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Asia

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No defence witnesses at Suu Kyi incitement trial: Lawyer

YANGON (AFP) – Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not call any defence witnesses at her incitement trial in a junta court, her lawyer said Tuesday (Oct 5), as the military hit a detained US journalist with another criminal charge. Suu Kyi went on trial in June, four months after she was taken […]

Evening Update: Today's headlines from The Straits Times on Oct 5

Good evening! Catch up on some of the main headlines on Tuesday, Oct 5. Hospitals screening Covid-19 patients at temporary areas as more seek help Covid-19 hospitalisations in Singapore have shot through the roof, with 1,355 patients warded as at Monday. READ MORE HERE Plan for GST hike between 2022 and 2025 unchanged: Lawrence Wong […]

Singapore Parliament repeals Sedition Act after 73 years

SINGAPORE – A law first introduced to curb local opposition to British colonial rule has been repealed after 73 years. Key aspects of the Sedition Act have not been relevant in modern Singapore for a long time, and the law was hardly used for prosecutions, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam told Parliament as […]

Heir of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos announces run for Philippine presidency

MANILA – Mr Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, on Tuesday (Oct 5) officially announced his bid to run for president, seeking to complete a remarkable comeback more than 35 years after his family fled the country in disgrace following a popular, military-backed revolt. “I know that it is a… […]

Hospitals screening Covid-19 patients at temporary areas as more seek help

SINGAPORE – Public hospitals here are using spaces set up with tents or other temporary structures to deal with the continuing flood of Covid-19 patients heading to their emergency departments. Last Friday (Oct 1), Khoo Teck Puat Hospital started receiving Covid-19 patients at temporary holding areas that it set up at Yishun Community Hospital. These […]

More than a quarter of job vacancies in S'pore left unfilled for 6 months or more

SINGAPORE – More than one quarter of job vacancies here were left unfilled for six months or more, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on Tuesday (Oct 5), underscoring the challenges in matching jobseekers with suitable jobs as Singapore transforms its economy. Despite efforts to retrain and upskill workers through numerous schemes, some 27 per […]

Misinformation, anxiety plague Malaysia's Covid-19 vaccination programme for teens

KUALA LUMPUR – Misinformation and anxiety caused by several viral videos circulating online are hampering Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination programme for adolescents, with the deputy health minister threatening legal action against individuals who spread unverified information. Malaysia started vaccinating its three million adolescents – aged 12 to 17 – last month as it abandoned its herd immunity goal […]

Foreign interference law is necessary, but so too is good communication

SINGAPORE – In the film Minority Report, actor Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, head of a Washington-based “pre-crime” unit which predicts and prevents future crimes. When Anderton himself is accused of killing a man he has never met, he discovers the system is not foolproof. Filmed in early 2001, Minority Report was eerily prescient. Later […]

Social conservative and economic reformer elected to lead Australia's most populous state

CANBERRA (REUTERS) – Mr Dominic Perrottet, a social conservative and economic reformer, was on Tuesday (Oct 5) elected as the new state premier of New South Wales, which will within weeks exit a months-long Covid-19 lockdown that has battered its economy. Ms Gladys Berejiklian last week resigned as premier of Australia’s most populous state after […]

Digital equity for all ages: China Daily contributor

BEIJING (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – The growing number and share of older people in Asia-Pacific region is the result of declining fertility and increasing longevity as well as advances in social and economic development. This demographic transition is taking place against the backdrop of the accelerating Fourth Industrial Revolution. But Covid-19 has exacerbated the […]