Asian News

December 10, 2019 11:04 AM

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kongers have delivered a clarion call for change over the last fortnight with a landslide local election defeat for the government and more than one in ten hitting the streets peacefully on Sunday (Dec 8) - but will Beijing listen?

The focus shifts from rescue to recovery as eight feared dead are still on White Island volcano.

Low-income Malaysians and millennials are piling up debts and risking bankruptcy by turning to banks for loans and credit cards to support their lifestyle choices, says a World Bank Group report.According to the 21st edition of its Malaysia Economic Monitor, about 27 per cent of households in Kuala Lumpur earn less than Bank Negara’s estimated living wage of 2,700 ringgit (US$650) for a single adult, 4,500 ringgit for a childless couple or 6,500 ringgit for a couple with two children.Households…

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi is defending her country in the International Court of Justice.

December 10, 2019 10:36 AM

HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday (Dec 10) a cabinet reshuffle was not her immediate task, but rather restoring law and order, as the Chinese-ruled city grapples with more than six months of sometimes violent anti-government protests.

December 10, 2019 9:41 AM

HYDERABAD, INDIA (NYTIMES) - India took a major step toward the official marginalisation of Muslims on Tuesday (Dec 10) as one house of Parliament passed a Bill that would establish a religious test for migrants who want to become citizens, solidifying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist agenda.

December 10, 2019 9:30 AM

In its editorial, the paper advises Seoul to be more resolute in urging the North to stay on the track of dialogue and refrain from provocative acts.

December 10, 2019 9:30 AM

In her article, the author says that now that the graph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has fallen sharply due to the state of the economy, Rahul Gandhi is finding himself ready to return under changed circumstances.

When Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, she was hailed as an imprisoned martyr dedicated to bringing democracy and human rights to a country that for decades had withered under a brutal military junta. Now as Myanmar’s de facto leader she is set to face her European peers, defending her country in The Hague on the charge of genocide.On Tuesday, the International Court of Justice will begin hearings on only the third genocide case heard by it since World War II. In it,…

December 10, 2019 9:23 AM

Bomb disposal officers rushed to Wah Yan College in Wanchai district after a janitor noticed the two devices, police said.

Sixteen-year-old Julianne* was trafficked into the Philippine sex industry two years ago. She makes between US$40 and US$80 a week, which goes straight to her family of six. As dusk falls and men flock to the bar where she works, she chews her nails nervously. The past week has been scarier than usual. There has been a surge in foreign tourists to Angeles City, one of the 23 locations where the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) are taking place this year. A total of 8,750 athletes from 11…

December 10, 2019 8:57 AM

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - More than 5,600 retail jobs could be lost and thousands of stores shut down over the next six months, as pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong continue to disrupt sales during the crucial festive period.

December 10, 2019 8:43 AM

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - For Ms Li Mo, the footage of black-clad people clashing with police and vandalising storefronts proved the final straw. The images of Hong Kong protesters fighting for greater autonomy from Beijing incensed the mainland-born postgraduate student and she could no longer remain on the sidelines. So, she joined China's fangirl army.

At the Reclining Buddha temple in Bangkok, Krairath Chantrasri says he is a proud custodian of a 2,000-year-old skill – the body-folding, sharp-elbowed techniques of Thai massage, which this week could be added to Unesco’s prestigious heritage list.From upscale Bangkok spas and Phuket beachfronts to modest street-side shophouses, “nuad Thai” – or Thai massage – is ubiquitous across the kingdom, where an hour of the back-straightening discipline can cost as little as US$5.This week it may be…

December 10, 2019 8:11 AM

WHAKATANE, NEW ZEALAND (AFP) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed "unfathomable grief" on Tuesday (Dec 10) for tourists caught in a deadly eruption at the White Island volcano, where five people have died and eight more are feared dead.

December 10, 2019 8:03 AM

SYDNEY (AFP) - Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Tuesday (Dec 10) would be a "very hard day" for families of Australians caught up in a deadly eruption at New Zealand's White Island volcano, with three feared dead and eight others missing.

With massive funding from global sources, a handful of Indian start-ups are influencing policy.

South Korea is campaigning to get Japan’s “rising sun” flag banned from being unfurled at game venues during next year’s Tokyo Olympics, with the government describing the flag last week as a “flag of hatred”.The flag, which typically features a red sun and rays radiating outward, is regarded by some as a symbol of Japanese aggression and militarism, as it was the flag of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. Spectators sometimes unfurl it at sporting events in Japan and abroad.In a tweet last…

December 10, 2019 6:19 AM

SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG/REUTERS) - Choking smoke blanketed Sydney on Tuesday (Dec 10) as bushfires continue to burn along Australia's east coast, triggering fresh warnings of toxic air quality.

December 10, 2019 5:53 AM

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA (AP) - Relatives of a newlywed American couple are desperately seeking information after learning that the husband and wife were severely burned from a volcano eruption in New Zealand.