A brief kiss between two women in the new Star Wars film was cut from the version released in Singapore, local media said.The Rise of Skywalker , the conclusion to the nine Star Wars films that stars Daisy Ridley, was released in Singapore on Thursday.The film contains a brief scene where two minor female characters share a kiss – but the moment is omitted in the version screened in Singapore, according to Yahoo Lifestyle SEA. The news site reported on Friday the women were seen embracing but…
Tsunami from Anak Krakatoa eruption in Indonesia was 100 metres high, say scientists
The tsunami unleashed by the eruption of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatoa volcano on December 22 last year towered at least 100 metres high and possibly even reached a height of 150 metres, according to a new study by scientists in Tokyo and London. More than 400 people on surrounding islands were killed by the tsunami, which was triggered by the volcanic eruption and the collapse of a section of the crater wall, but the death toll could have been significantly higher if the island closest to the…
Philippines arrests 342 Chinese workers in online gaming crackdown
The Philippines said on Friday it has detained hundreds of Chinese workers in a continuing crackdown against unlicensed online gaming businesses catering to mainland customers.Philippine offshore gaming operators, or Pogos, are the country’s fastest-growing industry. They have caused friction because of allegations of widespread tax evasion and the influx of tens of thousands of immigrant workers.A total of 342 Chinese without working visas were arrested on Thursday in a raid of a Manila-based…
Malaysia’s Najib Razak takes Islamic oath to deny claims he ordered model Altantuyaa Shaariibuu’s killing
Disgraced former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, 66, on Friday took part in an Islamic oath-swearing ceremony to proclaim his innocence in the murder of Mongolian model and translator Altantuyaa Shaariibuu, just days after a policeman sentenced to death in the case claimed Najib had issued the order to kill her.“Since the time of entering the age of ‘taklif’ [having responsibilities] until this point, I have never ordered any individual to kill a Mongolian national named Altantuyaa…
First Xinjiang, then Hong Kong … now US turns human rights attention to Tibet
Washington has angered Beijing in recent months with a flurry of legislation targeting China’s treatment of human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong. Tibet is now joining the list.The US House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committee on Wednesday approved a bill calling for stronger US support for religious and human rights in Tibet, a step on the way to it becoming law.Known as the Tibet Policy and Support Act of 2019, the bill is expected to go to the House for a full vote, although a date…
‘Muslims caused fear of Islam’: Mahathir Mohamad opens Kuala Lumpur Summit, amid Saudi disgruntlement
Jihad, oppressive governance and neocolonialism. These are some of the key issues facing the Muslim world, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told the opening session of a highly anticipated summit of Islamic countries in Malaysia on Thursday.In a keynote address to the three-day Kuala Lumpur Summit, Mahathir lamented the plight of Muslims worldwide saying they were embattled not only by Islamophobia and violence, but poor governance too.“Today we have lost the respect of the world. We are no…
South Korea’s conservative protesters, like Britain’s Brexiteers, reject rule by doctrinaire leftists
Conservative protest is now a global phenomenon. The resounding success of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the latest elections for the House of Commons shows the overwhelming support of a significant majority of Britons for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Also, less widely understood, the vote revealed popular revulsion over the policies and outlook of the doctrinaire leftism of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. Conservatives won 365 of the 650 seats in the Commons, giving them an…
The Maguindanao massacre: the Philippines’ bloodiest political killing
Philippine history is dotted with political killings, and this Thursday a Manila court will issue a verdict on one of the bloodiest – the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.On November 23 that year, 58 men and women – including 32 journalists – were slaughtered and dumped into roadside pits during an attack that was also one of the world’s worst mass killings of media workers.The leaders of the powerful Ampatuan family, who ruled Maguindanao, are charged with ordering the killings in a bid to quash an…
Malaysia revives 1MDB-linked mega project as it strengthens economic ties with China
The controversial Bandar Malaysia mega-project linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) global financial scandal received a new lease on life on Tuesday after the government signed a deal with a China-backed consortium to continue the venture.Malaysian Finance Ministry subsidiary TRX City said it had entered into a deal with IWH-CREC, a consortium between the Beijing-owned China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) and local developer Iskandar Waterfront Holdings to develop the 48…
Lawyer for Malaysia’s former PM Najib Razak says hitman’s claim ‘laughable’
A Malaysian death row inmate’s explosive claim that he murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu in 2006 on the explicit orders of the former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is part of a conspiracy by those seeking to undermine the ex-leader, Najib’s lawyer said on Tuesday.A day after the statutory declaration from prison by former policeman Azilah Hadri was made public, Najib’s lawyer Shafee Abdullah put forth a stunning claim of his own – that the convicted killer had “met a VVIP…