India’s Supreme Court turned down a plea yesterday to stop the implementation of a new citizenship law based on religion that has set off violent protests in the country, but said it would hold hearings next month on the measure. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) makes it easier for non-Muslims from neighbouring Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan […]
In its editorial, the paper says Japan needs to work with S. Korea and the U.S. to keep the threat posed by Pyongyang at bay. TOKYO (THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – North Korea is moving to stoke military tensions, with a view to wrenching concessions from the United States on denuclearisation talks. Japan, the […]
(Reuters) – Vivint Smart Home Inc has agreed to reduce its initial enterprise value to about $4.1 billion, in a deal to merge the U.S. home automation company with a firm funded by Japan’s SoftBank Corp’s unit. In September, Blackstone Group (BX.N) backed Vivint had agreed to merge with Mosaic Acquisition Corp (MOSC.N), formed by […]
HONG KONG (Reuters) – CITIC Securities looks set to become the first Chinese firm to top annual equity capital markets (ECM) rankings for Asia-Pacific excluding Japan this year, a nose ahead of Goldman Sachs (GS.N), according to data from Refinitiv. Goldman, Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and other western banks have traditionally battled for top spot in […]
SYDNEY (REUTERS) – The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) declared its second state of emergency in two months on Thursday (Dec 19) as temperatures were set to soar above 40 deg C and nearly 100 bushfires were burning throughout the state, with authorities concerned about fires surrounding Sydney. The state of emergency will […]
INDIANAPOLIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. economy is in good shape after three interest-rate cuts this year, two U.S. central bankers said on Wednesday, underscoring the consensus at the Federal Reserve for keeping borrowing costs where they are for the time being. “I think the economy is doing remarkably well,” Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President […]
WASHINGTON (AFP) – India leads the world in pollution-linked deaths followed by China and Nigeria, according to a report published on Wednesday (Dec 18) that estimated the global impact of contaminants in the air, water and workplace. The report by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) found pollution to be the largest environmental […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar rose on Wednesday as strong economic data decreased the chances the Federal Reserve would continue its rate-cutting cycle in 2020. Industrial production rebounded in the United States in November, mainly because a strike by General Motors Co (GM.N) workers ended. Housing starts and building permits were both reported […]
SINGAPORE – Moving forward, the Handicaps Welfare Association (HWA) will collaborate with non-members to create inclusive solutions for the disabled community in the country, said its president Edmund Wan. Speaking at its 50th anniversary dinner on Wednesday (Dec 18), Mr Wan also said the association needs to strengthen its technological capabilities while not losing the […]
JAKARTA (REUTERS) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday (Dec 18) he had ordered his Cabinet to speed up a US$33 billion (S$44.76 billion) project to move the capital city from Jakarta to forested Borneo island so that the new “Silicon Valley”-like city could be ready by 2023. That timeline is a year earlier […]