Author: Desk Team

Saugeen Ojibway Nation disappointed with court decision
30Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Saugeen Ojibway Nation disappointed with court decision

SAUGEEN TERRITORY – A decision 20 years in the making has left a sour taste in the mouths of people who belong to the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON). They are vowing to fight back against what some call terra nullius, based on the Doctrine of Discovery. Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., a resource that shares knowledge and information through training courses, blogs, and other free resources so they can “make the world a better place for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike,” provided the following information, which their website says is important because it has never been renounced. “It remains the basis for Canadian law and as such continues to impact Indigenous Peoples. “It gave sovereignty or title of Indigenous traditional lands and territories to the Crown. It remains today
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China pushes adoption of language, cultural symbols in Tibet
30Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Politics, World

China pushes adoption of language, cultural symbols in Tibet

BEIJING (AP) — A top Chinese official said Thursday that “all-round efforts” are needed to ensure Tibetans speak standard spoken and written Chinese and share the “cultural symbols and images of the Chinese nation.” Wang Yang made the remarks before a handpicked audience in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the home of Tibet’s traditional Buddhist leaders, at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Chinese invasion of the vast Himalayan region. China’s ruling Communist Party says it “peacefully liberated“ Tibetan peasants from an oppressive theocracy and restored Chinese rule over a region under threat from outside powers. Critics say such moves toward cultural assimilation spell the demise of Tibet’s traditional Buddhist culture and that Tibet was effectively independent for
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G-7 grapples with Afghanistan, an afterthought not long ago
30Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

G-7 grapples with Afghanistan, an afterthought not long ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two months ago, the leaders of the world’s seven major industrialized democracies met at the height of summer on England’s southeast coast. It was a happy occasion: the first in-person summit of the Group of Seven nations in two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and the welcomed appearance of President Joe Biden and his “America is back” message on matters ranging from comity to COVID-19 to climate change. On Tuesday, those same seven leaders will meet again in virtual format confronted by a resurgence in the pandemic, more dire news on climate change and, most immediately and perhaps importantly, Afghanistan. The country’s burgeoning refugee crisis, the collapse of its government and fears of a resurgence in Afghan-based terrorism have left the G-7 allies scrambling
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Civil Court blocks PM’s gag on free speech
30Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Civil Court blocks PM’s gag on free speech

Injunction order notes that government already has lots of other legal tools to fight fake news Media representatives and human rights lawyers talk to reporters before filing a lawsuit at the Civil Court on Aug 2 against a prime minister's order they said threatens press freedom and free speech. (Photo: @HRLawyersTH Twitter account) The Civil Court on Friday ruled in favour of the media by issuing an injunction suspending Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s regulation restricting freedom of speech and threatening internet censorship. The court said it went against the law. The court also issued an English-language announcement of its decision. “Considering that Section 9 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548 (2005) (No. 29) provides Prime Mi
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Recession fears mount as cases rise
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Business, Singapore, World

Recession fears mount as cases rise

Asoke junction along Sukhumvit Road, usually jammed with traffic, is dead as people work from home during the lockdown. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb) Thailand will likely be the worst economic performer in Southeast Asia this year, with economists continuing to slash the country's growth forecast amid surging Covid-19 infections, mounting political tensions and fading hopes for a tourism revival, according to Bloomberg. The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) downgraded the country's 2021 economic forecast to 1.3% GDP growth, a dip from an April projection of 2.3%, on the assumption new infections of Covid-19 will peak in the middle of August, said director-general Kulaya Tantitemit. However, the FPO expects the situation to improve in 2022 as the business sector gradually returns to normalcy, lea...
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Asean too late for Myanmar?
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Conflict, Politics, Singapore, World

Asean too late for Myanmar?

Asean too late for Myanmar? The appointment of Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof as Asean special envoy to Myanmar last week is better late than never. The special envoy's appointment is part of a five-point consensus that was agreed upon by Asean leaders during an April 24 meeting searching for a solution to the Myanmar crisis following the Feb 1 coup that ousted the elected civilian government under Aung San Suu Kyi who has been detained together with other civilian officials. The delay in the envoy's appointment is described by the international media as due to internal wrangling within the group; with Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines opting for a proactive approach; while the rest, including Thailand, preferring quiet diplomacy which is almost synony...
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Fully vaccinated travellers from 8 more countries can serve SHN at home from Aug 20: MOH
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

Fully vaccinated travellers from 8 more countries can serve SHN at home from Aug 20: MOH

SINGAPORE - Fully vaccinated travellers from Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Norway, South Korea and Switzerland will be allowed to serve their 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) at their own places of residence instead of a dedicated facility from 11.59pm on Aug 20. This list will be updated from time to time depending on the public health risk assessment, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Friday (Aug 6). The differentiated measures for vaccinated travellers are part of a review of Singapore's border restrictions in the light of a high local vaccination rate. MOH said a traveller will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the full dosage of any Covid-19 vaccine under the World Health Organisation's Emergency Use Listing. These include the Pfizer-BioNTech/C...
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WHO experts say urgent search for Covid origins ‘stalled’
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Politics, World

WHO experts say urgent search for Covid origins ‘stalled’

WHO experts say urgent search for Covid origins 'stalled' Tracing Covid's biological trail to the earliest pockets of the disease becomes more difficult as evidence disappears or becomes corrupted. PARIS: The search for the origins of the Covid pandemic that has killed millions and crippled economies is at a standstill even as time is running out, scientists charged with the task by the UN warned Wednesday. An initial report by the team of independent, international experts sent to China by the World Health Organization in January concluded that it was most likely that the SARS-CoV-2 virus jumped from bats to humans via an intermediate animal. A competing hypothesis that the virus somehow leaked from a lab, like the specialised virology laboratory in Wuhan, was deemed "extremely unlike...
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Scarborough neighbourhood where two young girls were shot needs more than playground ‘refresh,’ advocate says
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Scarborough neighbourhood where two young girls were shot needs more than playground ‘refresh,’ advocate says

The unveiling of a repainted Scarborough playground Thursday brought with it mixed feelings for community members. The “refresh” of the playground at 10 Alton Towers Circle — the site of a daylight shooting in 2018 that injured two young girls — was commissioned by Toronto Crime Stoppers as part of its Community Reward Program. But the mother of the two girls, Stacey King, was disappointed that she only found out about the project Wednesday, a day before the unveiling, through a letter in her mailbox from the board of her housing complex. While a Toronto police press release about the playground mentions the shooting incident, King says she had not been contacted ahead of the event. “There was no recognition or acknowledgment of either me or my daughters,” said King, who attended the u
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China Plans to Ban U.S. IPOs for Data-Heavy Tech Firms
29Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Business, China, World

China Plans to Ban U.S. IPOs for Data-Heavy Tech Firms

China's stock regulator plans to propose new rules that could thwart internet companies' plans to list in the U.S. A trader works June 30 during the IPO for Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Global Inc on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Beijing plans to propose new rules that would ban Chinese firms with large amounts of sensitive consumer data from going public in the U.S. China plans to propose new rules that would ban companies with large amounts of sensitive consumer data from going public in the U.S., people familiar with the matter said, a move that is likely to thwart the ambitions of the country's tech firms to list abroad. In recent weeks, officials from China's stock regulator have told some companies and international investors that the new rules would...
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