Tokyo’s meteorologists declared the start of the much-loved cherry blossom season in the Japanese capital on Thursday, as residents prepare to host outdoor picnics under dazzling floral displays.
The cherry season for Tokyo starts when the official sample tree at Yasukuni Shrine opens at least five flowers.
“Today, the blooming of the Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms was observed,” the Tokyo Regional Headquarters of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said in an eagerly awaited statement,…
Philippines urged to ‘seriously’ address defence gaps to counter aerial threats
As war rages in the Middle East thousands of miles from the Philippines, a senior military official has urged Manila to reflect on its own vulnerabilities, stressing that military modernisation should not be mere “lip service”.
Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jnr earlier this week called on the country to strengthen its air defences, particularly systems capable of intercepting missiles from hostile states, stressing that Manila should ensure its security suppliers meet demand in the…
Publication of SIAC challenge decisions improves transparency
Experts at Pinsent Masons say that the launch of the SIAC compendium of challenge decisions is a move that both strengthens transparency and improves predictability for SIAC users.
Southeast Asia’s AI data centre gold rush tests power grids in the tropical heat
Singapore sits just one degree north of the equator, where the air rarely drops below 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and humidity clings year round.
It is, by most measures, one of the worst places on Earth to cool a data centre. Yet the city state crams more into its small footprint than almost anywhere else.
Home to more than 70 facilities and over 1.4 gigawatts of capacity, Singapore has one of the highest densities of data-centre infrastructure per capita on the planet – a…
Envoy slams Australian radio show for calling Singapore an ‘autocracy’
A recent radio programme by Australia’s national broadcaster made several “baseless claims” about Singapore’s political system, Singapore’s High Commissioner to Australia, Anil Nayar, said on Tuesday.
Nayar noted in his response that the programme’s host and several of his commentators called Singapore a “one-party state”, an “autocracy” and “verging now on a flawed democracy”.
“They portrayed Singapore’s group representation constituencies (GRCs) – introduced to guarantee minority…
Employment Rights Act raises bar for rejecting flexible working requests
The Employment Rights Act (ERA) will introduce changes to how flexible working applications in England, Scotland and Wales are handled, putting more focus on employers being seen to consider the needs of their workers.
US military’s Iran war pivot forces Asia-Pacific security rethink
The redeployment of US military assets from the Asia-Pacific to the Middle East has split security analysts, with some arguing that any strategic damage is largely “psychological” while others warn of a real and measurable gap opening in the region’s defences.
More than 2,000 marines and at least one amphibious assault ship have begun moving from Japan towards the Gulf as the US-Israeli war on Iran grinds on. The assault ship USS Tripoli, docked at Sasebo in Nagasaki prefecture, is expected to…
Malaysian mother furious after school punishes bullied son with caning, weeding
Not only was he punched repeatedly by a peer, a Malaysian student at a secondary school in Kuching, Sarawak, was caned and forced to write a note admitting his mistake, China Press reported.
Angered at how the case was handled, the boy’s mother shared the incident on social media and lodged a police report.
The incident took place last Thursday when another student allegedly grabbed her son’s leg and caused him to fall.
The victim’s mother said the aggressor then sat on top of her son before…
Need for broader protections highlighted as judge makes first SLAPP ruling under ECCTA
An historic ruling against a multi-million pound libel suit highlights the needs for broader speech protection laws in the UK, according to an expert.
No ships cross Strait of Hormuz for first time since conflict began, data shows
Maritime tracking data showed that no ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, marking the first full day since the Middle East conflict began without any confirmed commercial traffic in either direction.
Crossings dropped to zero, below the previous seven-day average of 2.57 daily transits, according to maritime analytics firm Windward. Although no vessels entered the waterway that day, about 400 ships sailed in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, it said.
“The concentration suggests that…