Author: viking

As mysteries go, this was in a class of its own.One day in March 2009, Singapore’s most prominent women’s organisation held its annual general meeting, and everyone expected it to be uneventful. Not many members were expected to turn up, and a team had already agreed to form its new committee. It would be over quickly.Except that it did not go that way, that day. Just before the meeting began, a stream of strangers appeared and soon outnumbered the surprised Aware members present. The new faces…

An Australian court on Wednesday found a man guilty of plotting to blow up an Etihad Airways flight out of Sydney at the behest of the Islamic State militant group, by hiding a bomb in his brother’s luggage.Police had accused the man, Khaled Khayat, and another brother, Mahmoud Khayat, of planning two terrorist attacks that also included a chemical gas attack on the flight to Abu Dhabi in July 2017, police said.The third brother was unaware that he was carrying a bomb, disguised as a meat…

“Let me tell you something. In this society, there is no f*****g right or wrong. There are only the weak and the strong. That’s it. And you guys beat my brother, so I’m gonna beat you,” Kha Banh shouts at his opponents in one of his viral videos.As soon as the tirade finishes, he puts up a hand – signalling a bunch of his bat-wielding henchmen to launch forward and attack.The scene ends with Kha Banh triumphantly walking away from the fight with his rescued “brother” under his arm – a gambler…

The UK parliament took a step towards the establishment of a mandatory levy on gambling firms’ revenues when it supported the introduction of a bill put forward by a Conservative MP to review the case for a levy on the gross revenues of gambling firms.

The billionaire leader of the newest and most dynamic force in Thai politics says he is “prepared” for jail as legal cases besiege his youth-focused party just weeks after it scooped up millions of votes in a general election.Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the charismatic political newcomer whose radical agenda of social and economic reform captured millennial hearts and rattled the ruling junta, was expected to appear at the Election Commission on Tuesday to explain a disputed share transfer…

Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi made her first diplomatic visit to Cambodia this week, underscoring the similarities between two countries that find themselves increasingly isolated from the international community.According to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suu Kyi arrived in Cambodia on April 29, flying from Beijing where she and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the second Belt and Road Forum.While the statement claimed the visit would strengthen cooperation…

The European Parliament has adopted an agreement which will remove the barriers to the cross-border distribution of investment funds sold under European directives.

South Korea is likely to return to a familiar game plan to replace Iranian oil it will no longer have access to after May now that the United States intends to tighten sanctions on Iran’s exports.South Korea is the biggest buyer of Iranian condensate, an ultralight oil prized by the country’s refiners as a raw material for petrochemicals manufacturing.SK Incheon Petrochem, Hyundai Oilbank and Hanwha Total Petrochemical are set to once again scan the world for alternative, but more expensive,…

Floods sparked by torrential rains have killed nearly 40 in Indonesia with a dozen more still missing, officials said on Monday, marking the latest calamity for a disaster-prone nation.Landslides and floods are common, especially during the monsoon season between October and April, when rains lash the vast Southeast Asian archipelago.On Monday, Indonesia’s disaster agency confirmed 29 deaths and said at least 13 more people were missing in Sumatra island’s Bengkulu province.A landslide…

At least 10 people are dead and eight missing after days of heavy rain-triggered floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, authorities said on Sunday.Some 12,000 people have been evacuated while hundreds of buildings, bridges and roads have been damaged by the severe weather which affected nine districts or towns across Bengkulu province, officials said.The waters have receded in some places but officials warned the full extent of the damage was not yet known and some areas…