KARACHI (AFP) – Thousands of anti-Shi’ite protesters including demonstrators linked to Sunni extremists rallied in Pakistan’s Karachi on Friday (Sept 11), sparking fears that rising tensions between the religious groups may unleash a new round of sectarian violence. The rally follows a raft of blasphemy accusations against major Shi’ite leaders in Pakistan after a televised […]
SINGAPORE – Retrenched Singapore Airlines (SIA) staff will receive one month of pay for every year of service, capped at 25 months, The Straits Times has learnt. Each affected employee will also be paid in lieu of the notice period in their employment contract. This can be up to three months’ salary. The benefits are […]
KUALA LUMPUR (REUTERS) – A senior official at the palm oil industry’s main green label has urged an Australian confectionery giant to be “responsible” and work with ethical producers after it became the country’s first major supermarket brand to ditch the tropical oil as an ingredient. Darrell Lea, which has been making chocolate since 1927, […]
MUMBAI (REUTERS) – India’s biggest and richest state, Maharashtra, is set to record its millionth infection of the new coronavirus on Friday (Sept 11), putting it on a par with Russia in the pandemic and stifling India’s attempts to turn around an economic plummet. The western state, home to financial capital Mumbai, is on pace […]
ISKANDAR PUTERI (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysia’s Health Ministry is looking at the possibility of fully reopening the Malaysia-Singapore border for daily commuters in January. Health Minister Adham Baba said on Friday (Sept 11) that the recovery movement control order (RMCO) period over the next four months would be an important time for the […]
JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) deputy chairman Muhyiddin Junaidi has advised Muslims in coronavirus hot spots to pray at home after the country was hit by record new infections in recent months. “Muslims in areas with a high number of (Covid-19) cases are advised to refrain from performing Friday […]
BEIJING (XINHUA) – Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He has called on China and the European Union (EU) to pool wisdom and gain consensus in the digital area so as to jointly address challenges and promote the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity. Mr Liu made the remarks on Thursday (Sept 10) during […]
SINGAPORE – A man who took part in a $365,000 heist involving a bogus bitcoin deal was sentenced on Friday (Sept 11) to three years and four months’ jail with 12 strokes of the cane. Singaporean Syed Mokhtar Syed Yusope, 39, is the third of four individuals linked to the offence to be dealt with […]
SINGAPORE – The second edition of a month-long learning festival for the Malay/Muslim community by self-help group Mendaki will be launched in October, with organisers planning to reach 40,000 people through its activities. This Raikan Ilmu festival, or celebrate knowledge festival, will be taking some of the activities online and to the television screens this […]
TOKYO (AFP) – The Japanese operator of a ship that leaked oil off the Mauritius coast pledged Friday to pay at least S$12 million to help restore areas affected by the spill. Mitsui OSK Lines said in a statement that it planned “to contribute a total fund of about one billion Japanese yen over several […]