Hi,
In today's bulletin: The race to be Japan's next premier gathers momentum; India hits world record for daily coronavirus infections, the defeat that Mahathir's party suffered in Saturday by-elections; more on the Newcastle bid controversy, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi woos Europe, and more.
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RACE TO BE JAPAN'S NEXT PREMIER
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party plans to hold a leadership vote on Sept 14 to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe but speculation is at a new high on who could succeed him.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has indicated he would stand in the elections. He is widely seen as one of the major contenders to be the next premier and is likely to be backed by LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and other major factions.
However, the popular favourite is Japanese former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Mr Ishiba has about 34 per cent of the public's support, more than double the 14 per cent for Mr Suga, who is the second-most popular choice, a weekend Kyodo News survey showed.
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INDIA SURPASSES GLOBAL RECORD OF DAILY CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS
India, which posted the world's biggest, single-day tally of coronavirus infections on Sunday, nearly matched it with similar numbers on Monday with 78,512 new infections being recorded even as authorities debated opening up other sectors of the economy.
The country has been posting the highest single-day number of cases since Aug 7 and at a tally of 3.62 million cases, the country is fast catching up to the total in the United States and Britain, although its death rate is lower.
Elsewhere, South Korea's tighter social distancing rules came into effect today after earlier restrictions on movement failed to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections. But Victoria, the state at the epicentre of Australia's second-wave of Covid-19 infections, marked a two-month low in the number of new infections.
Also read:
Scientists see downsides to high-profile Covid-19 vaccines from Russia, China
THE DEFEAT FOR MAHATHIR'S NEW PARTY
Saturday turned out to be a momentous day for Malaysia's party Umno, which scored a significant victory in a by-election in Slim, winning 85 per cent of the votes and defeating former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's weeks-old Parti Pejuang Tanah Air.
ST Malaysia Bureau Chief Shannon Teoh writes that the defeat for former premier Mahathir Mohamad's new party but of great concern to the opposition will be the evaporation of previously fervent non-Malay support.
This was Umno's third straight by-election win since the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) was toppled in February, but significantly the first where it gained the support of voters who are not bumiputeras - a term used to jointly refer to the Malay Muslim majority and indigenous tribes.
AXINGTON, LINKED TO GROUP IN NEWCASTLE BID, SUSPENDS TRADING
Axington Inc, the Singapore-listed company linked to the Bellagraph Nova (BN) Group that recently made a £280 million (S$506 million) bid for Newcastle United Football Club, requested today that trading in its shares be suspended.
It said an announcement would soon be made "in relation to strategic changes to be made in the business direction of the company".
One of the most intriguing cases to emerge in recent times, several questions about the group have surfaced since news broke about its bid for Newcastle United. Few had heard about the group and there has been surprise about their blonde-haired business partner Evangeline Shen,
For one thing, not too much is known about the group, and while there were write-ups and press releases about the Loh cousins online, there was hardly anything about their striking, blonde-haired business partner Evangeline Shen.
Read more:
Doctored Obama photos: Co-founder of BN Group Evangeline Shen maintains her silence
Axington board, which includes BN Group's Evangeline Shen, should be probed for suitability where necessary: SGX RegCo
CHINA'S WANG YI FOR EU DEAL BY YEAR-END
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is on a tour of European countries, is seeking to reach a deal on investments by the end of the year, French newspaper Les Echos reported. Negotiations are currently focused on granting access to the Chinese market for European companies, sustainable development and labour provisions. Discussions between China and the European countries come soon after US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo used a recent European trip to warn countries about the threat posed by China.
Read also:
Jonathan Eyal: Mr Wang Yi goes to Europe (premium content)
IN OTHER NEWS
INDIA SAYS FOILS NEW CHINESE ATTEMPT TO CHANGE BORDER STATUS QUO: India said on Monday (Aug 31) it had foiled an attempt by Chinese troops to change the status quo on their disputed and ill-defined border in a fresh flare-up between the two nuclear-armed countries. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Chinese border troops "never cross the line of actual control".
US MILITARY SUSPENDS TRAINING IN S.KOREA AFTER DEADLY CRASH: The US military command in South Korea said it would suspend training at a range after four South Korean civilians were killed in a crash with an armoured vehicle late on Sunday. The crash comes in the midst of a dispute between the two countries over the sum Seoul should pay to maintain US troops in the country.
HIN LEONG FOUNDER SUED BY FIRM'S JUDICIAL MANAGERS: Embattled oil tycoon Lim Oon Kuin, better known as O.K. Lim, and his two children have been sued by Hin Leong Trading judicial manager PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services in its bid to recover US$3.5 billion (S$4.75 billion) plus another US$90 million in dividends the Lims allegedly paid themselves even though the company was insolvent.
That's it for today. Thanks for reading. We'll be back with you tomorrow.
Shefali
