World

BEIJING: China's factory activity expanded slightly in February as new orders improved, pointing to some resilience in the world's second-largest economy even as downward pressure builds and Russia's invasion of Ukraine heightens global uncertainty. The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) registered 50.2 in February, remaining above the 50-point mark, which separates growth from contraction, and picking up a touch from 50.1 in January, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday (Mar 1). Analysts had expected the PMI to ease to 49.9. China's economy rebounded strongly from a pandemic-induced slump in 2020, though momentum started to flag in the summer of last year, as a debt crisis in the property market and strict anti-virus measures hit cons...

HELP DURING PANDEMIC Dr Balakrishnan also spoke about how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) supported Singaporeans and other countries during COVID-19, noting that the ministry has helped bring home more than 4,600 Singaporeans from overseas since the pandemic broke out in 2020. He also commended the dedication of MFA employees during the pandemic. "Over 300 MFA officers have served Singapore and our overseas mission during this period, and I am very proud that not a single officer has asked to leave post because of the risk of the pandemic,” he said. About 40 MFA officers who were overseas as well as more than 150 foreigners employed at overseas missions contracted COVID-19 “despite our best efforts and health precautions”, said Dr Balakrishnan. COVID-19 will not be the last or w...

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Wednesday (Feb 16) announced the launch of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) with Hong Kong and other regions. VTL quotas will also be restored and progressively increased. In addition, authorities said they are streamlining border measures as part of a “pivot” in the country's travel policies. Speaking at a multi-ministry task force press conference, Transport Minister S Iswaran said the VTLs, which allow quarantine-free travel for those who are fully vaccinated, were set up “as a pathfinder to establish, test and build confidence in reopening safely”. “We made steady progress but had to take a pause due to Omicron,” he said, noting how Singapore deferred the launch of some VTLs late last year amid a rise in Omicron cases overseas. The country also temporarily cut...

YANQING, China : Germany not only lead the pack halfway through the two-man bobsleigh in the Olympics on Monday - they also held second and fourth places, underlining the dominance of the country that is home to a quarter of world's the bobsleigh tracks. Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis clocked 1:58.38 on two laps, 0.15 seconds ahead of team mates Johannes Lochner and Florian Bauer and 0.94 seconds ahead of a Russian Olympic Committee team. Friedrich lifted his fourth overall World Cup title in a row last month and along with Margis, boast golds from the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in the two-man competition, where they tied with Canada's Justin Kripps and Cam Stones for first place, and the four man-event. Germany have won six out of seven available golds so far in Beijing. But along...

WASHINGTON : DNA testing on seized ivory shipments that reveals family ties among African elephants killed for their tusks is helping to identify poaching areas and trafficking networks at the center of an illegal trade that continues to devastate the population of Earth's largest land animal. Researchers said on Monday they conducted DNA tests on 4,320 elephant tusks from 49 ivory seizures, totaling 111 tons in 12 African nations from 2002 to 2019. The results could help crack the transnational criminal organizations behind the trafficking and strengthen prosecutions. "Combining these results with evidence collected from our law enforcement collaborators enables us to collaboratively connect the dots across a massive criminal network," said University of Washington biologist Samuel Wass...

WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THEM? Spiritual groups with cult-like tendencies have existed throughout Indonesia for hundreds of years, said anthropologist Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad from Banda Aceh’s Ar-Raniry University. “This issue has been around for a long time in the archipelago, even before the arrival of the Dutch (in the 16th century). “Nowadays, people want to define what it is, and the problem is that it is common although it is against our rationality,” Mr Bustamam-Ahmad told CNA. The situation is especially complex given that Indonesia has hundreds of ethnicities, and most of them have their own indigenous beliefs, Mr Bustamam-Ahmad said. In addition, Indonesia also recognises major religions that originally came from abroad, such as Islam and Christianity. These religions we...

As nations worldwide rush to support Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn country, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Wednesday that Japan is planning to accept Ukrainian refugees at an early date. The government will initially accept those who have fled Ukraine and have relatives or acquaintances in Japan, Kishida said. Kishida said he made the pledge during a phone conversation with his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki. Thousands of Ukrainians have fled their home country via neighboring Poland. The prime minister’s announcement followed remarks from the justice minister that Japan is considering creating a framework that would allow displaced Ukrainians to come and settle in the country. Around 660,000 refugees had fled Ukraine to neighboring countries in the six days since R...

:China knocked out two-time defending champions Japan 4-3 in a penalty shootout on Thursday to set up a final showdown with South Korea in the Women's Asian Cup. Wang Shanshan scored the winning spotkick after firing in a late equaliser in extra-time to earn Shui Qingxia's side a 2-2 draw with the champions and take the game in Pune into a shootout. South Korea advanced to the final of the tournament for the first time after handing the Philippines a 2-0 defeat. China, who claimed the title eight times between 1986 and 2006, will play in the final for the first time since 2008 after twice coming back from a goal down on Thursday. Riko Ueki finished off a fine team move when she deftly headed in Hinata Miyazawa's cross to put the Japanese in front in the 26th minute. Wu Chengshu's clos...

SYDNEY: Asian share markets mostly eased on Monday (Feb 7) after stunningly strong US jobs data soothed concerns about the global economy but also added to the risk of an aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve. Geopolitics also remained a worry as the White House warned Russia could invade Ukraine any day and French President Emmanuel Macron prepared for a trip to Moscow. The cautious mood saw MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dip 0.1 per cent in early trade. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.9 per cent and South Korea 0.8 per cent. Chinese markets returned from the Lunar New Year break with a bounce, with the blue-chip CSI300 and Shanghai Composite both up about 2 per cent in morning trade, catching up with last week's gains in world equities. The Hang Seng, which re...

SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan called on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday (Feb 16) as they reaffirmed the "warm and longstanding ties" between the two nations. During the meeting, Dr Balakrishnan also said that Singapore remained "deeply concerned" about the situation in Myanmar, according to a press statement by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Dr Balakrishnan is in Cambodia for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat - the first in a series of meetings that Cambodia will be hosting as chair of ASEAN in 2022. During his meeting with Mr Hun Sen, Dr Balakrishnan congratulated him on Cambodia’s "successful management" of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years and reaffirmed Singapore’s support for Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship, MFA...