Tuesday, 26 Nov 2024

Asia

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Singapore and Britain launch new partnership to forge broader, deeper ties

SINGAPORE – As Singapore marks the Bicentennial of Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival and Britain begins a new era, both countries have started a partnership to broaden and deepen their ties in the years ahead. The Singapore-United Kingdom Partnership for the Future was launched by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt during […]

Euro zone finance ministers to choose successor to ECB's Praet on Feb. 11

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers, the Eurogroup, will choose the successor to European Central Bank chief economist Peter Praet at their meeting on Feb. 11, the spokesman for the Eurogroup President said on Friday. Luis Rego said euro zone countries would be able to make their bids from Jan. 21 for Praet’s position […]

Chinese rover 'Jade Rabbit' drives on far side of the moon

BEIJING (AFP) – A Chinese lunar rover has driven on the far side of the moon, the national space agency announced on Friday (Jan 4), hailing the development as a “big step for the Chinese people”. The Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit-2) rover drove onto the moon’s surface from the lander at 10.22pm on Thursday (1422 GMT), […]

Myanmar's Rakhine rebels attack police posts in pre-dawn raids

YANGON (AFP) – Ethnic Rakhine rebels carried out pre-dawn attacks on four police stations near the Bangladesh border in a strike confirmed on Friday (Jan 4) by both the rebel group and Myanmar’s army, with the militants claiming to have killed seven and taken 14 “prisoners of war” as operations ramped up. Myanmar’s western state […]

Euro zone business activity slumps to four-year low in December: PMI

(Reuters) – Activity among euro zone businesses dipped to its weakest in just over four years in December as their already downbeat expectations also turned more pessimistic, a survey showed on Friday. That will be disappointing news for policymakers at the European Central Bank, who ended their 2.6 trillion euro ($2.95 trillion) asset purchase program […]

Yen slips on U.S.-China trade hopes, still headed for best week in 11 months

LONDON (Reuters) – The yen edged lower on Friday after its recent surge, amid hopes upcoming U.S.-China trade talks would make some progress, but remained well bid by investors fretting about a global economic slowdown. The yen’s gains on Thursday, exacerbated by a flash crash in holiday-thinned markets, came as investors looked for safety after […]

Almost all Singapore students pass IB diploma exams, faring well above global average

SINGAPORE – Students who sat the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma exams in Singapore have performed better than their global counterparts. Almost all the 2,152 students from Singapore – or 97.99 per cent – who took the exams last November passed, compared with the global rate of 68.73 per cent. Their average scores were also higher […]

Foreigners pull most cash from Asian equities in at least 7 years in 2018

(Reuters) – Foreign outflows from Asian equities were the biggest in at least 7 years in 2018 as the Sino-U.S. trade war and slowing profits battered regional stocks last year. Data from South Korea, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnamese stock exchanges showed foreigners sold a net $33.6 billion worth of equities last year, […]

No official word about rumours of the Malaysian King abdicating: Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Friday (Jan 4) he has not received any official confirmation or indication on rumours that the Malaysian King would be stepping down. “Like you, I’ve heard rumours. I have not received any letter or any official indication about anything. So I am […]