Month: September 2021

When news broke last week that prominent Malaysian transgender businesswoman Nur Sajat was detained in Thailand over an invalid passport, she trended to the top of Twitter.The 36-year-old Muslim cosmetics entrepreneur disappeared from Malaysia in February after being accused of insulting Islam by dressing as a woman.While on the run, she continued to appear on Instagram, sometimes on a live feed chatting with her followers, and posted TikTok videos promoting her products.She was charged with…

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sounded an optimistic tone about lifting Japan’s state of emergency when it expires at the end of this month, saying the Covid-19 situation in the country was improving.“The situation has certainly taken a turn for the better,” Suga told reporters in Washington a day after attending the first in-person meeting of the leaders of Japan, the US, Australia and India.Citing the fact that the number of new cases in Japan had dropped to about 3,000 a day from…

It’s just after 6.30pm on September 17, and the first deafening bangs of the night are reverberating under the bridge at the Din Daeng intersection in Bangkok as tear gas is fired. Young protesters in motorcycle helmets are flitting through the smoke to launch projectiles at Thai riot police and goad them to come closer.The nightly dance ends in clashes as police armed with batons and rubber bullets chase the youths – some barely teens – through Din Daeng, making arrests and riling residents by…

Australian government has announced an additional A$150 million (US$110m) in funding for hydrogen hubs across seven prioritised regional sites.

Japan’s Princess Mako is set to forego a one-off million-dollar payment for giving up her royal status to wed a college classmate, media said on Saturday, clearing the way for a marriage delayed for years by controversy over her fiancé.The 29-year-old granddaughter of then-Emperor Akihito and her former college classmate, Kei Komuro, announced their engagement in 2017.But the marriage was put off after reports of a financial dispute between Komuro’s mother and her former fiancé.Partner of Japan…

Indonesia’s plan to involve Japan and China to build two separate routes for the same railway project has raised debt-trap fears and concerns that Jakarta’s ties with long-time investor Tokyo could weaken, analysts say.Japan was in 2019 granted the project to build a semi-high-speed rail link connecting capital Jakarta to Surabaya in East Java, Indonesia’s second-biggest city, despite lobbying by the state-owned China Railways Construction Corporation.But plans changed last year, with President…

A new bill introduced to federal parliament will spark the development of the emerging offshore wind industry in Australia.

Singapore on Friday moved to tighten Covid-19 measures as daily infections soared to record levels, with diners once again limited to groups of two – instead of up to five – and companies directed to make working from home the default setting.The restrictions kick in on Monday and will last for a month, until October 24. Their resumption comes after authorities in the city state on August 10 allowed residents to eat in at restaurants, following the lifting of a previous round of restrictions…

The Irish government has announced Ireland’s largest-ever housing budget as part of its housing plan to 2030.

Malaysia and Singapore will recognise each other’s vaccination certificates to allow movement between the two countries, National Recovery Council (NRC) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday.Muhyiddin said he had been in touch with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently and they discussed the importance of reopening the border to both countries.“Lee agreed but with the Covid-19 situation and vaccination in Malaysia and Singapore yet to be over, he was a bit cautious.“However, the…