World

HONG KONG: A veteran Hong Kong journalist was arrested by national security police on Monday (Apr 11) for allegedly conspiring to publish "seditious materials", a police source and local media said. The arrest is the latest blow against the local press in Hong Kong which has seen its media freedom rating plummet as Beijing cracks down on dissent. Allan Au, a 54-year-old reporter and journalism lecturer, was arrested in a dawn raid by Hong Kong's national security police unit, multiple local media outlets reported. A senior police source confirmed Au's arrest to AFP on a charge of "conspiracy to publish seditious materials". Police have yet to release an official statement. Au was a former columnist for Stand News, an online news platform that was shuttered last December after authorit...

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Friday (Apr 1) it was assisting Chinese investigators with the download of the cockpit voice recorder in Washington from an China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet as it sent a team of investigators to China. The US safety board told Reuters it was helping the Civil Aviation Administration of China "with the download of the cockpit voice recorder from China Eastern Flight 5735 in our lab in Washington." China's decision to send a key piece of evidence to Washington for assistance shows the urgency of the investigation at a time when two nations have been at odds at other issues. The plane crashed into a mountainside in southern China on Mar 21 killing all 132 on board and was mainland China's deadliest aviation disaster in 28 ...

HONG KONG/LONDON : HSBC is shunning prospective Russian clients and declining credit to some existing ones, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as the bank seeks to shield itself from Western sanctions against Moscow. The measures affect HSBC's individual and business customers globally and go further than the bank's previously stated intentions to wind down its relations with lenders such as VTB, which were placed under Western restrictions after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The moves by Europe's second biggest bank show how sanctions aimed at Russia's financial system and its political and business elite are also ensnaring Russian nationals outside the country as lenders seek to avoid falling foul of the restrictions and potentially hefty fines. HSBC had said ...

Hong Kong is the top destination in Asia for foodies this year, according to new rankings released by the 50 Best organization. The city is home to 16 of the region's "best" 100 restaurants, as shown in the list, released in two parts in March. Thailand and Japan tied for second place, each with 13 restaurants on the list. The small city-state of Singapore punched above its weight with 12 establishments named among Asia's best. William Drew, director of content for William Reed Business Media, which organizes the awards, told CNBC that Hong Kong had an "unusual experience" this year since it was largely closed to foreign visitors. "However, restrictions aside, many restaurants have been very busy on a local level," Drew said. "It's likely that local voters dined in a wider variety of resta...

China said on Wednesday the black boxes of a Boeing 737-800 jet that crashed last month were badly damaged, leaving virtually no publicly available clues to explain its violent plunge into a wooded hillside, killing all 132 people on board. China Eastern flight MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou plunged from cruising altitude into the mountains of Guangxi on March 21 in China's first fatal air crash since 2010. Summarizing its preliminary crash report, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) did not include any information from the cockpit voice and data recorders, which had been sent to Washington for analysis. "The two recorders on the plane were severely damaged due to the impact, and the data restoration and analysis work is still in progress," CAAC said in a statement. CAA...

A joint statement from both prime ministers, published by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said they agreed that actions by Russia are a "flagrant violation" of fundamental principles of international law and risk long-term global instability. They also called on all parties to protect civilians and respect human rights, and facilitate unhindered humanitarian assistance to those in need in Ukraine. Ms Ardern said the Ukraine conflict is putting "considerable pressure" on the international rules-based order, stressing that disputes must be solved through dialogue and not "intimidation or coercion". "We look forward to continuing to work with like-minded countries such as Singapore to support the resolution of such conflicts through peaceful means, including conflicts and issues s...

It was a top-level summit that was supposed to emphasize the need for cooperation on global challenges. Instead, the much-anticipated virtual meeting between the leaders of China and the European Union held earlier this month became an exchange of opposing views that highlighted the diverging paths between the two powers. The topic du jour was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Brussels urging Beijing to take a clear stance on the war, use its “considerable influence” on Moscow to help achieve an immediate cease-fire, and give assurances it would not support Russia militarily nor help it circumvent international sanctions. “More than 40 countries in total have joined these sanctions. So, we also made very clear that China should, if not support, at least not interfere with our sanctions...

Mr Lee also said that sanctions mark a “big step” to take for a small country like Singapore, and the hurdle is even “higher” for the country to impose sanctions on its own. “But in this case because it is such an egregious, flagrant and major violation of the international norms and with such a major consequence for the global order, including in our region, we decided we had to act on sanctions because the UN could not act,” he said. “The UN obviously cannot act, because you need the Security Council. The Russians are there; they have a veto (and) it is not going to pass,” added the Prime Minister. “But we had to stand up and be counted and we did.” WHAT IT MEANS FOR SINGAPORE The war in Ukraine, which started on Feb 24, is "not over" and that both sides of the conflict are not close...

Patients undergo directly observed therapy, which involves them taking three to four types of medication under the observation of a trained healthcare worker. “The main challenge in the treatment of TB is the long duration of treatment beyond that of symptom resolution and the large number of tablets taken as part of the standard drug regimen,” Dr Tan said. For the first two months, the therapy is required daily, after which it is needed three times a week. Kelvin, who went for his therapy at a polyclinic near his home, completed his treatment in nine months and no longer has any symptoms, he said. Dr Tan said that those diagnosed with TB are not required to be isolated, unlike COVID-19 patients. They however have to wear a mask and are encouraged to go out only for healthcare visits a...

NEW YORK : Closing arguments are set to begin on Monday in the U.S. trial of a former Goldman Sachs banker accused of helping loot hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB development fund. Prosecutors say Roger Ng, Goldman's former top investment banker for Malaysia, helped his then-boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from the fund, launder the proceeds and bribe officials to win business for Goldman. Ng, 49, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to launder money and violate an anti-corruption law. His lawyer Marc Agnifilo acknowledged that he introduced Leissner to Jho Low - a Malaysian financier accused of being the scheme's mastermind - but said Ng had no role in looting 1MDB. The charges stem from one of the biggest financial scandals in history. U.S. prosecutors...