World

SINGAPORE: Upset by the manner a domestic helper cut some food for him and by her remark that he ate a lot, a man punched the maid thrice in her face, causing fractures. Suriya Krishnan, 25, was sentenced to six months' jail on Tuesday (Feb 8) and ordered to pay the victim S$8,500 in compensation. He pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to a domestic helper where the hurt was not intended to be grievous but turned out to be so. A second charge of kicking her head, shoulder and thigh was taken into consideration. The court heard that the victim, a 27-year-old Myanmar national, was employed by Suriya's sister. Suriya lived in a flat in Hougang with his sister, his parents and the victim. On the night of May 29, 2020, Suriya's family was celebrating his father's birthda...

As tech titans such as Twitter, Alibaba and ByteDance converge upon Singapore, a metamorphosis for the city is underway – alluded to by some as the making of Asia’s Silicon Valley. Local technology investment is on the rise – driven by both public and private sector support – while pioneering start-ups and groundbreaking solutions seemingly crop up on the daily. In particular, the deep tech scene is seeing a boom amid burgeoning investment and interest in advanced technologies as Singapore carves a path towards the future economy. To help bridge the gap between great ideas and solutions for society at scale, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore is extending support to local-based tech companies that are on track to realise the future of enterprise technologies. S...

PHNOM PENH: A special Southeast Asian envoy to the crisis in Myanmar on Thursday (Feb 17) said he was seeking to visit the country next month and appealed to its military junta to give its blessing for him to talk with a shadow government it has labelled "terrorists". Prak Sokhonn, Cambodia's foreign minister and new envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said engaging the National Unity Government (NUG), a group of members of the ousted administration and other military opponents, was complicated because of the junta's objections. "You cannot on one hand try to engage with someone and on the other hand, engage with the one who is considered by the former as terrorists," he told a news conference after a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers. "We are trying to find a...

SINGAPORE: A chef behind a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant was given jail and a driving ban on Friday (Feb 18) for drink driving and careless driving which saw him uproot a light pole at a zebra crossing. Teppei Yamashita, a 41-year-old Japanese national and Singapore permanent resident, was given four weeks' jail and banned from driving for four years. He pleaded guilty to a charge each of drink driving and careless driving. Yamashita is the director of multiple Japanese eateries, and was behind unagi restaurant Man Man, which is on Singapore's Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand list. The court heard that Yamashita had drunk Suntory beer on the night of Aug 24, 2020 at a restaurant near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station with friends. At about 11pm, he began driving from International Plaza to Tam...

RISING COSTS AND LONG DELAYS Describing logistics hold-ups as “the most pressing issue”, Commune's Mr Koh noted how the cost of shipping a container from China to Singapore has soared to US$3,500 from around US$500 prior to COVID-19. Shipping costs to Europe have also multiplied by about eight times to US$16,000 over the same period. The impact goes beyond costs. Container shortages and port congestion also mean that weeks-long, and sometimes months-long, delays have become increasingly common. “Today may be the day your container is supposed to sail but the vessel is delayed, so it’s pushed to next week. Next week comes but there’s a delay again. Another week comes, the same thing happens,” said Mr Koh, adding that this has led to a “big disruption” in the fulfilment of customer order...

Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers, but not all offers on Select are from affiliate partners. Investors have seen a rough start to 2022 with markets tumbling. In January the S&P 500 had its worst month since the start of the pandemic, dropping nearly 10% in a few weeks. While historically high inflation and the threat of pending Federal Reserve interest rate hikes have a lot to do with the market movements we've seen, any time our investments lose value is naturally a cause for concern. If you're worried about market volatility, you certainly aren't alone. There are, however, ways to reshape your thoughts around your investments so you...

The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a resolution on the “serious human rights situation” in China, calling on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration to take steps to relieve the situation as the Beijing Winter Olympics get set to kick off. Japan has already announced it will not send a government delegation to the Games, following a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott over concerns about China’s human rights record, although Tokyo avoided explicitly labeling its move as such. Since taking office in October, Kishida has said on multiple occasions that Japan would not mince words with China when necessary, and in November he appointed former Defense Minister Gen Nakatani as an aide on human rights. The resolution, adopted by the Lower House — it will be sent to the Upper House ...

NEW YORK: Stablecoins, which are virtual tokens pegged to traditional currencies such as the US dollar, held gains on Thursday in the midst of a sell-off in risk assets such as stocks and bitcoin after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Most stablecoins were slightly higher on the day. Their market capitalisation was up 0.3 per cent at US$182.5 billion, according to cryptocurrency data tracker coinmarketcap.com. Its daily trading volume, though, surged 75 per cent to US$108.1 billion. In contrast, both bitcoin and ether dropped to one-month lows. Bitcoin was last down 3.1 per cent at US$36,121, while ether slid 4.1 per cent to US$2,475, following Russia's invasion. Ukrainian forces battled Russian invaders around nearly all of the country's perimeter on Thursday after Mos...

Myanmar’s military government has criticized calls for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ special envoy to the conflict-torn country to meet bodies that oppose last year’s coup, which the junta has declared as “terrorist” groups. With little sign of the junta implementing a five-point peace plan agreed upon with ASEAN last year, which included an immediate end to hostilities and letting a special envoy facilitate dialogue, growing divisions have emerged in the 10-member bloc over how to restore stability. After last Thursday’s ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, Indonesia said it was crucial for the envoy to meet all parties in the conflict, with Malaysia calling for talks with the National Unity Government (NUG), a group made up of members of the ousted administration and other ju...

Celtic and Rangers will renew their rivalry on Wednesday in a crucial battle for supremacy in the Scottish Premiership with a new legion of fans set to rise at the crack of dawn to tune in from Japan. The Hoops have already claimed the first silverware of the Scottish season, lifting the League Cup in December thanks to two goals from Kyogo Furuhashi. Furuhashi's 16 goals in 26 games since he joined Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou in swapping the J. League for Scotland has made the Japanese international an instant hero and tempted Celtic to dip into the Far East market again. New Year celebrations for fans in Glasgow started early when the club announced the signings of Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Daizen Maeda on Dec. 31. Hatate and Maeda have already made an impact, scoring in wins ...