BANGKOK (REUTERS) – A small group of Thai activists protested at a psychiatric hospital on Friday (July 17) over the admission of a man they believed was being held against his will after wearing a t-shirt that said he had lost faith in the monarchy. Criticising the Thai monarchy can lead to a 15-year jail […]
When there was a sudden outbreak of coronavirus infections at a wholesale market in Beijing last month, there were fears that China was about to face a second wave of the pandemic after having successfully contained it. But that second wave soon abated as Beijing acted quickly with targeted lockdowns and other measures. The Chinese […]
HONG KONG (REUTERS) – Hong Kong police arrested on Friday (July 17) pro-democracy politician Tam Tak Chi, who is expected to run for a seat in the legislature in September’s election, on charges including incitement to participate in unlawful assembly. Tam, 47, the vice-president of the People Power party and a former radio host, won […]
JAKARTA – When Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was first campaigning for the post in 2014, he unveiled a list of nine objectives he hoped to achieve during his tenure. The fourth point of his “Nawa Cita” – Sanskrit for nine ideals – was a vow to clean up the criminal justice system. “We will reject […]
SINGAPORE – Australian authorities have taken DNA samples from family members of missing Singaporean Goh Heng Yi, after human remains were found near where the student was swept into the ocean in June, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Friday (July 17). The DNA will help in identifying the remains. Mr Goh’s father told The […]
SINGAPORE – Residents of Housing Board blocks across Yishun and Tampines may notice more mosquitoes in the coming weeks. But these insects are not out for blood. As part of Project Wolbachia, the National Environment Agency (NEA) will release specially bred mosquitoes across all the 1,455 HDB blocks in these two towns, which roughly account for […]
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s tourism sector reported steep declines in international visitor arrivals and tourism receipts for the first quarter of this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Compared with the same period last year, international visitors and tourism receipts fell by 43.2 and 39 per cent respectively, according to a report released by the Singapore Tourism Board […]
It is likely a matter of time before Marina Bay Sands (MBS) will have to let go of some of its staff due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, said analysts, following a retrenchment exercise by fellow integrated resort operator Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). This is because the domestic market alone is unsustainable, and […]
TORONTO (Reuters) – Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem’s reassurance that interest rates will remain low for at least two years could unleash a wave of speculative demand in the country’s hottest housing markets, realtors and mortgage brokers warned. Canadian authorities are hoping a raft of stimulus measures and decade-low interest rates will spur credit […]
NEW DELHI – India and China have dialled down tensions as their forces disengage along different points of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh region. But the process has been more complex in some areas than others and talks are continuing. But the fallout from the violent clash between the two sides […]