SINGAPORE – About 10 ornaments to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival were taken down on Saturday (Sept 12) night following comments from the public that they bore Chinese greetings that did not suit the occasion. The banner-like lanterns had been strung up above South Bridge Road on Sept 10, ahead of the traditional street light-up in Chinatown […]
TOKYO (AFP) – The lengthy saga of ex-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn takes a new turn next week when the auto titan-turned-fugitive’s former assistant, Greg Kelly, goes on trial in Tokyo. Ghosn’s arrest in the Japanese capital in November 2018 on allegations of financial misconduct made headlines worldwide and kicked off an astonishing fall from grace […]
JAKARTA – The Indonesian government will take drastic steps, including detaining those who refuse to practise safe distancing and wear masks, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has told The Straits Times. “We will deploy police and soldiers to enforce discipline. People must be penalised,” he said by telephone. The central government, as […]
Representatives from several countries participated in the opening ceremony of historic talks that began in Doha. Historic peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government have opened in Qatar, with the warring parties meeting face-to-face for the first time to end nearly two decades of conflict. At the opening ceremony of the talks in […]
JAKARTA – Residents of Indonesia’s capital are despondent – angry, anxious and pessimistic about the future. This follows the announcement that Jakarta will have to endure tighter restrictions again for the second time from Monday (Sept 14) as Covid-19 cases rise inexorably in the city of more 10 million. When restrictions – better known here […]
SINGAPORE – Residents in Marsiling looking for jobs can now tap a line-up of events over the next few months to help them in their job search. These events, which include virtual job fairs and walk-in interviews, is an initiative driven by Marsiling Careers, a support network run by about 10 volunteers. They will work […]
TAIPEI (REUTERS) – Taiwan will sign up to the Covax global vaccine allocation plan to ensure it will be able to access a Covid-19 vaccine when one becomes available, the island’s health minister said on Saturday (Sept 12). Chen Shih-chung told reporters in Taipei that the government had engaged lawyers to enter discussions about signing […]
HONG KONG (REUTERS) – A group of Hong Kong families on Saturday (Sept 12) demanded the urgent return of their activist relatives detained last month by mainland Chinese authorities as they tried to flee the city by boat to Taiwan. Relatives of six of the 12 detained activists donned masks and hats to shield their […]
SINGAPORE – Undergraduate Adam Farid Tang Ming Yang hopes to take care of pilgrims on haj missions after he finishes his course in medicine at Tongji Medical College in China’s Wuhan city. The 21-year-old discovered the need for doctors to be part of haj missions from Singapore to Mecca in Saudi Arabia after speaking with […]
SINGAPORE – There were 42 new coronavirus cases confirmed as of Saturday noon (Sept 12), taking Singapore’s total to 57,357. They included four community cases, comprising one permanent resident and three work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). There were also 10 imported cases who had been placed on stay-home notices upon arrival […]