SINGAPORE — At a press conference on Tuesday (11 August), Manpower Minister Josephine Teo gave an update on Singapore's job situation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pressure is mounting on Sherman Kwek, heir to Singapore’s biggest family fortune, as he seeks to salvage the troubled property investment at the centre of an ambitious expansion into China.
Outgoing US President Donald Trump will be far from the first to boycott his successor Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday -- but his absence will be the first since 1869.
The government is monitoring the COVID-19 situation carefully and considering if more measures are necessary, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong.
Chinese troops stationed in the South China Sea are learning battlefield English to avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments during engagements with forces from other countries in the disputed waterway.According to a report by state-owned English-language broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN), the skill is “essential” and “must be picked up”. People’s Liberation Army troops are using gaps in their military training schedule for both concentrated learning and self-study.“In recent years, countries and forces outside China have been provoking troubles and creating tensions in the South China Sea. The naval forces in the Southern Theatre Command are at the forefront of safeguarding rights as well as maintaining regional peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the report said.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. South China Sea: the dispute that could start a military conflictDuring a recent military exercise on an island reef in the Paracel Islands, part of the drill included using English when engaging with “enemy” troops. One soldier was heard in the broadcast to say in English: “You are surrounded. Surrender.”Liu Chuanming, a Chinese commander of a marine police district in the Paracels, said the deployment was at the forefront of China’s military defences in the South China Sea. “We must ensure that our intentions can be accurately conveyed, thus we need to improve our level of English.”The PLA has expelled a number of foreign ships from the South China Sea in the past year. Most recently, a Chinese warship used English to warn off a foreign merchant ship in the area during a PLA combat readiness cruise mission, with the message: “I am warning you again. Leave immediately or we will take further actions.”In December 2020, the PLA deployed naval and aerial forces when destroyer USS John S. McCain approached the Spratly Islands in what the US described as a “freedom of navigation” exercise. A similar incident occurred in August 2020, when the USS Mustin entered China’s claimed territorial waters off the Paracel Islands.Other 2020 encounters include the littoral combat ship USS Montgomery near the Spratly Islands in late January, the destroyer USS McCampbell near the Paracel Islands in March, and the destroyer USS Barry, also near the Paracels in April.The use of English by Chinese forces is not unknown. In October 2018, the destroyer Lanzhou was tracking and monitoring the Kaga, a Japanese helicopter destroyer which was refuelling from an American supply ship in the South China Sea.After the Chinese ship greeted its Japanese counterpart in English by radio, the Kaga is reported to have replied, “Chinese warship 170, Chinese warship 170, this is Japanese warship 184. Over.”The Lanzhou responded with: “Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force 184. This is Chinese warship 170. Good morning. Nice to meet you. Over.”More from South China Morning Post: * ‘South China Sea strategic benefit’ if Beijing builds tunnel to holiday island Hainan * South China Sea: why did the PLA land its massive Y-20 warplane on Fiery Cross Reef? * China-US tensions keep PLA sailors at sea for an extra four months in 2020This article PLA troops in South China Sea learn ‘essential’ battlefield English first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returned to scoring form with a double as Arsenal's rise up the Premier League table continued with a comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle on Monday.
Singapore may be considering another round of measures to cool residential prices, according to market analysts, who see recent ministerial remarks as a signal for the possible move.
President Donald Trump began his final full day in the White House Tuesday with a long list of possible pardons to dish out before snubbing his successor Joe Biden's inauguration and leaving for Florida.
Malaysian YouTuber ‘heartbroken’ by criticism after deleting video with China critic Mike Chen. This article, Uncle Roger says he makes ‘zero dollar’ from Chinese social media, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company.
The choice of Armin Laschet as leader of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union has been seen as a promising development by Beijing, observers say, raising hopes that he will continue to adopt a pragmatic approach to China if he succeeds her as chancellor.While the choice of the minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia does not guarantee that he will be the centre-right’s candidate for chancellor at the election later this year, diplomatic observers in China said Beijing saw it as a promising indicator that Germany, and the European Union, would remain in safe hands amid its intensifying rivalry with the United States.The 59-year-old’s victory eased Beijing’s concerns that Germany, China’s biggest trading partner in Europe, would abandon Merkel’s friendly posture towards China.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.Merkel is a key advocate of engagement with China and is widely believed to be the key person behind an investment deal between European Union and China, a move that Beijing has hailed as the biggest diplomatic victory last year. Deal or no deal? What next for China-EU investment pact and why it may failLaschet, a long-term Merkel ally, is “good news for China-Germany relations and China-Europe relations” as he is likely to follow Merkel’s pragmatic approach, said Ding Chun, director of the European Studies Centre at Fudan University in Shanghai.Ding said Laschet is experienced in dealing with China, particularly with regard to industrial and economic matters, as the leader of North Rhine-Westphalia, the industrial heartland of Germany.The region is home to the European headquarters of Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant now at the centre of the tech war between China and the US.The city of Duisburg has been described as Germany’s “China City” as it is the first European stop for dozens of trains travelling along the China-Europe Express Railway, a major link in the Belt and Road Initiative.“As a state governor, Laschet is clearly aware of the [economic] links with China,” Ding said. “He is very pragmatic, like Merkel, so if he becomes the chancellor, there are not likely to be dramatic changes in Germany’s foreign policy.”With Joe Biden set to enter the White House next week, there have been growing calls in Europe and the US to rebuild the transatlantic alliance that has been hit by President Donald Trump’s America First Strategy.But Ding said it remains to see how far this rapport will develop especially as the EU, amid growing scepticism about the US, has stressed the need for “strategic autonomy” to avoid being forced to choose a side in the great power rivalry between China and the US.Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University, said Laschet is likely to follow Merkel’s policy to avoid taking sides, a stance that Beijing will appreciate. ‘Good riddance,’ China says as Germany leaves UN Security CouncilIn a 2019 policy paper on EU-China economic relations from the influential Federation of German Industries, China is referred to as a “systemic competitor”, but Wang said Europeans generally take a slightly different view to the US.“A competitor is not an enemy … Laschet may focus on issues such as state-owned enterprises and regulatory issues, which are negotiable and cooperative,” Wang said.Shi Zhiqin, director of the China-EU relations programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre in Beijing, said close economic ties between China and Germany under Merkel paved the way for further cooperation, particularly on issues such as multilateralism, climate change and the fight against Covid-19.“Laschet is seen as a loyal supporter of Merkel, and he is supported by Merkel in turn. So, if he becomes the German chancellor, he will largely continue the Merkel era’s domestic and foreign policies,” Shi said.“Even if the new German government and the Biden administration are keen to repair the transatlantic alliance, a joint effort by the US and Europe Union to isolate and sanction China is unlikely because of China’s good cooperation with Germany and with Europe,” he added.More from South China Morning Post: * China-EU investment deal: smaller countries question whether France and Germany have their best interests at heart * Merkel’s ally Armin Laschet wins race to lead her party, kicking off German election campaignThis article Beijing hopes Germany will continue China-friendly approach after Armin Laschet wins Christian Democrat Union leadership race first appeared on South China Morning PostFor the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.
Billionaire Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong was sent back to prison on Monday after a South Korean court handed him a two and a half-year sentence for his involvement in a 2016 corruption scandal that spurred massive protests and ousted South Korea’s then-president. In a much-anticipated retrial, the Seoul High Court found Lee guilty of bribing then-President Park Geun-hye and her close confidante to win government support for a 2015 merger between two Samsung affiliates. Injae Lee, an attorney who leads Lee Jae-yong’s defense team, expressed regret over the court’s decision, saying that the “essence of the case is that a former president abused power to infringe upon the freedom and property rights of a private company.”
We give you the lowdown on how fixed deposits work, and round up the best fixed deposit offers in the market right now. Imagine if you could stash away all the money you received as gifts throughout the year, forget about it for a while, […] The post Best Fixed Deposits To Lock In Your Savings In Singapore (2021) appeared first on SingSaver Blog - We Compare, You Save.
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Rohit Chopra to be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tapping a progressive ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren to helm the agency whose creation she championed. Chopra, now a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, helped launch the consumer agency after the 2008-09 financial crisis and served as deputy director, where he sounded the alarm about skyrocketing levels of student loan debt. Biden announced the move Monday, along with his intent to nominate Gary Gensler, a former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
With security bond guarantees and 100% cancellation refund, FWD Maid Insurance helps manage the costs of hiring a maid. Given the important role domestic helpers play in our homes, it’s a given that employers should provide a reasonable amount of care and welfare to their […] The post FWD Maid Insurance (Review): Basic Maid Coverage With Great Savings appeared first on SingSaver Blog - We Compare, You Save.
Trucks owned by U.K. shellfish firms descended on Britain's Parliament Monday to protest the Brexit-related red tape they claim is suffocating their businesses. More than a dozen large lorries — one bearing the words “Brexit carnage!” — drove past the Houses of Parliament in central London and parked outside Downing St., home to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. British fishing communities were among the strongest supporters of leaving the European Union, because it promised the chance for the U.K. to leave the bloc’s complex system of fishing quotas and regain control over who is allowed to fish in British waters.
A 67-year-old former statutory board director was on Monday (18 January) jailed for six weeks for molesting a subordinate.
CapitaSpring, a 51-floor integrated development with JPMorgan Chase & Co. as an anchor tenant, has only managed to secure about 38% out of 647,000 square feet of net lettable area. That’s low considering it’s 75% completed.
Joe Biden's goal of seeing 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine injected within his first 100 days in office is "absolutely" achievable, top US scientist Anthony Fauci said Sunday, days before he is to become the new president's chief advisor on Covid-19.
Stellantis, the car company combining PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler, was launched Monday on the Milan and Paris stock exchanges, giving life to the fourth-largest auto company in the world. Stellantis shares rallied 7.6% in Milan to 13.53 euros ($16.32). CEO Carlos Tavares said during a virtual bell-ringing ceremony that the merger creates 25 billion euros in shareholder value.
From online shopping to overseas spends, here’s our pick of the best rewards credit cards that make things that much more rewarding. Rewards credit cards are all about the points. Rack up enough of them and you can enjoy a whole slew of exclusive perks […] The post Best Rewards Credit Cards In Singapore (2021) appeared first on SingSaver Blog - We Compare, You Save.
The world is on the brink of a "catastrophic moral failure" if rich countries hog Covid-19 vaccine doses while the poorest suffer, the head of the WHO said Monday.
