Asia in 3 minutes: killer rat fever and high-flying women in India
Google's headquarters in Singapore. File photo
Facebook has announced it will build a S$1.4 billion (HK$8 billion) data centre in Singapore, its first in Asia and 15th in the world. The 11-storey high, 170,000-square-metre structure will "form part of our growing presence in Singapore and across Asia", Facebook said. The firm said the centre will be one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly sites in Asia, and is expected to open in 2022. "We selected Singapore for a number of reasons, including robust infrastructure and access to fibre, a talented local workforce, and a great set of community partners," it said.
Floods in Pandanad, Alappuzha district, Kerala. Photo: AFP
"Rat fever" has killed at least 12 people " and possibly up to a further 54 " in the southern Indian state of Kerala since August, after the worst floods in almost a century, authorities said. A total of 372 people have been infected with the disease, known properly as leptospirosis and transmitted in water, soil or food containing urine from rodents and other animals. The bacteria can enter the body through cuts or abrasions on the skin, or through the mouth, nose and eyes, according to the World Health Organisation. Person-to-person transmission is rare. Other disease outbreaks including dengue fever following last month's floods " which killed almost 500 people and forced more than a million from their homes " have left 28 dead. More than 50,000 people have acute diarrhoea, authorities said. Cases of malaria and chickenpox have also been reported.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: EPA
Another Philippine mayor with alleged narcotics links was shot dead in his office on Wednesday. Mariano Blanco, 59, mayor of the southern town of Ronda, was killed by unidentified gunmen after midnight, police said. "Witnesses said four armed persons alighted from a white van and entered the municipal hall ... The mayor was there as he was sleeping in his office," Senior Inspector Jayr Palcon said. Palcon said the mayor was on Duterte's so-called narco-list of officials involved in drugs, which was confirmed by a spokesman for the Philippines' Drug Enforcement Agency. Last year, the National Police Commission stripped Blanco of control over the local forces for allegedly being "engaged in illegal drug trade activities", the agency said.
Hun Manet, son of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Photo: SCMP Pictures
The eldest son of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen was promoted on Thursday to commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, the second most powerful position in the country's military. Lieutenant General Hun Manet currently holds a number of key positions, including head of the Defence Ministry's anti-terrorism unit and deputy chief of the prime minister's bodyguard unit. He is seen as a possible successor to Hun Sen, who has been in power for 33 years. His party won all 125 seats in the country's National Assembly at the last general elections in July, amid international condemnation for a crackdown on opposition and dissent.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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