Thailand’s golden beaches, shopping districts and ornate temples are filling with tourists once again and Chinese vacationers are getting an especially VIP welcome under a new visa-free scheme. Vowing to revive the country’s economy, newly appointed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced a visa-free policy for Chinese and Kazakh tourists that would run from September 25 […]
Read MoreMANILA: Philippine and US navies on Wednesday launched their joint exercise and were joined by seven partner countries, as Manila seeks to boost its naval warfare capabilities and readiness to confront security challenges in the region. Exercise Sama Sama started off as Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training in 1994 between the Philippines and America but […]
Read MoreJakarta: Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway on Monday, a delayed, multibillion-dollar project backed by China that President Joko Widodo hailed as “a symbol of our modernisation”. With a top speed of 350 kilometres (220 miles) per hour, the bullet train “Whoosh” can get between the capital Jakarta and Bandung in 45 minutes. The […]
Read MoreChina’s factories look to have stabilized for now, though the recovery has been far from swift and the momentum for growth may be in trouble without more policy support. An official gauge of manufacturing activity returned to expansion in September for the first time in six months, a sign that stimulus may be taking root. […]
Read MoreBY SAM RAINSY Hun Manet succeeded his father, Hun Sen, as Cambodia’s dictator following fraudulent elections in July, in which the ruling Cambodian People Party’s “won” 96% of parliamentary seats. Since then, the new prime minister has been shoring up international support for the transition. Prior to the ruling party’s victory, members of the main […]
Read MoreBy: Anuchit Nguyen Thailand’s capital city will add a third passenger terminal to its biggest airport as the Southeast Asian nation prepares for a surge in tourist arrivals under a visa waiver program for Chinese visitors during the peak holiday season. Airports of Thailand Pcl, which operates Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport, on Friday opened for […]
Read MoreBy Low De Wei and Kevin Varley Breaking for lunch during his work as a handyman in Singapore, Zuo Jing Fa usually heads to the nearest food hall in search of a cheap meal. He’s having to look harder these days as inflation hits hawker centers — the open-air food complexes dotting the city and […]
Read MoreASHGABAT, Turkmenistan Turkmenistan celebrated its 32nd anniversary of independence on Wednesday, with events held across the country. Turkmenistan embarked on its journey towards independence with a significant milestone. On Oct. 26, 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union (USSR), the nation held a referendum titled “State Sovereignty of Turkmenistan.” As a result of the […]
Read MoreChina is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, the United States said on Thursday, warning the trend could lead to a “sharp contraction” of global freedom of expression. The US State Department said in a report that Beijing has spent billions of dollars annually on information manipulation […]
Read MoreBy Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The overture Pope Francis made to China earlier this month while he was in Mongolia was “well received” by Beijing’s communist government, which has given a mainland bishop permission to visit Hong Kong, the bishop of Hong Kong said on Thursday. Bishop Stephen Chow, who will be made […]
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