Masala bonds enable Indian companies to borrow money from overseas without taking on any currency risk. After the Covid-19 crisis, they will play an important role in building the Indian economy.
Transgender Malaysian Nur Sajat gets death threats, disappears after Facebook video appears to show her renouncing Islam
A prominent transgender entrepreneur in Malaysia has received death threats after a video emerged that purportedly showed her renouncing Islam. The video, which has gone viral, appears to show Muhammad Sajjad Kamaruz Zaman, 35, popularly known as Nur Sajat, saying she does not “want to be a Muslim any more”. “I will leave Islam, it would be better like this. [People who are anti-trans] made me want to quit the religion. Because we didn’t do anything wrong but people harshly blame us for being…
Singapore to impose harsher penalties for certain sex crimes
Singapore will increase penalties for some sex crimes, officials said on Friday, after an outcry over students at elite universities being given punishments criticised as too lenient for attacks on women.Last year, a dentistry student at the National University of Singapore spent just 12 days behind bars for trying to strangle his ex-girlfriend. Another student from the same university was initially sentenced to probation for molesting a woman on a train.Many were outraged at what they saw as…
Claims management companies could capitalise on BI insurance action
Business interruption insurance (BII) policyholders have reported an increase in targeted online marketing from claims management companies (CMCs) following the UK Supreme Court’s recent judgment on BII and Covid-19.
UK Budget 2021: boost for tech, R&D and innovation
New measures to help UK businesses fund their growth, and develop their digital skills in the process, are welcome steps towards ensuring the UK remains globally competitive, a legal expert has said.
Myanmar coup: 19 policemen seek shelter in India to avoid military junta’s violent crackdown
At least 19 Myanmar police have crossed into India to escape taking orders from a military junta that is trying to suppress protests against last month’s coup, an Indian police official said on Thursday, adding that more were expected.The men have crossed into Champhai and Serchhip, two districts in the northeastern state of Mizoram that share a porous border with Myanmar, the official said, declining to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.All the men, who are lower-ranking…
Penang’s durian season will arrive late this year but harvest expected to be high quality
Penang’s durian season will be late this year but better quality fruits are expected when they start falling in May.Tan Chee Keat, who owns orchards in Balik Pulau, Teluk Bahang and Teluk Kumbar, predicted that the durian season would run from May to August.“The yield this year may come later but the fruit quality is expected to be a lot better than last year,” he said. “This is because there was intermittent rain nearly every month last year but since December, we have seen very little…
Mitsubishi withdraws from Vietnam coal plant due to climate concerns
Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation has decided to withdraw from the 2 gigawatts (GW) Vinh Tan 3 coal-fired power plant project in the Binh Thuan province of Vietnam because of concerns about its climate impact.
1MDB scandal: husband of Malaysian central bank’s former governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz under investigation
Malaysian police on Wednesday said they were investigating the husband of the country’s former central bank head for allegedly receiving funds linked to 1MDB, a state fund at the centre of a massive corruption scandal.Malaysian and US authorities have said around US$4.5 billion was stolen from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), in a globe-spanning scandal that has implicated the country’s former prime minister, US investment firm Goldman Sachs, and others.Tawfiq Ayman, the husband of former…
Malaysia’s coronavirus vaccination efforts dogged by accusations of queue-jumping
A week after the launch of its national immunisation plan, Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination efforts have come under scrutiny following allegations that political aides and workers were jumping the queue.Local media reported that doctors had complained these staff were cutting ahead of medical frontliners to receive the vaccine.In a swift response, science minister Khairy Jamaluddin – who is at the helm of Malaysia’s 4 billion ringgit (US$985 million) public health plan – said he would…