Month: December 2025

The tarpaulin barely held against the wind, sagging under days of ceaseless rain.
For the earthquake survivors of San Remigio, in the central Philippines, it was all that remained – a thin sheet of plastic above a patch of mud, standing in for the homes a 6.9-magnitude quake had reduced to rubble weeks earlier.
Then, in early November, Typhoon Kalmaegi barrelled through.
The storm, known locally as Tino, drenched thousands of families still huddled in their makeshift shelters. Roads vanished…

A new plan for accelerating infrastructure in Ireland addresses known barriers to progressing large-scale projects and sends a positive signal to investors, experts have said.

Office Christmas parties can be a great boost for morale, but employers should be aware of potential risks such as sexual harassment, alcohol-fuelled brawls, religious discrimination and post-party absenteeism.

For about two years, six nights a week, performers from mainland China, Taiwan and Malaysia have entertained hundreds of guests at the HaveFun Live Show in Singapore, but its organisers are now in a fix ahead of coming work permit changes.
On Monday, the manpower ministry announced that a scheme allowing foreign performers a work permit of up to six months at public entertainment outlets in Singapore would cease in June after enforcement operations uncovered syndicates abusing the scheme.
A…

The launch of multiple consumer protection investigations by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) shows the agency is serious about using its new direct enforcement powers, an expert has warned.

Much has been written about China’s alleged role in the US opioid crisis. Chemicals from Chinese suppliers have supposedly been used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, which is then trafficked into the United States where it has fuelled a deadly overdose crisis.
Successive US administrations have pressured Beijing to crack down on its chemical industry. China has taken repeated steps to regulate precursors, including most recently last month when it restricted 13 new chemicals at US…

Indonesian authorities on Thursday named a Chinese executive of a metal smelting company as a suspect in a caesium-137 contamination case that resulted in the recall of some exports to the US.
Lin Jingzhang, who is a director of PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT), has been designated as a suspect, Bara Hasibuan, a spokesperson for the investigating task force, said.
“The Certain Crimes Directorate of the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit has named Lin Jingzhang, a citizen of…

Western Australia (WA) is experiencing unprecedented growth in health infrastructure, driven by population growth and a record investment in hospitals, mental health facilities, and digital health initiates by the WA state government.

A majority of Australians, Japanese and Indians believe US President Donald Trump’s second term has been bad for their countries, and more Australians see the US as harmful than helpful in Asia, a survey of people in the four countries reported on Thursday.
The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney polled 1,000 people in each of the four Quad nations: Australia, Japan, India, and the US. It found the region has been shaken by disruptive US developments but still backs…

A former Indonesian minister has dismissed claims of giving preferential treatment to Chinese firms and wooing investors with policies undermining the country’s sovereignty, amid furore over an airport inside a major industrial cluster that risks becoming a “state within a state”.
Luhut Pandjaitan, a key architect of ex-president Joko Widodo’s mineral downstreaming strategy, said China’s technological prowess and deep pockets made it an ideal partner for propelling the local economy as others…