NEW YORK (REUTERS) – China’s President Xi Jinping personally decided to pull the plug on Ant Group’s US$37 billion (S$50 billion) initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (Nov 12), citing Chinese officials with the knowledge of the matter. The decision to stop what would have been the world’s largest ever IPO, […]
GENEVA/TAIPEI (REUTERS) – The World Health Organisation said on Thursday (Nov 12) it had faced an “onslaught” of cyber attacks by activists using key words like “Taiwan” after the government complained that posts in support of the self-ruled island were being censored on Facebook. Fiercely democratic Taiwan, which China claims as its own, has been angered […]
JAKARTA (BLOOMBERG) – Indonesia is pushing for a travel corridor arrangement for South-east Asian countries to be in place in the first three months of 2021. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said a declaration on the travel corridor will be issued during the ongoing Asean Summit. Indonesia proposed the move in June, when Thailand and Malaysia […]
SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) – Australia can expect longer wildfire seasons, more droughts and increased bleaching events at its famous coastal reefs as the climate continues to warm, according to a report on Friday (Nov 13). The warning from the Bureau of Meteorology and national science agency CSIRO comes as Australia tries to learn lessons from unprecedented […]
SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has congratulated the Chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, on the NLD’s victory in the Myanmar General Elections. “Congratulations on leading the National League for Democracy (NLD) to another victory in Myanmar’s General Elections. The results reflect the confidence and trust […]
SINGAPORE – John (not his real name) struggled to meet his personal expenses and support his family after his salary was cut by more than half in March. The 27-year-old later borrowed a total of $10,000 from two licensed moneylenders but was unable to make his monthly repayments when he suffered another pay cut. Please […]
IPOH (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Desperate to go home for Deepavali, a man chose to drive against traffic on Malaysia’s North-South Expressway to avoid a roadblock and caused an accident involving two other vehicles. The 34-year-old was driving to his home town in Bidor, Perak, after undergoing a Covid-19 swab test in Klang when […]
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) – Covid-19 and social-distancing measures are forcing some owners of Japan’s tiny noodle shops to consider either pushing up their prices or pulling down their shutters. The pandemic is upending a finely balanced business model that depends on serving quick, cheap fare to customers eating elbow-to-elbow. While some proprietors are finally embracing the […]
NEW DELHI (THE STATESMAN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – In the early days of 2020, neither policy makers nor health experts in India had any inkling that a tiny microbe, spreading fast from our northern neighbour China to different parts of Europe, would soon make entry and rapidly spread in our country as well, metamorphosing into a […]
HONG KONG (REUTERS) – Hong Kong opposition lawmakers, seen as representatives of moderate pro-democracy voices in the Chinese-ruled finance hub, are expected to formally tender their resignation on Thursday (Nov 12) in protest against the dismissal of four of their colleagues. Their dramatic departure will remove a key avenue for dissent in Hong Kong, where […]