FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank’s government bond purchases are necessary and the benefits far outweigh the side effects, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said on Saturday, pushing back on a court challenge from her native Germany. Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled last month that the ECB overstepped its mandate with 2 trillion euros worth […]
Deaths of P Jayaraj and his son J Bennix in police custody in India, have caused an outcry against custodial deaths. The death of a father and son in police custody in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has caused outrage after the victims’ family accused the police of torturing the duo in custody. […]
Good evening! Catch up on some of the week’s top reads. All ActiveSG indoor sport halls to be closed on June 28 for ‘time-out’ after Covid-19 patient played badminton in large group The national sport agency also warned that it would take action against errant users. READ MORE HERE GE2020: Singapore’s changing of the guard […]
KUALA LUMPUR – Calls for snap polls in Malaysia are getting harder to resist for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s ruling pact following the opposition’s intractable bickering over its prime ministerial candidate. The Straits Times understands that some in Perikatan Nasional (PN) wish for ballots as early as August, which would lead to Parliament being dissolved […]
SINGAPORE – A green lane and periodic commuting arrangement will be established between Singapore and Malaysia to meet the needs of different groups of cross-border travellers, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday (June 27) afternoon, following a telephone call between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin […]
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s central bank is ready to further finance the government’s budget deficit and “share the burden” of fighting the coronavirus outbreak, the bank’s chief told an online seminar on Saturday. Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo said he and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati had agreed to accelerate budget deficit financing and […]
SINGAPORE – A new $1.36 billion fund has been set up to help construction companies, among the hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, to safely restart work. The Construction Support Package, as it is called, will go towards co-funding extra costs construction companies have to incur to comply with more stringent virus-safety measures to prevent a […]
NEW DELHI (REUTERS) – India reported over 17,000 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, pushing the country’s total above 500,000, federal health ministry data showed on Saturday (June 27), with infections surging in major cities including the capital New Delhi. India has the world’s fourth-biggest outbreak of the virus that causes Covid-19, below […]
Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Saturday, June 27 Continuity in policies key to Singapore’s success, says Chan Chun Sing Government leaders work together as a team to plan for the long term, said Mr Chan. READ MORE HERE Khaw Boon Wan: Fix-it minister who took on tough assignments and got […]
How do you sail a tiny boat through massive swells when there is a raging electrical storm, the rudder in the vessel isn’t responding promptly enough to the steering, the familiar lighthouses along the coast have vanished from view and your GPS settings seem to have gone haywire unexpectedly? That’s the kind of external situation […]