Nectar Gan, Author at The Singapore Post

Japan, EU leaders talked about peace and stability: Taiwan Strait

31May

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Japan, EU leaders talked about peace and stability: Taiwan Strait

Tokyo, Japan: The two sides, Japan and the European Union have spoken about the Taiwan strait and came up with a peace and stability-oriented solution.The statement came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held an online summit with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday.Citing Japanese Foreign Ministry official, Kyodo News reported that it was the first-ever reference to Taiwan in a Japan-EU joint statement, using identical language to the statement issued after Suga's meeting with US President Joe Biden last month.Suga and the EU leaders voiced serious concerns about the situation in waters surrounding China and said they "strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions....

J-K: LG review medical facilities at Kathua

29May

By Nectar GanNo Comments

J-K: LG review medical facilities at Kathua

Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir: District Hospital and Covid Care Centre at Samba were review for medical facilities provided to the patients by Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha on Tuesday visited GMC Kathua.During his visits, the Lt Governor took a comprehensive stock of the COVID-19 containment measures in the respective districts and asked the health officials to ensure the best healthcare facilities for the patients and also directed the senior doctors to increase rounds in COVID-19 wards. "It is our collective responsibility to ensure the availability of necessary medicare facilities, besides putting in best efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus and save precious lives through prompt response", Sinha told the officers adding that effective COVID Clinical Manag...

Political developments are internal matter of Nepal: India

29May

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Political developments are internal matter of Nepal: India

New Delhi, India: Recent political developments in Nepal regarding the dissolution of Parliament and calling of fresh elections are internal matter of that country said India. A statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the political issues were to be tackled by Kathmandu under its domestic framework.“We view the recent political developments in Nepal as their internal matters, which are to be dealt with by them under their domestic framework and democratic processes. India remains unwavering in its support for Nepal and its people on their journey towards progress and peace,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.The Himalayan nation plunged into political turmoil after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli lost a vote of confidence in the Parliament early this mo

China’s Suriname’s forests deprived of trees

26May

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China’s Suriname’s forests deprived of trees

Paramaribo, Suriname: Uncontrolled timber consumption has turned the Suriname's forests into deprive of tree shades.Chinese companies own more than half of the logging concessions in the country. Much of the illegal timber is sold online through companies which are hard to track.Carl Holm in a ground report uncovered the illegal timber business of China for DW News Agency."Not so long ago these logs were giants from rainforest, 100 years old, most of them now destined to China. But, the former Dutch colony of Suriname, is not seeing any economic benefit as more than half of the logging is illegal. Suriname is estimated to lose Euro 100 million a year due to illegal logging. The money goes straight to the coffers of criminal cartels," said Holm.Erlan Sleur, Environmental NGO ProBios showed...

26May

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Japan conducted live fire drill

Tokyo, Japan: Live-fire drill was conducted by Japan’s Self-Defence Forces in scenario for defending remote islands.The annual firepower exercise at the East Fuji training area in Shizuoka Prefecture comes as Japan has been increasingly vigilant over China's maritime assertiveness in the East China Sea where Beijing claims the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, reported the japan times.Japan is stepping up its capabilities to protect the Nansei Islands, a chain stretching southwest toward Taiwan and covering Okinawa and the Senkakus, uninhabited isles which China calls the Diaoyu.The two-hour drill mobilized some 3,100 troops, 45 tanks and armored vehicles, and 54 pieces of artillery, using 43 tons of live ammunition worth Yen 780 million. Combat helicopters also joined the training,

China’s stretching manpower in its new race with Us.

23May

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China’s stretching manpower in its new race with Us.

Beijing, China: As China is working on a new space mission in which it is racing with its rival US. In order to finish the project early, China is over stretching the manpower and also taking up inordinate amounts of resources.Asia Times reported that as several programmes are going on simultaneously, unspecified technical breakdowns forced a vital launch to be aborted early on Thursday.In an interview with local media, NSA director Zhang Kejian said China's space treks could also be hamstrung by an emerging "talent crunch." With many programmes progressing simultaneously, Beijing will find it difficult to bring talent from outside despite the state media's self reliance claims.Chinese media said it is wooing experts from foreign countries to train Chinese engineers to be recruited by the...

Beijing-backed think tank: High risk of armed conflict at Taiwan Strait.

23May

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Beijing-backed think tank: High risk of armed conflict at Taiwan Strait.

Beijing, China : According to a Beijing-backed think-tank the risk of armed conflict has increased as tension has increased over Taiwan Strait.The China Cross-Strait Academy released a report on Wednesday on relations across the 180-km wide stretch of water that separates mainland China from Taiwan, South China Morning Post reported.The report was released after US Navy destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) transited the Taiwan Strait to demonstrate America's commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.The think tank said researchers had looked at factors including the two sides' military strength, trade relations, public opinion, political events and support from allies, concluding that they were "on the brink of war".Its conclusion was based on an index of the risk level of armed conflict...

Once a sprawling conglomerate, China’s biggest ‘bad bank’ stumbling with mounting debt.

21May

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Once a sprawling conglomerate, China’s biggest ‘bad bank’ stumbling with mounting debt.

Hong Kong: Though the Chinese government has stayed quiet about a rescue of the company, it is in the early stages of planning a reorganisation that will require foreign and Chinese bondholders to accept significant losses on their investments.Huarong was given the title of 'bad bank' as it took some of the ugliest loans off the state-owned banks who needed to get rid of debt to appear more attractive. It became the biggest 'bad bank', expanding its empire by financing companies in energy, insurance, property and beyond.Beijing has spent decades bailing out Chinese companies that got in over their heads, Huarong is now testing the limits of that resolve. Being a central part of China's financial system, its vulnerable status has left authorities with a difficult choice - either let it def...

US calls for diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics.

21May

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US calls for diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics.

Beijing, China: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for a "diplomatic boycott" of next year's Beijing Winter Olympics on human rights grounds on which China has expressed strong dissatisfaction.Condemning her statement, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a routine press conference that some US individual's personal statements are "full of lies and fake information" and represent a typical American farce that is bound to fail, reported Global Times."Some people in the US hype themselves up as moral authority. I do not know where they got the nerve to say so," said Zhao.The run-up to the Olympic Games, set for 2022, is being dominated by recriminations over widespread allegations of abuse of China's Uyghur Muslims, which the US has labelled a "genocide".China cornere...

US lawmakers move proposal to upgrade naval shipyards: Amid competition.

20May

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US lawmakers move proposal to upgrade naval shipyards: Amid competition.

New York, US: USD 25 billion cash infusion into America's outdated naval shipyards has been proposed by a bipartisan group of US lawmakers in Bid to prepare for greater power competition with China.Considering the pace at which Beijing is building its own ships, there are mounting concerns in the American defence community over the adequacy of vessel production and maintenance, reported Nikkei Asia.The bill submitted to Congress is titled the SHIPYARD Act, which stands for the Supplying Help to Infrastructure in Ports, Yards and America's Repair Docks Act of 2021.The proposal calls for the appropriation of USD 25 million. USD 21 million is to be used for four public shipyards and the remaining USD 4 billion is for private shipyards used by the Navy.The SHIPYARD Act proposes to make a one-...