Wednesday, 13 Nov 2024

Asia

Asia News – Get latest breaking news & top stories today in Asia, South-East Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Australia/New Zealand at…

Jump in Covid-19 infections dampen hopes of tourism operators for Bali's reopening

JAKARTA – Bali resident I Ketut Sudiarsa and his wife and son have been busy cleaning his six-room homestay accommodation, in anticipation of the reopening of Indonesia premier’s tourist hotspot. Situated in Ubud, a popular tourist area, the new homestay had welcomed a number of foreign guests for just two months when Covid-19 struck the […]

Australia's New South Wales reports 29 Covid-19 cases as exposures spread

MELBOURNE (REUTERS) – Australia’s state of New South Wales reported on Saturday (June 26) 29 locally acquired Covid-19 cases as a list of exposure sites grew and a week-long partial lockdown in Sydney began. Saturday’s data includes 17 infections in the country’s most populous state that were already announced on Friday, taking the number of […]

Perks for those who get jabs may nudge the undecided

SINGAPORE – As Singapore accelerates its vaccination drive, more perks are being dangled for people who get vaccinated, a move that could persuade the undecided to take the jab. The lure of easier travel, for instance, was a factor in spurring Ms Eliza Xue to change her mind about not getting shots for herself and […]

Should online 'safe spaces' that discuss race be more open or more closed?

SINGAPORE – How should society approach social media channels that serve as discursive “safe spaces” for minorities to talk about race but also have the potential to divide? This was a question that academics tackled at a forum on race and racism on Friday (June 25), as some called for more involvement of other groups in such […]

Long queues for durian outside Bedok Sheng Siong again before an early sell-out

SINGAPORE – Long queues formed outside the Sheng Siong branch in Bedok Central on Thursday (June 24) and Friday as the durian season kicked off in full force. When The Straits Times visited Sheng Siong’s Bedok Central branch at 4pm on Friday, many of those in the queue said they were looking forward to tucking into […]

Malaysia's attorney general says Cabinet, not King, decides when Parliament will sit

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s attorney-general on Friday (June 25) waded into a raging debate over whether the country’s constitutional monarch has the right to call for Parliament to convene, saying that the King can only act on advice from the Cabinet. The remarks by Attorney-General Idrus Harun was made on the same day that, in […]