ASIA

North Korea’s Kim at critical crossroads decade into rule

South Korea downplays concerns over Kim Jong Un’s health

9:42 pm April 21, 2020

Seoul: South Korean officials reported no unusual activity in North Korea on Tuesday following unconfirmed media reports that leader Kim Jong Un was in fragile health after surgery. But the possibly of high-level instability raised troubling questions about the future of a nuclear-armed state that has been steadily building an arsenal meant to threaten the […]

Tanker's impossible voyage signals new sanction evasion ploy

Oil prices collapse on storage fears, Asia equities mixed

3:32 pm April 20, 2020

Hong Kong: Oil prices collapsed to more than two-decade lows Monday as traders grow concerned that storage facilities are reaching their limits, while equities were mixed, with some support coming from signs that the coronavirus may have peaked in Europe and the United States. US crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate briefly plunged almost 20 percent […]

EU commissioner slams Europe’s ‘morbid dependency’ on China

11:51 pm April 19, 2020

Prague: European Commission vice-president Vera Jourova on Sunday chided the EU for what she said was its “morbid dependency” on China and India for medical supplies, a situation highlighted by the coronavirus crisis. “This crisis has revealed our morbid dependency on China and India as regards pharmaceuticals,” Jourova said in a debate on Czech state […]

COVID-19: Singapore to allow migrant workers from dormitories to visit recreation centres

Singapore reports 596 new coronavirus cases, mostly from dormitories used by foreigners

3:53 pm April 19, 2020

Singapore: Singapore on Sunday reported 596 new coronavirus cases, a majority of them linked to packed dormitories that house foreign workers including several Indian nationals. Around 300,000 low-wage workers, mostly from South Asia, work in Singapore in construction and maintenance. Most of them live together in huge dormitory complexes on the outskirts of the city […]

Abe apologises, but isn't charged for cherry blossom scandal

Japan government faces complaints after giving out dirty masks

3:47 pm April 19, 2020

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s unpopular handouts of old-fashioned cloth masks as part of his coronavirus measures faced complaints, as thousands of those sent to pregnant women were dirty.. The health ministry said over the weekend that it has received at least 1,900 cases of the problems reported by 80 municipalities that the masks […]