The death of Thailand’s beloved King Bhumibol, and the successive nomination of Prince Vajiralongkorn, has sent the nation into instability and discourse. The decision to delay the Prince’s crowning proves to say that the citizens are not yet over the king, and do not approve of the heir. In fact, rather than their prime minister and Legislative National Assembly immediately… Read more »
Malaysia’s government has announced its 2017 Budget, with Prime Minister Najib Razak waxing poetic on the multitude of goodies for various segments of the population, from civil servants to rubber-tappers. SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia – who is also the country’s Finance Minister – spoke for a good 150 minutes in the parliament on Friday (Oct 21), detailing his… Read more »
Much about the death of King Bhumibol has been as expected. Thailand has been consumed in grief for the loss of a beloved ruler. But the decision to delay anointing his son and designated heir, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, as the next king has caught people by surprise. On the night of 13 October, members of the military-appointed National Legislative Assembly… Read more »
An Indonesian man who attacked police with a machete on the outskirts of Jakarta this morning has died from gunshot wounds. Key points: An unexploded pipe bomb was also found near the scene Indonesia believes IS has more than 1,200 followers in the country Police are on alert for IS-linked Indonesians returning from Mosul Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono said… Read more »
Indonesia could “wipe out” paedophilia with its new policy of chemical castration, President Joko Widodo has told the BBC. He said Indonesia respected human rights but there would be “no compromise” when it came to punishing such sexual crimes. Indonesia passed controversial laws earlier this month authorising chemical castration for paedophiles. The laws were subject to fierce debate in parliament…. Read more »
Joshua Wong being detained for stepping foot in Thailand sends a dangerous message to other activists who are only using their civil rights as well as setting a precedence to surrounding countries who are facing such the same problems that China is. Also, this further adds to the growing independence of Hong Kong from China. Hong Kong authorities respected Mr. Wong’s rights,… Read more »
JAKARTA, Indonesia—Faced with the growing appetite of a rising middle class, Indonesia is amending its latest effort at economic nationalism—a struggling project to beef up its beef industry—and opening the door wider to imports. The loosening of restrictions, expected to take full effect in the coming months, should benefit ranchers in such countries as Brazil that are currently shut out… Read more »
While the government and the House of Representative have failed to comply with the public’s call to revoke the controversial defamation article from the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, they have introduced further threats to freedom of expression by including a punishment for people posting texts, pictures, videos and memes deemed to incite fear or cause embarrassment in… Read more »
A free trade agreement between the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Vietnam takes effect on Wednesday with its ratification. The deal opens the EEU’s market of 181 million people to Vietnam. Vietnam signs free trade deal with Russia-led EEU economic bloc The EEU countries – Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – get the opportunity to sell goods in… Read more »
E-commerce may account for 7% to 8% of retail market by 2020 McKinsey says Indonesia’s urban consumers to reach 86 millio Indonesia Taps Jack Ma to Unleash E-Commerce Potential In a testament to the rising consumer potential of the world’s No. 6 emerging market, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has tapped for guidance the king of Chinese e-commerce: Jack Ma. Jokowi,… Read more »