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How real is the threat of foreign interference and will recent or proposed laws in several countries be effective against it? As Singapore’s Parliament considers the proposed Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, The Straits Times looks at the landscape in the Republic and elsewhere. From black ops to bots: Countering hostile, foreign meddling in Singapore's affairs In the 1960s, a series of meetings and secret negotiations with Chinese communist intelligence services led to Singaporean businessman and Tiger Balm family scion Aw Kow receiving a loan of over HK$6 million to start an English-language daily here. The catch? The newspaper, named Eastern Sun, had to follow principles laid down by the officials from China - such as not opposing the state on major issues - as part of a long-term political objective of gaining control of Singapore's press. The covert operation, what security circles would refer to as a case of black ops, was exposed and shut down in 1971, …

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Universal Music Group's shares leapt more than a third in their stock market debut on Tuesday as investors bet a boom in music streaming still has a long way to run. The world's biggest music label, which represents musicians and song catalogues from Billie Eilish to The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, saw its market value leap to 47 billion euros ($55 billion) in Europe's largest listing of the year. The company was spun off by France's Vivendi, which handed a 60% stake in Universal to its shareholders. Vivendi saw its market value drop by two thirds to about 12 billion euros, according to Refinitiv data, as it refocuses on other media assets such as pay TV brand Canal+. Big winners from the Amsterdam listing include U.S. hedge fund billionaire William Ackman and China's Tencent, alongside Vivendi's controlling shareholder Vincent Bollore, who are retaining large slices of Universal. Universal Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge will also get bonuses linked to the listing that a …

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PARIS • The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended the synthetic antibody treatment Regeneron for Covid-19, but only in patients with specific health profiles. Those with non-severe Covid-19 who are nonetheless at high risk of hospitalisation can take the antibody combination, as should critically ill patients unable to mount an adequate immune response, according to a WHO finding published in BMJ yesterday. Regeneron is only the third treatment for Covid-19 to be recommended by the global health authority, which added it to its "living WHO guideline" on drugs for Covid-19. In July, WHO gave the nod to a class of drugs that act to suppress a dangerous overreaction of the immune system to the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. These medicines work well in tandem with corticosteroids, which were first recommended by WHO for use in Covid-19 patients in September last year. The Regeneron cocktail of synthetic antibodies - casirivimab and imdevimab - has been found to …

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1971 Shutting down of Eastern Sun newspaper - Eastern Sun was an English language daily run by Mr Aw Kow, who started it with HK$6 million he borrowed from a communist news agency from China based in Hong Kong. - The newspaper shut down in 1971 after its arrangement with the communist news agency was exposed by the Government. Expulsion of foreign journalists - Singapore expelled three foreign reporters working for the Singapore Herald newspaper, which had the then Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia as one of its primary investors. - The paper was accused of spreading misinformation to stir feelings against Singapore’s national service policy. 1988 Expulsion of American diplomat Hank Hendrickson - The US Embassy official had asked then Law Society president and former solicitor-general Francis Seow to lead a group of lawyers to contest elections against the People’s Action Party. - Mr Seow later admitted that he visited the US State Department in …

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What happened Uranium stocks went nuclear on Monday, with shares of Denison Mines ( NYSEMKT:DNN ) surging 10.2%, Uranium Energy ( NYSEMKT:UEC ) rising 10.6%, and Energy Fuels ( NYSEMKT:UUUU ) closing 14.3% higher. It's not hard to figure out why: Uranium prices are way up. Image source: Getty Images. So what As OilPrice.com reported over the weekend, the spot price for U308 (triuranium octoxide, also known as yellowcake, and the most stable form of uranium oxide found in nature) last week surged past $30 per pound for the first time this year, approaching its highs of last year. Investment banks BMO Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley both believe that uranium prices have set a floor, and are unlikely to fall back below $30. To the contrary, the analysts are predicting that uranium will continue to rally, and could hit $50 by 2024. The reason: According to energy experts , it's unlikely that the Biden Administration will be able to succeed in its …

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C ovid-19 test maker Cue Health went public on Friday at a valuation of nearly $2.3 billion. Shares opened above the $16 price set the night before and closed at $20—a 25% increase in the first day of trading. The San Diego, California-based company’s Covid-19 test—which consists of a swab, test cartridge and battery-operated reusable reader about the size of a smartphone—delivers test results in around 20 minutes and automatically uploads them to a mobile app. It’s used by a wide array of customers, including the Mayo Clinic, the Pentagon and even the Iditarod race in Alaska. “The company is very mission driven. We want to make healthcare information more accessible,” says cofounder and CEO, Ayub Khattak. Access to Covid-19 tests has been an ongoing issue throughout the pandemic. And Cue’s IPO comes as the CDC has warned of a temporary shortage of point-of-care and over-the-counter Covid-19 tests this week as the delta variant continues to increase case counts. Cue estimates …

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This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on September 20, 2021 - September 26, 2021. - A + A Environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices are gaining ground with campaigns like Plastic Free July attracting the attention of businesses and citizens alike to contribute to the global movement on ESG. The call for sustainability has, in turn, whetted the appetite for investments that support the environment. Governments are also taking up the mantle to address climate change. With global temperatures rising and erratic weather patterns, more countries are pledging their commitment to net zero emissions by a certain timeline. The momentum generated by these initiatives has resulted in increased scrutiny on businesses to meet sustainability goals on top of generating profits and securing returns on investment for investors. In 2019, the European Commission introduced sustainability disclosure regulations that require the …

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Top diplomats from the European Union and China will hold official talks on Tuesday, sources in Brussels and Beijing said, as swirling geopolitical headwinds continue to gather pace. The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell is expected to lead talks, along with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi by video link, sources said. European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans will meet Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng. The 11th “strategic dialogue” between the two powers comes at a delicate moment. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. Certain quarters of the EU – especially France – are reeling after being omitted from the nascent Aukus security pact between Australia, Britain, and the United States signed last week and designed to act as a counterbalance to China‘s …

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Words by Sheena McKenzie Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT) September 24, 2021 Reinhardswald, Germany (CNN) Gazing out from the rocky ledge of Sleeping Beauty's castle in central Germany , the countryside below stretches out in a patchwork of light and dark green forests before stopping dead. At the heart of this lush landscape sits a swath of dry, bare earth. The ground is empty, save for a few ghostly white trunks pointing skywards. Viewed up close, this scene in the Reinhardswald nature park is equally desolate. Brittle sticks crunch underfoot and tree stumps dot the empty landscape, which stretches over some 50 acres. The spruce trees that once stood here have been killed by a bark beetle infestation. The insects thrive in the warmer and drier weather conditions that occur more frequently because of climate change. "Once the bark has peeled off, the trees look a bit like bones," said Peter Meyer, head of forest nature conservation at the North-West German Forest …

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