Author: viking

They don’t yell or protest. They don’t hold signs or march. But in Singapore, a chorus of concern is rising on their behalf. From living rooms to parliament, the country is facing hard questions about the way animals are seen, protected and valued.
In February, a 32-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to 14 months in jail for abusing five community cats – a spree of violence that culminated in the horrific act of throwing two of them from high-rise public housing blocks in Ang Mo Kio.
Just…

Renowned historian Wang Gungwu’s Roads to Chinese Modernity: Civilisation and National Culture traces China’s transformation from an ancient civilisation into a modern nation-state shaped by revolution, reform and global engagement. Drawing on decades of scholarship and his unique perspective as an overseas Chinese intellectual, Wang reflects in this excerpt on Deng Xiaoping’s legacy and the enduring challenge facing China’s leaders today: how to build a modern national culture that embraces…

Japan has ratified its reciprocal access agreement (RAA) with the Philippines six months after Manila did, with the long-awaited move seen as a signal that Manila has proved its value as a strategic and defence partner to Tokyo.
The ratification by the Diet follows Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s recent visit to the Philippines, with analysts previously observing that the trip suggested his administration was poised to finalise the agreement.
The RAA allows the deployment of Filipino…

The UK’s new carried interest tax rules will not include two qualifying conditions which would have restricted access to a lower tax rate under the regime, the government has now confirmed.

An interim report by the independent commission set up to review the water sector in England and Wales proposes sweeping changes to its structure, regulation, and investment strategy, aiming to restore public trust and ensure long-term water security, an expert has said.

The UK government’s Pension Schemes Bill promises a number of significant changes and should be welcomed by the pensions industry, experts have said.

Lenders making joint loans for non-commercial purposes should now identify all loans where one borrower receives an exclusive benefit and then ensure that the other borrower receives independent legal advice, an expert has said, after the UK’s highest court ruled that the existence of an exclusive benefit for one joint borrower raises a presumption that the other borrower may be under undue influence from the borrower receiving the exclusive benefit.

The EU’s highest court could clarify whether rights press publishers have to control the reproduction of their content online are engaged where extracts of their content are displayed to users of generative AI (gen-AI) tools operated by other businesses.

The UK government’s plans to withdraw public funding for level 7 apprenticeships for individuals aged 22 and over will impact employers and training providers and make it harder for people to enter certain professions, experts have said.

While a US port fee targeting ships linked to China has made some vessel buyers hesitant, major shipping companies – including Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest – are opting to continue working with Chinese shipyards, saying their competitiveness cannot be easily matched in the short term.
Despite the United States’ determination to challenge China’s dominance in global shipbuilding, MSC senior vice-president Marie-Caroline Laurent told the Nor-Shipping Forum in Oslo this…