An Indian magician who entered the Ganges river on Sunday tied up with steel chains and rope is missing, police said.Chanchal Lahiri, known by his stage name “Jadugar Mandrake” (Wizard Mandrake), was lowered into the river by crane as family members, media and police watched from the banks.But the 40-year-old failed to emerge from the water, triggering a frantic search by authorities.“We are still searching,” a family member said.Lahiri earlier said he had successfully pulled off a similar…
Italy’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ arrested in Thailand for George Clooney fraud, fake Rolex scams
An Italian who allegedly posed as Hollywood superstar George Clooney to sell clothes online has been arrested with his wife in Thailand after years on the run, police said on Sunday.Francesco Galdelli, 58, and Vanja Goffi, 45, were arrested on Saturday at a house on the outskirts of Pattaya after an operation between Thai and Italian authorities, officials said.“During interrogation, Francesco confessed to claiming to be George Clooney and opening a clothes business to trick people into sending…
On the Singapore media’s run-ins with Lee Kuan Yew, and the newsroom calamity waiting to happen: veteran newsman PN Balji tells all in new book
Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist by PN Balji sheds further light on the complicated and at times confrontational relationship between journalists and the government in Singapore’s tightly controlled media environment.Balji spent 40 years working in five newsrooms and oversaw the coverage of some of Singapore’s most significant events. This book also recounts the highs and lows of his career and the behind-the-scenes drama…
Veteran Singaporean newspaper editor PN Balji on press freedom, Lee Kuan Yew and the ‘sin’ of self-censorship
Government dominance over Singapore’s media dating back to the era of Lee Kuan Yew, the city state’s late founding prime minister, will likely continue even as a new generation of leaders prepare to take power, according to one of the country’s most respected former newspaper editors.PN Balji, the former chief editor of the English language newspapers Today and The New Paper, said however that during his decades-long career he found Lee – father of the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong –…
Malaysia’s Azmin Ali sex scandal: politician Haziq Abdul Aziz arrested at airport after confessing to appearing in video
A politician who confessed to being in a sex video that implicated a Malaysian minister has been arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, local media reported on Friday.Haziq Abdul Aziz, a member of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), was arrested at about 5.30pm. The police have not yet revealed the reason for his arrest.It follows the arrest on Friday morning of two members of the opposition for not cooperating with the police and using abusive language after one refused to hand over his…
Philippine fishermen protest Chinese harvesting of giant clams on Scarborough Shoal in further South China Sea dispute
Beijing has ignored a protest from Manila asking Chinese fishermen to cease harvesting giant clams from the Scarborough Shoal, a group of Filipino fishermen claimed Friday, as bilateral tensions rise anew over the sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a suspected Chinese trawler.According to Nards Cuaresman – president of local fishermen in the town of Masinloc in Zambales, a province close to the mineral-rich South China Sea – the so-called Chinese maritime militia is using propellers…
UK introduces VAT reverse charge on renewable energy guarantees of origin
The UK is introducing a VAT reverse charge for supplies of renewable energy certificates with effect from 14 June 2019.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets Iranian leadership, tries to ease tensions with United States
Iran will not repeat its “bitter experience” of negotiating with the United States, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tehran on Thursday.Abe was carrying a message to Iranian leaders from US President Donald Trump.“I do not see Trump worthy of any message exchange, and I do not have any reply for him now or in future,” Fars news agency quoted Khamenei as saying.Khamenei also said Trump’s promise not to seek regime change in Iran was “a lie”, adding…
Indonesia benefiting as China’s shoemakers shift production as US trade war worsens, central bank official says
Indonesian exports are gaining market share in the United States in some sectors as supply chains shift away from China’s manufacturing base to the Southeast Asian nation, even though the trade war has hurt more than benefited emerging economies, said Bank Indonesia deputy governor Dody Budi Waluyo.In particular, Indonesian footwear exports to the US are seeing “some progressive performance”, Waluyo said.In the first four months of 2019, Indonesia exported footwear worth US$559.91 million to…
Philippines slams suspected Chinese vessel for ‘contemptible’ sinking of fishing boat
The Philippines on Wednesday condemned the actions of a suspected Chinese fishing vessel accused of abandoning a Filipino fishing crew after a collision in the disputed South China Sea. The boat hit an anchored Filipino craft, the F/B GIMVER 1, on Sunday near Recto Bank – claimed by both Manila and Beijing – causing it to sink and leaving 22 crewmen “to the mercy of the elements”, said Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. Although Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has largely set aside…