BEIJING – China’s economy grew 4.9 per cent in the third quarter of this year as the world’s second largest economy continued to slow down against the backdrop of energy shortages, fresh Covid-19 outbreaks and a more sombre property market in the country. The quarterly result released on Monday (Oct 18) was largely in line […]
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s junta chief on Monday (Oct 18) announced the release of more than 5,000 people jailed for protesting against a February coup, days after a regional bloc delivered a major snub to the military regime. There has been chaos in Myanmar since the coup, with more than 1,100 civilians killed in a […]
HONG KONG – Singapore life insurers have little or no exposure to China property bonds in the face of the debt crisis at Hong Kong-listed China Evergrande Group and its ripple effect on Chinese developers, according to market players. When asked, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it has been closely monitoring the Singapore […]
SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Australian police searching for a four-year-old girl who went missing from an outback campsite said on Monday (Oct 18) they would “leave no stone unturned” as they urged members of the public to come forward. Cleo Smith was last seen in her family’s tent at about 1.30am local time on Saturday at […]
SINGAPORE – The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) can act as a stabilising force in a region that can be endangered by misunderstanding and miscalculation between state actors, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Monday (Oct 18). He said that 50 years from its signing, the FPDA continues to fulfil Singapore’s defence needs and […]
WELLINGTON(REUTERS) – New Zealand’s biggest city of Auckland will retain its lockdown for two more weeks in the battle on the Delta variant of coronavirus, as the country pushes to step up vaccinations, Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern said on Monday (Oct 18). Once the poster child for stamping out Covid-19, New Zealand is now fighting […]
MELBOURNE (REUTERS) – Australia should set out a new national legal framework to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage, an inquiry into the destruction of ancient rock shelters for an iron ore mine found in its final report on Monday (Oct 18). The report said Aboriginal traditional owners should be the top decision makers on development applications […]
SINGAPORE – Digital disruption in healthcare is unlikely to happen as quickly as in other industries, given the complexity of the sector, according to Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. Speaking at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Asia-Pacific Conference on Monday morning (Oct 18), he noted that digital technology has disrupted many industries, including […]
SINGAPORE – In managing the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore did not take a purist “zero-Covid” or “living with Covid” approach, but adopted an eradication strategy when the population was vulnerable before opening up progressively after vaccination had given Singaporeans a protective shield. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said this on Monday morning (Oct 18) in his […]
SEOUL (NYTIMES) – Kim Hyeongsu performed poorly on his rifle qualification test for the South Korean army, to the point where he was berated for squandering the government’s bullets. An officer ordered him to do a plank while yelling repeatedly, “I am a tax waster!” In basic training in 2011, Kim said, other military trainees […]