Japan has partnered with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to support Kazakhstan’s efforts to address the decline in the Caspian Sea’s water level driven by climate change, pledging a 465 million yen (US$3 million) grant towards its sustainable use.
Under the initiative for the world’s largest inland water body, Japan hopes to promote cooperation among littoral states on water resource management and enhance monitoring systems, according to the foreign ministry. The decline in the Caspian…
Drug traffickers using social media to hire Thai airline staff as couriers
Early in the morning on June 18, a message from an unknown account slipped into the TikTok inbox of a flight attendant in Bangkok with a series of questions: “Are you flying to Australia? Do you do carry-for-hire? What is your rate?”
The 30-year-old, who flies for a regional budget carrier, ignored the message and forgot about it – until Tuesday, when a Thai Airways flight attendant was charged with importing more than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin into Australia hidden in several tote…
Will Johor-Singapore causeway bottlenecks sway outcome of Malaysia’s state election?
Adli Hakimi knows the first obstacle in Johor’s state election is not the ballot box, but the Causeway.
The 26-year-old nurse is among Johor’s workers based in the city state – often called “SGD fighters” online for earning stronger Singapore-dollar wages – who are weighing leave, shifts and border queues before polling day on July 11.
For Malaysia, the challenge is keeping immigration glitches and Causeway congestion at bay so that these voters can take part in one of the country’s most closely…
Anwar vows Malaysia to pursue Jho Low over 1MDB despite potential US pardon
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday said Malaysia would maintain its legal pursuit of Jho Low even if the fugitive financier were to receive a US presidential pardon.
Low, the alleged mastermind behind the 1MDB scandal, was charged in 2018 with conspiring to launder billions of dollars from the sovereign wealth fund and violating anti-bribery laws in Malaysia.
He also reportedly used the stolen loot to gain access to Hollywood A-listers and buy luxury homes, a superyacht and fine art…
FCA probe secures £31.7 million payout for WealthTek clients
A UK bank has paid out £31.7 million after an investigation found failures that exposed WealthTek’s clients to the risk of financial crime.
Papua rebels shoot American pilot dead, torch plane to send ‘message’ to US
Rebels in Indonesia’s restive easternmost region of Papua on Thursday shot dead an American pilot and set a civilian plane on fire in what a spokesperson for a local separatist group described as a “message” to the US and Indonesian governments.
A low-level battle for independence from Indonesia has long raged in the resource-rich western half of Papua, where attacks by independence fighters have grown deadlier and more frequent as they have procured better weaponry.
Sebby Sambom, a…
Philippine senator links fatal school shooting to 764 online extremist network
A deadly school shooting in the central Philippines has prompted warnings from lawmakers and cybersecurity experts that violent online extremist networks may be approaching Filipino children through gaming platforms and chat groups.
At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros said there were signs that the perpetrators behind a deadly school shooting in Tacloban City might have been influenced by 764, a nihilistic violent extremist network accused of targeting vulnerable…
US ruling raises fresh questions for EU-US data transfers
Businesses should re-assess the risks of sending personal data from the EU to the US following a new ruling, experts have said.
UK’s employment tribunal backlog sharpens focus on grievance handling
Trish Embley tells HRNews about the growing demands placed on line managers and the practical skills they need to resolve workplace concerns effectively.
China’s Fifa fever, EU’s trade deadline: 7 global relations reads
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. With no team in World Cup, Chinese fans root for Ronaldo, Messi … and a referee Among the hundreds of thousands of fans who travelled to North America for the World Cup are countless Chinese supporters. Yet while China remains one of the world’s largest football markets, its presence at the…