Indonesian police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters in central Jakarta following a rally held after official results showed President Joko Widodo had been comfortably re-elected, a Reuters witness said. The general Election Commission (KPU) confirmed unofficial counts by private pollsters in the April 17 election, which gave Widodo a 55.5 percent share […]
Indonesia’s Joko Widodo has been re-elected as president of the world’s third-biggest democracy, the elections commission said early Tuesday, beating rival Prabowo Subianto, a retired general who has vowed to challenge any victory for the incumbent leader. The commission was expected to announce the official results of the April 17 poll on Wednesday in the […]
Cases of European firms forced to transfer technology in China are increasing despite Beijing saying the problem does not exist, a European business lobby said, adding that its outlook on the country’s regulatory environment is “bleak”. China’s trading partners have long complained that their companies are often compelled to hand over prized technology in exchange […]
In effectively banning tech giant Huawei, President Donald Trump has fired a new salvo against China as the United States increasingly sees confrontation as the best way to curb the rising power. The Trump administration has waged an intense global campaign against Huawei and last week hit it hard with orders that restrict the company’s […]
China’s defence minister will speak at an Asia defence forum in Singapore, the organiser said on Monday, the first time in eight years that Beijing has been represented at this level at the gathering and at a time when China-US ties are strained over trade and security. Defence minister Wei Fenghe will deliver a speech […]
Trump is escalating his trade war against China, and American families are paying the price. When President Donald Trump first initiated the trade war with China one year ago, he justified the action as necessary to open China’s markets and to secure America’s rights to its own intellectual property. Selling these actions as good for […]
North Korea denounced the United States as “a gangster country” for seizing one of its cargo ships and urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to take “urgent measures” to contribute to stabilising the Korean peninsula. North Korea’s UN ambassador, Kim Song, said in a letter to Guterres obtained Monday by The Associated Press that the Trump […]
Japan’s defense minister is calling for improved relations with South Korea, despite political friction and recent anti-Korean remarks from Japanese lawmakers. Defense minister Takeshi Iwaya said over the weekend he wished Tokyo could “return to the original relationship” it had with Seoul, during a meeting held in Oita Prefecture, NHK reported. Iwaya made the remarks […]
‘North Korean women and girls are passed through the hands of traffickers, brokers, and criminal organisations. Before being pulled into China’s sex trade, where they are exploited and used by men until their bodies are depleted,’ says report Tens of thousands of North Korean women and girls are trafficked and sold into the sex trade […]
North Korea and US military officers have exchanged phone calls at the Korean demilitarised zone, and conversations included friendly chats about girlfriends and sports, according to the Wall Street Journal. The calls are taking place after the direct phone line between members of the United Nations Command and the North Koreans were reconnected in July […]
Taiwan has lashed out at China’s state media for attempting to take credit for the island’s historic decision to legalise same-sex marriage. On Friday, Taiwan’s legislators passed a bill making same-sex marriage a reality, the first place in Asia to give LGBT couples many of the same rights as their heterosexual peers. LGBT activists were […]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo comfortably won re-election in last month’s poll, an official count showed on Tuesday, throwing the spotlight on his opponent Prabowo Subianto who has refused to concede defeat after claiming widespread cheating. The result released by the general Election Commission (KPU) confirms unofficial counts by private pollsters in the April 17 election, […]
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 […]
Police in central Vietnam have seized more than half a tonne of methamphetamine in one of the largest drug busts in recent years in the communist country where synthetic drug use is on the rise. Four people were arrested after police stormed a house in central Nghe An province where they found 600 kilograms (1,300 […]
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 […]
TOKYO, May 22, 2019 – (JCN Newswire) – Showa Denko (SDK; TSE:4004) has revised the Group’s CSR policy. The Showa Denko Group has been recognizing fulfillment of CSR (corporate social responsibility) as the basics of corporate management, thereby aiming to become a corporate group that contributes to creation of society where affluence and sustainability are […]
SINGAPORE, May 22, 2019 – (ACN Newswire) – ACROMEC Limited (“ACROMEC”; SGX: 1CH1), an established specialist engineering service provider in the field of controlled environments serving mainly the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biomedical science, research and academia sectors, today announced that its 80%-owned subsidiary Acropower Pte. Ltd. (“Acropower”) has signed an agreement (“Agreement”) with Chew’s Agriculture Pte […]
- Acquires 51.0% interest in the manager of Sabana REIT and 9.9% interest in Sabana REIT – ESR to indirectly hold approximately 93.8% interest in the manager of Sabana REIT and approximately 21.4% interest in Sabana REIT, post transaction – Strengthens ESR&aposs presence in Singapore as gateway for expansion into ASEAN Singapore, Hong Kong, May […]
A court in Myanmar on Tuesday formally charged an American man and two local co-workers with violating drug laws concerning marijuana, with potential penalties ranging from five years’ imprisonment to death. The court in the central Mandalay region charged John Frederic Todoroki with violating five sections of the drugs and narcotics law covering possession, sale […]
The salt farmers of Hon Khoi rise before dawn as they have for generations, fanning out across shallow seawater pools in southern Vietnam to harvest the precious mineral, hoping for a better season than the last. The work is punishing and the incomes unstable, subject to seesawing demand swayed by foreign imports, and increasingly unpredictable […]
Three Myanmar national were killed while seven others were seriously injured when the driver of an SUV lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a highway divider. The accident took place 8.10am at KM190.6 of the North South Expressway (NSE) near Kerian. The impact of the crash caused the three victims to be thrown […]
Washington’s blacklisting of technology giant Huawei has taken a toll on US semiconductor shares, but China-listed firms have rallied as investors bet they can gain from Beijing’s stepped-up efforts to build a homegrown supply chain.Share price gains of little-known firms such as Shenzhen Fastprint Circuit Tech and Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology could be fleeting, analysts […]
Relations between the US and China have deteriorated sharply in recent days after trade negotiations broke down, leading some to suggest we are on the cusp of a new “cold war.” President Donald Trump blames the resumption of hostilities on China. Specifically, he and his negotiators say their Chinese counterparts backtracked on an agreement to […]
Welcome to Source Notes, a Future Tense column about the internet’s knowledge ecosystem. The Chinese government has long been suspicious of Wikipedia. It’s been blocked in China intermittently since 2004, and the Chinese-language version has been blocked since June 2015. Now the government has gone even further. The Wikimedia Foundation released a statement on Friday […]
Federal religious authority Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) has publicly opposed today a proposal for students to learn about other religions in schools or universities. Its director-general Datuk Mohamad Nordin Ibrahim said although Jakim does not agree with the proposal, it nonetheless backs cross-cultural programmes in schools and universities, so as to lessen misunderstanding […]
Putrajaya and the Singapore government today agreed to suspend the proposed Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) link until the end of September this year to allow Malaysia more time to study the scope, structure and costs of the project. For the six-month delay, Transport minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the Malaysian government will […]
Five police officers including an inspector has been arrested for robbing a money changer of RM200,000, while an assistant superintendent (ASP) from Bukit Aman, believed to be the mastermind is still at large. A source close to the investigation told Malay Mail that police are also looking for three officers from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) […]
Indonesian police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters in central Jakarta following a rally held after official results showed President Joko Widodo had been comfortably re-elected, a Reuters witness said. The general Election Commission (KPU) confirmed unofficial counts by private pollsters in the April 17 election, which gave Widodo a 55.5 percent share […]
Indonesian police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters in central Jakarta following a rally held after official results showed President Joko Widodo had been comfortably re-elected, a Reuters witness said. The general Election Commission (KPU) confirmed unofficial counts by private pollsters in the April 17 election, which gave Widodo a 55.5 percent share […]
Ruler of world’s largest Muslim population obsesses over subjects that are ‘not sexy’ The woman threw herself on the road in front of the motorcade, forcing the vehicle with the licence plate “Indonesia 1″ to slam on the brakes. “Jokowi, I love you,” she cried, as President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, re-elected with the release […]
What happens when 24 travel industry professionals sit down to lunch and delve into the trends that affect our business? A lot of real talk and a passion-fueled conversation that runs the gamut from the impact of technology on currency, to the vagaries of intuiting what travellers really want. My first visit to Singapore was […]
Cancer patients in Singapore can soon choose a safer treatment with the ProBeam Proton Therapy System, the first of such advanced radiation treatment system in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The system, which costs about $32 million, has been successfully installed at the Biopolis by Proton Therapy, a subsidiary of healthcare diagnostics service provider […]
Expect thundery showers and warm conditions on non-rainy days for the remainder of the month of May, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said in a media release on Thursday (16 May). MSS said that, in the second fortnight of May, the public should expect short-duration thundery showers, mostly between the late morning and early afternoon, […]
Kamonket Akkahad was shot as she treated the wounded in the bloody crackdown on the Red Shirt protests nine years ago. For the past nine years, Phayaw Akkahad has been tirelessly seeking justice for her daughter and scores of other people killed when Thailand’s army embarked on a final push to break up anti-government protests […]
On May 31, the state-run Airports Of Thailand (AOT) is scheduled to announce which big conglomerate has won the highly lucrative concession to run duty-free shops at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. On June 10, it will announce the follow-up winner of the duty-free concession at Chiang Mai, Phuket and Hat Yai airports, more tourism-geared cash […]
Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) hosted a workshop in Bangkok to enhance the technical capacity to monitor and evaluate (M&E) climate change adaptation in the country’s agriculture sectors. The workshop was jointly organised through the Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans Programme (NAP-Ag), a multi-country support programme led by the UNDP and FAO, […]
Philippine security forces killed at least five suspected communist guerrillas in two clashes in the southern Mindanao region during the weekend, the military said Tuesday. A group of 20 soldiers on foot patrol on Sunday in the town of Carmen in Surigao del Sur province came upon 10 men believed to be New People’s Army […]
First were the politically motivated state charges that funding provided to the news website Rappler by a US philanthropic foundation represented a violation of constitutional provisions barring foreign control or ownership of Philippine media. Then came government allegations in April that journalists from independent media groups, including Rappler, the independent media organisation VERA Files, and […]
A former Philippine Supreme Court justice who once accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court says she was barred for hours from entering Hong Kong for unspecified reasons. Conchita Carpio-Morales says she was stopped by immigration authorities Tuesday and was held in a room at Hong Kong’s airport […]
* Japan’s Q1 GDP growth looks pretty good at 0.,5 percentby local standards that is. * Once we start to delve into the details matters look less enticing. * The problem is that near none of the reported growth came from that domestic economy. Japan may well already be in a recession, despite looking good […]
Japan’s prime minister has long been known abroad as Shinzo Abe. At home, however, he’s called Abe Shinzo, as per east Asian naming conventions, which put family names or surnames first, followed by first names. Now the Japanese government wants that practice to be adopted uniformly by Western media outlets, which typically use a person’s […]
Toyota Motor’s Japan Taxi, born in a government committee and designed to be an all-things-to-all-people cab, has become a high-priced icon of Tokyo’s budget-busting 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Launched in 2017, the indigo car is the realisation of a government project to put a taxi on Japan’s roads that could carry wheelchair users, luggage-laden […]
North Korea’s UN ambassador says the Trump administration should consider the possible consequences its seizing of a North Korean cargo ship could have on relations between the two countries and immediately return the vessel. Kim Song said at a news conference Tuesday that the “heinous act” of seizing the ship was aimed at bringing maximum […]
North Korea stepped up its campaign on Tuesday for the United States to return a seized cargo ship belonging to Pyongyang, warning Washington that it had violated its sovereignty in a move that could affect “future developments” between the countries.North Korea’s UN Ambassador Kim Song held a rare news conference at the United Nations in […]
Defectors from North Korea have much in common with migrants around the world: they leave their homeland, and often their families, in search of a better life. In the process, they travel great distances and encounter hardships, emotional turmoil and often prejudice in their new countries. The key difference is that refugees from the Hermit […]
Hong Kong’s leader said on Tuesday that her administration was determined to push through an extradition bill that could see individuals sent back to mainland China for trial, despite mounting opposition locally and internationally. The proposed legislation has stoked mass protests in the former British colony, which was promised a high degree of autonomy under […]
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) have now entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) so that both regulatory authorities can work to “promote financial innovation”, according to an announcement. The MoU allows both organisations to collaborate on “referral of innovative businesses, information and experience sharing, and joint innovation projects.” […]
Digital documentary Growing up too Fast in Afghanistan was recognised in the short video category. The Al Jazeera English Online unit AJ Shorts was honoured alongside fellow awards winners from The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, Washington Post and leading East Asian news outlets at this year’s Human Rights Press Awards ceremony in Hong Kong. […]
Two new measles cases have been reported in Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday, warning that the patients had visited public places during the period of communicability. The two cases involved men in their 20s residing in northern Taiwan, who started to show symptoms between May 11-15, the CDC said in a […]
Taiwanese buy forged Philippine passports to enable children to attend Asia American International Academy Wang Chuan-hung the owner of an immigration consulting firm was released on bail on Tuesday (May 21) after being questioned by prosecutors for allegedly selling fake Philippine passports to Taiwanese to enable them to attend American international schools. According to Ministry […]
Paraguay spoke up for Taiwan Tuesday during the second day of the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), in support of the nation’s participation in the annual meeting. During the third plenary meeting of the 72nd WHA in Geneva, Switzerland, Julio Mazzoleni, Paraguay’s minister of health, stressed the […]
According to the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first quarter of this year, although export turnover of Vietnam to Japan’s market rose 6.7 percent compared to the same period last year, some key export products have seen sharp declines. Particularly, exports of cell phones and components dropped heavily […]
Survey from Q1/2019 financial statements of 20 banks showed that the average medium and long-term loan ratio of the group was at 54.68%. Although this rate showed signs of a slight decrease compared to the end of the previous year (55.08%), it was still at a high level. Notably, the ratio of medium and long-term […]
Deputy director of the National Load Dispatch centre Nguyen Duc Ninh said that the national power supply will increase when many new solar power plants come into operation in June. By the end of April this year, there were only four solar power plants being put into operation but by mid-May this year, there were […]
