Government rebuts Lee Suet Fern’s comments on scheme

Ministry defends 2008 scheme which lawyer Lee Suet Fern says has not benefited Singapore lawyers enough

China’s swelling junkyards are readying iron ore’s next threat

As China’s booming middle class junks aging cars and home appliances, the next threat to the world’s ailing iron-ore producers is materializing.

Uber, GrabCar drivers to have vocational licences; undergo background checks

Private chauffeur drivers operating under apps such as Uber and Grab will be regulated in Singapore, to safeguard commuters' interest.

Singapore private car hire drivers to be licensed

To better protect commuter interests, in particular their safety, drivers of ride-hailing apps like Uber and GrabCar will require a licence by the first half of 2017, while their private hire cars will have to be registered with the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Offshore vehicles not illegal: MAS

Central bank says it has a strict legal and regulatory framework to guard against money laundering and terrorism financing

Pavlovian conditioning and 'correct thinking' on the South China Sea

On a global scale, China is not a clearly revisionist power. But Beijing wants to reclaim something of its historical centrality in East Asia. The United States has emphasised that it intends to remain an East Asian power.

Why few Americans appear in the Panama Papers

But one group is not there: prominent Americans. US tycoons and politicians are notably absent in the leaked files of the Panama law offices of Mossack Fonseca, which created thousands of shell companies worldwide to hide the identities of their ultimate owners, some of whom may have been evading taxes.

Mossack Fonseca has office in Singapore

Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm at the centre of the document leak, has an office in Singapore. It shares office space in the Jit Poh Building at 19 Keppel Road with TPS Corporate Services, a firm that helps clients set up and manage companies in different jusrisdictions, both onshore and offshore.

‘Arrogance’ why Western tech firms fail in China: Top VC

"Western imperial arrogance" rather than government regulation is the reason technology firms fail in their attempts to expand into China, according to the chairman of a top Silicon Valley venture capital (VC) firm.

CNBC

Law firm in 'Panama Papers' leak is secretive, with big clients

Mossack Fonseca, the Panama-based law firm at the heart of the "Panama Papers" scandal, is a discreet outfit with a roster of big-name clients and a quiet reputation for hiding money from the tax man.

Master con man tells how foreign criminals launder illicit fortunes through China

The country’s well-developed underground financial networks have caught the attention of foreign criminals who are using mainland China and Hong Kong to clean their dirty money and pump it back into the global financial system — largely beyond the reach of Western law enforcement, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Argentina hails UN decision to expand its maritime territory

Argentina's government celebrated on Monday a decision by a U.N. commission expanding its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 percent to include the disputed Falkland islands and beyond.

AP

Shanghai’s allure fading for migrants

After living in Shanghai for nine years, Mr Teng Yiye, 38, and his family moved to a small town in neighbouring Jiangsu province in late 2014. It takes Mr Teng about an hour to drive to Shanghai to attend meetings for his interior design business, but he believes he made the right decision to leave the city.

Bangladesh bank heist exposes Philippine dirty money secrets

When mystery hackers launched a stunning raid on Bangladesh's foreign reserves, a plot worthy of a John le Carre spy novel was sparked in the Philippines, exposing the South-east Asian nation as a dirty money haven.

Kid finds dad with nanny & uses it to explain politics

On South China Sea islet, Taiwan argues Philippines case is far from watertight

On Itu Aba, in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, Taiwanese coast guard officials proudly haul a small wooden bucket of water from one of several simple concrete wells on the coral outcrop.

Taiwan takes media on tour of Taiping Island, which it claims in disputed South China Sea

The Philippines “distorted the facts and misinterpreted the law” in its arguments, Linghu told reporters at a pre-trip briefing Tuesday in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital.

Maruah rejects changes to Elected President rules

Human rights group Maruah has spoken out against the proposed tightening of eligibility rules for Singapore’s Elected President, calling the proposed change “undemocratic and elitist”.

Sleepy Ipoh awakens

Ipoh's old town has emerged as a tourists' delight: peeling indigo paint on century-old walls, gently crumbling buildings given a chic makeover, and delicate murals peeking out from alleyways.

Virgin Atlantic Airways probing incident where passenger claimed she was called a 'Chinese pig' by a caucasian man

The passenger, who was on Virgin flight VS250 on March 1, said she was insulted by a Caucasian male passenger and subsequently allegedly ignored by a flight attendant.

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