Category: Uncategorized

South Africa is overhauling its railways by issuing permits to allow private sector operators access to the state-owned Transnet network.

Crime drama Countdown on Amazon Prime Video has drawn criticism for its perceived inaccurate portrayal of Singapore and its citizens in an episode last month.
In the 47-minute show, two American detectives question “Singaporean” Kieran Teo, played by American actor Brian Yang, at his office in Los Angeles after a murder takes place on company property.
The fictional company is called Beruang Holdings, with the characters revealing it is 60 per cent owned by Singapore’s ruling People’s Action…

A correction order under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) has been issued to US comedian Sammy Obeid after a row over his cancelled Singapore show.
“Mr Obeid’s account of protracted back-and-forth interactions with the government is inaccurate,” the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said on Monday.
“In his posts, he claims that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) requested edits, told him to ‘completely remove’ portions of his…

War is just one press of a button away, and the likelihood of that happening – even if accidental – is not insignificant. The advancement of ballistic missile capabilities has opened up new battle spaces. Just as during the Cold War, today’s adversaries can hold each other’s populations hostage under the threat of nuclear war.
As we mark 80 years since the second world war ended, it is becoming easier to fathom our world at war again. However, while it may be true the “long peace” was more an…

In the struggle to keep the Chinese resistance movement supplied against the Japanese invasion, a dangerous, winding route was carved through the jungles and hills of eastern Myanmar into Yunnan province.
The Burma Road, a 1,200km-long lifeline as it became known, allowed goods to be shipped from Yangon (then Rangoon) and driven across the country into the interior of China, while its ports were blockaded by Japanese ships.
But the convoys needed drivers, mechanics and guides to make the…

Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru, enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island.
The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday.
“It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in…

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has criticised the police for their handling of unrest in the capital, as elsewhere in the country at least three people died in a fire started by protesters.
The protests – initially over increased allowances for lawmakers at a time of economic uncertainty for many Indonesians – were fuelled by anger over the death of a motorcycle taxi driver struck by an armoured vehicle during clashes on Thursday evening. They have mostly been concentrated in Jakarta…

Companies and courts looking to foreign jurisdictions to enforce US judgments will need to be realistic about their prospects in future, following an Irish court’s dismissal of a $17 billion dollar plus claim, an expert has warned.

Investors that start arbitration proceedings against states before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) are almost as likely to be awarded damages as they are not, according to new data published by the institution.

Experts say that foreign businesses operating in India must ensure that any risk assessments are based on formally gazetted laws and policies, not government communications, following a recent ruling which clarified that policy signals, press releases or administrative clarifications do not qualify as a ‘change in law’.