TOKYO: A Japanese minister resigned on Monday (Oct 24) following allegations over his ties to the Unification Church, which is under renewed scrutiny after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Daishiro Yamagiwa, minister for economic revitalisation, said he did not want the allegations to “affect the parliamentary debate”,Continue Reading
“FEELING UNWELL” China’s only comment came in a pair of tweets in English late on Saturday by its official Xinhua news agency saying that Hu had been feeling unwell, an explanation that has been met with scepticism by some China-watchers. Twitter is blocked in China, and there has been noContinue Reading
BEIJING: China’s exports to North Korea rose at a slower pace in September, but shipments of masks and other COVID-related items surged as the isolated country stepped up its battle against possible COVID-19 flare-ups, Chinese customs data showed on Monday (Oct 24). Pyongyang declared victory over COVID-19 in August, whileContinue Reading
SEOUL – Warning shots were exchanged over the Yellow Sea maritime frontier between the two Koreas in the early hours this morning (October 24), pouring fuel onto an already heated situation on the peninsula. There were no reports of damage or death along the NLL, or “Northern Limit Line,” and both sides managed the mini-crisis […]Continue Reading
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s food and drugs agency on Monday (Oct 24) said it may pursue criminal action against two pharmaceutical firms that made products linked to acute kidney injury (AKI), amid a spike in cases and deaths among children this year. Indonesian authorities have temporarily banned sales of some syrup-based medicationsContinue Reading
The son of a poet revered by former communist leaders, 65-year-old Ai is perhaps China’s best-known modern artist and helped design the famous Bird’s Nest stadium for Beijing’s 2008 Olympics. But he fell out of favour after criticising the Chinese government and was imprisoned for 81 days in 2011. HeContinue Reading
The Covid-19 pandemic radically changed our relationship with cities. This shouldn’t be news to anyone but the changes will have long-lasting effects on the global economy and, perhaps more important, the production of culture. In the West, cities are critical hubs of commerce and intellectual activity. From office space to corner restaurants, cities require a […]Continue Reading
ZERO COVID Xi will also need to decide the future of China’s strict zero-Covid policy – and whether the country is now ready to open up to the outside world after two years of closed borders and strict quarantines. The policy is dragging on the economy, with officials this weekContinue Reading
Southeast Asia’s second-largest and once one of its most dynamic economies is struggling under the weight of an aging population, a deteriorating education system and low-yield rice farming. Thailand looks trapped as a middle-income country, unable to get rich, and stuck between a younger, dynamic Vietnam and a larger Indonesia. Getting out of its economic […]Continue Reading
“NO WORK LEFT” Many of the flood-displaced in southern Sindh province have sought shelter in urban centres, including tens of thousands recorded at relief camps and many more in the homes of relatives or rental properties. With homes and livelihoods washed away, some are expected to abandon their rural lives,Continue Reading