Tokyo / AFP Japan’s factory output ticked up in October, expanding for the third month in a row, government data showed on Wednesday. Industrial production grew 0.1 percent on-month, following a 0.6 percent increase in September. “Activity is now well above the lows reached earlier this year, but there is still a long way to go to reach the …

  Jakarta / AFP Multinational companies are selling consumer products containing palm oil from Indonesian plantations where workers suffer rights abuses, Amnesty International warned on Wednesday, listing problems including child labour and exposure to toxic chemicals. The edible vegetable oil is a key ingredient in many everyday goods, from biscuits to shampoo and make-up, and growing demand has led to …

  Seoul / AFP South Korea is to ban sales of some cars made by Porsche, BMW and Nissan, and fine the companies over $5 million as a probe into emissions documentation widens. Seoul began investigating environmentalcertification on imported cars after Volkswagen last year admitted to installing emissions cheating software in some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide. The so-called defeat …