The slight increase reported in the amount of money businesses are spending on research and development (R&D) in the UK is a cause for concern if the UK government is to meet its stated target of increasing total investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027, a tax expert has said.
Malaysian politics: Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says he will prove he holds majority in parliament
Malaysia’s embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, under intense pressure to resign, on Wednesday insisted he retained the support of a majority of lawmakers and said he would accede to a no-confidence vote in parliament when the legislature next sits in September.Muhyiddin, 74, made the announcement during a televised address shortly after an audience with the country’s constitutional monarch, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.In Malaysia’s constant crisis, conditions are perfect for…
As Cambodian workers flee Thailand’s coronavirus surge, exodus overwhelms border facilities
Vann Thoeurn, his wife and their teenage son had been surviving on a construction site in Thailand for months despite having no work or salary.They had been working for six years on different developments in Bangkok but when work slowed after the outbreak of Covid-19, they made the decision to leave, spending their savings on bus tickets back to Cambodia, aiming to return to their family in Kampong Cham province.Thoeurn, 41, recalls his wife experiencing breathing problems days before their…
Coronavirus: Prayuth takes aim at Thailand’s celebrities as vaccine outrage mounts
First it was a charge against a teenage rapper, next the threat of defamation suits against celebrities trolling the Thai government over its stalling vaccine roll-out, then finally a ban on all media reporting “false messages” over the coronavirus response.Thailand’s notoriously thin-skinned prime minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, appears to have become especially sensitive to his critics as the coronavirus runs rampant, sinks the economy and exposes his administration to accusations of…
German warship heads for South China Sea as it deploys on six-month Indo-Pacific mission
Germany dispatched a frigate to the Indo-Pacific region on Monday for the first time in almost 20 years, in a move that could put strain on Berlin’s delicate relationship with Beijing.The “Bayern” sailed from Wilhelmshaven harbour with more than 200 soldiers on board for a six-month mission to strengthen Germany’s presence in the region that will take it to Singapore, South Korea and Australia.Crucially, in December it will also pass through the South China Sea, a flashpoint of tensions between…
How tools of disclosure can be used to combat offshore fraud
A recent ruling by a court in the Cayman Islands will be welcomed by victims of fraud that go to court in the UK seeking to recover stolen assets transferred overseas.
China’s carbon market starts trading on national scale
A nationwide online carbon market has opened in China for the first time. Previous online carbon trading was restricted to certain regions.
North Korea threatens to again suspend ties with South over joint military drills with US
Kim Jong-un’s sister warned that upcoming US-South Korea military drills could jeopardise talks with Seoul, raising doubts about a diplomatic breakthrough less than a week after both sides announced a resumption of communications.Kim Yo-jong on Sunday said the plan to hold annual allied exercises this month “seriously undermines” efforts to restore ties, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement by Kim Jong-un’s sister, one of the prominent faces of Pyongyang’s…
AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes on building the ‘low-cost unicorn’ of Asian super-apps, digibank hopes and possible SPAC listing
In 2009, during the tail end of the global financial crisis, most airline chiefs were reducing capacity and cutting routes as they bemoaned the industry’s biggest slump since the Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) crisis.AirAsia’s maverick boss Tony Fernandes, on the other hand, was talking up his expansion plans.With its position as the ultra-low-cost Walmart or McDonald’s of Asian aviation, the downturn was proving to be a silver lining for the carrier: cash-strapped travellers…
Pakistan uses army to protect projects with Chinese workers after Dasu bus blast
Two weeks after a bus blast in northern Pakistan killed 12 people, including nine Chinese nationals, Pakistani security authorities are hunting for two people and the silver Toyota Corolla car they were driving.The pair are thought to have coordinated with a suicide bomber who rammed an explosives-laden silver Honda City car into one of two buses on its way to dam worksites near the remote town of Dasu on July 14.The buses, each carrying more than 30 people, were being escorted by two vehicles…