US: It was announced on Wednesday (July 13) that a former CIA software engineer has been found guilty of the largest theft of secret information in the agency’s history. During his retrial in New York City, Joshua Schulte claimed in closing arguments that the CIA and the FBI made him the scapegoat for WikiLeaks’ embarrassing 2017 leak of a cache …

US: US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday (July 13) to begin a trip to the Middle East, where he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to strengthen Israel’s ties to the area as they prepare to take on Iran. A visit to Saudi Arabia by Biden, who will be making his first regional trip since assuming …

SINGAPORE: It’s not an easy task to make it into the top 12 Singaporean home cooks, much less the top two. Nevertheless, Nares, 32, accomplished just that in MasterChef Singapore’s third season, which concluded on July 3 with a fiery finale involving S Nareskanna, also known as Nares. While he missed out on the MasterChef title by just 1.5 points, …

JAPAN: Coronavirus cases appear to be spreading swiftly across Japan, prompting the country’s health ministry to issue a public health alert and urge residents to exercise extra caution ahead of the forthcoming long weekend and upcoming summer school breaks. Japan’s new COVID-19 cases have climbed to levels not seen since early this year, with Tokyo reporting 16,878 new cases on …

SOUTH KOREA: Ioniq 6, Hyundai’s first electric sedan, was unveiled on Thursday, July 14th, and the South Korean automaker hopes it will help them gain market share in the electric vehicle market, which is now dominated by Tesla Inc. More than 31 electric vehicles, including Hyundai Motor, its sister business Kia Corp, and the premium brand Genesis, will be introduced …

INDONESIA: For the time being, Indonesia has halted the recruitment of its people to work in Malaysian plantations, claiming a breach of a worker recruitment agreement struck between the two nations on Wednesday (July 13). As the world’s second-largest palm oil producer and a vital supply chain component, Malaysia is now dealing with a labor shortfall of approximately 1.2 million …

MALAYSIA: De facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has said that a new anti-party switching Bill will be filed in Malaysia’s parliament on Monday (Jul 18) and that if enacted, the law could come into effect by September. A draft of the anti-party jumping law was finalized and studied on Wednesday by the bipartisan select committee appointed to look …

SINGAPORE: Razer is suing a vendor for a cybersecurity breach that resulted in Razer’s customers’ and sales’ sensitive information being released to the public. More than 100,000 Razer customers may have been affected by a data leak that occurred over the course of three months in June through September 2020, a security researcher reported. French giant Capgemini is being sued …

INDONESIA: Fifty tons of frozen chicken from Indonesia arrived in Singapore on Wednesday (Jul 13). Indonesian enterprises will now be able to export chicken to Singapore for the first time under a new arrangement. According to Charoen Pokphand Indonesia (CPI), the Thai food conglomerate’s unit in Indonesia, it has signed a contract with an importer in Singapore for the supply …

SRI LANKA: He was known as “The Terminator” for his role in ending Sri Lanka’s long-running civil war, but he’s now a wanted man and the country’s economy is in ruins. From 2005 to 2015, Rajapaksa served as Sri Lanka’s defense secretary, one of four brothers who have dominated recent Sri Lankan politics. His tough-guy image was bolstered by reports …