Month: May 2020

Philippine police have arrested 90 Chinese for running an online gambling hub without permits and for violating quarantine restrictions, officials said on Sunday.Police made the mass arrests on Friday after spotting some of the suspects converging closely without face masks outside a rented flat in violation of quarantine restrictions, in Cavite province south of Manila. The suspects ran into the flat, where police discovered the gambling operation, officials said.Philippines cracks down on…

Twelve years ago, when Dhaka-born Aarul completed his secondary school education and was about to join the Bangladesh Army, a family friend introduced him to a recruitment agent in Singapore.The agent promised the 18-year-old an administrative job in the city state, and a S$850 (US$602) monthly salary that was 10 times what he would earn as a soldier.Coronavirus fuels record-breaking philanthropy drive in SingaporeBut there was a catch. Aarul would have to shell out S$8,000 for his flights, an…

Gambling tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun was one of those rare characters: a man envied and adored in equal parts. Women wanted him. Men wanted to be him.Charming, elegant and a skilful dancer, the swashbuckling businessman was able to build from scratch an empire that was not limited to gambling. It included a diverse portfolio of investments that ranged from hotels to boats, in addition to his philanthropic work.The Macau casino tycoon who set his sights far beyond the gambling tableWhile…

Cases of online child sex abuse in the Philippines have tripled under coronavirus, the government said, with campaigners warning that the country’s lockdown has left more children vulnerable to exploitation by human traffickers and cash-strapped relatives.The spread of cheap, high-speed internet and the rise in mobile phone ownership has fuelled live-streamed abuse – known as cybersex trafficking – in recent years and the Philippines is considered by charities to be the epicentre of the global…

Did US President Donald Trump speak with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone to discuss the South Asian nation’s border tensions with China?Trump, who reiterated his offer to mediate between New Delhi and Beijing over the rising temperatures at their border, told a reporter in Washington on Thursday that he spoke to Modi. The Indian government says no such conversation took place.“But I can tell you, I did speak to Prime Minister Modi. He’s not – he’s not in a good mood about…

While the United States has tapped its allies to voice their disapproval against China’s move to impose a national security law on Hong Kong, most Asean governments and India are unlikely to take similar positions even if they have concerns about the city’s autonomy.The five analysts and foreign policy experts This Week in Asia spoke to said most governments saw Beijing’s position on Hong Kong as part of its internal affairs.US response over Hong Kong stands out as other nations sidestep hard…

The early months of the Covid-19 pandemic sent Nirmala Murugaian into a blind panic. As Singapore slipped into an economic downturn, funds plummeted at Child at Street 11, the non-profit childcare centre that she runs.Parents could no longer afford to pay childcare fees as they were hit by job losses or pay cuts. Funds from corporate donors quickly dried up as cost-cutting measures kicked in.The centre, which currently has 55 children from low-income families and largely relies on donations,…

Life was already hardscrabble for the seven river otters known as the Zouk family.Prime land next to Singapore’s sparkling waterways brimming with fish had been seized by other clans, forcing the hapless group to wander the city state each day in search of food and shelter. But few noticed their forays until a coronavirus shutdown known as the circuit breaker was imposed in April.With the streets nearly emptied, the Zouks – named after a local nightclub – started appearing in unexpected places:…

A group of Chinese students in South Korea, who last year removed pro-Hong Kong posters from a university campus, are facing fines after being charged with damaging property, according to local media reports.The eight students are accused of defacing Lennon Walls created by Korean students at Yonsei University expressing support for Hong Kong, where a proposed extradition bill sparked months of anti-government protests from June last year.The banners, which contained slogans such as “Liberate…

Two recent developments in the South China Sea are poised to enhance the Philippines’ position in the increasingly tense flashpoint and allay criticism that President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration is lacking resolve in defending the country’s interests.On May 13, Philippine Navy ship BRP Ivatan became the first vessel to dock at the nearly-completed port of Pag-asa (Thitu Island), Manila’s largest occupied feature in the Spratly Islands in the disputed sea.And last weekend, the country’s…