Britain’s new aircraft carrier the HMS Queen Elizabeth made a stop in Singapore on Monday, part of a move to reassert itself globally and boost its military presence in Asia amid rising competition among major powers.The Queen Elizabeth led a British carrier strike group in exercises with Singapore’s military at the weekend, including naval manoeuvres and simulated combat training with F-35B stealth fighters and F-16 jets.Britain plans to permanently deploy warships in Asian waters, where the…
Japan’s new PM Fumio Kishida defends pro-nuclear stance in parliamentary debut
Japan’s new prime minister Fumio Kishida on Monday defended his pronuclear energy policies, saying that restarting nuclear power plants mothballed since the 2011 Fukushima disaster was vital.Energy became a key issue during the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) recent leadership race, during which Kishida beat Taro Kono, a former vaccine minister who had spoken out against nuclear energy, to become prime minister.“It’s crucial that we restart nuclear power plants,” Kishida said as he…
Indonesia’s iconic Indomie is beloved by millions, from students in Europe to prisoners in Australia
Indomie has reinforced its status as Indonesia’s most-loved export product, after being the only brand mentioned twice in New York Magazine’s latest rankings of the world’s best instant noodles.The list saw a group of US food writers and chefs ranking 10 of their favourite instant noodles, and classified them into three categories: soupy, saucy and spicy.Indomie’s original flavour, Mi Goreng, and its barbecue chicken variation, top the best saucy instant noodles list due to their “strong…
Malaysia joins Southeast Asia’s ‘living with Covid’ push with restart of interstate, outbound travel
Malaysia will end a ban on interstate movement and relax outbound international travel for vaccinated residents starting Monday, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said, in a major reopening milestone as the country’s adult Covid-19 vaccination rate reached 90 per cent.The latest move by Malaysia, roiled by a disastrous surge in cases earlier this year, comes as neighbours such as Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand begin eyeing broader reopening of their economies and borders in the coming…
Maria Ressa’s Nobel Peace Prize win: President Duterte silent as Philippine journalists rejoice
A day after Rappler CEO and co-founder Maria Ressa won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, there was silence from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, his spokesman and political allies.But many of the country’s journalists, who have been under relentless attack by the Duterte government for critically reporting on the extrajudicial killings in his war on drugs, and lately against suspected communists, rejoiced at the accolade showered on their colleague.“Thank you Rodrigo Duterte,” 2018 Pulitzer…
Singapore to open travel corridors with US, UK, six other ‘living with Covid’ nations
Singapore and eight Western nations including the United States and Britain will soon open quarantine-free travel lanes for vaccinated travellers, authorities said on Saturday, marking the country’s most extensive easing of travel restrictions since borders were shut last March.Canada, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark will also open “vaccinated travel lanes” with the island nation. These lanes will begin operations starting October 19.The new travel corridors were unveiled as…
Singapore extends measures to support construction companies
Singapore’s Ministry of National Development (MND) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA) have separately taken measures to help local construction companies mitigate the impact of Covid-19.
Australia to issue carbon credits for carbon capture and storage
The Australian government has announced plans to award carbon credits to ‘carbon capture and storage’ (CCS) projects, in what it has described as a global first.
When IP is in the wrong place in M&A deal making
Failing to properly record ownership of intellectual property (IP) can hold up mergers and acquisitions, spur litigation, limit the scope of businesses to assert their rights over that IP, and lead to greater cost and complexity to address the position. Despite this, it happens regularly.
Twin panda cubs at Tokyo zoo named Xiao Xiao, Lei Lei
Giant panda twins born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in June got their names on Friday – Lei Lei for the female cub, and Xiao Xiao for her brother. They were chosen from hundreds of thousands of suggestions sent from fans around Japan.The twin cubs, which were palm-size pink creatures when born on June 23, have grown and now have their unique black-and-white blocks, with black fur around their eyes, ears and limbs.Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced their names during her weekly news conference. She…