SINGAPORE: Several suppliers have canceled sales of Middle Eastern and Canadian oil to China’s Yulong Petrochemical after the UK imposed sanctions on the refiner, which is likely to push it to buy more Russian crude, multiple sources familiar with the deals said. The refiner, China’s newest with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day and […]
Read MoreBy Julian Ryall As Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office, she wasted no time extending an olive branch to South Korea, calling it an “important neighbour” and praising its culture. But how long will the goodwill last? Concerns linger in South Korea that Takaichi, known for her nationalist leanings, may eventually adopt a […]
Read MoreBy Park Chan-kyong South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon-hee has again made headlines after revelations that she sat on a royal throne during a private palace visit – triggering ridicule that she must have fancied herself a queen, given her oversized influence over her husband. Kim reportedly sat on the throne during a private […]
Read MoreChina overtook the US as Germany’s largest trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, regaining the top spot as higher tariffs weighed on German exports to the United States, preliminary data from the German statistics office showed. German imports and exports with China totalled 163.4 billion euros ($190.7 billion) from January to August, […]
Read MoreBY Park Chan-kyong Top Seoul officials are visiting Washington amid signs of major progress in tough trade negotiations, although analysts warn that a coerced deal could severely damage South Korea’s economy. Kim Yong-bum, policy chief of the presidential staff, and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan left for Washington on Thursday to join Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol […]
Read MoreBy Ji Siqiin Beijing and Mandy Zuo in Shanghai As China and the United States accuse each other of provoking the latest escalation in trade tensions and disrupting the world economy, analysts say both share a goal in their war of words: applying maximum pressure until a deal is struck. In the past few days, […]
Read MoreBy Finbarr Bermingham in Brussels Lawmakers from Brussels and Beijing clashed on Russia and Taiwan, during their first official talks for seven years in the Belgian capital on Thursday. EU lawmakers and other people present said delegates from the National People’s Congress (NPC) echoed Russian narratives on the cause of the three-year war in Ukraine, […]
Read MoreFormer South Korean first couple Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee requested special treatment for their pets from South Korea’s embassy in Paris during their visits to France in 2023, an opposition lawmaker has revealed. The couple “planned to bring their dogs on two visits to France in 2023 and asked the embassy to prepare protocol […]
Read MoreThe International Monetary Fund edged up its 2025 global growth forecast on Tuesday as tariff shocks and financial conditions have proven more benign than expected, but warned that a renewed US-China trade war threatened by President Donald Trump could slow output significantly. The IMF said in its World Economic Outlook that recent trade deals between […]
Read MoreThe elite Central Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party will hold a closed-door meeting from Monday to Thursday to discuss, among other things, the country’s 15th five-year development plan. The meeting, known as a plenum, is the fourth since the 2022 Party Congress. Here is what it all means: WHAT’S A PLENUM? The Central Committee […]
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