JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo has a favourite saying. “He often says we cannot choose our neighbours like we choose our friends,” said Bey Machmudin, a former Indonesian presidential spokesman. “But he found a friend in Lee,” he added, referring to Singapore’s outgoing leader. “Singapore and Indonesia are both good neighbours – and good friends.” That personal friendship...
BEIJING: China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Sunday (April 28) announced a host of policies to facilitate residents' overseas trips. Measures include diversifying application channels for exit and entry documents, optimizing the application procedures, and extending the stay period. The measures will take effect on May 6, according to NIA. Under the new policies, residents aged 16...
Malaysia: * Malaysia has balanced foreign policy, stands clear of provocations, says PM Anwar * Supercars linked to 1MDB seized in Germany / MACC getting info from German authorities on seized supercars * WEF: PM Anwar meets with Rwanda President * Vital to manage heat stress at workplace, says DOSH * RM2.3mil worth of drugs seized in JB, man arrested *...
ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Sunday she will be a candidate at June's European elections in a bid to boost support for her Brothers of Italy party, though she will not take up a seat if elected. The June 6-9 European Parliament vote is a key test of strength for her...
TOKYO (AFP): A huge black barrier to block Mount Fuji from view will be installed in a popular photo spot by Japanese authorities exasperated by crowds of badly behaved foreign tourists. Construction of the mesh net -- 2.5 metres (8 feet) high and the length of a cricket pitch at 20 metres -- will begin as...
BEIJING (Reuters): Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 26 told the United States’ top diplomat Antony Blinken that the world’s two biggest economies should be “partners, not rivals”, adding that there were a “number of issues” to be resolved in their relations. “The two countries should be partners, not rivals,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster...
Before it was forced to close over its “intolerable” treatment of animals, the Islamabad Zoo was home to neglected elephants and underfed lions pacing back and forth behind the bars of their enclosures. Now, four years later, it is a rehabilitation centre for Pakistani wildlife, providing a refuge for motherless leopard cubs, tigers seized from owners...
NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Police in India arrested a man at the New Delhi international airport on April 25 for impersonating a Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilot, after he was found walking around the airport dressed in full pilot gear. In a fashion not dissimilar to the semi-fictional Hollywood film Catch Me If You Can starring...
PHNOM PENH/NEW YORK (AFP): New York prosecutors said Friday they had returned to Cambodia and Indonesia 30 antiquities that were looted, sold or illegally transferred by networks of American dealers and traffickers. The antiquities were valued at a total of US$3 million, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. Bragg said in a statement that he had returned...
BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Voice TV, a Thai media company owned by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s family, said it will cease operations next month and lay off about 200 employees including journalists. Voice TV is known for its television channel with programs reaching about 22 million households nationwide through digital terrestrial, satellite, and cable TV, according to...
