East Timor has reflected on the goodwill of its former invader as it seeks to settle sea borders with both Indonesia and Australia. A conciliation hearing in The Hague this week between Australia and East Timor has wrapped up. The United Nations commission is expected to announce whether it has the power to proceed with the process in a fortnight.
Lawmakers are proposing a ban on alcohol sales and consumption throughout Indonesia, which may negatively affect the island of Bali’s booming tourist economy. The ban would include production, sale, and consumption of alcohol across the entire country, but would have profound effects on the island of Bali. For anyone found violating this law, a prison sentence of as many as… Read more »
The number of Zika cases in the country surged to 275 in just ten days from the start of the outbreak on August 27. Science and Development Network | September 13, 2016 | Health AsianScientist (Sep. 13, 2016) – Neena Bhandari – Seventeen new cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection in Singapore were confirmed on September 6 by the… Read more »
HANOI: Vietnam will not include ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on the agenda for its next parliament session, an official said on Friday, adding to uncertainty over the future of US President Barack Obama’s signature trade deal. As arguably the biggest beneficiary of the deal covering 40% of the global economy, Vietnam was expected to be among the first… Read more »
Thailand, Malaysia plan border wall to halt illegal flow of goods, people Thailand and Malaysia will discuss plans to build a wall along their shared border, Thai officials said on Thursday, a day before Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to meet his counterpart in Bangkok. People-trafficking and the smuggling of drugs and weapons are among the transnational crimes that… Read more »
ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) — Central China’s Henan Province announced its first Zika case on Tuesday, with the patient described to be in stable condition, according to local health authorities. It is the 23rd Zika case reported on the Chinese mainland, said an official with the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Henan.
BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — China had 31.97 million tonnes of national oil reserves at the start of 2016, said a statement by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Friday. The oil was at eight strategic storage bases, including those in Zhoushan, Zhenhai, Dalian, Huangdao, Dushanzi, Lanzhou, Tianjin, as well as some corporate facilities. Based on oil data released by CNPC… Read more »
IN CHINA’s drive to modernize over the past few decades — a period in which it became an economic superpower — civil society groups took root, helping fight poverty and environmental damage, offering legal services, aiding migrants, and improving health care and education, among many other worthy pursuits. These groups, often supported from abroad, filled an important niche and attempted to… Read more »