In a makeshift studio inside his public housing flat in Singapore, Shane Soh stands before his smartphone, running his fingers through a towel as he extols its softness to viewers watching his live stream.
A ring light illuminates his face while more than a dozen other products sit on a shelf behind him, waiting for their moment on camera.
“Don’t just buy one towel today, but get bedsheets as well. It’s perfect for Hari Raya or Christmas, and the thread count is 1,800 … It’s the best kind of…
Labour delivers on its 2024 manifesto to end North Sea licensing
The Energy Independence Bill published by the UK government makes good on the 2024 Labour manifesto pledge to effectively end offshore licencing for North Sea oil and gas. However, not all exploration would be forbidden under the proposals, though the traditional method of drilling to find resource would no longer be possible.
Activist Greta Thunberg arrives at UN climate talks in Turkey
Prominent climate change activist Greta Thunberg arrived Tuesday at the UN climate meeting, where she emphasised the need to protect people and the planet over profits and power.
This year’s meeting – called the Conference of the Parties, or Cop31 – comes after a year of climate-induced heatwaves and other disasters.
As she arrived at the meeting venue in Antalya, Turkey, Thunberg, 23, said climate change is “threatening everything” and that “everything and everyone we love is at stake”.
“We…
Philippines’ Marcos accused of hiding Manila’s poor behind art for Asean summit
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration has been accused of trying to conceal Manila’s urban poverty by clearing street vendors and homeless people along key routes ahead of next week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
Antonio Tinio, deputy minority floor leader of the House of Representatives representing the ACT Teachers Party List, claimed on Monday that authorities had launched operations to displace poor communities across the capital to present a…
Australia’s financial markets enter 2027 searching for certainty
Australia’s financial markets began 2026 with cautious optimism but end the year facing greater uncertainty.
Singapore firm Megaspeed back in the spotlight over Nvidia scandal, China chip allegations
A little-known Singapore-registered company is embroiled in a mounting love scandal surrounding Nvidia chief Jensen Huang and US allegations of Chinese espionage.
Huang’s admission of an extramarital affair has renewed scrutiny of Megaspeed, after media reports identified a former executive of the Singapore firm as the woman involved in the relationship, which US officials suspect was linked to Chinese espionage.
Megaspeed, a major Nvidia customer, is believed to have been founded and led by…
In Malaysia, Najib’s house arrest pits palace against prosecutors
A growing dispute over former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s house arrest has thrust the attorney general’s powers into the spotlight, raising the spectre of a constitutional clash – though legal experts say it falls short of a full-blown crisis.
Najib, 73, was due to move from Kajang Prison to his Kuala Lumpur home on Friday after his political party, Umno, paid a 50 million ringgit (US$12.3 million) fine, fulfilling a condition of a royal pardon issued in September allowing him to…
Indonesian firefighting helicopter crash in Borneo kills 1
A crew member of a helicopter battling Indonesian wildfires was killed on Sunday when the aircraft crashed into a river as it scooped up water for an airborne drop, a local disaster agency said.
The crash in Borneo Island’s South Kalimantan province was the second in days involving a firefighting aircraft, after a military helicopter plunged into the waters off Borneo on Wednesday, killing three people.
Two Australian pilots survived Sunday’s crash and were “safe”, Berton Panjaitan, a spokesman…
Southeast Asia’s green push brings solar power, but who pays to keep it on?
For most of his life, Osman Uki lived in a world dictated by the sun, relying on kerosene and leftover cooking oil to light his home in a remote indigenous village in Malaysia.
That changed in April when solar power finally reached Kampung Bertang in the state of Pahang, allowing families to power electric lights, refrigerators and rice cookers.
For Osman, one of the biggest changes is what happens after sunset.
“We are happy with the light we have at night. The kids can read at night now. We…
New Zealand election first count ends with 2 main parties nearly deadlocked
New Zealand’s ruling centre-right National Party and main opposition Labour were nearly deadlocked in the popular vote after initial counting in the nationwide general election on Saturday.
Results from the Electoral Commission show that with more than 95 per cent of the ballots counted, both parties were polling just short of 30 per cent of the popular vote, with just a few thousand votes separating the two.
A projection from New Zealand’s Electoral Commission showed the current three-party…