SEOUL (AFP) – A law allowing South Korean parents to physically discipline their children is to be scrapped, the authorities said, prompting controversy in a country where hierarchical family values still dominate. The reporting of child abuse – including neglect and emotional abuse as well as physical or sexual assaults – rose more than 10-fold […]
KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysia’s police chief Abdul Hamid Bador has said he knows of the whereabouts of fugitive Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho and that of his family, and has promised to guarantee their safety if they come back to Malaysia. The Inspector-General of Police said that while the investigations into […]
Elections took place on March 24 under a complicated new system that empowered small parties – and the military. Bangkok, Thailand – Thailand’s newly-elected parliament sits for the first time on Friday, as pro-military and pro-democracy parties manoeuvre for power two months after controversial elections that ensured the armed forces the upper hand in the […]
JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – A major street protest is expected to hit Jakarta on Friday (May 24) as supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto are set to join him in filing a lawsuit to challenge the election result at the Constitutional Court. The rally is expected to be the peak of […]
TOKYO (AFP) – With an imperial banquet, a day at the sumo and an obligatory 18 holes, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is again rolling out the red carpet for his “golf buddy” United States President Donald Trump. This time, Japan seems to be hoping to position itself as a more amenable partner than China […]
TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar held steady on Friday, having come off two-year highs on lower U.S. yields in the previous session amid fears that a trade war with China will hurt the U.S. economy more than previously thought. The greenback was not helped by rising expectations for an interest rate cut by the U.S. […]
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has returned an honorary degree awarded by Britain’s Oxford University after a global backlash led by celebrities including George Clooney and Elton John for proposing the death penalty for gay sex and adultery. Nearly 120,000 people had signed a petition by April calling on Oxford University […]
Democrats warn Trump may use ’emergency’ loophole to sell missiles to Saudi Arabia without congressional approval. Washington, DC – Democrats in the United States Senate have warned that the Trump administration is preparing to approve a major new arms sale to Saudi Arabia, using an “emergency” loophole to bypass Congress. “I am expecting that the […]
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve wants the banking system flush with cash to keep the economy humming, but there may be bottlenecks that undermine the U.S. central bank’s credibility to influence interest rates. Major U.S. banks stashed $1.2 trillion with the Fed as of January, even though they estimate they only need $700 […]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it was proposing a rule to impose countervailing duties on countries that undervalue their currency relative to the dollar. “This change puts foreign exporters on notice that the Department of Commerce can countervail currency subsidies that harm U.S. industries,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in […]