SINGAPORE – In the 2020 General Election, the call to deny the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) a “blank cheque” resonated with the electorate, who voted to increase the number of opposition MPs in Parliament. The phrase came from then Workers’ Party candidate Jamus Lim, who in a televised debate with Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, […]
TAIPEI (THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION) – When Typhoon Morakot hit indigenous villages in Taiwan’s mountains 11 years ago, former army officer Chen Cheng-nan was stunned at the devastation. “The mountain forest landscape changed overnight. In a blink of an eye, the forested river valleys went bare. It was a terrible sight. The dike broke and Qishan […]
SINGAPORE – Questions of law emerged in relation to the lawsuit filed against Workers’ Party (WP) MPs Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh and others following the redrawing of boundaries for the general election in July. Punggol East, a single-member constituency (SMC) under WP from 2013 to 2015 following a by-election, is a party in the […]
SINGAPORE – Two hotels at Resorts World Sentosa will not be allowed to accept new bookings for a month for failing to follow safe distancing measures. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a statement on Monday (Dec 21) that the suspension for Beach Villas and Equarius Hotel will begin on Tuesday and last till Jan […]
SINGAPORE – Despite the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the Orchard Road Christmas light-up remains a bright spot in Singapore. It went ahead as planned, with retail experts saying it would give the shopping belt a boost. But some, like Ms Esther Ho, director of Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management, noted that unlike […]
China’s fight against the coronavirus was mostly over, but Zhang Xiaochun, a doctor in Wuhan, was sinking into depression, convinced she had failed as a daughter and mother. She agonized over her decision to keep working even after her father fell critically ill. She worried about her young daughter, whom she had frequently left alone […]
SINGAPORE – The Robinsons’ department store in Raffles City will stay open throughout the Christmas and New Year period next year although it has yet to officially announce its last day. Meanwhile, it is giving bigger discounts this week for items in the cosmetics, toiletries, toys and electrical goods sections. Robinsons’ liquidators KordaMentha said on […]
SINGAPORE – Seven in 10 employers intend to hire workers with broader skill sets in the future, a recent survey showed. Results from the NTUC LearningHub’s survey were published on Monday (Dec 21) as part of a report which noted that almost all employers agreed there that there was a greater need for employees able […]
MANILA – Just days before Christmas, Filipinos woke up on Monday morning (Dec 21) to a harrowing five-minute video of an off-duty police officer shooting point blank at a neighbour and her son in broad daylight over some disputes in front of a small crowd. The incident was shocking and disturbing for its portrayal of brazen […]
MANILA (AFP) – Manila teenager Rose Alvarez was 13 when she started having sex with a man who was more than twice her age. That would be statutory rape in most countries, but not in the Philippines. The Catholic-majority country has one of the lowest ages of consent in the world, allowing adults to legally […]