SINGAPORE – Four separate fires in March and April at a condominium development in Hougang have been linked to the built-in refrigerators in the homes of residents there. Some 1,377 units of these Electrolux refrigerators were installed in Riversails Condominium, where the fires occurred. The fridges will be removed from the other residents’ homes as […]
YANGON (AFP) – Protesters marched through downtown Yangon on Friday (April 23) to demand that regional leaders “stand with Myanmar people”, ahead of a weekend Asean summit attended by junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. The country has been in turmoil since Feb 1, when the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a […]
SINGAPORE – A 32-year-old McDonald’s outlet in Ridout Tea Garden will be closing its doors in December. A spokesman for the American fast food chain told The Straits Times on Friday (April 23) that the outlet will cease operations upon the expiry of its lease. The Ridout Tea Garden outlet is among the oldest operational […]
JAKARTA (REUTERS) – Indonesia will stop issuing visas for foreigners who have been in India in the past 14 days to prevent the spread of different coronavirus strains, its Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said on Friday (April 23). India is facing a health crisis, including the impact of a“double mutant” strain of Covid-19, […]
SINGAPORE – Education Minister Lawrence Wong will helm the Ministry of Finance, in the latest Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday (April 23) that will take effect from May 15. Replacing him at the Education Ministry will be Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, who in turn will relinquish […]
SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – For the reshuffle of Cabinet ministers and Blue House staff announced last week, President Moon Jae-in made more reasonable choices than at any other time in his entire tenure. Notable was the appointment of Lee Chul-hee as the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, a post responsible for […]
NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – It’s been more than two months since Myanmar’s military staged a coup, but the country’s pro-democracy envoy to the United Nations continues to arrive daily to his office, where he lobbies ambassadors and UN officials to help reverse the takeover. There’s only one problem: Since giving a dramatic speech in February […]
TOKYO (Reuters) – Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s plan to boost the minimum wage is facing stiff opposition from Japan’s small and midsize firms, worried about their survival during COVID-19, and from lawmakers in his own ruling party amid concerns of a political backlash.FILE PHOTO: People wear protective masks in a shopping district amid the coronavirus […]
JAKARTA (REUTERS) – Indonesia has sentenced to death six prisoners for their involvement in a deadly 2018 riot and hostage crisis at a maximum security jail, a court official said on Thursday (April 22), an incident described by security officials at the time as “an act of terror”. The riot at the Mako Brimob detention […]
SEOUL (AFP) – The jailed de facto leader of the giant Samsung group went on trial Thursday (April 22) over an allegedly manipulated takeover in proceedings that effectively put South Korea’s system of conglomerate control in the dock. Samsung – whose flagship subsidiary is among the world’s biggest smartphone and computer chip makers – is […]