BANGKOK/PATHUM THANI – Making the three-finger salute, a gesture from blockbuster The Hunger Games to signify defiance against a dictatorial regime, and singing Do You Hear The People Sing? from the musical Les Miserables, a few hundred students at a prestigious high school known for academic excellence on Thursday (Feb 27) morning joined a wave […]
HONG KONG – The city’s financial secretary has come under fire by some residents and lawmakers unhappy that the stirring budget would have the police receiving more funding and residents, including those living overseas, getting a HK$10,000 (S$1,800) handout. During a radio show on Thursday (Feb 27), Financial Secretary Paul Chan sought to explain the […]
SINGAPORE – Three new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) were confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Feb 27), including a 12-year-old Raffles Institution student and his 64-year-old family member. The third case is a 44-year-old man. Meanwhile, four others have recovered and were discharged. This brings the total number of cases […]
SYDNEY – Universities in Australia have offered cash to stranded Chinese students to encourage them to resume their studies and to assist them to travel to Australia via a third country so they will not be subject to a coronavirus-related travel ban. The universities in Australia are facing estimated losses of up to A$3 billion […]
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Thursday it wanted “legally binding” obligations on access to the European Union financial market, coupled with arrangements for maintaining trust as rules evolve. London, Europe’s biggest financial center, could be locked out of its biggest export market for services such as banking, insurance and asset management if no access […]
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, made a 19.9% return on investment last year, earning a record 1.69 trillion Norwegian crowns ($180 billion) as stock markets rallied, it said on Thursday. The $1.1 trillion fund’s return for the year was stronger than that of its benchmark index, it added. “2019 has […]
SINGAPORE – Hotels are moving fast to tackle the downturn with one mothballing some floors to save on electricity and manpower while another has told staff to use two-thirds of their annual leave by the end of May due to the lack of guests. Other cost-cutting measures are being deployed as well, including reducing restaurant […]
NEW DELHI (THE STATESMAN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) -The recent Supreme Court ruling granting permanent commission to women on par with men will have a far-reaching impact in promoting gender justice. The court held, “An absolute bar on women seeking criteria or command appointments would not comport with the guarantee of equality under Article 14”. The judgement, […]
The transfer of a judge critical of the violence in Delhi has raised concerns in India, as politicians come under fire for perceived inaction. Justice S Muralidhar, who was hearing a petition into the religious riots, had sharply condemned both the government and police on Wednesday. Orders for his immediate transfer came late at night […]
DENPASAR, INDONESIA (AFP) – Two Thai women convicted of smuggling methamphetamine into Bali have escaped a possible death sentence on the Indonesian holiday island after a court sentenced them to 16 years in jail. The district court in Bali’s capital Denpasar said Kasarin Khamkhao and Sanicha Maneetes – a janitor and the operator of a […]