Sunday, 26 May 2024

Asia

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Singapore GE2020: PAP 'disappointed but not surprised' at Chee's response

The People’s Action Party (PAP) said it was “disappointed but not surprised” at the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and its leader Chee Soon Juan, after the opposition party stood by its claim to have pressured the ruling party into scrapping a plan to raise the population to 10 million. “We are disappointed that Dr Chee […]

Australians widen protests backing Black Lives Matter, indigenous people

SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Thousands gathered in Sydney and other Australian cities over the weekend  in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and an increased focus on the mistreatment of indigenous people. A month since Australia’s first such rallies, the crowds were smaller amid health warnings about the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, as infections grow in the state of […]

Premier of Australia's Victoria defends hard Covid-19 lockdown

MELBOURNE (REUTERS) – The premier of Australia’s second-most populous state, Victoria, defended on Sunday (July 5) his decision to put nine public housing towers in a complete lockdown as coronavirus cases continue to rise in Melbourne’s suburbs. The state recorded 74 new cases on Sunday, after Saturday’s 108 cases prompted Premier Daniel Andrews to order […]

BoE Governor warns lenders of challenges of negative interest rates – Sunday Times

(Reuters) – Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey has written a letter to lenders warning them of the challenges of negative interest rates, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. The letter said that negative rates were “one of the potential tools under active review” if the monetary policy committee decided that “more stimulus” was needed […]

Uni students tap networks to help peers get internships

Some undergraduates have been forced to be more resourceful in hunting down internship opportunities, as companies withdraw offers and overseas programmes grind to a halt. In April, Yale-NUS College student Adriel Yong created a spreadsheet of about 300 internship listings, each offering two or three places. The online document was also circulated to Singaporean students […]

Iran rial slides to new low as coronavirus, sanctions weigh

DUBAI (Reuters) – The Iranian rial fell to a new low against the U.S. dollar on the unofficial market on Saturday, as the economy comes under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. sanctions. The dollar was offered for as much as 215,500 rials, softening from 208,200 on Friday, according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com. […]

Democracy books disappear from Hong Kong libraries

HONG KONG (AFP) – Books written by prominent Hong Kong democracy activists have started to disappear from the city’s libraries, online records show, days after Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the finance hub. Among the authors whose titles are no longer available are Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most prominent young […]

185 new Covid-19 cases in Singapore, including 9 in the community

SINGAPORE – There are 185 new coronavirus patients confirmed as of Saturday noon (July 4), taking Singapore’s total to 44,664. They include nine community cases, comprising four Singaporeans or permanent residents, and five work pass holders, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday. There is also one imported case involving a PR who was […]