BERLIN (Reuters) – The German economy is more or less stagnating, the economy ministry said on Monday, adding there are initial signs that an industrial recession could be coming to an end as orders stabilize. The ministry also said in its monthly report that indicators at the start of the fourth quarter pointed to subdued […]

BANGKOK (REUTERS) – It wasn’t only the moves to ban Thailand’s most vocal opposition party that brought Gift onto the street for the first time. The 25-year-old landscape architect was also stung by taunts that her generation was not brave enough to go beyond online comments in challenging the army-dominated establishment’s enduring hold since elections […]

SYDNEY (REUTERS) – A backburning operation intended to contain a massive wildfire in eastern Australia sparked out of control, damaging buildings and cutting off major roads, authorities said, as the country heads into another heatwave that may topple temperature records. The accident occurred about 250km north-west of Sydney, where firefighters were trying to stop a […]

If women ran every country in the world there would be a general improvement in living standards and outcomes, former US President Barack Obama has said. Speaking in Singapore, he said women aren’t perfect, but are “indisputably better” than men. He said most of the problems in the world came from old people, mostly men, […]

MANILA (AFP) – Philippine journalist Maria Ressa said Monday (Dec 16) she would not be silenced as she launched her defence against a libel charge that press advocates call an attempt to curb her news site’s critical coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte. Her site Rappler has written extensively and often critically on Duterte’s policies, including […]

SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) – The police mounted a massive hunt in the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and nearby wooded areas after a student reported she was assaulted on campus last Saturday evening (Dec 14). The report, which was made at about 6.30pm, resulted in the deployment of dozens of officers from various units, including the […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new home prices grew at their weakest pace in nearly two years in November while property investment also eased, with tightening policies continuing to cool the market even as some local easing is expected to prevent a sharp slowdown. The property market, which directly impacts more than 40 industries, is a […]

Despite two summits and one historic meeting at the Korean border, the future of the US-North Korea talks is uncertain. Here’s an overview of a saga that has at times threatened nuclear war. Why did North Korea develop nuclear weapons? The Korean peninsula was divided after World War Two and the North developed an authoritarian […]

NEW DELHI (BLOOMBERG) – Tensions remained high across India on Monday (Dec 16) after five days of protests against a contentious new religion-based citizenship law turned violent in the capital New Delhi, with police using tear gas to disperse crowds. Anger against the law has fuelled protests across Asia’s third-largest economy, from Assam, about 1,900km […]

SINGAPORE – Around 16,000 to 17,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched in 2020 to meet additional demand following key policy changes this year, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong announced in a blog post on Monday (Dec 16) morning. The projected number of BTO flats for next year is more than this year’s supply of […]