A North Korean envoy arrived in Washington on Thursday for expected talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a possible encounter with President Donald Trump aimed a laying the groundwork for a second US-North Korea summit. The envoy arrived on the same day Trump unveiled a revamped US missile defense strategy that singled out […]
Like many of his peers, 21-year-old Do Sang-won had high hopes for Moon Jae-in when he voted for him for president. After his predecessor Park Geun-hye was toppled in an extraordinary corruption scandal involving a confidante linked to a shamanistic cult, Moon seemed to embody a fairer and more just South Korea. But since the […]
Taiwan’s military held large-scale drills on its west coast Thursday amid growing tensions between the self-governed island and an increasingly belligerent Beijing. Aimed at thwarting an amphibious invasion, Taiwan’s armed forces dispatched tanks, rocket launchers and combat helicopters to beaches near Taichung for the island’s first live-fire drills of the year. “Our military stands ready […]
A new set of proposed five-year air quality objectives running up to 2025 may have been pitched overly conservatively to make it easier for major future projects like a large-scale reclamation east of Lantau Island to meet them, according to a Hong Kong environmental advocacy group. The objectives, revised every five years, set concentration limits […]
Vietnam’s premier has said his country is willing to host a much-anticipated second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. One of North Korea’s top generals Kim Yong Chol is expected to meet with Trump at the White House on Friday to hash out details of a second meeting […]
Germany and China on Friday signed agreements to strengthen coordination in banking, finance and capital markets, and pledged to further open market access and deepen cooperation to broaden economic ties. The agreements were reached after a two-day visit to Beijing by German Finance minister Olaf Scholz for talks with vice Premier Liu He, who is […]
North Korea’s lead negotiator in nuclear diplomacy with the United States is expected to hold talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and could also meet President Donald Trump on Friday during a visit aimed at clearing the way for a second US-North Korea summit. Kim Yong Chol arrived in Washington on Thursday evening for […]
President Donald Trump unveiled a revamped US missile defense strategy on Thursday that called North Korea an ongoing and “extraordinary threat,” seven months after he declared the threat posed by Pyongyang had been eliminated. The plan, which also detailed concerns about the burgeoning capabilities of Iran, Russia and China, called for developing space-based sensors to […]
The US Navy has not ruled out sending an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait, despite military technology advances by China that pose a greater threat to US warships than ever before, the chief of US naval operations said on Friday. Washington sent ships through the strategic waterway three times last year as it makes […]
Asean foreign ministers will seek to find a common Indo-Pacific strategy during their informal meeting in Chiang Mai today to deal with the changing geopolitical situation. Indonesian Foreign minister Retno Marsudi and his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai, who had met before the New Year, held talks again yesterday to discuss a revised concept paper to […]
Israel on Thursday accused Malaysia’s prime minister Mahathir Mohamad of “rabid anti-Semitism” after he said his country would not host any more sports events involving competitors from the Jewish state. Last week Mohamad said Israeli swimmers would not be allowed into Malaysiaa Muslim majority countryfor a tournament later this year that serves as a qualifying […]
The US Navy has not ruled out sending an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait, despite military technology advances by China that pose a greater threat to US warships than ever before, the chief of US naval operations said on Friday. Washington sent ships through the strategic waterway three times last year as it makes […]
Police in Vietnam have arrested a former senior executive of BIDV, a bank that has come under scrutiny from an anti-graft campaign in the communist-ruled country, the Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday. Doan Anh Sang, former deputy chief executive officer of the bank, formally known as Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and […]
In Vietnam’s “incense village”, dozens are hard at work dying, drying and whittling down bamboo bark to make the fragrant sticks ahead of the busy lunar new year holiday. It is the most frantic time of year for workers in the cottage industry in Quang Phu Cau village on the outskirts of Hanoi, where families […]
Vietnam has introduced a new cybersecurity law, which criminalises criticising the government online and forces internet providers to give authorities’ user data when requested, sparking claims of a “totalitarian” crackdown on dissent. The law, which mirrors China’s draconian internet rules, came into effect on 1 January and forces internet providers to censor content deemed “toxic” […]
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 […]
China has confirmed the first human case of H7N4 bird flu, prompting Hong Kong to issue a health warning for those travelling to the mainland during the busy Lunar New Year holiday. The strain was identified in a 68-year-old woman from the eastern province of Jiangsu who was admitted to hospital after falling ill on […]
The government announces it will not allow importers, distributors and retailers to commercially benefit when knowingly dealing with set-top boxes enabled to allow access to unauthorized content. SINGAPORE, Jan 18, 2019 – (ACN Newswire) – The Singapore government has announced that it will be amending the Copyright Act to update its copyright regime in an […]
Receives the Prize of Director General, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy TOKYO, Jan 18, 2019 – (JCN Newswire) – Fujitsu Limited today announced that it has received the Energy Conservation Grand Prize for 2018 in the Product and Business Model category of the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy Director-General’s Awards for the first […]
TOKYO, Jan 18, 2019 – (JCN Newswire) – Eisai Co., Ltd. announced today that the application period for the first round of the voluntary retirement program it announced on October 25, 2018, has ended and hereby discloses the results as follows: 1. Outline of Voluntary Retirement Program a) Eligibility Criteria: Employees 45 or older who […]
We reached out to Chit Hnin Pwint Wai to talk about her company, Myhealthcare, a mobile-based health consultancy and health checkup booking in Myanmar After winning Startup of the Year last year in ASIAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards in Malaysia, the name Myhealthcare started to gain traction in health tech industry, and that’s not without […]
Asean foreign ministers will seek to find a common Indo-Pacific strategy during their informal meeting in Chiang Mai today to deal with the changing geopolitical situation. Indonesian Foreign minister Retno Marsudi and his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai, who had met before the New Year, held talks again yesterday to discuss a revised concept paper to […]
MoMo wants to continue on investing in its technology, particularly in the use of AI, security, and big data Vietnamese e-wallet and digital financial services platform MoMo announced on Wednesday, January 16, that it has raised a Series C funding round led by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus, wrote Vietnam Economic Times. The company […]
Revenues and profits at China’s state-owned enterprises hit historic highs last year, even as the country’s private firms fought for their survival amid the slowest period for economic growth in a decade. Last year, firms owned by the central government booked revenues of 29.1 trillion yuan (about $4.3 trillion), up 10.1 per cent from 2017, […]
China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in almost three decades in 2018, analysts in an AFP poll said, as the government struggles to contain ballooning debt and a bruising trade war with the United States. And in a sign of the battle Beijing faces in getting things back on track, the survey of 13 […]
In China industrial heartland city of Chongqing, a painful economic transition is on full display As night begins to fall, crowds gather near the top of Hongya Cave, a group of stilted buildings overlooking the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, both of which pass through the city of Chongqing in the west of China. They take […]
It has been 27 years since I left Malaysia, the country of my birth. I was born in the 50s, and it was in this country that I grew up. It was here that I went to school, went camping, earned money doing odd jobs, and built friendships, some of which have endured the test […]
Malaysian startups Glueck, AVANA, and Finology offer unique products that have reshaped the B2B ballgame When it comes to tech innovations, the most popular and widely used productshardware, software, or digital platformsare those that are enjoyed largely by the general consumers. We’ve seen everything from ride hailing apps, to social media networks, to smarter personal […]
Malaysian bus service provider Causeway Link has launched its new cross-border route between Malaysia and Singapore via the Second Link, making it easier for commuters in the two countries. Handal Indah Group of Companies (HIGC) deputy executive director Lim Chern Fang said the new route opened on December 31, running between Medini in Iskandar Puteri […]
Indonesia’s state-run Pertamina has started increasing its purchases of domestic crude produced by private operators like Chevron from January onwards, as the government tries to narrow its trade deficit and cut down on its import bills. The move is in line with a regulation on crude sales issued last year by Energy and Mineral Resources […]
Human rights lawyers said Thursday they were mounting a court challenge to Indonesia’s detention of three Papuan activists on charges of treason. The lawyers said that police in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region had illegally seized the offices of the West Papua National Committee, which advocates for Papuan self-determination, in December and acted unlawfully in charging […]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo accused his election rival of allowing corrupt candidates on his legislative ticket and failing to include women in senior positions. Widodo and former Gen. Prabowo Subianto, along with their running mates, faced off Thursday in the first of five debates before the April 17 election. The debate focused on terrorism, human […]
Mention the word Budget, and most Singaporeans would probably only want to know one thing: What’s in it for me and my family? But Singapore’s annual February Budget is much more than just goodies and giveaways. The national Budget comprises the revised government revenue and expenditure projections for the current financial year, as well as […]
Those planning on travelling to Singapore may now have one more reason to visit: The island has been ranked the 10th most Instagrammable country in the world. The ranking, which was announced by travel publication Big 7 Travel on Monday (January 14), was based on three factors. The publication analysed the number of hashtags which […]
Singapore’s low-cost airline Scoot has announced new flights to Coimbatore, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam Scoot, the low-cost airline from the Singapore Airlines Group said that it would expand its service in India. The airline has announced new flights to Coimbatore, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam, according to a PTI report. Flights to Trivandrum (5-times weekly) will commence from […]
Thailand’s immigration chief vowed not to force refugees to return home “involuntarily”, after a Saudi woman’s desperate plea for resettlement drew global attention to a country that does not recognise asylum-seekers. The country is not a signatory to a UN convention on refugees and has long come under fire for holding them in detention centres […]
Thailand’s long-delayed general election to end military rule will have to be postponed from its February 24 date and will likely be held in March, two officials in the Election Commission said on Tuesday (January 15). The Election Commission of Thailand has not announced the postponement, but two senior election officials told Reuters it was […]
Thailand’s long-delayed general election to end military rule will have to be postponed from its February 24 date and will likely be held in March, two officials in the Election Commission said on Tuesday (January 15). The Election Commission of Thailand has not announced the postponement, but two senior election officials told Reuters it was […]
A total of 257 foreign fugitives were arrested in the country last year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday. BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said this figure showed an increase from the 232 foreign criminals arrested in 2017. Morente said the fugitives were arrested in various operations conducted throughout the country by operatives from the […]
Filipinos and members of the Chinese community in the Philippines yesterday welcomed a three-vessel Chinese naval escort as it docked in Manila for a five-day friendly visit. The visiting shipsmissile frigates Wuhu and Handan, and supply ship Dongpinghuwere making their last port call after completing their escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the […]
The human rights crisis in the Philippines “deepened” during President Rodrigo Duterte’s second year in office as his administration continued the bloody anti-drugs crackdown and escalated attacks against critics, a New York-based watchdog said. In its annual report released late Thursday, Human Rights Watch noted that the government’s war on drugs had expanded to areas […]
South Korean protesters dressed as colonial-era Japanese soldiers. Relations between the two countries have long been overshadowed by historical issues including Koreans being forced to work at Japanese firms’ factories during WWII A Seoul court on Friday dismissed a Japanese machinery maker’s appeal against an order that it pay 17 South Korean women 100 million […]
Japan has confirmed it will not use in-country final assembly facilities for its next lot of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. A spokesperson from the US ally’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, or ATLA, told Defense News it will instead acquire aircraft imported from overseas for its upcoming fiscal 2019 contract. The ATLA spokesperson referred […]
Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn received nearly eight million euros in “improper payments” from a Netherlands-based joint venture, the Japanese car giant alleged Friday, threatening to sue to recover the funds. Nissan said Ghosn entered into a personal employment contract with Nissan-Mitsubishi B.V. (NMBV), a company formed “with the mission of exploring and promoting synergies […]
South Korean protesters dressed as colonial-era Japanese soldiers. Relations between the two countries have long been overshadowed by historical issues including Koreans being forced to work at Japanese firms’ factories during WWII A Seoul court on Friday dismissed a Japanese machinery maker’s appeal against an order that it pay 17 South Korean women 100 million […]
High-level talks aimed at finalising a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are planned for this week in Washington, US officials said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet former North Korean spy chief Kim Yong Chol at a Washington hotel on Friday. The meeting will […]
The South Korea Ministry of National Defense says 10 of its internal PCs have been compromised by North Korea unknown hackers. Korea’s Dong-A Ilbo reports that the targeted machines belonged to the ministry’s Defense Acquisition Programme Administration, the office in charge of military procurement. The report notes that the breached machines would have held information […]
Health authorities have told almost 200 Hong Kong kindergartens and childcare centres with outbreaks of seasonal influenza to close for a week to curb further spread of the disease. The Centre for Health Protection said about 20 per cent of such facilities in the city should suspend classes from Saturday after at least 191 reported […]
A legislator has urged Hong Kong police to investigate an alleged attack on a bus driver after viral video clips showed two mainland Chinese women physically abusing the man at a Lantau Island housing estate on Tuesday night. The 46-year-old driver on Discovery Bay Transit Services’ route DP03P was shown in a 90-second clip being […]
A new set of proposed five-year air quality objectives running up to 2025 may have been pitched overly conservatively to make it easier for major future projects like a large-scale reclamation east of Lantau Island to meet them, according to a Hong Kong environmental advocacy group. The objectives, revised every five years, set concentration limits […]
Taiwan’s military held large-scale drills on its west coast Thursday amid growing tensions between the self-governed island and an increasingly belligerent Beijing. Aimed at thwarting an amphibious invasion, Taiwan’s armed forces dispatched tanks, rocket launchers and combat helicopters to beaches near Taichung for the island’s first live-fire drills of the year. “Our military stands ready […]
The US Navy has not ruled out sending an aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait, despite military technology advances by China that pose a greater threat to US warships than ever before, the chief of US naval operations said on Friday. Washington sent ships through the strategic waterway three times last year as it makes […]
Taiwan will step up its investigation of pro-Beijing newspapers accused by politicians on the self-ruled island of spreading fake news and surveillance activities that infringe national security, a security official said on Friday. Claimed by Beijing as its sacred territory, Taiwan is China’s most sensitive issue, with President Xi Jinping having stepped up pressure on […]
With the EU being among the largest importers of Vietnam’s wood products, the upcoming adoption of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union will help Vietnam both attract more European investment and boost its wood product exports to not only the EU, but also many other […]
Do you have some bad financial habits? If so, then you are certainly not alone, since a massive 78 per cent of us will admit to behaving badly with money, according to a new survey by financial services provider OneFamily. As someone who has spent my career giving financial advice, I can certainly attest to […]
Finance and securities analysts are not overly concerned about stock market prospects in 2019, despite the recent downward trend. 2018 was a tough year for securities investors, though many of them made a profit. Vietnam, which was the fastest growing market in the first months of 2018, turned bearish on the last days of the […]
