Canada and Mexico announce retaliatory tariffs against US; China turns to WTO

OTTAWA (Reuters): Canada and Mexico have announced retaliatory measures, while China is turning to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to slap sweeping tariffs on the United States’ largest commercial partners. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Feb 2 that Canada would impose 25 per cent tariffs on C$155...

Trump attorney general nominee Pam Bondi clears Senate panel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday advanced President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, paving the way for the full Senate to vote to confirm the former Florida attorney general as soon as this week. The panel approved her nomination in a 12-10 vote with Democrats opposed amid concerns over...

Japan’s Fuji Media tries to defuse ex-Smap member Nakai’s sex scandal, but it all backfires

TOKYO (The Straits Times/ANN): A career-ending sex scandal involving one of Japan’s most bankable stars has snowballed into a corporate governance nightmare and a textbook cautionary tale of how crises should never be managed. The spiralling controversy involves Masahiro Nakai, the 52-year-old media personality who was the leader of defunct male idol group Smap, and mainstream...

Malaysian man finds love with Chinese woman who gave him directions to launderette

BEIJING: A Malaysian man has tied the knot with a Muslim Chinese woman after they met on a street in China when he asked her for directions to a launderette. Ethic Malay Zairy Amir, 38, comes from the state of Selangor in West Malaysia. He runs a delivery store in Guangzhou, in southern China’s Guangdong province. He recently...

Singaporean couple missing after Taiwan quake in April 2024: Remains of husband found by farmer

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): The remains of a Singaporean man who went missing with his wife after a 7.4-magnitude quake struck Taiwan’s Hualien county in April 2024 have been found. Sim Hwee Kok and his wife, Neo Siew Choo, were officially declared dead by the Hualien district court at the behest of their family in December...

South Korea to release preliminary report of Jeju Air crash by Monday (Jan 27)

SEOUL (Reuters): South Korea will release by Monday a preliminary report on last month's Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people, the deadliest air disaster on the nation's soil, the transport ministry said on Saturday. One area under investigation is what role a bird strike played in the Dec. 29 crash of flight 7C2216 as...

How excessive smartphone and tablet use can hurt child development

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Children can be easily influenced by what they see and hear on the television and internet. Here are the risks posed by five screen types. 1. Television Passively watching TV can lead to a sedentary lifestyle and contribute to health problems such as obesity, which is on the rise in young children, according...

China families appeal to free relatives held by scam gangs in Myanmar

BEIJING/BANGKOK/YANGON (Reuters): The abduction and cross-border rescue had all the makings of the kind of action script struggling Chinese actor Wang Xing had hoped to land - only not as a reality star. Wang, 31, flew to Bangkok earlier this month after getting an unsolicited offer to join a film that was shooting in Thailand. There was...

South Korean court again rejects prosecutors’ request for extension of Yoon’s arrest

SEOUL (Korea Herald/ANN): A Seoul court on Saturday (Jan 25) again turned down prosecutors’ request for an extension of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s arrest, putting pressure on prosecutors to quickly indict him. The Seoul Central District Court retained its earlier decision that rejected the prosecution’s first request to extend the impeached President’s detention for...

Vietnam durians face stricter regulation in China market as traces of yellow colouring found

HANOI: Vietnam's durian export industry faces difficulties in entering the Chinese market due to new inspection regulations for durian exports. China has tightened inspection of Basic Yellow 2 (BY2) residues in durian batches exported from other countries to this market, including Vietnam, with 90 per cent of its durians exported to China. The inspection regulation was issued...