Japan seeks to counter China with biggest military spending increase in eight years

Japan’s defence ministry is seeking an annual budget increase that will add to past years’ hikes to expand military spending over a decade by almost one-sixth, as it looks to counter the growing strength of neighbouring China.Since last year, Japan has identified China as its main national security threat, pointing in a July policy paper to a “sense of crisis” over Beijing’s threat to Taiwan, which lies close to Japanese islands along the edge of the East China Sea.The ministry’s budget…

Coronavirus: Singapore case spike tests reopening resolve as city state to ‘swap’ 500,000 vaccine doses with Australia

Singapore’s count of daily coronavirus cases remained above 100 for the seventh consecutive day amid a surge in clusters at bus depots, testing its resolve to use one of the world’s best vaccination rates to continue reopening the economy.The city state reported 147 new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infections on Monday, according to data released by the Health Ministry. That level, about 26 cases per million people, is high for Singapore though well below levels seen in neighbours such…

Bali bombing suspects from Indonesia, Malaysia to go on trial in Guantanamo Bay

Two Malaysians and an Indonesian linked to deadly bombings in Bali nearly two decades ago are expected to get their first day in court on Monday at the United States Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, also known as Riduan Isamuddin and better known by his nom de guerre Hambali, and Malaysians Mohammed Nazir bin Lep, 45, and Mohammed Farik bin Amin, 46, were to be arraigned on Monday before a military commission on charges that include murder, conspiracy and…

‘Circumcision season’ returns to the Philippines after pandemic delays

For more than a year, Caspien Gruta has been teased because his circumcision – a rite of passage for boys in the Philippines – was delayed, first by a volcanic eruption and then the coronavirus pandemic. “I worry if I don’t get circumcised now, I will be shamed,” said Gruta, 12. The Philippines has one of the highest rates of circumcision in the world, with many seeing the centuries-old practice as key for boys to enter manhood. Even as circumcision comes under increasing scrutiny…

Police in India charge priest, three others with rape, murder of Dalit girl, 9

A priest and three other men have been charged with the gang-rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl, Indian police said, in a case that sparked days of protests in New Delhi.The low-caste girl was allegedly assaulted by the priest, 53, and three workers on August 1 after she had gone to a crematorium to fetch water.The four men, who have been in custody since they were detained in early August, face the death penalty.The girl’s mother earlier told police the men called her to the crematorium…

China is knocking on Southeast Asia’s door, and Hong Kong’s trade council is offering to help open it

Positioning Hong Kong as a dealmaking hub and capitalising on a surge of interest from mainland Chinese investors and Southeast Asian companies could deliver a boost to the city’s professional services industry, according to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).Since 2019, the HKTDC has accelerated its efforts to facilitate deals, organising about 3,000 “matchmaking” meetings in the past two years.“In our trade events, we ask our overseas stakeholders to bring along their projects…

Fukushima nuclear disaster: IAEA unsure if clean-up will be complete by 2051 as planned

Too little is known about melted fuel inside damaged reactors at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant to be able to tell if its decommissioning can be finished by 2051 as planned, a UN nuclear agency official said on Friday.“Honestly speaking, I don’t know, and I don’t know if anybody knows,” said Christophe Xerri, head of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team reviewing progress in the plant’s clean-up.He urged Japan to speed up studies of the reactors to achieve a better long…

As Asean’s foot-dragging fuels anger in Myanmar, what next for ‘special envoy’ Erywan Yusof?

It took the Association of Southeast Asian Nations nearly three months to convene a special meeting to discuss Myanmar’s February 1 coup. Then, a further three months elapsed before the bloc agreed on appointing Brunei’s senior diplomat Erywan Yusof as the special envoy to the violence-wracked nation. Now, some three weeks have passed since that August 4 appointment, and the bloc has still offered little indication of what is to come. This week, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian…