Author: Desk Team

ILM to open Indonesian stores in Q4
14Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Business, World

ILM to open Indonesian stores in Q4

ILM to open Indonesian stores in Q4 Index Living Mall will open its first store at SOGO Plaza Senayan in Indonesia next month. Index Living Mall Plc (ILM), the country's leading seller of furniture, home furnishings and decorative items, looks set to re-enter the Indonesian furniture market in the fourth quarter of this year. Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi, the company's managing director, said the company has partnered with giant PT Mitra Adiperkasa (MAP Group) to open two furniture & home solutions retail stores at Sogo Department Stores in Jakarta in the fourth quarter of this year. The first branch will open next month at Sogo Senayan Plaza with a floor space of 1,524 square metres, and the second branch will open in November at Sogo Kota Kasablanka with a floor space of 1,365 squar...
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Harris says she urged Vietnam to free political dissidents
14Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Business, China, Singapore, World

Harris says she urged Vietnam to free political dissidents

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday she raised issues of human rights abuses and restrictions on political activism in her conversations with Vietnamese leaders this week, but offered no indication those talks bore fruit. “We’re not going to shy away from difficult conversations. Difficult conversations often must be had with the people that you otherwise may have a partnership with,” she said at a news conference in Hanoi on Thursday. Harris said she spoke with Vietnamese leaders in particular about the release of political dissidents, but did not describe the outcome of those conversations. Vietnam has faced criticism for restrictions on freedom of expression and on the press and a crackdown on people it deems political dissidents. But Harris didn’t re
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Why a Hong Kong artist chose self-exile in Taiwan
13Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Opinion, World

Why a Hong Kong artist chose self-exile in Taiwan

Why a Hong Kong artist chose self-exile in Taiwan As China's crackdown on dissent gathered pace in Hong Kong, dissident artist Kacey Wong decided he had to leave. TAICHUNG, Taiwan: As he queued to board a flight out of Hong Kong to Taiwan last month, dissident artist Kacey Wong was painfully aware of the extra immigration officials brought in to scrutinise each departing passenger. Wong, 51, was one of the city's best-known provocateurs, an artist who specialised in satirising and criticising those in power. But as China's crackdown on dissent gathered pace in Hong Kong, he decided he had to leave. But would authorities let him go? Multiple dissidents have been arrested at the airport and Wong wondered if he too was on a watchlist, especially when a group of extra immigration officia...
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Geelani, Kashmir’s staunchest anti-India leader, dies at 91
13Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Conflict, World

Geelani, Kashmir’s staunchest anti-India leader, dies at 91

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Syed Ali Geelani, an icon of disputed Kashmir’s resistance against Indian rule and a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi, died late Wednesday. He was 91. Geelani died surrounded by family members at his home in Srinagar, the region’s main city, an aide and his relative told The Associated Press. Shortly after the news broke, scores of Kashmiris converged at his home in the Hyderpora neighborhood of Srinagar to mourn the death of Geelani, who lived the final decade of his life mostly under house arrest and suffered from various ailments. Authorities announced a communication blockade and the restriction of public movement, a common tactic employed by Indian officials in anticipation of anti-India protests. They swi
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South Nation Fish Camp return celebrated
13Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

South Nation Fish Camp return celebrated

Almost 100 youths baited a hook and learned about the environment in the local watershed at South Nation Conservation (SNC) Youth Fish Camps this summer. After being on a hiatus last summer due to COVID-19, this year’s Fish Camp quickly sold out after making a return for its 12th season in 2021. The two-day camps ran for six weeks throughout the summer, three weeks in July, and three weeks in August for youth aged six to 12. The young anglers at the camp reeled in some of the 72 fish species that live in the South Nation River waters. They cast a line at Cass Bridge Conservation Area in Winchester, Jessup’s Falls Conservation Area in Plantagenet, as well as reeling in some fish at High Falls Conservation Area in Casselman. “These popular camps deliver an invaluable outdoor learning expe
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MP questions B2bn ‘change’ from Sinovac deals
13Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

MP questions B2bn ‘change’ from Sinovac deals

Budgets approved at $14 a shot when going prices drop to $9, says Korat MP A medical worker shows the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine at the Bang Sue Grand Station in Bangkok on May 26 this year. (Photo by Nutthawat Wicheanbut) A Pheu Thai MP has questioned a 2-billion-baht difference between the approved budgets and the paid prices for five batches of the Sinovac vaccine Thailand bought during the no-confidence debate. Prasert Chantararuangthong, a Pheu Thai MP for Nakhon Ratchasima, talked about the mismanagement of the Covid-19 situation during the debate on its first day on Tuesday. The MP showed documents listing import plans, prices per dose and the budgets approved by the cabinet from February to August this year. He claimed he got the papers from an official at the Public Health Minis...
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Duterte daughter says has ‘running mate’ offers for poll
13Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Business, Opinion, World

Duterte daughter says has ‘running mate’ offers for poll

Duterte daughter says has 'running mate' offers for poll Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte arrives with daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio to attend the enthronement ceremony of Japan's Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo on Oct 22, 2019. (Carl Court/Pool via Reuters) MANILA: Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte's daughter has named several politicians, including her father's closest aide and preferred successor, whom she said have offered to run with her in next year's presidential election. Sara Duterte-Carpio, mayor of Davao City, is leading opinion polls but has yet to disclose her political plans ahead of the October deadline to file for candidacy. Mrs Duterte-Carpio, 43, said on Facebook that lawmakers Sherwin Gatchalian and Christopher "Bong" Go had "personally expressed their offer to run as...
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A home away from home
13Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

A home away from home

Above The wall room of the field hospital. Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut A thermometer read 38.2C when I measured my body temperature. I had a fever, my body was aching, and I started to cough. I went to see a doctor for a Covid-19 test but instead, I got antibiotics and fever relief medicines. Soon, my nose started to lose the sense of smell and I felt tired easily, even when walking slowly. I had Covid-19. The virus hit me five days before my first vaccine. Here is my story. At the age of 76, I am a healthy elderly without any health issues. I regularly walk and do arm swing exercises. Every day, I wake up before dawn to offer alms to monks and open my shophouse selling snacks and daily use products like typical mom-and-pop stores in the quiet suburban areas of southern Bangkok. When ...
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The Latest: More U.S. first responders are dying of COVID-19
12Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, World

The Latest: More U.S. first responders are dying of COVID-19

UNDATED -- The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the United States’ first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates. It’s a stark contrast from the beginning of the vaccine rollout when first responders were prioritized for shots. The mandates affect tens of thousands of police officers, firefighters and others on the front lines across the country, many of whom are spurning the vaccine. That is happening despite mandates’ consequences that range from weekly testing to suspension to termination — even though the virus is now the leading cause of U.S. law enforcement line-of-duty deaths. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 132 members of law enforcement age
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Hundreds of women have been killed during the pandemic. How B.C.’s inquiry could help tackle gender-based violence in Canada
12Sep By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, World

Hundreds of women have been killed during the pandemic. How B.C.’s inquiry could help tackle gender-based violence in Canada

Warning: This story includes details of gender-based violence. When the pandemic first hit Canada, Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) immediately saw an increase in calls from concerned friends, relatives and neighbours of gender-based violence victims and survivors. There were even a few instances where youth called in, concerned about the violence their mothers were facing at the hands of their fathers, BWSS’ executive director, and a survivor of gender-based violence Angela Marie MacDougall observed. “When we’re talking about the numbers of killings that happen with in an intimate partner context, it’s very difficult to to think about that as a hate attack, because it’s so normalized,” MacDougall said. “The problem that we always have in trying to talk about this kind of violen
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