Month: January 2021

The 16-year-old Singaporean who had made plans to attack Muslims in the city state will get a hearing under the Internal Security Act (ISA), rather than be tried in open court, as making the details of the teenager’s motives public may run the risk of deepening religious divides.It was also important to intervene early via the ISA instead of waiting for him to carry out an attack before detaining him, said Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam.Shanmugam was speaking to the media on Thursday…

Foreign investment in tech start-ups in special economic zones (SEZ) in Indonesia will be exempted from minimum standards applied to other types of foreign investment.

A teenager in Singapore was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in December last year after he was found to have made “detailed plans” and preparations to attack Muslims at two mosques with a machete.The secondary school student, the youngest person to be detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities, hatched a plan to attack the Assyafaah Mosque and Yusof Ishak Mosque in the northern suburb of Woodlands, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on Wednesday.The boy is a…

A Philippine province has cancelled its award of a US$10 billion airport deal south of the capital, among the biggest projects involving a Chinese firm under President Rodrigo Duterte who has pursued warmer ties with Beijing since taking office in 2016.China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) and Filipino firm MacroAsia Corp won the auction in 2019 to partner with the Cavite provincial government to upgrade the Sangley airport.“The notice of selection and award for the Sangley Point…

The European Commission has issued fines totalling €7.8 million to six publishers for restricting cross-border sales of video games based on their geographical location.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday urged Moscow to release Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and peaceful protesters from detention, joining the United States and the European Union in expressing concerns over the crackdown.“The Japanese government is closely watching (the situation) with concern,” Motegi told a press conference. “We want to request the release of Mr. Navalny and those who have been detained arbitrarily while engaging in peaceful demonstrations…

Asian leaders from India’s Narendra Modi to Indonesia’s Joko Widodo and China’s vice-premier, Han Zheng, have issued a unified pitch for governments to prioritise aid for vulnerable nations and communities to deal with the immediate effects of climate change alongside meeting long-term carbon neutrality goals.The Asian leaders were among over 30 senior government figures who contributed by video link to an inaugural Climate Adaptation Summit convened virtually by the Netherlands.While November…

First Gen Hydro Power is investing P6 billion ($124.89 million) to develop a 120 megawatts (MW) Aya pumped hydro storage project in Pantabangan, Philippines.

Three Singapore campaigners launched an appeal Monday against a court’s decision to uphold a law banning sex between men, the latest effort to overturn the colonial-era legislation.A holdover from British rule of the city state, the law is rarely enforced but activists say it still jars with the affluent country’s increasingly modern and vibrant culture.Others, however, argue that Singapore remains conservative at heart, and is not ready for change, while officials also believe most would not…

Covid-19 numbers in Malaysia continue to soar a year to the day since the country’s first case was detected – but after more than 180,000 infections, 678 related deaths and two nationwide lockdowns, public health experts are now concerned that the nation’s contact-tracing efforts are falling dangerously short.People who have tested positive for the disease have taken to social media to complain that they had not yet been contacted by health officials, while contact-tracing applications such as…