When a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, hundreds of children were separated from their parents. More than 2,000 people died, with large areas being declared mass graves. But in recent weeks there have also been some extraordinary reunions. Fikri and Jumadil go missing Martha Salilama had left the stove on. […]
SUBANG JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman has warned that an attack at One City Mall, just a day after a violent riot outside a temple in Petaling Jaya, was going too far. “I am very disappointed. Let the police do their job. Things will get even […]
SUBANG JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – The chief priest of Sri Maha Mariamman temple said the storming of the temple “felt like a scene out of a Tamil movie”. Dr Jeyakumar Subramaniam claimed that he and other senior temple leaders were held down by masked assailants with knives to their necks. “We were told […]
JINCHENG, CHINA (REUTERS) – Residents in the rugged, over-mined city of Jincheng in northern China’s coal heartland have been breathing a little easier after campaigns to reduce pollution forced dozens of collieries and chemical plants to close. “Everything was covered in dust, and it’s cleaner now,” said Mr Zhang Haibin, a 44-year-old farmer living in […]
The global cost of treating diabetes is set to double to US$2.12 trillion (S$2.91 trillion) by 2030 compared with that in 2015. Proportionally, the figures represent 1.8 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product. The projection was cited by Dr Enis Baris, the World Bank’s practice manager for East Asia and the Pacific region, […]
LONDON (Reuters) – European shares closed higher on Monday after new-found optimism on Italy’s budget tug-of-war with Brussels lifted shares in Milan while speculation about further mergers and acquisitions in telecoms boosted stocks in the sector. A strong open on Wall Street amid expectations of blockbuster sales on the largest online shopping day of the […]
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Bank of Israel, in a surprise move, raised short-term interest rates for the first time in more than seven years on Monday, and indicated that its monetary tightening path will be slow and steady. Led by acting governor Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg, the monetary policy committee (MPC) decided to raise the benchmark interest […]
SINGAPORE – More than $2 million has been raised this year for two funds to help children. This brings the total amount raised over the years for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund to more than $18 million. At the annual ChildAid charity concert on Monday night […]
Taiwan is often hit by earthquakes, but over the weekend it was shaken by a political one. In a series of local elections, the ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which came to power in 2016 in a landslide victory, lost more than half the cities and counties it held and is left with only […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – A group of South Korean lawmakers landed on an islet disputed with Japan in the East China Sea on Monday (Nov 26), prompting a protest from Tokyo and straining ties at a time when stalled talks over North Korea’s nuclear programme call for close coordination. Tokyo and Seoul have long been at […]