HCM City / DPA Severe drought in the Mekong Delta has badly affected agriculture and aquaculture, threatening a scarcity of raw materials for seafood exports. Shrimp farmers in Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang and Kien Giang provinces are nervous as their shrimp keep dying because of drought and saltwater intrusion up rivers. “Shrimp farming is so risky,” Sai Gon ...

Jakarta / Bloomberg An Indonesian consortium led by veteran investment banker Agus Projosasmito is in talks to raise $1 billion of debt to back its bid for control of Newmont Mining Corp.’s copper operations in the country, according to the group’s financial adviser. The investor group is in discussions with banks on borrowing $750 million in senior loans and $250 ...

Bangkok / DPA Thailand’s power peak will hit a new record this year when electricity usage is expected to hit 28,500 megawatt, according to an estimate by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand under the assumption that average temperature would rise by 4 percent to 38.5 degree Celcius. The electricity consumption should hit a new peak some time during April ...

Bandar Seri Begawan / DPA The Ministry of Communications is looking to use public-private partnership (PPP) to make the Brunei International Airport on par with the best in the world. Interior refurbishment of the Brunei International Airport will need to be done to make it one of the best in the world,” Mustappa Sirat said at 12th Legislative Council (LegCo) ...

Tokyo / AFP A former Toshiba president has been questioned by Japan’s markets watchdog and may face criminal charges over his alleged involvement in a falsified earnings scandal, reports said on Saturday. The company has been roiled by a profit-padding scandal, in which bosses for years systematically pushed their subordinates to cover-up weak financial figures. Hisao Tanaka was quizzed by ...

BEIRUT / AP Backed by Russian aircraft, Syrian troops pushed towards the historic central town of Palmyra in an offensive to recapture it from the IS group whose fighters have damaged some of the world’s most precious archaeological sites since they overran the town last May. After night fell, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported that the offensive advanced toward ...

WASHINGTON / AFP The United States views a deal by Turkish and EU leaders to curb the influx of migrants into Europe as an “important step,” the State Department said. Under the deal all migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey as early as Sunday will be turned back. “We strongly endorse action to shut down the illegal smuggling operations that ...

BAGHDAD / AFP Iraqi forces have launched a broad offensive to retake the city of Hit from the IS group in the western province of Anbar, a top commander said on Saturday. Led by the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, forces from the police, army and local tribal fighters were making a final push to retake Hit, 145 kilometres (90 miles) west ...

UNITED NATIONS / AP The UN human rights chief said that many people in Burundi are living in “terror” with increasing reports of torture, almost daily grenade attacks, arbitrary arrests and killings while the perpetrators go unpunished. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein told the UN Security Council that “the country remains on the brink of a sudden escalation of violence to ...

SANAA / AFP UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrived on Saturday in Yemen’s rebel-held capital to try to restart peace talks between Iran-backed insurgents and the internationally recognised government. The Mauritanian diplomat met Ali Hajar, a foreign affairs representative of the Houthi rebels, Sanaa airport director Khaled Al Shayef said. It came a day after the UN envoy held ...