WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate will start debating President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday after Democrats backed down from an effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 as part of it.A U.S. flag flying at half staff to remember more than […]
SINGAPORE – Coils of concertina wire have been put up to deter other trespassers near the spot where a man who climbed onto the MRT tracks last Thursday (Feb 25) was killed. The extra precaution, about 150m from Kallang MRT station, is in addition to other fences and barbed wire already in place in the […]
SINGAPORE – Singapore has played a key role in international efforts to combat Covid-19 by ensuring that there is an equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to countries big and small, said Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Parliament on Monday (March 1). This was accomplished through its role in helping to establish the Covid-19 Vaccine Global […]
SINGAPORE – Singapore is “fine-tuning” proposed laws to counter hostile information campaigns and guard against the threat of foreign interference in its domestic politics. Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo said the country is studying “legislative levers” that will allow it to obtain information to investigate if such campaigns are conducted by foreign actors […]
Hi all, In today’s bulletin: Concern grows in region over Myanmar ahead of crucial Asean meeting tomorrow; Malaysian PM Muhyiddin vows to call for elections once pandemic is in control; Start-up frenzy in India; China plans high-speed maglev train to connect Guangzhou and Hong Kong; a murder mystery at Yale, and more. Reading this on the […]
SINGAPORE – Singapore will make decisions regarding the approval of vaccines on the basis of science and healthcare needs, and will not be pressured when it comes to decisions on such matters, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Parliament on Monday (March 1). “We cannot be bought, we cannot be bullied, we cannot be intimidated into either […]
SINGAPORE – Sakura season has returned to Gardens by the Bay, and this time with the first appearance of Hello Kitty alongside peach and cherry blossoms. The iconic Japanese character appears in different settings including a hanami (flower viewing) picnic amidst spring blossoms, a nodate (an outdoor tea ceremony), and a Japanese-style landscaped garden. Quintessential […]
FILE PHOTO: Women walk past a restaurant at a shopping district in Tokyo, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Japan August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File PhotoTOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese government and ruling party officials are discussing possible additional cash payouts to low-income households to help them cope with impact of the coronavirus pandemic, two sources […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Ms Makiko Yamada, a key spokeswoman for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, will resign after she and other senior bureaucrats were reprimanded for attending expensive dinners hosted by Mr Suga’s son, the government said. Ms Yamada will tender her resignation on Monday (March 1), the Japanese government’s spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu […]
SINGAPORE – When Indonesia announced in December that employers will now have to bear the cost of placement fees for hiring foreign domestic workers, many Singaporeans baulked. The fee of up to $3,000, which covers expenses such as transportation, accommodation and medical examinations incurred in hiring new foreign domestic workers (FDWs), is too costly for […]