SINGAPORE – Chinese bicycle-sharing operator ofo has breached multiple regulatory requirements and must meet all requirements by Feb 13, failing which its licence will be suspended, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 15). An ample preparation period for compliance had been given to the company, said LTA. The statement […]
COLOMBO (REUTERS) – Sri Lanka is considering an offer from Bank of China for a loan of US$300 million (S$406 million), which could be raised to US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion), to help it meet repayments in coming months, junior finance minister Eran Wickramaratne told Reuters on Tuesday (Jan 15). He also confirmed that Sri Lanka […]
China has rejected accusations from Canada that it is arbitrarily applying a death sentence to a Canadian convicted of drug smuggling. China’s foreign ministry warned Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to “stop making such irresponsible remarks”, accusing Canada of “double standards”. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was initially given a 15-year jail term in November. But on Monday […]
KUALA LUMPUR – The postponement of Monday’s (Jan 14) bilateral meeting between Singapore and Malaysia on Johor’s most important economic zone comes at an inopportune time for the southern state where investors have been hesitant for the past year. The meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) was postponed following Johor Menteri […]
MANILA (PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Before 1998, Asian leaders would always ask: “What does Washington think?” Today, their first question is: “What does Beijing think?” Over the recent holidays, I received a number of books from friends and relatives. Gigi Abaya Carlos gifted me with two books: “Weeded,” a collection of reflections by […]
SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korea’s Kakao Mobility on Tuesday (Jan 15) said it would re-enter talks over its proposed car-sharing service with an open mind, and would even consider abandoning the idea, should taxi drivers who protested against the service return to negotiations. The transportation unit of Kakao Corp, operator of the country’s most popular […]
SINGAPORE – Young people in Singapore who get the news from social media platforms are less informed of current affairs, a recent survey by Singapore Polytechnic students has shown. The survey, conducted in June 2018 of 802 people aged between 15 and 35, showed that those who preferred social media as their choice of Internet platform for news achieved an average score […]
LONDON (Reuters) – European shares bounced on Tuesday after China signaled more stimulus measures to soften the blow from a tariff war with the United States, triggering relief in trade-sensitive tech, mining, and car stocks as some results also impressed. The pan-European STOXX 600 jumped 0.8 percent at the open but quickly trimmed gains to […]
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German economy grew by 1.5 percent in 2018, the weakest rate in five years and a clear slowdown from the previous year, a preliminary estimate from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Tuesday. Europe’s largest economy is struggling with a cooling of the global economy, trade disputes triggered by U.S. President […]
Seeds taken up to the Moon by China’s Chang’e-4 mission have sprouted, says China National Space Administration. It marks the first time any biological matter has grown on the Moon, and is being seen as a significant step towards long-term space exploration. The Chang’e 4 is the first mission to land on and explore the […]