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The progress by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Myanmar has not been as effective as hoped, Singapore’s foreign minister said in an interview.The United Nations and many countries have urged Asean, whose 10 members include Myanmar, to restore stability through diplomacy.“(The bloc is) not as effective or as quick as we would have hoped for. But this is a difficult situation,” Vivian Balakrishnan said.As Myanmar battles Covid-19, calls arise for aid without legitimising…

The publication of new sentencing guidelines for modern slavery offences should bring home to UK businesses the continued focus on modern slavery by law enforcement bodies, a legal expert has said.

A British man was sentenced to six weeks’ jail in Singapore for not wearing a mask and harassing police, officials confirmed Thursday.The city state, which has had comparatively mild Covid-19 outbreaks, has taken a tough line against people breaking virus rules, and there have been several cases of foreigners being punished.Benjamin Glynn was arrested after footage of him not wearing a mask on a train in May went viral.The 40-year-old subsequently harassed police sent to arrest him, and refused…

Asian airlines are reporting high vaccination take-up rates among pilots and cabin crew as they wait for the region’s tight pandemic-related border controls to be relaxed.International travel in the Asia-Pacific region remains down about 95 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, and concerns about the Delta variant have led to even stricter quarantines or flight caps in some places, leaving many aircrew members idle and hoping for a recovery.Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Australia’s Qantas…

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is temporarily lifting some work permit renewal and other conditions to ease labour shortages due to Covid-19 related border closures.

Malaysia’s king on Wednesday said the country’s soon-to-be-appointed new prime minister must immediately test his support in parliament, a move that could prolong the political crisis that led to Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation this week.The royal statement from the office of Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah came hours before a 4pm deadline for the country’s 220 MPs to each submit a single nominee for prime minister.The secret ballot will help the monarch make a decision on who is most likely…

Southeast Asian countries need more help securing Covid-19 vaccines, as the region struggles to contain record infections and deaths driven by the Delta variant, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.The region escaped the worst when the pandemic erupted last year, but in recent weeks has seen the highest deaths globally, as soaring infections push fragile health care systems to the brink and expose sluggish vaccination roll-outs.“This Covid-19 surge driven…

Construction projects continue to be impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic, with a knock-on effect on claims.

Australia will not be able to help all Afghans who worked with its military, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, as it prepares its evacuation plan after the Taliban seized control of the country.Australia said on Monday it would send 250 military personnel to Kabul to evacuate it citizens and an unspecified number of Afghans who had been given visas after working with Australia.US forces in control of Kabul’s airport resumed evacuation flights on Tuesday, a day after chaos there as…

New Zealand will go into a hard lockdown within hours as it deals with its first community case of Covid-19 in almost six months.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a case had been detected in Auckland on Tuesday.As a result, the entire country will be placed in a hard lockdown for at least three days – meaning all schools and non-essential businesses must close. People are only able to leave their homes to visit the supermarket, for solo exercise, or for medical care.“We’ve seen the dire…