Two Mercury-bound spacecraft left their mother ship behind on Thursday and headed down the home stretch of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system’s smallest and closest-to-the-sun planet.
The linked European and Japanese spacecraft separated as planned from their cruiser, but controllers had to wait two anxious hours to receive confirmation via radio signals.
The crucial operation was broadcast from the European Space Agency’s control centre in Germany, more than 200 million km (124…
Businesses should review force majeure provisions following High Court decision
Businesses should review and negotiate force majeure provisions with greater care following a ruling by the English High Court that underlines both the importance of contractual drafting and the need for strict compliance with notice requirements when seeking to rely on such clauses, experts have said.
Over 1,700 Indonesians get food poisoning after eating state-issued free meals
Another 777 students and teachers contracted food poisoning in Indonesia’s Central Java after consuming government-issued free meals, a school principal said on Thursday, bringing the total number of people made ill by the scheme to more than 1,700 in just a week.
In separate incidents in three other locations this week, 950 Indonesians had fallen ill as a result of food poisoning linked to the programme, a member of a parliamentary commission overseeing health said.
President Prabowo Subianto…
Vietnam arrests deputy minister over probe into huge bribes
Vietnamese police arrested a deputy health minister on Wednesday for allegedly accepting huge bribes, part of an investigation into a company accused of smuggling medical equipment, authorities said.
Vietnam has pursued a high-profile anti-corruption campaign in recent years that has netted dozens of business leaders and senior government figures.
Deputy Health Minister Tran Van Thuan, a leading oncologist in Vietnam, was taken into custody “due to his acceptance of bribes involving a large sum…
Can Singapore be the ‘natural choice’ to bridge Asean and Central Asia?
Singapore is positioning itself as a bridge between Central Asia and Asean, as both regions increasingly look to each other amid growing disruption to global trade and intensifying superpower rivalry.
The political appetite exists, but analysts say trade benefits will still hinge on overcoming obstacles such as geography and a lack of connectivity.
Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong pitched the city state to Central Asian businesses during his visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from…
Should South Africa learn from the UK’s renewed late payment debate?
As the UK considers its most extensive late payment reforms in more than 25 years, we examine if South Africa should review whether stronger payment rights could improve outcomes for the country’s construction industry.
ChatGPT designated as ‘very large online search engine’ in the EU
ChatGPT has become the first generative AI service to be brought within scope of the EU’s most stringent online safety laws after it was designated as a ‘very large online search engine’ (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Trump’s North Korea hope, US revokes visas, China’s rocket force: 7 global relations reads
We have selected seven of the most interesting and important news stories covering global relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Trump says he plans to meet Kim Jong-un this year, citing good relationship US President Donald Trump said that he planned to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un later this year, despite Pyongyang denying that the two leaders were in direct communication.
Read the full story here.
2. China…
Philippine capital’s ‘acutely unhealthy’ air due to Indonesian haze spurs warnings
Smoke from Indonesian wildfires blanketed Manila on Tuesday, turning fires nearly 2,000km (1,242 miles) away into a public-health warning for the Philippine capital and reviving concerns over Southeast Asia’s recurring transboundary haze problem.
The haze, carried by southwesterly winds from fires in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, prompted health experts to urge people to wear N95 masks outdoors as air quality deteriorated across parts of Metro Manila.
In parts of the capital region,…
India needs to make up its mind about economic ties with China
As India prepares for the Brics summit less than two weeks away, relations with China are warming up. On July 22, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during the East Asia Summit; five days later, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited China. Last week, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval also visited Beijing, for border talks.
But India remains deeply ambivalent when it comes to economic engagement with China: it seeks Chinese…