Bollywood has never known anything like it. It has been accused of cruelty to talented outsiders trying to break in, abuse of power by the dominant film families, bullying, intimidation, and mafioso behaviour. And actress Kangana Ranaut is only warming up. Ranaut, 33, has never been shy about accusing directors and producers of favouritism, but her latest tirades against her fellow celebrities in a series of tweets and interviews have left the Indian film industry paralysed with shock. …
Singapore reviews penalties after outcry over sentencing of NUS student in strangling case
Singapore authorities on Tuesday pledged to review sentencing guidelines for cases involving violence against women, following a public outcry over the relatively light sentence meted out to an undergraduate who attempted to strangle his girlfriend last year.In a rare rebuke of a court ruling by the establishment, female MPs from the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) issued a statement expressing dismay over a sentence they described as “disproportionate to the offence” committed by 23…
Singapore dentistry student who strangled, injured ex-girlfriend suspended from NUS
A student from the National University of Singapore (NUS) who was convicted of strangling and pressing the eye of his ex-girlfriend has been suspended and barred from entering the campus while the university conducts disciplinary proceedings. In a statement uploaded on its Facebook page on Monday, NUS said it did not have the jurisdiction to investigate matters beyond the university. “As such, NUS had to wait for the completion of the court proceedings to gather the facts of the case. We will…
Japan to pay firms to produce goods locally or in Southeast Asia, in shift from China
The government of Japan will start subsidising some companies to invest in local factories and those in Southeast Asia as part of efforts to reduce reliance on manufacturing in China.Fifty-seven firms, including privately-held face mask-maker Iris Ohyama and Sharp, will receive a total of 57.4 billion yen (US$536 million) in subsidies from the government to invest in production in Japan, said the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on Friday.Another 30 firms will receive money for…
India, Nepal, Bangladesh monsoon floods displace nearly 4 million people
Nearly 4 million people in India’s northeastern state of Assam and neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh have been displaced by heavy flooding from monsoon rains, with dozens missing and about 200 dead, government officials said on Sunday.The overflowing Brahmaputra River, which flows through China’s Tibet, India and Bangladesh, has damaged crops and triggered mudslides, displacing millions of people, officials said.More than 2.75 million people in Assam have been displaced by three waves of floods…
Young Thai protesters inspired by Hong Kong demand change but fear blowback
United in their derision of a government they say is failing Thailand and inspired by the tactics, garb and wit of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, thousands of young Thais took to the streets of Bangkok on Saturday to demand change.But in a country with a grim record of crushing student movements, such a political awakening could prove dangerous for those who followed calls over social media to descend on the capital’s Democracy Monument – a symbolic spot which commemorates the end of…
A deadly turn on China’s Belt and Road raises the stakes in Pakistan
The security risks – and costs – of Belt and Road Initiative projects in Pakistan are rising amid a resurgence of deadly attacks by separatists in southwest Balochistan province, home to the Chinese-operated port of Gwadar. In the third such attack since May, militant separatists opened fire on a patrolling paramilitary convoy in Panjgur district on Tuesday, killing three soldiers and wounding eight others, including an army colonel, the military said. Militant ethnic Baloch factions have…
US-China tensions: why is Malaysia so quiet about the South China Sea?
Malaysia’s South China Sea policy has come under the spotlight after a public rebuke of its foreign minister Hishammuddin Hussein by one of his predecessors Anifah Aman, and as Washington hardens its position against Beijing over the disputed waterway.Anifah, who was foreign minister for nine years until the downfall of ex-leader Najib Razak’s government in the May 2018 election, admonished Hishammuddin on Thursday for saying Chinese ships had not intruded into Malaysian waters for the past 100…
Political rising star Sachin Pilot’s Rajasthan sacking exposes India’s Congress party troubles
The shock sacking of the second most senior government official in India’s northwestern state of Rajasthan has caused political turmoil as the country crossed a grim milestone of 1 million coronavirus cases on Friday and authorities suggested people should learn to “live with the virus”. It was the refusal of Sachin Pilot, deputy chief minister of the country’s largest state by land area, to toe the party line that reportedly led to his dismissal – all the more surprising because he had been…
Thailand’s cabinet reshuffle leaves investors anxious amid economic gloom
The resignation of four economic ministers in Thailand on Thursday has left investors anxious about how Southeast Asia’s worst-performing economy will recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the future of Chinese and Japanese investments in the country. Deputy prime minister Somkid Jatusripitak, known as the economic policy tsar, and finance minister Uttama Savanayana had overseen the roll-out of stimulus measures worth billions of dollars to boost the tourism-dependent economy,…