The first five Rafale fighter jets bought from France in a multibillion-dollar deal landed in India on Wednesday and the defence minister used their arrival to launch a veiled warning to neighbouring China over territorial tensions.A water-cannon guard of honour greeted the five jets when they landed at the Ambala airbase in Haryana state. An intense nationwide spotlight on the combat jets has been sharpened by a deadly border stand-off with China.India has bought 36 Rafale fighters from France…
In Malaysia, Najib’s cheesy Super Ring jibe comes back to bite him after 1MDB verdict
What do a cheesy crunchy snack food and a global financial scandal have in common?In Malaysia, it boils down to one man: Najib Razak, the former premier convicted of corruption and abuse of power – and aficionado of the local snack Super Ring, a bright orange cheese powder-dusted snack popular among schoolchildren.Super Ring became strongly associated with Najib in May when he appeared to troll rival politicians after posting a photo of himself eating the snack – apparently not the first time…
Winter is coming and China-India border dispute shows no sign of resolution, analysts warn
The border stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops is now in its 13th week, surpassing the 72-day impasse at the Doklam plateau in 2017. While there have been nine rounds of diplomatic and military talks, including two meetings between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, as well as Wang’s talks with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, there are concerns among analysts and military veterans that the impasse is showing no signs of ending.
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Can Singapore maintain its sweet spot between China and the US?
Singapore’s long-standing relationship with the United States is a classic exposition of the island nation’s foreign policy – taking the world as it is, and seeking to entrench American power and presence in the region for the collective good. Singapore has also sought to involve as many major powers (including the US) in the regional balance, so that no power can dominate, with the Singaporean – and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) – position of not “choosing sides” between…
Kim Jong-un celebrates anniversary of Korean war armistice by handing out pistols to generals
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was shown surrounded by pistol-toting generals while in the South masked veterans were socially distanced as the two sides on Monday separately marked the armistice that ended Korean war hostilities.The contrasting events marked 67 years since the ceasefire that left the peninsula divided and millions of families split by the demilitarised zone (DMZ).In the North’s capital, Kim handed out commemorative pistols to dozens of generals and senior officers, who…
‘Nonsense’: Chinese-American academic Huang Jing denies recruiting Singaporean Jun Wei Yeo as a spy
A Chinese-American academic has denied recruiting Singaporean Dickson Yeo to spy for Beijing.Professor Huang Jing poured water over accusations made by a retired Singaporean diplomat that he had recruited Yeo while supervising his work at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.Yeo, also known as Yeo Jun Wei, last week pleaded guilty in a US court to providing information to Chinese intelligence and recruiting others to do the same.Huang, an American citizen,…
24 Rohingya refugees feared drowned off Malaysia’s Langkawi island
Malaysian authorities said on Sunday that they were searching for two dozen Rohingya refugees who are feared to have drowned after jumping off their boat off the northern resort island of Langkawi.Zawawi Abdullah, a senior official with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, said initial police information showed that only one of 25 Rohingya men who jumped off the boat had managed to swim ashore.The lone survivor sought help from police late Saturday and has been detained for further…
Malaysia’s best-known commodity is powering fortunes of Top Glove tycoon
Malaysian businessman Lim Wee Chai is certainly the man of the hour. He is going places no Malaysian tycoons have. The boss of Top Glove Corporation Bhd, the world’s largest gloves manufacturer, has found his company placed as third largest market capitalisation listed on Bursa. On Thursday, Top Glove was in second spot, but it slipped to third when Bursa closed on Friday, with Public Bank taking over. Pole position is still Maybank’s, which had a market capitalisation of RM88.244 billion …
Vietnam on coronavirus high alert after first local infection in 100 days
Vietnam was back on high alert for the coronavirus on Saturday after medical officials in the central city of Da Nang detected the country’s first locally transmitted case for three months.Vietnam imposed strict quarantine measures and carried out an aggressive and widespread testing programme during the pandemic, keeping its total tally of reported infections to just 417, with no deaths.It had reported no locally transmitted infections for 100 days until Friday, when the Health Ministry said a…
Malaysia arrests Bangladeshi man for taking part in Al Jazeera documentary on migrants
Malaysian authorities on Saturday said a Bangladeshi man will be deported for his involvement in criticising the government over its treatment of undocumented immigrants in an Al Jazeera documentary.Mohamad Rayhan Kabir had been on the run after police launched an investigation into the July 3 documentary following complaints that it was inaccurate and biased. News broadcaster Al Jazeera has defended its journalism.The Malaysian Immigration Department said Rayhan, 25, was arrested by its…