TOKYO – Japan’s struggle with suicide has been well-documented even as deaths due to suicide had been declining for 11 straight years until Covid-19 hit. From the country’s notorious “suicide forest” of Aokigahara – one of the world’s most-used suicide sites – to Takahiro Shiraishi, rapist and serial killer who used Twitter to lure suicidal […]
SINGAPORE – The Government is studying how to implement the progressive wage model (PWM) for the retail sector, which could see the incomes of low-wage workers in retail rise in tandem with their skills and productivity. Salespeople and cashiers in supermarkets, convenience stores and fashion outlets can benefit from this move, Senior Minister of State for […]
Temasek Foundation to give out reusable masks, hand sanitiser to S'pore residents in March and April
SINGAPORE – Each Singapore household will soon be able to collect reusable masks and an alcohol-free hand sanitiser from March and April respectively, in yet another nationwide distribution by Temasek Foundation. Some mask vending machines across the island have been restocked with a new navy-blue mask by Swiss hygiene company Livinguard, which can be collected by […]
SHANGHAI (AFP) – A man in China scaled a utility pole to do sit-ups off the top of it, stunning onlookers and causing a power cut to thousands of homes, media said Tuesday (Feb 23). The unnamed man was taken away by police following his antics on Sunday evening on the outskirts of the south-western […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – The number of marriages in Japan tumbled amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, likely adding to the wealthy nation’s low birth rate and ageing population problems. Japan last year saw 537,583 marriages, a 12.7 per cent fall from a year earlier – the biggest percentage drop since a 15.1 per cent tumble […]
SINGAPORE – Three former Shell Eastern Petroleum employees linked to a $200 million gas oil heist have been charged with bribing employees of surveying companies who inspected vessels which the oil giant supplied fuel to. Juandi Pungot, 44, Muzaffar Ali Khan Muhamad Akram, 40, and Richard Goh Chee Keong, 51, appeared before a district court […]
KARACHI, Pakistan (REUTERS) – Police in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, are deploying an armed roller-blading unit to curb theft and harassment on its teeming streets. Gliding in a circle with their weapons pointed inwards, and lifting and lowering the guns in unison, the 20-member unit clad in black undergoes rigorous training. “We felt we needed […]
SINGAPORE – The Rail Corridor that cuts through the Agri-food Innovation Park was initially meant for development, but was kept as a “green corridor” by JTC corporation and the National Parks Board (NParks). In a media briefing on Monday (Feb 22), a JTC spokesman said that the entire 25ha site at Kranji Road and Kranji […]
KUALA LUMPUR (BLOOMBERG) – Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s parent company was given the nod to implement a wide-ranging restructuring by the majority of its lessors and a UK court on Monday (Feb 22), giving a lifeline to the national flag carrier that has floundered amid a plunge in air traffic during the coronavirus pandemic. Malaysia Aviation […]
BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thailand Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday (Feb 22) gave emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine of Sinovac Biotech, paving the way for the country’s first coronavirus inoculations. The authorisation came just days before Thailand is set to receive the first 200,000 of two million doses of Sinovac’s CoronaVac, its […]