International

The ongoing protests against Hong Kong’s extradition Bill are worrying, and that contrary to the suggestion that the chaos in Hong Kong will benefit Singapore as one of its primary economic competitors, Singapore may be adversely affected should the protests continue, said Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam in an interview last Wed (7 Aug). On Sun (11 …

A fundraiser for the current political unrest in Hong Kong exceeded its target amount of US$1 million, or HK$7.8 million, the same day it was set up on GoFundMe on Sun (11 Aug). The fundraising effort on Sun, according to organiser Freedom HK – International on behalf of the Hong Kong Add Oil movement, serves as “a contingency measure to …

Hong Kong police have once again received strong condemnation as officers were spotted using severe means to handle protesters of the extradition Bill last Sun (11 Aug). South China Morning Post reported that undercover police officers had made arrests in Causeway Bay, and that weapons such as tear gas and pepper balls were fired against protesters at MTR stations in …

Indonesian Minister of Forestry and Environment Siti Nurbaya Bakar announced on Thursday (8 August) that President Joko Widodo has issued a permanent moratorium on new forest clearance for the purposes of palm plantations, logging, and other activities. The moratorium, which was first introduced in 2011, covers about 66 million hectares (254,827 square miles) of peatlands and primary forests. It has …

In a media statement earlier today (5 Aug), the United Nations (UN) Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar urged the international community to cut ties with Myanmar’s military and the businesses that it controls and relies on. The report revealed that a UN fact-finding team has discovered a vast web of Myanmar’s businesses with connections to the military that are …

Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global standards development organization, and Enterprise Singapore, the national standards body of Singapore, have recently signed a collaboration and license agreement at the sidelines of the Pacific Area Standards Congress held in Wellington, New Zealand. The agreement was signed on 9 April 2019 by Ms Sonya Bird (director of international standards at Underwriters Laboratories) and Mr …

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the police have been under immense pressure from anti-extradition bill protesters, and have spent a great deal of effort in upholding the rule of law in the Special Administrative Region, according to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO). South China Morning Post reported HKMAO spokesperson Yang Guang as saying in a …

Thailand’s Ministry of Finance has officially granted Huobi a digital asset trading license, which makes Huobi the fifth licensed digital asset exchange in Thailand. The license permits Huobi to start local fiat and token trading services. “Huobi Thailand is built on Huobi Cloud, which provides a one-stop solution for global digital asset exchanges. Huobi Thailand will provide Thai users with …

“Lies are lies,” said a spokesperson for the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Singapore last Fri (19 Jul), just a day after an article by The Straits Times titled “Report flags how China conducts influence operations in Singapore” was published. The article, which cited a recent report by the Jamestown Foundation, claimed that China carries out influence operations …

Hong Kong Police chief admits that officers arrived 35 minutes late after receiving the first report of attack on protesters by triad members at Yuen Long railway station. However, he denied allegations of collusion between the police and triad members over the violence. On Monday (22 July), Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo Wai-chung said that the force’s capacity had been …