Month: June 2020

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Monday urged North Korea to return to dialogue and refrain from raising tension, after threats trumpeted by state media in Pyongyang to cut ties and take military action.The recent flaring of animosity between the neighbours has stoked fear of a military provocation by the North, and posed another setback amid stalled talks to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes.Besides the threat to sever ties, state media over the past few days have aired the…

Natalie Bin Narkprasert’s business was in Paris. But she was locked down by Covid-19 restrictions and stuck in Thailand. Her heart was in Thailand, too – and it ached for her compatriots who were suffering in the pandemic. She thought of her own grandmother.“She’s 94 years old, and then I really worried about her during Covid, like how is she going to cope and do things, so I just thought about all the people who are struggling during this time who might not even have a family or a home,” she…

Even as many in the region hail a free-trade deal between the European Union and Hanoi for opening up new economic possibilities, analysts say it is unlikely to be a silver bullet for Vietnam’s post-Covid-19 recovery.Chinese analysts also think it is unlikely the European Union Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which was ratified on Tuesday, will result in a substantial number of foreign investors and manufacturers relocating from China to Vietnam.The deal will cut or eliminate 99 per cent…

When Metro Manila went into lockdown in mid-March, Rhea Muyargas, a medical technologist at one of the largest private hospitals in the Philippine capital, had to start walking to work.Public transport was halted and hundreds of frontline health care workers like Muyargas had no other option but to walk for hours in many cases, as few employers provided shuttle buses.But as the coronavirus pandemic has shown, the worst of times can sometimes bring out the best in people.When the plight of these…

Malaysian elder statesman Mahathir Mohamad, known for his own iconoclasm and strongman leadership during two stints as prime minister, believes the re-election of United States President Donald Trump in November would spell “disaster”.During a wide-ranging interview with This Week In Asia focused on his own country’s political turmoil, the 94-year-old former premier also dismissed the Trump administration’s claim that China should take responsibility for the coronavirus pandemic.Mahathir, who…

Malaysia’s economy has been battered by the coronavirus recession but according to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad it is not all doom and gloom, provided the current government is willing to act.On the contrary, Mahathir told This Week In Asia he believed the country had a “good opportunity” to rebound sooner than its regional competitors because of its steady handling of the public health crisis and signs consumer demand is already stirring.“Recovery becomes very difficult because lots…

This year’s Azerbaijan, Singapore and Japanese Formula One Grands Prix have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers said on Friday.Formula One had already cancelled four other races, including the showcase Monaco Grand Prix in May, and published a revised and shortened provisional schedule due to start in Austria on July 5.“As a result of the ongoing challenges presented by Covid-19, we and our promoters in Azerbaijan, Singapore and Japan have taken the decision to cancel their…

Singapore is on track to lift more restrictions on companies and residents by the end of June, and expects practically the entire economy to reopen in that phase, according to a top minister.“With the start of phase two, we expect virtually the entire economy to be reopened – shops, F&B, dining, social interactions – but there will be limits on the number of people who can get together,” Lawrence Wong, minister for national development, told Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin on Friday.Singapore is…

A Malaysian property developer that sold £20 million (US$25 million) worth of London property to Hong Kong buyers in May expects sales to rise further, citing a weak pound and the UK’s offer to grant up to 3 million Hongkongers the right to live and work in Britain.“It has been very encouraging for us in Hong Kong,” said Teow Leong Seng, President & CEO of Eco World International Berhad (EWI). “The present low sterling makes property prices in the UK very much more affordable for international…

Two suspected kidnappers who were allegedly involved in the abduction of Chinese workers in the northern Philippines were killed on Thursday in a shoot-out with police, officials said.A police officer was also wounded in the exchange of fire in Angeles City in Pampanga province, about 70 kilometres north of Manila, said Jonnel Estomo, director of the national police’s anti-kidnapping group.The shoot-out came when police came across a van that was reportedly involved in the kidnapping of three…