Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the state of emergency in the Tokyo region would end on Sunday, after targets for relieving strain on the health care system were reached, even as coronavirus cases in the capital rose slightly.Suga on Thursday said the government would monitor the situation to prevent a fresh surge in infections, as he set an end to the measure that had been in place for more than two months in a region home to about 36 million people.“The number of new cases is flat…
Singapore and Australia discussing travel bubble
Singapore and Australia are considering creating an air travel bubble to allow residents of the two countries to travel without the need for quarantine.
In South Korea, Austin and Blinken continue US message of countering China’s ‘coercion and aggression’
The United States has continued with its message of countering Beijing’s “coercion and aggression” as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and defence secretary Lloyd Austin held one-on-one meetings with their counterparts in Seoul, a day after similar sessions in Japan.But South Korea, which counts China as its biggest economic partner, kept the focus strictly on the importance of its alliance with the US in deterring nuclear-armed North Korea and seeking a revival of talks with Pyongyang that…
Suspend Myanmar from Asean if military won’t back down: lawmakers
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations must suspend Myanmar if its military rulers refuse to restore democracy and release civilian leaders from custody following February’s coup, six prominent past and present regional lawmakers said on Wednesday.The joint statement – initiated by Cambodia’s exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy – said regional governments in the 10-nation bloc needed to abandon “the old doctrine of non-interference” in the affairs of other Asean members, and instead explore…
Malaysia shortlists 823MW of large-scale solar bidders
Malaysia’s Energy Commission has announced the shortlisted bidders after it made a request for proposals for 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar projects in the fourth round of its large-scale solar (LSS) programme.
Malaysia’s Anwar denies ‘compromise’ in talks with Najib’s Umno
Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday sought to defuse dissent among supporters over a purported plan to join forces in upcoming polls with rivals such as the ex-leader Najib Razak, saying talks remained at a preliminary stage.Anwar’s supporters have reacted with consternation after the 73-year-old said in a weekend interview that his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (Umno) shared fundamental goals.Those comments stood in sharp contrast…
Singapore jails woman who asked domestic helper to punch herself and hit her teeth with meat pounder
A Singaporean woman who abused her domestic helper over eight months, making her punch herself and use a meat pounder to hit her mouth, was jailed for 15 months on Tuesday.Mun Sau Yeng, 41, was suffering from depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) at the time, the court heard.She pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means to a maid and two charges of voluntarily causing hurt. Another four charges were considered.The victim began working for Mun, a…
Application of planning policy in hands of decision-makers not courts, says court
A court has clarified that assessment of what constitutes “isolated homes in the countryside” and the weighing of harm against benefits in proposals relating to heritage assets are both matters of planning judgment.
In the Philippines, students suffer as Covid-19 school shutdowns drag on
Andrix Serrano studies alone inside a Manila slum shack he shares with his street-sweeper grandmother. Like many in his fourth-grade class, he has no internet for his closed school’s online lessons.A year after the coronavirus pandemic sent the Philippines into a months-long lockdown, classrooms across the country remain empty and children are still stuck at home.Fearing youngsters could catch the virus and infect elderly relatives, President Rodrigo Duterte refuses to lift the restrictions…
Malaysian court’s decision to allow use of ‘Allah’ by Christians heralds political, social tension
A Malaysian court’s decision last week to overturn a decades-old policy banning Christians from referring to God by using the Arabic word “Allah” is unlikely to close the chapter on the saga, analysts say, with the government on Monday appealing against the ruling following pressure from conservative Muslims. With the country likely headed for fresh elections later this year, the resurgence of the issue – and the possibility of rekindled tensions among Muslims and Christians – might give…