NEW DELHI — The Indian government was accused on Thursday of covering up an alarming jobs report that apparently shows the country’s unemployment rate at a 45-year high. Two economic advisers to the government resigned this week in what was widely viewed as a protest against the country’s leaders, who appeared to be withholding the […]

They are mostly construction workers by day. But what do they do on their days off? One volunteers at the non-profit Healthserve, which provides medical care and aid for migrant workers like himself. Another exercises his passion for photography and a third writes poetry and short stories. Yet another, inspired by the good education system […]

SINGAPORE – Insurance companies in Singapore have promised not to use any of the leaked HIV information “for any purpose whatsoever”. The Life Insurance Association issued a statement on Friday (Feb 1) assuring policyholders that insurers will not seek any of the leaked data, meaning that people on the HIV Registry need not fear that […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Emerging market assets further extended their inflated January gains on Thursday to close a stellar month a day after the Federal Reserve all but ended its monetary policy tightening cycle. Emerging market stocks, up almost 9 percent this month, closed above their 200-day moving average for the first time since May. […]

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — When New Zealand’s housing crisis became so bad that one study found only Hong Kong less affordable, the country’s prime minister came up with a solution: An ambitious plan to prompt the construction of 100,000 new homes over the next decade to help ease prices. But on Wednesday, the government of […]

Tourists woke up to find van partially submerged in crocodile-infested floodwater. Three British backpackers had to be rescued on Tuesday morning, after they woke up to find crocodile-infested floodwater had partially submerged their campervan. The van was parked in a picnic area in Queensland, just south of Cairns, that had been dry when they went […]

SINGAPORE – Going digital is an endeavour that all businesses must undertake, no matter how small or big they are, Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran said on Friday (Feb 1). The question for businesses today is no longer one of whether they should go digital, but “when and how”, he added. “It’s not just […]

JAKARTA (REUTERS) – Facebook Inc has removed hundreds of Indonesian accounts, pages and groups from its social network after discovering they were linked to an online group accused of spreading hate speech and fake news. Indonesian police uncovered the existence of the group, called Saracen, in 2016 and arrested three of its members on suspicion […]

JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Recent stories circulating on social media claiming Johor Princess Tunku Tun Aminah Sultan Ibrahim’s marriage was on the rocks has been described as “malicious and untrue”. The Johor royal family was upset that irresponsible parties were spreading baseless tales about their personal lives. In a statement, Tunku Aminah […]

China accuses US politicians of meddling after nominating pro-democracy activists for a Nobel Peace Prize. Three Hong Kong activists and the pro-democracy group behind the Umbrella Movement have been nominated for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for their role in pushing for reform in the Chinese territory. Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, as […]