South Korea to announce new sanctions on North

Seoul/ AFP South Korea will soon announce its own tougher sanctions on North Korea, an official said on Sunday, a move set to further heighten tensions as Seoul and Washington begin their largest-ever joint military exercise. The new measures—following Wednesday’s decision by the UN Security Council to slap unprecedented sanctions on the North—will be announced this week, a Seoul government ...

Read More »

Maldives’ young democracy sliding back to autocracy

COLOMBO / AP With most opposition leaders in jail or exile, public protests tightly controlled and courts rendering verdicts decried for lack of due process, the Maldives has nearly slid back to where it was eight years ago: an autocratic state that quashes dissent. Since assuming power in this Indian Ocean archipelago nation of luxurious seaside resorts just over two ...

Read More »

Philippines waits for UN response on N Korean ship

Manila / AFP The Philippine coastguard said it was closely watching a North Korean vessel and its 21 crew members on Sunday, as officials waited for a response from the United Nations days after the ship was seized in compliance with new sanctions. The 6,830-tonne cargo ship, the Jin Teng, is being held at Subic port, northeast of Manila, where ...

Read More »

2 yrs on, MH370 kin want search extended

Kuala Lumpur / AFP Families devastated by the loss of flight MH370 vowed on Sunday never to quit fighting for answers in the aviation mystery and said the huge search for the Malaysia Airlines plane should continue until something is found. Families gathered for a poignant ceremony in Kuala Lumpur ahead of Tuesday’s second anniversary of the jet’s disappearance and ...

Read More »

Back in captain’s seat

He admits he took his eye off the ball: in hindsight, a bad move. And the airline empire he had created from practically nothing paid the price, said AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes. “I was getting a bit tired (of running the airline) so I backed off, watched football and did all those other things. I was on my way to ...

Read More »

Australia’s fashion opening in Beijing

Last month the editor in chief of Vogue China got me thinking. I had never before put “fashion” and “China” in the same column. When I talk with friends about shopping destinations in Asia the list will run from Hong Kong to Singapore to Tokyo or Kuala Lumpur before anyone even contemplates Shanghai. Angelica Cheung admits China was late to ...

Read More »

Agricultural transformation in South Asia

A 2013 report of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) shows that 51 per cent of South Asia’s 1.6 billion people are directly engaged in agriculture and 42 per cent of South Asia’s landmass is under agricultural operation. The fact that only 20 per cent of South Asia’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated through ...

Read More »

Emirates Securities Market up by 2.64 percent

ABU DHABI / EMIRATES BUSINESS The Emirates Securities Market Index has increased by 2.64% to close at 4535.32 points. Accordingly the Market Capitalization has gained AED 18.9 billion attaining AED 735.69 bIllion. A total of 1.52 billion shares were traded with a total value of AED 1.95 billion during the trading session of 2016-03-06 through 16054 transactions. The number of companies which ...

Read More »

Abu Dhabi stocks enter bull market, Mideast gauges high

Bloomberg Abu Dhabi stocks entered a bull market, leading Mideast gauges higher, as rising oil prices added to growing bullish sentiment across global equities. The ADX General Index climbed 3.1 percent at the close, extending the longest winning streak this year and taking gains since a Jan. 21 low to 22 percent. Dubai’s DFM General Index, which entered a bull ...

Read More »

ECB set to increase dose of monetary medicine

Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will almost certainly announce new stimulus measures at its policy meeting next week, analysts said, as eurozone inflation turned negative and the economic outlook continues to cloud over. After disappointing financial markets with what were widely to perceived as half-hearted measures in December, ECB chief Mario Draghi will announce bolder policy moves this time ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend