Cambodians come to Hong Kong to meet the increasing demand for helpers
Cambodia on Wednesday sent its first batch of maids to work in Hong Kong, which is scrambling to meet growing demand for domestic helpers after a series of abuse scandals. Hong Kong is home to more than 300,000 foreign maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. But high-profile cases of abuse and forced labour have made headlines in recent years and threatened to stem the tide of migrant helpers. Hong Kong has turned…
Oil, bribes, politicians: what happened to ‘clean’ Singapore?
Singapore’s state-backed corporate heavyweights – collectively known as “Singapore Inc” – will face tough questions in 2018 on their commitment to the Lion City’s vaunted anti-corruption ethos, observers say, as a shocked public comes to grips with a graft scandal that has engulfed oil rig builder Keppel Corp. One political observer went as far as to describe 2017 as “annus horribilis” for the city state’s corporate sector. That sentiment…
A third of US supports military action against North Korea
One third of US citizens support military action in North Korea and 40 per cent want to see Japan and South Korea armed with nuclear missiles, a new survey has revealed.
The poll of US and Japanese citizens was conducted by Japanese think tank Genron NPO and the University of Maryland, and shows a substantial proportion of the US is prepared to go to war.
However, the peacemakers are just about winning out in America, with 44.2 per cent of US citizens saying they are opposed to military action…
UN rights investigator who was barred from Myanmar wants China and Russia to condemn Rohingya crackdown
The United Nations’ independent investigator into human rights in Myanmar has called for international pressure on China and Russia to try to get them to oppose human rights abuses in Myanmar.
UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee, who was last week barred by the Myanmar government from visiting the country, singled out China and Russia because they had failed to back some moves in the UN aimed at trying to halt the Myanmar military’s crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim community in…
Japan, Oman seek to ensure maritime order amid China's naval assertiveness
Japan and Oman have vowed to work together to challenge what Japanese officials are calling “China’s growing naval assertiveness” in the Asia-Pacific region.
The countries made the agreement on Wednesday as Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his Omani counterpart, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, met in the capital of the Middle East country.
During the talks, Kono said Japan intended to pursue a “free and open Indo-Pacific” region, encompassing Asia, the Middle…
First Cambodian helpers arrive in Hong Kong as demand rises and abuse scandals threaten to create shortage
Cambodia on Wednesday sent its first batch of maids to work in Hong Kong, which is scrambling to meet growing demand for domestic helpers after a series of abuse scandals. Hong Kong is home to more than 300,000 foreign maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. But high-profile cases of abuse and forced labour have made headlines in recent years and threatened to stem the tide of migrant helpers. Hong Kong has turned to Cambodia, one of Asia’s poorest countries where the…
India accuses Pakistan of harassing family of ‘spy’ on death row during visit
India on Tuesday accused Pakistan of harassing the family of an alleged Indian spy on death row, saying their meeting was held in an “atmosphere of coercion”.
Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav met his mother and wife in Islamabad on Monday, their first meeting since his arrest in Pakistan last year on charges of espionage and terrorism, allegations India has rejected.
“It appears that Jadhav was under considerable stress and speaking in an atmosphere of coercion,” the Indian…
‘Let the truth come out’: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte comforts families after deadly blaze at shopping centre
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Tuesday to get to the truth about a blaze in his home city that killed 37 call centre workers. He said he made the promise during a meeting on Monday night with the families of those killed in a shopping centre fire in the southern city of Davao.
“I assured them … that the truth will – let the truth come out,” Duterte said. “That is what they are asking for, just the truth of what happened.”
The justice and…
All 37 bodies found in burnt Philippine shopping centre
Philippine firefighters have found all 37 bodies of employees of a US-based company who were trapped in a blaze that gutted a shopping centre in Davao.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said firefighters initially found one body at the NCCC Mall on Sunday, but that extreme heat and thick smoke prevented them from retrieving the bodies of the other 36 employees until Monday.
Senior Superintendent Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu, regional director of the Bureau of Fire Protection, relayed the news to the…
Duterte’s son quits Davao vice-mayor job over drug link claim and personal problems
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s eldest son quit as vice-mayor of the southern city of Davao on Monday, citing his being linked to a drug smuggling case by opponents and personal problems from a failed marriage as reasons for the move.
Paolo Duterte announced his resignation during a special session of the Davao City Council. Davao is President Duterte’s hometown and its mayor is Paolo’s younger sister, Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“There are recent unfortunate events in…