China’s strong economic resilience means trade negotiators will be able to take a harder line during upcoming talks with Washington, according to researchers at a Chinese think tank. But they warned that Beijing should not go too far with retaliatory measures because the ultimate aim was to “bring the US back to the negotiating table”. […]
President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in Osaka this week, China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday, confirming his first visit to Japan since taking office in 2013. Xi will travel to Japan on Thursday and is expected to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the meeting of leading and […]
Southeast Asian leaders agreed on Sunday to work together on the region’s economy and security to strengthen their position to face growing US-China tensions, as they wrapped up their summit in Bangkok. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will need its collective economic strength for bargaining power globally, especially amid the trade tensions […]
China’s President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in Japan next week, state-run Xinhua news agency said on Sunday, giving the first official confirmation of his attendance at a gathering where he is expected to meet US President Donald Trump. The G20 summit will be held in the city of Osaka on June 27-29. […]
Both China and the United States should make compromises in trade talks, Chinese vice Commerce minister Wang Shouwen said on Monday, ahead of a much anticipated meeting between the Chinese and US presidents at this week’s G20 summit in Japan. China and the United States last week said they were reviving talks ahead of the […]
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a personal letter of “excellent content” from US President Donald Trump, the country’s state media said Sunday, amid a nuclear deadlock between Pyongyang and Washington. Talks have been stalled since the collapse of a second summit between the two leaders in February after they failed to agree on […]
Roaring out of the sky, an F-16V fighter jet lands smoothly to rearm and refuel on an unremarkable freeway in rural Taiwan, surrounded by rice paddies. In different circumstances, this could be alarming sight. Taiwan’s fighter pilots are trained to land on freeways between sorties in case all of the island’s airports have been occupied […]
A group of medical and legal professionals on Sunday accused Hong Kong police of harassing medical staff and arresting anti-extradition bill protesters visiting hospital for treatment, saying at least five demonstrators were detained while seeking help. Accusing the force of spreading “white terror”, the group also said there were injured demonstrators who declined to be […]
As many as 108 patients who underwent blood serum tests for hepatitis, HIV or cancer over the past year at two public hospitals in Hong Kong could be called back again after a system glitch was found in machines used for the procedures. The software error could have been triggered under specific circumstances, causing inaccurate […]
Announcing a complete withdrawal of the controversial extradition bill and holding talks with protesters could help solve the problems facing Hong Kong’s leader, the city’s largest pro-establishment party has said. But Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, also warned on Sunday that demands for an […]
Hong Kong’s top officials have broken days of silence over unprecedented youth protests against the now-suspended extradition bill to appeal for a chance to rebuild public trust, even as the government’s biggest political ally openly questioned why they would not simply declare the unpopular legislation withdrawn altogether to ease lingering concerns. Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung […]
China’s Assistant minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said on Monday that China will not allow the Group of 20 nations to discuss the Hong Kong issue at its summit this week. Millions of people demonstrated on the streets of Hong Kong this month against a bill that would allow people to be extradited to […]
New Unicef campaign aims to make violence against children a thing of the past A father begins to raise his voice at the back of a restaurant, complaining about his daughter’s bad grades. The conversation ends with the sound of slaps. The customers, who have heard the girl plead for her father to stop, look […]
Most visitors to Vietnam’s famed Ha Long Bay opt for cruise views of the UNESCO heritage site but from Friday tourists can hop on a helicopter to see the area’s famous karst rock formations from the skies. Nervous flyers beware. A pair of five-seater helicopters soared up to 300 metres (1,000 feet) to offer passengers […]
Much of Vietnam’s illegal supply floods in from the lawless “Golden Triangle” zone that straddles Laos, Thailand and Myanmar Police in southern Vietnam have seized more than a tonne of methamphetamine after uncovering a smuggling operation involving at least two Taiwanese nationals and a Vietnamese man, the third massive bust in a week in the […]
African swine fever has been detected on three farms in Vietnam, authorities said on Tuesday, the first confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease in the Southeast Asia country. All pigs on the farms located in Hung Yen and Thai Binh provinces, southeast of the capital Hanoi, were culled, the Animal Health Department said in […]
Representatives from 13 countries across Asia and the Pacific gathered in Bangkok, Thailand, from 29 to 31 October to develop road maps to implement and expand pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV self-testing in the region. In discussions on building capacity for the rollout of PrEP and HIV testing innovations in Asia and the Pacific, policy-makers, […]
The health ministry said today it will focus on eliminating mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B, after Malaysia became the first country in the Western Pacific to eradicate such transmissions in HIV and syphilis. Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said a few states will begin pilot programmes of targeted screening for Hepatitis B among pregnant mothers, after […]
Optimal Stability Control Achieved through Combination with Engine Generator and Storage Battery TOKYO, June 24, 2019 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine & Turbocharger, Ltd. (MHIET), a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has developed a “Triple Hybrid” stand-alone power supply system that combines renewable energy such as solar power with […]
Initiative Aims to Advance Expansion of Car-sharing Services That Transcend Divides Between Toyota Rent-a-Lease Outlets and Toyota Vehicle Sales Outlets Toyota City, Japan, June 24, 2019 – (JCN Newswire) – Toyota Motor Corporation announces today that it has decided to bring forward to May 2020 its plan to make, in principle, all of its Japanese-market […]
By Paul Li, General Counsel of OAX Foundation, and Adam Vaziri, CEO of Blockpass HONG KONG, June 24, 2019 – (ACN Newswire) – On Friday, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released a new guidance paper covering digital assets and digital asset service providers. This will become part of the FATF Standards, which most of […]
Southeast Asian leaders made an impassioned plea against protectionism at a regional summit in Bangkok Sunday, warning that a dragging US-China trade spat could hammer their export-led economies. Tit-for-tat tariffs between Washington and Beijing have cast a dark cloud over global growth forecasts and experts warn any drop-off in spending by the world’s two biggest […]
The retrieval of bodies from a building collapse in Cambodia continued Monday, as the death toll rose to 24 with no further survivors expected to be found under the debris of the seven-storey Chinese-owned construction site. Workers clawed back the rubble overnight as a grim-faced Cambodian premier Hun Sen visited the scene of the collapse […]
Growing Asian airlines will shrink seat space even further and sacrifice legroom to squeeze more passengers onto planes, with experts predicting budget carriers are betting big on demand in the region soaring higher. Among the leading Asian low-cost carriers making moves at the Paris Air Show this week, Cebu Pacific bought new jets to squeeze […]
China’s President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in Japan next week, state-run Xinhua news agency said on Sunday, giving the first official confirmation of his attendance at a gathering where he is expected to meet US President Donald Trump. The G20 summit will be held in the city of Osaka on June 27-29. […]
A decision by Sweden’s top court to release one of China’s most wanted fugitives is “a major setback” for Beijing’s global hunt for corruption suspects, analysts say. Qiao Jianjun who was arrested a year ago and is wanted by Beijing on suspicion of having embezzled millions of dollars was released after an extradition hearing on […]
Qu Dongyu on Sunday became the first Chinese national to be elected to head the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, clinching the post in the first round of voting. Qu, 55, a biologist by training, won 108 votes, followed by Catherine Geslain-Laneelle of France with 71 votes and Georgia’s Davit Kirvalidze with 12, according to […]
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today he did not doubt that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad would hand power to him as Pakatan Harapan (PH) had promised in the 2018 general election. Anwar today chaired the PKR central committee meeting, which had discussed, among other matters, the question of the transition of power from […]
Economic Affairs minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali today said that Malaysia is committed to signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as long as it constitutes a fair deal. “Malaysia is definitely committed, however, we want to ensure that while our stand in many things is that we want free trade, we have also stressed […]
Malaysia is in danger of becoming a “second Singapore” where the rights of Malays and other Bumiputera will be ignored, a PAS delegate from Selangor claimed at his party’s 65th annual congress here today. Holding the DAP as a bogey, Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir urged his fellow Muslims to rise and defend their rights, claiming […]
The long-simmering armed conflict between Indonesia’s military and Papuans seeking independence includes indigenous teenagers and boys who appear barely adolescent, The Associated Press has found, highlighting how Indonesia’s heavy-handed attempts to extinguish the movement have produced a new generation of fighters. The West Papua Liberation Army, which has fought Indonesian control in the easternmost region […]
The finance ministry has revealed that spending on social welfare reached Rp 60.33 trillion (US$4.26 billion) at the end of May, a year-on-year (yoy) increase of 53.7 percent. The ministry added that the figure was 60.16 percent of the total spending allocated for social welfare in the 2019 state budget. Finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati […]
The trade balance bounced back to a surplus in May following a large deficit in the previous month as a drop in exports was followed by a steeper decline in imports, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Monday. The surplus was recorded at $210 million last month, standing in stark contrast to the $2.29 billion deficit […]
One person died and two workers were injured following a fire at a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) bottling and distribution facility in Jurong on Friday (21 June) evening. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded at 5.10pm to the fire at No. 43 Jalan Buroh. The fire had engulfed the facility about two football fields […]
The air quality in Singapore has remained good and has not been affected by what has been described as an “air pollution incident” which resulted in the closure of schools in the Taman Mawar area of Johor’s Pasir Gudang town. In response to queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Monday (June 24) that […]
The Class of 2019 will graduate at a time of economic uncertainty, with ripple effects for students in higher education, says Ng Chia Wee. Growing up, the Class of 2019 must never have imagined that this would be how their formal education journey ends. Study hard, get good qualifications, get a good job, so went […]
The opposition bloc led by the Pheu Thai Party is seeking to grill cabinet ministers of the government in the first interpellation session of the House of Representatives on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a parliament source. The current government remains in charge after the March 24 election and it will step down after the […]
It’s 9:55 a.m. and all’s quiet on Phuket’s Mai Khao Beach. Tourists stand on the shoreline, scanning the cloud-free skies for approaching aircraft, some looking at their phones for flight data. As the blurry form in the distance begins to take shape, the crowds scatter across the light brown sand, which is already scorching in […]
The police chief and the deputy prime minister in charge of security have denied reports of the imminent return of Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn to the police force. Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said on Monday it was not possible for Pol Lt Gen Surachate to return to the police force. He had left that career […]
Six people, including a three-month-old baby boy, died in a pre-dawn fire that swept through a house on Sunday in Bagong Silang, Metro Manila. Aside from the baby boy, officials said the dead also include the baby’s mother, his three brothers and a cousin who were asleep when the fire broke out around 2:00 a.m. […]
Revoking all courtesy diplomatic passports issued to previous foreign affairs chiefs and diplomats would be unlawful, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Monday. Del Rosario, who was carrying a diplomatic passport, was barred from entering Hong Kong and was detained for almost six hours at the airport last week. “I was carrying a […]
Former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario was entitled to a courtesy diplomatic passport, but the country’s top diplomat said the privilege has been withdrawn. “DFA asked, Why does HE have a courtesy blue passport. DFA: because under guidelines he is entitled to one so he has it properly. But this problem. Well then we […]
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 hit eastern Japan on Monday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The epicentre of the earthquake was off the coast of Chiba prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, the agency said, adding that a tsunami warning had not been issued. The quake, which hit at 9:16 a.m. (0016 GMT), […]
When Yachiyo Ichihara was a child in Wada, one of Japan’s oldest whaling villages, she’d go down to the harbor with a bucket and carry it home full of freshly butchered whale meat. “It’s really delicious; that’s what I grew up eating,” the 72-year-old said. “Whale is something you’d gather your family together and eat. […]
A slug has been blamed for a power outage that halted dozens of trains and delayed 12,000 passengers in Japan, the railway operator said Sunday. The power failed on a couple of lines serving southern Japan operated by Kyushu Railway Co., known as JR Kyushu, on May 30. The company was forced to cancel 26 […]
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to visit South Korea this week as the two countries seek to bolster economic ties, officials in Seoul said on Monday. The two-day visit from Wednesday will be the first by an heir to the throne of the world’s largest oil exporter since 1998. The crown prince, Saudi […]
North Korea raked in more than $120 million a year from a symbolic cross-border industrial zone that Pyongyang and Seoul are pushing to re-open as part of nuclear negotiations, a report said Monday. The Kaesong Industrial Complexwhere around 55,000 North Korean workers churned out products ranging from watches to clothes for some 125 South Korean […]
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday the US was prepared to resume talks with North Korea “at a moment’s notice” if the North signaled it wanted discussions about denuclearisation. Pompeo said he hoped that a letter recently sent by President Donald Trump to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would “provide a good foundation […]
Thirty-two former Hong Kong government officials and politicians made another urgent appeal to Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Sunday to withdraw the suspended extradition bill, two days after protesters laid siege to police headquarters. The group also urged Lam and police chief Stephen Lo to retract the use of the term “riot” to describe clashes […]
I was never taught how to protest. I was never taught how to chant slogans, how to punch my fist in the air, nor how to fight for something I truly believe in. Born to Hong Kong immigrants in Singapore and currently interning in Shanghai, I am often confused about my sense of identity. Although […]
At least five anti-extradition bill protesters were arrested at public hospitals whilst seeking treatment, a group of 82 medical and legal professionals said on Sunday. They accused the police of spreading “white terror.” The group said at a press conference that three protesters were arrested at Queen Elisabeth Hospital, one at Kwong Wah Hospital and […]
Taiwan’s justice ministry has expressed regret after a businessperson convicted over illegal oil sales to North Korea leapt to his death. Authorities launched a probe into Chen Shih-hsien last year after Seoul said it had detained a Hong Kong-registered ship suspected of transferring oil to a North Korean vessel, flouting UN sanctions. Chen, 54, was […]
Several major Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturers that have plants in China said recently that they are considering setting up production facilities in Taiwan to supply the United States market, in a bid to avoid US tariffs on China-made products and other trade disputes between the two countries. Speaking with the press, Pegatron Corp. CEO Liao […]
KMT primary candidates and former vice President Annette Lu invited to attend July 7 demonstration in Taipei Following the amendments to the Referendum Act made last week, the Kuomintang (KMT) party is calling on supporters to join in a protest against the new amendments, which they claim go against the democratic spirit of the original […]
* Vietnam National Petroleum Group (PXL) has announced to sell 20 million treasury shares from July 2 to 31 via order-matching and put-through transactions. If successful, its volume of treasury shares will be reduced to over 103 million. The group had earlier registered to sell 12 million treasury shares from January 7 and February 1 […]
The good times are expected to continue with the right governmental support, business incentives, and corporate interest. Towards the end of 2020 we will see a rise in industrial property supply in Vietnam. Within the global industrial world, Vietnam has made major inroads in recent times. Supported by developments to national infrastructure, the country’s entrance […]
Vietnam’s wood and wooden product exports to the United States may be subject to higher import duties due to a surge in export revenues and China’s foreign direct investment in the local industry, experts said at a seminar in Hanoi on June 21. Foreign direct investment inflows from China to the local wood sector have […]
