NEW DELHI (REUTERS) – India has detected a new “double mutant variant” of the coronavirus, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday (March 24), adding to concern as the government struggles with the highest single-day tally of new infections and deaths this year. Genome sequencing and analysis of samples from Maharashtra state found mutations in the […]
SINGAPORE – As a commerce undergraduate in 1973 at Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) predecessor Nanyang University, a 21-year-old Indonesian received a scholarship from the school. Fast forward 48 years and the businessman and philanthropist Tahir, who goes by one name, has decided to pay it back by donating $1 million to support needy NTU students […]
SINGAPORE – While Singaporeans have a high level of confidence in state institutions and the Government, younger and locally born citizens are less likely to feel this way, a study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Social Lab has found. Almost two-thirds are also uninterested in politics, the researchers learnt in examining Singaporean’s attitudes […]
BEIJING (REUTERS) – Shoppers in a district of Beijing are getting discount coupons if they have received Covid-19 vaccinations, as China tries to accelerate its vaccination rate. The Daxing district, with a population of about 1.8 million, started handing out the coupons on Wednesday (March 24) to people who have received two doses of a […]
YANGON (REUTERS) – Myanmar activists plan more anti-coup protests on Wednesday (March 24), including a silent strike with many businesses due to close and calls for people to stay home, a day after a seven-year-old girl was killed in her home when security forces opened fire during a crackdown in Mandalay. Pro-democracy protesters also held […]
SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) on Wednesday (March 24) announced that it has appointed Mr Colin Low as the new chief executive of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). The appointment will be effective April 12, 2021. He succeeds Mr Tan Boon Khai, who was appointed chief executive of JTC Corporation on Sept 1 last […]
SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea slammed European Union human rights sanctions imposed against its senior officials this week as a “despicable political provocation” and the result of “a psychotic way of thinking”. The 27-member EU Council said Monday (March 22) it will slap sanctions on a dozen individuals and four entities in six countries – […]
CANBERRA (REUTERS) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly apologised for raising an unsubstantiated allegation of harassment at a media company as he defended his handling of a scandal over the treatment of women in politics and his party. At a media conference on Tuesday, Morrison had said he would drive cultural change amid mounting […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – An early spring in Japan is drawing cherry blossom fans to Tokyo’s parks but the government has urged people to limit traditional festivities to prevent a resurgence of Covid-19 infections. The flowers known as sakura were in full bloom on Tuesday (March 23), almost two weeks earlier than usual. The tradition of […]
SINGAPORE – Mr Mah Yook Loong, 74, put off seeing a doctor for two months in 2019, preferring instead to endure excruciating pain down his spine. He slept while seated as the pain prevented him from lying down. “My father said if his time was up he did not want to go for any treatment, […]