Tonnes of garbage left rotting in the Philippines for years arrived back in Canada on Saturday, putting an end to a festering diplomatic row that highlighted how Asian nations have grown tired of being the world’s rubbish dump.A cargo vessel loaded with about 69 containers of rubbish docked in a port on the outskirts of Vancouver.The trash will be incinerated at a waste-to-energy facility, local officials said.The conflict dates back to 2013 and 2014, when a Canadian company shipped containers…
Southeast Asia’s football World Cup 2034 bid: this time for Asean, or just a pipe dream?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo might have retired, but in the not-so-distant future, their successors could be lighting up stadiums in a part of the world that has never played host to soccer’s biggest stage – Southeast Asia.That’s right, the World Cup may well be on its way to the region, after Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced that the Asean countries (the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei) would submit a…
Japanese man arrested, admits dumping wife’s legless body in sea
A 26-year-old man was arrested on Friday on suspicion of abandoning his wife’s body, which was found the previous day with the legs missing just offshore in Hiratsuka, southwest of Tokyo, police said.Seiya Taira, who turned himself in Thursday night, has admitted to severing the legs of his 26-year-old wife Fubuki and dumping her body in the sea, the police said.“I drove from home to the seashore after putting (the body) in a suitcase,” Taira was quoted as saying.He is thought to have abandoned…
Singapore to invite firms to apply for digital bank licences
Singapore’s central bank on Friday said it would offer up to five digital bank licences to suitable applicants, in a move that could deliver the biggest shake-up in two decades in a market dominated by local banks.“The new digital bank licences mark the next chapter in Singapore’s banking liberalisation journey,” said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, senior minister and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).“We welcome firms with innovative value propositions to apply for the digital…
Apple supplier sets up shop in Indonesia as island of Batam profits from US-China trade war
Within the coming months, Pegatron Corporation, one of Apple’s biggest suppliers, will open its first factory in Batam, Indonesia, as part of the Taiwanese electronics maker’s effort to insulate themselves from the impact of the US-China trade war.The US$40 million project, which will help diversify some of its manufacturing away from China, is expected to make wireless chips and semiconductors for routers across some 9,000 square metres (97,000 sq ft) of floor space in the 320 hectare (790…
Former Philippine diplomat Albert del Rosario defends using diplomatic passport to enter Hong Kong after Duterte criticism
Albert del Rosario, the Philippines’ former foreign secretary turned away from Hong Kong last week while using a diplomatic passport, has defended his use of it and says he was singled out because he was a signatory to a “crimes against humanity” international lawsuit against China and its leaders.“It’s clear it was in retaliation for that [legal]action,” he told a morning news programme in the Philippines on Thursday.In March, Del Rosario and former ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales sued…
Mahathir’s Malaysia supports Huawei, but should be more worried about network control than spying: expert
Malaysia’s support of Huawei overlooks security concerns even larger than the international worries over spying risks related to the embattled Chinese telecommunications giant’s roll-out of its 5G network, observers say.“It’s not about data, it’s about control,” said European Centre for International Political Economy director Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, providing the example of a business.“If you run a factory and are bidding against a competitor who knows your prices, they can underbid you. That is…
Singapore is ‘actively studying’ virtual banking licences, says country’s prime minister
Singapore is actively studying whether to allow companies with no banking parentage to set up virtual banks, paving the way for start-ups like on-demand services operator Grab to potentially enter the formal financial services industry.“Some other countries have created frameworks to license new players with no banking parentage to set up digital banks, i.e. banks without branches or ATMs,” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a speech at the Smart Nation Summit in the city on…
Duterte wants a joint Manila-Beijing probe into the South China Sea sinking. Could it be a good idea?
In the early hours of June 9, a Chinese-registered ship struck the Philippine vessel F/B Gimver 1, sending all 22 Filipino fishermen aboard tumbling into the sea. The boat, from China’s southeastern Guangdong province, fled the scene – leaving a passing Vietnamese ship to rescue the men.Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on June 24 said he was open to China’s suggestion to conduct a joint probe into the affair, even as he dismissed it as a “little maritime incident” where “there was damage…
An act of mischief, or something more sophisticated? Singapore investigates drones that disrupted 63 flights at Changi airport
Drones buzzing around Singapore’s busy Changi Airport have caused 63 flights to be delayed or diverted in the past week, triggering an investigation and raising questions about the motives of the offenders.The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore on Tuesday said 18 flights at the airport were delayed and seven were diverted the night before, “due to bad weather and unauthorised drone activities”.It had earlier confirmed drones were seen flying near the airport last Tuesday and Wednesday. Those…