ministry also said in a monthly report that it expected annual consumer inflation to pick up to […]
SEOUL (AFP) – South Korea has picked its capital Seoul for its bid for the 2032 summer Olympics, which it aims to jointly host with North Korea. The Koreas will officially inform the International Olympic Committee of their decision to bid at an event in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday (Jan 15). North Korea is expected […]