Lin Han and his wife Wanwan Lei have had a fruitful summer. The co-founders of Beijing’s M Woods Museum recently spent nearly a month on an art tour around Europe. Their travels took them from Antwerp in Brussels and Basel in Switzerland to Venice in Italy and Kassel in Germany, but the young collectors are keen to emphasise this was no shopping spree. Rather, it was an intense learning experience.
“When we planned for this trip, we wanted to focus on art. On the road we went to…
In faraway Chechnya, tens of thousands rally against ‘genocide’ of Rohingya in Myanmar
In an apparent bid to raise his profile as Russia’s most influential Muslim, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov brought tens of thousands of people to the streets of the capital Grozny on Monday to protest what he called the “genocide of Muslims” in Myanmar.
Violence over the past few days in Myanmar’s Rakhine state has killed nearly 400 people and prompted thousands of ethnic Rohingya refugees to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.
State television footage showed tens of…
Insurers should innovate in wake of Hurricane Harvey, says expert
The catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas will not have a significant impact on the insurance and reinsurance markets, despite the damage caused to thousands of homes, an expert has said.
In stark terms, US tells North Korea it risks ‘massive military response’ after nuclear test
The United States has warned it could launch a “massive military response” to threats from North Korea following Pyongyang’s provocative detonation of what it claimed was a miniaturised hydrogen bomb.
The comments from Defence Secretary Jim Mattis came after US President Donald Trump called an emergency meeting of his national security advisers to discuss what was an unexpectedly powerful nuclear test said to exceed in magnitude the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.
South…
Cambodia Daily to close after US$6.3 million tax row with government
One of Cambodia’s last remaining independent newspapers announced on Sunday it was closing after 24 years, the latest in a series of blows to critics of strongman premier Hun Sen.
The Cambodia Daily said Monday’s edition would be its last after it was slapped with a US$6.3 million tax bill which its publishers said was politically motivated.
“The power to tax is the power to destroy. And after 24 years, one month and 15 days, the Cambodian government has destroyed The Cambodia…
6.3 magnitude ‘explosion’ in North Korea, could be nuclear test
An “explosion” measuring 6.3 magnitude was detected in North Korea Sunday after Pyongyang said it had developed an advanced hydrogen bomb that possessed “great destructive power”.
South Korea and Japan said the North may have conducted a sixth nuclear test, according to reports from the Blue House and Kyodo.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the seismic event was “artificial”.
The US Geological Survey said the explosion struck 55 km north…
Cambodia arrests opposition leader Kem Sokha, alleging treason
Police arrested the leader of Cambodia’s main opposition party in a surprise raid on his home in the capital early Sunday, and the government issued a statement accusing him of treason.
The arrest of Kem Sokha dealt a major blow to the opposition ahead of elections due next year and was sure to raise political tensions in the volatile country.
The move comes amid a push by the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest serving rulers, to shutter critical news…
North Korea’s latest missile launch stirs discussion of pre-emptive strikes in Japan
Japan is debating whether to develop a limited pre-emptive strike capability and buy cruise missiles – ideas that were anathema in the pacifist country before the North Korea missile threat. With revisions to Japan’s defence plans under way, ruling party hawks are accelerating the moves, and some defence experts say Japan should at least consider them.
After being on the back burner in the ruling party for decades, a possibility of pre-emptive strike was formally proposed to Prime…
Thailand’s king endorses annual reshuffle of 990 military leaders
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Friday endorsed the annual reshuffle of 990 senior military officers, with a balance of officers from different factions moving into top positions.
The reshuffle is always scrutinised carefully for indications as to which factions within the powerful military are in the ascendancy.
A 2014 coup reinforced the military’s authority and although elections are promised next year, a new constitution gives the generals an important say for years to…
NEC4: a more collaborative approach
On 22 June 2017, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) updated its existing suite of standard form New Engineering Contracts with the issue of NEC4.