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Indonesia Philippines and Burma Doing Well But Leaders…
Voters in the Philippines appear to have delivered a resounding victory to President Benigno Aquino in midterm elections. The son of former President Corazon Aquino looks set to control both houses of Congress, giving him a mandate to continue his reform policies. His biggest worry now is making them stick. In the first half of his six-year term, Aquino arrested his predecessor on corruption ...
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Thailand agrees to offer duty-free mkt access of select Bangladesh products
Thailand has agreed to offer duty free market access of selected Bangladeshi products to its market as it seeks to increase bilateral trade and investment, a commerce ministry statement said. The agreement came at the 3rd meeting of Bangladesh-Thailand Joint Trade Committee, held from May 14-15, 2013 in Bangkok. Commerce minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader led an eight-member Bangladeshi ...
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Tata Motors plan to develop Thailand plant put on hold
Struggling to cope with a slump in demand, Tata Motors has taken a call to postpone the development of its new assembly plant in Thailand worth 10 billion baht (around Rs 1,839 crore). The automaker has instead decided to break into Thailand’s passenger car market during the third quarter of this year with the introduction of its Nano budget car. At the end of 2012, Tata Motors had ...
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Rescuers digging through rubble of tunnel at Freeport’s mine in Indonesia to reach 23 trapped
Rescuers are working for a fourth day to dig through a caved-in tunnel at a giant US-owned gold and copper mine in Indonesia to try to reach 23 trapped workers. The operator of the Grasberg mine in Indonesia’s province of Papua, PT Freeport Indonesia, said Friday that rescuers had successfully cleared two passages to provide access for heavy equipment to help expedite the rescue ...
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Malaysia’s economy to grow stronger in Q2 – The Star Online
Malaysia’s economy will grow stronger in the second half this year, driven by the removal of the political uncertainty and the government’s firm economic policy, said Credit Suisse Securities (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Stephen Hagger. He said Malaysia would join an exclusive club currently comprising the Philippines and Thailand which had all the three certainties: primarily ...
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Malaysia’s UMW may raise $1b in energy unit IPO
Malaysia’s UMW Holdings Bhd plans to sell 39 percent of its oil and gas unit in an initial public offering this year that could raise up to $1 billion, a source said Friday. The state-backed conglomerate’s announcement is the latest in a slew of planned listings, looking to build on last year’s momentum that saw the Southeast Asian nation become one of the world’s top ...
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Australia’s deadly lyssavirus infects first horse
Australia reported its first ever case of the deadly bat-borne lyssavirus in a horse Friday, warning that transmission to humans was possible as it quarantined a property. Biosecurity Queensland said the horse was euthanised last week after falling ill with what was initially suspected to be infection with another deadly virus, Hendra, which has killed four Australians since its discovery in ...
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US visit endorses ‘Burma’s Spring’ Thein Sein aide
President Thein Sein’s historic invitation to the White House is an endorsement of ';Myanmar’s Spring'; and a further sign that the former pariah’s reforms are irreversible, a senior Myanmar official said. Washington will welcome the former general on Monday in a hugely symbolic reward for sweeping changes since he took power two years ago. He will be the first ...
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Burma leader frees dissidents ahead of US visit
Myanmar released about 20 political prisoners on Friday, a top official said, hours before its reform-minded leader was due to leave on a landmark visit to the United States to meet President Barack Obama. President Thein Sein, a former general, has freed hundreds of political detainees since coming to power in early 2011 as part of sweeping changes that have led to the end of most Western ...
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At Cannes shock movie tests China’s boundaries
Disgusted by corrupt local leaders, an angry miner picks up a shotgun. A migrant worker returning home looks to armed robbery to escape a life of relentless bleakness. A pretty receptionist at a sauna is driven to the limit when a gangster tries to rape her. And a young man drifts nightmarishly from job to job to try to make ends meet. These tableaux would not be out of place in a gritty ...
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One dead in Tunisia showdown with Islamists
Islamists fought street battles in Tunis on Sunday, with one protester killed and 15 policemen wounded, after the authorities banned the Salafists from staging their annual congress. The confrontations infuriated moderate Islamist Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, who for the first time linked the Salafist Ansar al-Sharia group which is considered close ...
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In symbolic landmark Myanmar leader heads to White House
Myanmar President Thein Sein on Monday becomes the first leader of his country to visit the White House in nearly half a century, in one of the most symbolic US gestures yet to support his reforms. In a scene that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago, the former general will meet with President Barack Obama and later speak to leaders of US businesses eager to invest in a country ...
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Tornadoes hit Kansas Oklahoma no injuries reported
TOPEKA, KAN. — Authorities say tornadoes have touched down in Wichita, Kan., and a suburb of Oklahoma City but there are no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage.Sedgwick County, Kan., emergency management director Randy Duncan says officials ...
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What’s ‘Development’ With Rights Abuses Along the Way
A grandmother in Cambodia told me recently, "I just want you to know my story in case something happens and I am gone." Police and government officials have threatened and harassed "Kunthea" for her protests against government agencies and appeals to the World Bank after she was forcibly evicted from her home by a private company. The World Bank’s involvement was ...
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Obama to discuss counterterrorism strategy
National Defense University in Washington, the president will discuss "our broad counter-terrorism policy, including our military, diplomatic, intelligence and legal efforts," a White House official said. "He will review the state of the threats we face, particularly ...
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UN chief warns of North Korea escalation
UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned on Sunday of a "dangerous escalation" after North Koreatest-fired a short-range missile off its east coast, its fourth in two days, despite pleas to ease ...
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14th wife Woman rebuffs Swaziland king
LONDON: A 22-year-old woman fled to Britain from the southern African nation of Swaziland and is seeking asylum after refusing to join the harem of 13 wives of Swazi king Mswati III. Tintswalo Ngobeni fled to Britain after she caught the attention of the millionaire monarch, known for his lavish lifestyle, the Daily Mail reported. As part of Swazi custom, the 45-year-old king is permitted to ...
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Reforming Telecommunications in Burma
This 24-page report outlines steps necessary to promote adequate protections for Internet and mobile phone users in Burma, and ways to foster responsible investment in Burma's telecom sector. In January 2013, the Burmese government announced plans to open the country's telecom sector to foreign investment and is scheduled to award two nationwide licenses to companies by June 27. As of ...
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Burma Telecoms Risk Complicity in Surveillance Censorship
The government and telecommunications companies have a unique opportunity to bring an open Internet to Burma so that the Burmese people can express themselves online without fear. But that won’t happen without real government reforms and meaningful corporate ...
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Train accident fallout Services to be affected for days in US Northeast
It will take days to rebuild 2,000 feet (600 meters) of track, overhead wires and signals following the collision between two trains on Friday evening in the ...
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First Pakistani woman atop Everest
Mirza Ali , who becomes the third and youngest Pakistani male to scale the mountain. Nepal mountaineering department official Tilak Padney said 35 foreigners accompanied by 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides reached the peak after climbing all night from the highest camp on South Col - the pass between Everest and a neighbouring ...
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China India PMs to discuss border dispute trade
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will hold talks with a string of Indian leaders on Monday as the two sides look to rebuild trust after a recent flare-up in a border dispute as well as boost trade.Li, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday afternoon, has said that his decision to choose India for his first foreign visit since taking office "indicates the great importance ...
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China manoeuvres to create space for itself in Afghanistan
Afghan policy that suits its strategic and business interests, has been interacting with various Afghan lobbies, discreetly reaching out to Northern Alliance leaders as well as the Taliban, while also coordinating with Pakistan to create space for itself in possible political deliberations on the future of Afghanistan. Even as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang prepares to tour Pakistan soon after ...
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Phone probe has hurt our ability to gather news AP chief says
Gary Pruitt, the president and CEO of the Associated Press (AP) has said that US justice department's seizure of phone records is hurting the agency's ability to gather ...
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Scandals risk tainting Obamas second term
White House in recent days. After wavering initially, the US president has launched an all-out offensive to contain fallout from the trio of controversies. Senior Obama advisor Dan Pfeiffer, doing the rounds of weekly television talk shows, went into damage control mode on the scandals, including one related to alleged abuses by the ...
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