HANOI • A Vietnam court last Friday ordered ride-hailing app Grab to pay a cab company more than US$200,000 (S$273,000) for losses incurred due to competition – a judgment blasted by the firm as “a giant step backwards” for the country’s tech community. The Singapore-based app, which launched in Vietnam in 2013, has been embroiled […]
Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Monday, Dec 31. Pacific Rim trade deal enters into force with steep tariff cuts for six nations including Singapore, Australia, Japan The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect on Dec 30, 2018. PHOTO: EPA-EFE Consumers will also stand to gain […]
Jay Jay the Journalist was written in prison by Wa Lone, one of two Reuters reporters arrested in Myanmar a year ago. The mood in the village was tense. The locals’ animals were dropping dead and their paddy fields were being wiped out. With their livelihoods at risk, the panicking villagers sought help in prayers, […]
In small villages along the eastern coast of Bangladesh, researchers have noticed an unexpectedly high rate of miscarriage. As they investigated further, scientists reached the conclusion that climate change might be to blame. Journalist Susannah Savage went into these communities to find out more. “Girls are better than boys,” says 30-year-old Al-Munnahar. “Boys do not […]
DHAKA (REUTERS) – Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling party took a big lead over the opposition in a national election on Sunday (Dec 30), early results and trends showed, in a poll that was marred by allegations of vote rigging and violence that killed 17 people. A third straight term for Hasina’s Awami League […]
TOKYO – A landmark 11-nation Pacific Rim trade deal entered into force on Sunday (Dec 30) after years of bumpy talks, bringing steep tariff cuts to the first six countries that ratified the pact, including Japan and Singapore. Consumers will also stand to gain from the deal known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for […]
MANILA (XINHUA) – At least 22 people have died and a number are missing after torrential rain triggered landslides and flash flooding in some regions in the Philippines, disaster officials and police said on Sunday (Dec 30). The deaths were mostly due to landslides and drowning in the Bicol region and Eastern Visayas in the […]
New research using ancient DNA is rewriting prehistory in India – and disproves notions of deep-rooted ancestry linked to Hindu nationalism, writes Tony Joseph. Who are the Indians? And where did they come from? In the last few years, the debate over these questions has become more and more heated. Hindu right-wingers believe the source […]
KABUL (AFP) – After a year of record bloodshed, Afghans are bracing for an even deadlier 2019 with the threat of a US drawdown and a looming presidential vote likely to fuel violence. President Donald Trump’s plan to slash the number of US soldiers in Afghanistan before negotiators have struck a peace deal with the […]
Bangladesh has mounted a series of high-profile raids on Islamist militant hideouts in recent days after the country was stung by a wave of suicide blasts. Many had thought the militants were on the back foot after a security crackdown – so who’s got the upper hand? Early last week, army commandos killed four suspects […]