Asia

Indonesia has filed a World Trade Organization lawsuit against the European Union over plans to phase out palm oil-based biofuel for cars, the trade ministry said. The action could escalate a trade dispute between Indonesia — the world’s top palm oil producer – and the EU, which plans to end its use of biofuels by […]

Philippine journalist Maria Ressa said Monday she would not be silenced as she launched her defence against a libel charge that press advocates call an attempt to curb her news site’s critical coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte. Her site Rappler has written extensively and often critically on Duterte’s policies, including his deadly drugs war that […]

by Aishwarya Kumar with Jalees Andrabi in Guwahati and Sailendra Sil in Kolkata Fresh protests rocked India Monday as anger grew over new citizenship legislation slammed as anti-Muslim, with six people dead in the northeast and up to 100 reported injured in New Delhi. The law fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from three neighbouring countries, […]

China on Monday called the expulsion of diplomats from the US a “mistake” following reports that Washington quietly expelled two embassy officials in September after they drove onto a sensitive military base in Virginia. The incident is the latest spat between the world’s two biggest economies and comes days after they announced a truce in […]

Chinese President Xi Jinping told beleaguered Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday that she had Beijing’s “unwavering support” after another huge pro-democracy rally earlier this month and her government’s thrashing at recent local elections. The city has been upended by six months of massive pro-democracy protests that have seen violent battles between police and […]

by Agnes Anya Anwar bin Sholeh had something to cheer when he showed up at a Jakarta training centre to practice pencak silat — the Indonesian martial art was added to UNESCO’s prestigious heritage list. “It’s an honour that pencak silat has been recognised internationally,” the 38-year-old, who has been practising the art since elementary […]

by Jalees ANDRABI / Anup SHARMA / with Sailendra Sil in Kolkata The death toll from violent protests in northeast India against a contentious citizenship law has risen to six, officials said Sunday, as authorities maintained internet bans and curfews to quell unrest. Tension remained high at the epicentre of the unrest in Assam state’s […]

Manila—San Miguel Corporation, a company known worldwide for its beer, is risking it all by building an airport worth S$20 billion, reported to be the second biggest airport in the world. However, Nikkei Asian Review reports that there are skeptics who doubt the profitability of such an endeavor, which is spearheaded by none other than […]

A top-tier Chinese basketball team was hit with a one million yuan ($140,000) fine for a promotional image that swapped out Mao Zedong for the club’s mascot. Zhejiang Guangsha Lions apologised for the picture which was posted on social media and showed a lion in a Mao suit and red-starred hat, along with the slogan: […]

A Tokyo court on Thursday ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to a transgender official who was refused use of the women’s bathroom at work. “The Tokyo district court ordered the accused to pay 1.3 million yen ($12,000) in damages,” a court spokesman told AFP. “The court also ordered the government to let the […]

by Anup Sharma Authorities deployed thousands of paramilitaries and blocked mobile internet in northeast India Thursday, while police fired blank rounds at protesters who defied a curfew to demonstrate against contentious new citizenship legislation. The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), passed by the upper house on Wednesday, allows for the fast-tracking of citizenship applications from religious […]

Flanked by more than 2,000 oarsmen rowing to a steady drumbeat, Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn travelled down Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river as part of a 52-barge flotilla on Thursday, marking the final event of his coronation. The flotilla comes seven months after the monarch was crowned in an elaborate three-day affair that involved sacred bathing […]

Hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service on Thursday for a Hong Kong student whose death led to some of the most violent clashes in six months of democracy protests. Alex Chow, 22, died last month from head injuries sustained during a fall inside a multi-storey carpark where police and protesters were clashing. Although the […]

An international panel of experts hired to advise Hong Kong on the police response to huge pro-democracy protests announced Wednesday they were quitting, saying the watchdog was not fit for purpose “in a society that values freedoms and rights”. The group’s damning conclusion is a blow to Hong Kong’s government, which has insisted its Independent […]

Forest fires that raged across Indonesia dented Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to the tune of some $5.2 billion, the World Bank said Wednesday, not including the health impacts from toxic haze that sent air quality plummeting. The fires are an annual problem but this year was the worst since 2015 due to dry weather, with […]