International

Hong Kong’s lawmakers have postponed a reading of the controversial extradition bill for the third time on Thu (13 Jun) in the wake of clashes between the police and the tens of thousands of protesters in Admiralty a day before. South China Morning Post reported that a circular has been issued by the secretariat on behalf of president Andrew Leung …

After over a week of postponing its decision on the legality of same-sex marriages, Ecuador’s apex court has issued a ruling in favour of same-sex marriages on Wed (12 Jun), following two lawsuits by two same-sex couples intending to wed. Five out of the nine judges presiding over the closed hearing in the Latin American nation’s constitutional court voted to …

Protests in Hong Kong over the Extradition Bill turned violent yesterday (12 June) as police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and rounds of beanbags at protesters outside Hong Kong’s legislature. South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the police chief Stephen Lo Wai-ching saying that the officers on the ground responded to the “riot” when the protesters stormed police lines. The …

The streets of Hong Kong were filled with over one million people yesterday (9 June) as they gathered in a mass protest against the government’s controversial extradition bill, says the organiser. Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported that Jimmy Sham, a spokesperson for organisers, noted that approximately 1.03 million people took part in the rally – a figure that was …

Less than a year after its neighbour India repealed a colonial-era law which criminalised homosexuality for centuries, the kingdom of Bhutan’s National Assembly had almost unanimously passed an amendment to the nation’s Penal Code on Fri (7 Jun). Local dailies Kuensel and The Bhutanese reported that only one parliamentarian in Bhutan’s lower house of Parliament voted against the amendment to repeal …

Cambodia’s Defence Minister Tea Banh and Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) legislator Hun Many have both openly rebutted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s remarks regarding the “invasion” of Cambodia by the Vietnamese military in its bid to oust the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979. Khmer Times reported General Banh as saying to the media upon arriving at the Phnom Penh International …

During the launch of the latest report by the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), it is found that human rights defenders in Asia are at high risks. “In Asia, we are witnessing more and more human rights defenders being subjected to increasingly severe forms of violations, particularly killing, simply for defending human rights,” said Sejin Kim, Programme …

Malaysia will peruse Chinese technology giant Huawei’s equipment “as much as possible”, as the company offers “tremendous” advantages “over American technology”, said Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the 25th International Conference on The Future of Asia in Tokyo on Thu (30 May). Bloomberg also reported Dr Mahathir as saying in late April during a visit to Huawei’s Beijing office …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has rejected the United States’ Treasury’s conclusion on Singapore as a currency manipulator in the latter’s newest report on macroeconomic and foreign exchange policies of the US’ major trading partners. Responding to media queries in a press release on Wed (29 May), the same day the report was released, MAS stressed that the Republic’s …

Singapore has been added to the United States’ Treasury’s currency manipulation watchlist alongside Malaysia and Vietnam due to the Republic’s “large current account surplus and net foreign currency purchases of at least US$17 billion [approximately S$23.5bil]” last year. Bloomberg reported on Wed (29 May) that according to the Treasury’s Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the …