Singapore, closely followed by South Korea, remains the best country in which to run a business, according to the World Bank.
While Brunei, Thailand and India have registered the most notable improvement in the ease of doing business, Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh are the region’s lowest-ranked economies.
In the World Bank’s “Ease of doing business” list, Singapore has been ranked as the second-best country in the world, and consequently also considered to be the best country in Asia.
It is followed by South Korea as the second best economy to do business in Asia. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand are the other Asian countries ranked high by the report for ease of doing business.
While Hong Kong has scored fifth, Taiwan and Malaysia have been ranked 15th and 24th respectively. Thailand has been ranked 26th overall and has registered strong improvement in the ease of doing business.
Graphic: Asia News Network
The World Bank report, covering the period from June 2 last year to June 1 this year, tracks indicator areas such as the ease of starting a business, connecting to power grids, contract enforcement, taxes and bankruptcy proceedings.
The third largest economy in the world, Japan, has been ranked 34th, while Brunei and Mongolia have both been ranked 56th and 62nd. Importantly Brunei has been named the most improved economy in the world for the third year in a row.
China trails countries like Bhutan, Indonesia and Vietnam. The country has been placed at the 78th position in the report, same as last year.
South Asian neighbours India, Nepal and Sri Lanka have grabbed the 100th, 105th and 111th spot in the rankings. India moved up 30 positions in the report as compared to last year, mostly driven by reforms in access to credit, power supplies and protection of minority investors.
However, the World Bank report noted that India lags in areas such as “starting a business”, “enforcing contracts” and “dealing with construction permits”.
Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar are the lowest ranked Asian countries in the ease of doing business report. Bangladesh has been ranked the lowest at 177, while Pakistan has been ranked 147th. Myanmar, which recently opened up its economy to the world, has been ranked 171th overall.
SAN FRANCISCO – Disney on Thursday (Nov 9) announced plans for a new Star Wars trilogy as it builds on the beloved and profitable science fiction film franchise.
“We have big ambitions for the Star Wars franchise,” Disney chief executive Robert Iger said during a quarterly earnings call.
Disney just closed a deal with Rian Johnson, director of “The Last Jedi” to develop a brand new trilogy, according to Iger.
The Star Wars franchise has been “exceeding expectations” since Disney acquired LucasFilm five years ago, according to Iger.
Disney planned to launch Star Wars feature films in a new direct-to-consumer pay service that will offer “thousands of hours” of film and television content, he said.
Disney touted the box office success of the last two released films, and expressed confidence “The Last Jedi” set for release next month would be a hit.
“The excitement will only intensify as we get closer to the release date,” Iger said of the coming instalment.
Production recently began on a film based on the story of Han Solo, a character played by actor Harrison Ford in the original trilogy, according to Disney executives.
“We’ve got more great Star Wars movies already planned for years to come in addition to the 2019 release of Episode 9,” Iger said.
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County district attorney on Thursday announced the establishment of a task force to investigate allegations of sexual assault in the entertainment industry.
It is a sign of the scope of the problem, which has been spotlighted by the flood of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in Hollywood that have emerged in recent weeks. “In response to the widespread allegations of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, I have established a task force of specially trained deputy district attorneys who are ready to evaluate these cases,” Jackie Lacey said.
“I have assigned the group of veteran sex crimes prosecutors to work together to ensure a uniformed approach to the legal review and possible prosecution of any case that meets both the legal and factual standards for criminal prosecution,” Lacey said.
The New York Times and The New Yorker published articles on allegations that Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein had a decades-long history of sexual harassment and rape, prompting scores more women to speak out about his behaviour and that of others in the entertainment industry.
Allegations have since emerged against “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey, director James Toback, comedian Louis C.K. and others.
Here are the actresses who’ve accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, abuse
NEW YORK – US action movie actor Steven Seagal and comedian Louis C.K. were the latest stars in the crosshairs of mounting sexual misconduct allegations on Thursday, following the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.
Portia de Rossi, the Arrested Development actress and wife of chat queen Ellen DeGeneres, accused the former martial arts expert and blues musician over an undated audition for a Seagal movie in his office.
“He told me how important it was to have chemistry off-screen as he sat me down and unzipped his leather pants,” the Australian-born actress tweeted late Wednesday.
“I ran out and called my agent. Unfazed, she replied, ‘well, I didn’t know if he was your type.'”
My final audition for a Steven Segal movie took place in his office. He told me how important it was to have chemistry off-screen as he sat me down and unzipped his leather pants. I️ ran out and called my agent. Unfazed, she replied, “well, I didn’t know if he was your type.”
Seagal’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Actress Jenny McCarthy, who first accused Seagal in 1998, on Thursday revisited her encounter with the actor when auditioning for his 1995 movie “Under Siege 2” when he allegedly asked her twice to lower her dress.
Telling him she had been told there was no nudity, Seagal allegedly told her “there is off-camera nudity.” After she refused and ran to her car, McCarthy said he followed her outside and told her not to tell anyone “or else.”
“I thought about like,’I was the last girl that day. How many girls had to take off their clothes? How many girls had to do more?’ It just so grossed me out.”
‘LINE GETS CROSSED’
Seagal’s fame peaked in the late 1980s and early 1990s with films such as “Under Siege” and “Above the Law,” although he remains popular in eastern Europe.
He was last year accorded Russian and Serbian citizenship, personally collecting his Russian passport from President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
Julianna Margulies last week recounted an unpleasant encounter with the 65-year-old star, with whom she appeared in the 1991 movie “Out for Justice.”
Margulies, who later shot to fame for her role in 1990s hit series “ER” and more recently in “The Good Wife,” said a female casting director told her Seagal wanted to go over a scene with her in his New York hotel room at night.
Margulies, 23 years at the time, said that when she arrived she found the actor alone. “He made sure that I saw his gun, which I had never seen a gun in real life,” she told Sirius XM. “I got out of there unscathed,” she said.
In a New York Times expose published on Thursday, five women accused comedian Louis C.K. of masturbating or asking to masturbate in front of them or on the telephone in separate incidents dating from the late 1990s to 2005.
On Thursday, the premiere of his new movie “I Love You, Daddy,” was abruptly cancelled, and the award-winner cancelled an appearance on CBS comedy chat show “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” the Times reported.
C.K.’s publicist, Lewis Kay, told the paper that the comedian would not respond. “Louis is not going to answer any questions,” he was quoted as having emailed.
“I think the line gets crossed when you take all your clothes off and start masturbating,” said Julia Wolov, one half of the Chicago comedy duo who both accused him of misappropriate behaviour in his hotel room after their late-night show.
The Straits Times reporter, who followed up on the confidential information, was also issued with a “stern warning” by the police.
Potential buyers at HDB Hub looking at scale models of new flats. (Photo: TODAY/Robin Choo)
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SINGAPORE: A Housing and Development Board (HDB) officer was charged in court for sharing confidential information on a new initiative with a Straits Times reporter.
Ng Han Yuan, 25, was charged on Friday (Nov 10) with wrongfully communicating confidential information, an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
The police said in a news release that HDB made a police report on Jul 27, after it received media queries from a Straits Times reporter on the new HDB Resale Portal, which had not been made public at the time.
Police investigations found that Ng shared confidential information with the reporter, Ms Janice Tai, in May, and the reporter approached several parties in July with queries on the information.
The police have issued Ms Tai with a “stern warning” for her actions, they said.
“The Government takes a serious view of the wrongful communication of confidential information, especially if the party involved is a public officer, and will not hesitate to take action,” the police added in the news release.
According to court documents, Ng was an estate manager from the resale operation section in HDB’s estate administration and property division at the time of the offence.
Ng said in court on Friday that he intends to plead guilty to the charge. He is expected to do so on Dec 15.
He faces a fine of up to S$2,000 and up to two years in jail.
SINGAPORE: Yishun has developed a reputation for bad news – home to mall stabbings, brothel raids, civilians trying to attack policemen with stun guns, as well as cat killers, among other incidents.
So much so that it became a meme, with YouTube spoof videos and a hot topic on which to sound off. “Build a wall around Yishun,” says one meme, while one Twitter account has been set up dedicated to weird happenings there.
But does the town deserve this reputation?
Current affairs programme Talking Point investigated, and found that Yishun might not be the hotbed of crime many may think it is. There are other neighbourhoods with a higher ratio of preventable crimes, specifically snatch theft, robbery, housebreaking, theft of motor vehicle and outrage of modesty.
In 2015, Orchard’s crime rate was 11.7 percentage points higher than Yishun’s. And out of Singapore’s 28 estates, Yishun ranked 13th, behind the likes of Changi, Geylang, Rochor and Marine Parade.
Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Leong Chan-Hoong, who studies neighbourhood profiles in Singapore, has an explanation for why Yishun is perceived as a place with a high crime rate, belying the national statistics.
“Yishun has one of the lower national income (profiles) compared to other housing estates. And in general, people tend to perceive lower-income neighbourhoods as associated with higher crime rates, for example,” he said.
“A place like Marine Parade has a lot of landed properties and condominiums, a lot of well-to-do residents, but at the same time, it also has quite a number of rental units. But the whole estate in general gives the impression that it’s a reasonably well-to-do neighbourhood.”
THE DEVIL’S RING
In contrast, the negative perception of Yishun has been a trending topic for some time now. There is even a blog dedicated to the weird happenings in the town.
Blogger Lhu Wen Kai, who has been compiling news articles of the unfortunate events that have happened in his estate for the past 10 years, agrees that every town in Singapore has its fair share of bizarre incidents.
But he is amazed at the “frightening consistency” of such incidents in Yishun.
His research for his blog The Yishun Dream includes using Google Maps to plot the locations of those events, and he found that most of them occurred within the area enclosed by Yishun Ring Road, which he nicknamed The Devil’s Ring.
“There was this case of a bank executive who tried to rob a bank with a toy pistol, and he got cold feet in the end,” he cited.
And there was another case where a man tried to burgle a home, and the home happened to be undergoing renovation, and he got caught. So (Yishun) is so jinxed that even robbers can’t commit the crime.
He had started his blog mostly to practise web design, but with the narrative of Yishun as a “cursed town” – in his words – gaining traction at the time, his blog began to garner more and more reactions.
CAT ABUSE CASES
Of late, the impression is that Yishun is full of cat abusers, judging by the 41 media reports on cat abuse cases there in the last five years, far more than in any other estate.
However, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority says that of the 18 per cent of alleged cat cruelty cases in Yishun between 2015 and last month (out of 451 cases nationwide), only 5 per cent – or four cases – were actual cruelty cases.
Most of the other cases were the result of accidents or attacks by stray dogs.
Two cats found dead in Yishun on Oct 25 morning. (Photo: Facebook / Yishun 326 Tabby cat)
Cat Welfare Society executive director Laura Ann Meranda believes that the current perception of Yishun may have stemmed from cat volunteers in the area being “very gung-ho” about fighting abuse.
“When a case is actually reported by the town council, or even by any residents, the first thing is (the volunteers) swiftly come in to report the case and then they go to social media asking for help,” she said.
While this may reinforce the negative image of Yishun, she hopes the volunteers continue to give voice to animal rights. She added: “It’s only fair that they still come forward.”
There is now a standard operating procedure to ensure that cat carcasses are not disposed of until the authorities can conduct a proper on-site investigation, shared Member of Parliament (Nee Soon) and animal rights advocate Louis Ng.
When he became a MP for the constituency in 2015, he realised that there had been a spate of cat killings for years, and what was needed was to “bring all these cases to the forefront” to raise awareness.
So did we create a hype? Yes. Was it intentional? Yes as well… It was important in terms of addressing this issue and really addressing the root cause.
The number of cases have dropped in the last two years, he noted.
Talking Point host Diana Ser with Yishun cat lovers.
MAKING YISHUN GREAT AGAIN
Whether there has been bad publicity, extensive social media coverage or preconceived notions, much of Yishun’s reputation has also been a made-up phenomenon.
Filmmaker Mohd Ridhwan Mohd Yunos, a Yishunite since birth and the creator of the video Yishun Resident Evil, a spoof of a video game about a deadly virus and zombies, views the send-ups of the town as just entertainment.
“So I don’t really get affected by all these comments about the negative parts of Yishun,” he said.
There are others, however, who hope to counter the negative headlines of the past. The Make Yishun Great Again hashtag started during United States President Donald Trump’s campaign last year – a takeoff of his promise to Make America Great Again.
One team of individuals even put together hundreds of “care packages” of food and drinks in June and delivered them to an entire block, to soften Yishun’s image.
The Yiishun care package distributed by residents like Dawn Lim.
Each package came with this note: “Hello neighbour, in the light of all the Yishun news that has been making headlines, a small team of individuals passionate about making good vibes decided to come together to surprise a whole block overnight …”
Ms Dawn Lim did not think Yishun deserved to have a bad reputation, so she and her friends came up with this idea. It soon sparked the media coverage they wanted.
She said: “There’s a lot to be done, but this was a great first step to make Yishun great again.”
Watch more of this on Talking Point here. New episodes on Mediacorp Channel 5 every Thursday, 9.30pm.
SINGAPORE: Uber has launched a series of changes to provide its drivers with more flexibility, in a move seemingly aimed at curbing competition from Grab, which is on a mission to build the “largest and most advanced” taxi and private-hire car fleet in Singapore.
From Thursday (Nov 9), Uber will remove the 80 per cent trip acceptance requirement that drivers need to meet in order to qualify for incentives, taking the pressure off them to work long hours.
Drivers will also be able to specify their preferred destinations up to twice a day, as well as input an arrival time for their destination, allowing the system to allocate jobs that match the drivers’ schedules.
Another new feature is a “long trip notification”, which gives drivers a heads-up if a trip is estimated to take more than 30 minutes, allowing them to choose the trips that work for them.
Uber’s new “long trip notification” gives drivers a heads-up if a trip is estimated to take more than 30 minutes, allowing them to choose the trips that work for them. (Image: Uber Singapore)
Uber is also introducing a cancellation timer in its app that will help the driver keep track of the time they have spent waiting for their ride before the start of a trip.
If a passenger cancels more than five minutes after a driver accepts the trip, the timer will indicate that the driver is eligible for the cancellation fee.
The changes were introduced based on feedback from drivers, who have indicated their desire for autonomy and control over their lives, Uber said.
“Drivers are tired of words. They want action, and we are turning the page by committing to meaningful changes that address their needs,” Uber said in an email to Channel NewsAsia on Thursday.
Uber’s campaign comes amid fierce competition from Grab, which last month announced it had secured debt facilities of US$700 million and signed a new and exclusive partnership with SMRT that will help it build the “largest and most advanced” taxi and private-hire car fleet in Singapore.
Grab has also been trying to woo drivers from Singapore’s largest taxi company ComfortDelGro and in September announced what it called “huge rental discounts” for the cab drivers.
DANANG, Vietnam: Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman has called on countries in the region to do more to reduce unsustainable agricultural practices.
Speaking at the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Dr Maliki said the nations “must continue to encourage progress in the region to reduce unsustainable practices which are detrimental to both the environment and producers”.
He also urged leaders to be “sensitised” to the impact of regional conflicts on food production and trade, and to “consider ways to alleviate these”.
Singapore’s polytechnics can also play a role to ensure food security; by working with government agencies and industries to develop new courses, Dr Maliki said.
This will attract “the younger generation” to traditional sectors such as agriculture and aquaculture, and cultivate “agri-technologists” with multi-disciplinary expertise in areas such as engineering and R&D, he added.
Dr Maliki also spoke of Singapore’s human resources development efforts to provide all-rounded education through a greater investment in pre-school education, as well as the promotion of the SkillsFuture scheme to prepare the workforce for the future economy.
On the sidelines of the AMM, Dr Maliki met with Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Rimbink Pato and Peru’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Luna Mendoza.
Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman meeting Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration Rimbink Pato at the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting (AMM). (Photo: Facebook/Maliki Osman)
The leaders reaffirmed the bilateral ties that Singapore has with both Papua New Guinea and Peru, as well as discussed ways to deepen those ties.
