The Asian Development Bank has cut its growth outlook for Asia, blaming sluggish demand and the trade tensions between China and the United States Report by chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada came a day after the World Trade Organisation reduced its global trade growth forecasts due to the trade conflict Finbarr Bermingham Published: 6:59pm, 3 Apr, 2019 TOP PICKS421 The Asian… Read more »
China and the United States started a fresh round of talks on Wednesday in Washington amid upbeat hopes of finalising a comprehensive agreement to end their protracted trade war. Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He was greeted by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer outside the USTR office on Wednesday morning, shaking hands. In a rare display of enthusiasm, Liu waved to the… Read more »
A harsh new criminal law in Brunei — which includes death by stoning for sex between men or for adultery, and amputation of limbs for theft — went into effect on Wednesday, despite an international outcry from other countries, rights groups, celebrities and students. Brunei, a tiny monarchy on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, based its new penal code… Read more »
SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) – Legislation aimed at stopping violent crime and acts of extremism from being live-streamed on the internet was passed by Australia’s Senate amid warnings from the legal profession and technology companies that the proposed law is flawed. The Bill, aimed at preventing the “weaponising” of social media platforms by terrorists and criminals, cleared Parliament’s upper house late on… Read more »
HONG KONG • Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He will resume negotiations with his United States counterparts in Washington as both governments push for an agreement to end their protracted trade dispute. The latest round of talks follow discussions last week in Beijing, where Mr Liu met US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Outstanding issues include protection for… Read more »
China says it will crack down on all types of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, following a plea from the US. All fentanyl-related substances will be added to China’s list of controlled narcotic drugs from 1 May, officials said. It follows a pledge Beijing made during US-China trade talks in December. The powerful painkiller, much of it believed to be made… Read more »
BEIJING (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Thirty people were confirmed killed while fighting a forest fire that broke out last Saturday (March 30) in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in China’s Sichuan province, the Ministry of Emergency Management said in a statement on Monday (April 1). The bodies of the victims were all recovered, including 27 firefighters and three locals, said the ministry, whose… Read more »
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – Millennials snapped up US$28 million (S$38 million) worth of art inspired by the Simpsons television show, along with skateboarding shoes and cans of spray paint, at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong as a new generation of collectors comes of age. “The auction room suddenly got a lot hipper with all these cool millennial buyers in hoodies,”… Read more »
SEOUL (DPA) – South Korea has begun excavating the remains of missing soldiers from the Korean War on the border between the two Koreas, without the involvement of North Korea, local media reported on Monday (April 1). The two countries had agreed to start the excavation work together, but no one from North Korea showed up at the agreed site… Read more »
BEIJING (AFP) – China announced on Monday (April 1) that it would add fentanyl analogues to its controlled substance list from May 1, following United States pleas for Beijing to crack down on the drug fuelling a deadly opioid crisis. China is suspected of being the main source of the narcotic, which is 50 times stronger than heroin and has caused… Read more »