Asia Tonight - May 2025 - Asia Tonight Thu 29 May 2025
47:50 Min
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Top stories of the day with 'live' reports and interviews to keep you up-to-date on what's happening in one of the most dynamic regions of the world.
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CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Popovic wants win over 'best team in Asia' in quest for World Cup berth
Australia coach Tony Popovic is eyeing victory over Japan on Thursday to not only boost his side's World Cup qualification hopes but further improve the Socceroos' prospects of becoming the strongest team in the Asian confederation. The Australians face Hajime Moriyasu's much-changed squad in Perth knowing a win would take them to the verge of securing a ticket for next year's 48-team finals in North America as runners-up in Group C behind the already-qualified Japanese. "A win is something that we're pushing towards," said Popovic, who led his team to a 1-1 draw when the sides last met in October. "We feel confident we can show an improved performance from what we did in Japan, albeit that was a very good one. "We'll have to be at our best to beat the best team in Asia. That's where we want to get to and to be the best we have to beat the best and they clearly are." The Japanese confirmed their ticket for the finals in March and, as a result, head coach Moriyasu has named a squad featuring eight uncapped players for the trip to Perth. While Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo and Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo have been included in the 27-player line, the Japanese are missing key players such as Kaoru Mitoma, Hidemasa Morita and Ayase Ueda. Australia go into the game in second place in the group, three points ahead of Saudi Arabia with two games remaining, although Popovic will be without goal-scoring midfielder Jackson Irvine, who is sidelined after foot surgery. "It's not their best squad, I wonder what that will look like because when we played them in Japan they had their starting 11 all playing in Europe," Popovic said. "We can see that they have a mixture of J-League players and European based players in their squad. We haven't beaten them often and I'm sure they'll be strong regardless of who they play."
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
If Singapore has to pick a side, it will choose principles, says Chan Chun Sing
SINGAPORE: If Singapore has to choose sides, it will choose the side of principles that uphold an integrated global economic and security order, underpinned by law and sovereignty, said Singapore's Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing on Sunday (Jun 1). This way, "states, big and small, have a fair chance to compete and improve the lives of their people through trade and not war", Mr Chan said during the sixth and final plenary session at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's top defence summit. Two other defence ministers - Papua New Guinea's Billy Joseph and Sweden's Pal Jonson - also part of the session, titled "Enhancing security cooperation for a stable Asia-Pacific". In his speech, Mr Chan referred to Southeast Asia's engagement of the United States, China and other countries as a "geostrategic necessity". "For Singapore, we believe that taking sides, regardless of issues and context, breeds irrelevance; and if one is irrelevant, it will almost certainly require (one) to take sides," said Mr Chan, who is attending his first Shangri-La Dialogue as defence minister. He added: "If we have to choose sides, may we choose the side of principles - principles that uphold a global order where we do not descend into the law of the jungle, where the mighty do what they wish and the weak suffer what they must." All states have agency and responsibilities to uphold the global economic and security order for a "common benefit". Singapore is thus committed to work with like-minded partners and with a "web of bilateral, plurilateral, multilateral networks for the common good," said Mr Chan. REWRITING HISTORY During the session, Mr Chan was asked whether choosing the side of principles meant not choosing a side. In response, he said Singapore does not base its positions on who the key players are in a given issue. "Instead, we look at every situation very carefully to decide what are the principles that are at stake." He cited the war in Ukraine as an example, saying the conflict involves different levels of interest. Some are concerned because the war disrupted global supply chains and economic security, while for others, the core issue is sovereignty. "These are all valid concerns. But if I may suggest, the highest order of concern for all of us should be the principles of how we conduct international relationships," said Mr Chan. "If one country, whether big or small, can march into another country on the basis that they will want to right the wrongs of history, then I think we live in a very dangerous world. "And certainly for Singapore, because we have only been independent for the last 60 years," said the defence minister. Should this attempt to rewrite history happen, it would leave "very little room" for small countries to be who they want to be, he added. Singapore adheres to a set of principles that have contributed to and underpinned the country's survival and success, and when assessing any particular issue, it looks "very carefully" from this perspective, Mr Chan said. He noted that Singapore has, at times, taken positions not aligned with those of major powers: "Yes, certainly so." "There have been instances in history where superpowers went in to another country, a smaller country, and we objected," said Mr Chan. "There have been instances whereby the rules on the freedom of navigation have been violated, and we have objected." He also noted that people have asked about fears of being penalised by the superpowers for not supporting their positions.
Independent Singapore
6 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Woman says she's ‘bewildered' after man asks her to 'PayNow him' for their first date dinner
SINGAPORE: A woman was surprised when a man she went on a first date with asked her to send him money via PayNow for dinner, several days after they met. She shared her experience on the r/askSingapore forum on Saturday (May 31), explaining that she had agreed to meet the man, who is in his 30s, after they had developed a good connection through their conversations on a dating app. Describing the date, she recounted, 'He kindly offered to pay for the meal, which I appreciated, so I suggested we head to a nearby bar afterward so I could return the favour and buy the drinks.' However, when they arrived at the bar, the man mentioned that he had leftover drink credits from previous visits, so he did not order anything new. As a result, she ended up paying for her own drinks alone. She also noted that the chemistry in person did not quite match the spark they had during their online conversations, making the overall experience somewhat underwhelming. 'The vibe just wasn't the same as it was over chat, so after the date, our texting kinda fizzled and slowed down. I didn't reply for a few days.' However, several days later, she was caught off guard when the man suddenly messaged her, asking her to transfer her share of the dinner bill via PayNow. See also Man asks how to recover S$60K his friend borrowed 3 years ago 'He messaged me saying the dinner was XXX each and asked me to PayNow the amount. For context, it wasn't an expensive restaurant, and let's just say he earns quite a bit and owns a condo he bought himself,' she said. 'While I do think it's a nice and gentlemanly gesture when a guy covers the bill on the first date, I'm not trying to be entitled — I'm totally fine with splitting bills and going Dutch. I did transfer him [the money], but this is the first time someone has asked me to transfer money after a first date, especially when (I assume) it's pretty clear to him that there's no second date, haha. I find it more amusing and bewildering than anything.' Curious if others had similar experiences, she asked the forum, 'Is this normal? Would love to hear your thoughts and POV from both female and male!' 'He sees it's not going anywhere, and so he thinks he wasted his money…' In the comments section, some Reddit users defended the man's actions, suggesting that he might have only asked for the money after feeling ignored. They speculated that while he may have initially been willing to cover the cost of dinner, the woman's lack of response after the date could have triggered his decision to request repayment. See also 6 effective approaches when dealing with difficult people at work One said, 'He might have been ok with paying for the meal, but is now upset about the lack of a reply. I know of people of both genders who hate not getting replies, so now he asks to chop up the bill. This is not what I would have done, but I can see why some people might feel they are getting ghosted and respond in this manner. We also don't have his side of the story, so who knows what really happened?' Another commented, 'I think it's only right to pay your share since it is a first date and neither of you is an item. I've always told my daughters not to let the other party pay all the expenses.' However, not everyone agreed. Others felt that asking for repayment days after the date was a bad move. One explained, 'It would have been perfectly normal for you guys to have split the meal at the time, or even if you agreed to split it, but just pay (the) merchant on a single card, and then you PayNow him instantly back there and then. See also GF ends relationship because BF's S$16,000 savings too little But to pay for dinner and then wait a few days and send a bill, that's just weird. He sees it's not going anywhere, and so he thinks he wasted his money. Well, tough luck, this ship has sailed already.' In other news, a woman took to an online forum to share her frustration about her boyfriend, claiming that in their nine-month relationship, he had never once initiated a date or treated her to even a simple meal. 'In these nine months, he's never initiated bringing me out on a date once, never treated me to a meal, and never surprised me with any gifts (no matter how small).' According to her, the only times he's ever bought her anything were under certain conditions: when she asked for it, when he felt pressured to return a gift, or when he sensed she was upset and offered her a fast food meal. Read more: 'Is this SG men these days?' — Woman says her BF never once initiated a date or treated her Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
