Protesters in Hong Kong gathered to support the use of laser pointers in demonstrations after a university student leader was arrested for buying and carrying laser pointers. Police had sought to justify the arrest of Keith Fong, head of the Baptist University student union, by showing how one of the lasers could burn through newspaper. Fong was arrested on suspicion of carrying offensive weapons
Continue reading...Category Archives: Asia Pacific
Family of British girl Nora Quorin missing in Malaysia remain hopeful
Police not ruling out foul play after Nora Quorin, 15, disappeared from cottage
The family of a British girl missing in Malaysia have said they remain hopeful, as police leading the investigation refused to rule out a “criminal element” in her disappearance.
Nora Quoirin, 15, from London, vanished from the Dusun forest eco-resort, in southern Negeri Sembilan state, on Sunday.
Continue reading...European stock markets rise as US-China standoff eases – business live
- Markets cheered by US assurances, despite weaker yuan
- German industrial slump raises recession fears
- Halifax: UK House prices fall for second month
The pound is declining again today and is trading close to two-year lows versus the dollar and the euro. It is down 0.21% against the dollar at $1.2145, not far from the 31-month low of $1.2080 reached last week. Against the euro, sterling is 0.12% lower at €1.0855, not far from the 23-month low hit yesterday.
The risk of a no-deal Brexit has increased markedly under Boris Johnson’s government. When he became prime minister a fortnight ago, he said he would take Britain out of the EU at the end of October “do or die”. Investors are also fretting about the possibility of a no-confidence vote in the new Conservative government after the summer recess, or an early general election.
There are many key dates ahead for sterling, but the passing of 5 September without a successful of no confidence in the government will in our view be a further important step along the road of a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.
The mood in financial markets is still fragile. Oil prices have hit a fresh seven-month low as traders worried about the impact of the US-China trade war on the global economy.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell nearly 2% to $58.57 a barrel earlier this morning and is now trading down 0.2% at $58.82 a barrel. Prices have tumbled more than 20% since hitting their 2019 peak in April.
Hong Kong protests: Australia issues travel alert as China warns of worst crisis since 1997
Australia tells tourists there is a risk of violence between protesters and police or ‘criminally linked individuals’
Australians travelling to Hong Kong have been warned to exercise a “high degree of caution” as China said Hong Kong was facing its worst crisis since the former British colony was handed back in 1997.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said: “There is a risk of violent confrontation between protesters and police, or criminally linked individuals, particularly at unauthorised protests.” Ireland, the UK, and Japan have all issued Hong Kong travel warnings since July.
Continue reading...Japanese food store closes after videos of rats browsing its shelves go viral
Footage of rodents running along the top of fridges, down walls and across aisles of FamilyMart shop in Tokyo viewed 5m times
A major convenience store operator in Japan has closed one of its shops and issued an apology after video clips of several rats scurrying across its floor and dropping from its shelves were widely shared online.
FamilyMart, which has 14,000 stores nationwide, said it had closed the store in the busy Tokyo district of Shibuya after users posted clips of at least half a dozen rats inside the shop.
Continue reading...Philippines declares epidemic after dengue fever kills more than 600
Cases have gone up 98% after the government banned a vaccine widely blamed for causing the deaths of children
An outbreak of dengue fever in the Philippines has been declared a national epidemic after causing hundreds of deaths this year in the wake of a government ban on the vaccine.
The country has recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from January through to 20 July this year, 98% more than the same period in 2018, the department of health said. The outbreak has already claimed the lives of 622 people. The group worst affected have been children below the age of 10.
Continue reading...‘Fight for our lives’: Fiji calls world leaders ‘selfish’ as it lays out climate crisis blueprint
Minister says archipelago in grave situation through no fault of its own as he unveils plan for net zero emissions and village relocation
Fiji will introduce one of the world’s most ambitious legislative programs to tackle the climate crisis, and has labelled the global community’s decision to set aside the call for global heating to be capped at 1.5C “grossly irresponsible and selfish”.
In a speech to the Fijian parliament on Wednesday morning announcing the upcoming climate change act, Fiji’s attorney general and minister for economy and climate change, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, called global heating “a fight for our lives and our livelihoods”.
Continue reading...Trump hints he is ready to dig in for long US-China trade war
Tweet in support of US farmers suggests dispute with Beijing could extend well into 2020
Donald Trump has dropped the broadest possible hint that he is ready to dig in for the long term in the Washington’s trade war with China, after the latest escalation in the long-running dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
The US president said he was ready to provide support for US farmers in 2020 should they face pressure from China, as economists at Goldman Sachs said the standoff could continue until after the US presidential election in November 2020.
Continue reading...Hong Kong’s peace prospects recede amid teargas and smoke
As protests intensify it is hard to see how deadlock can end without death or serious injury
Over the last few weeks, protesters in Hong Kong have taken to spraypainting traffic barriers, bridges, police stations and more with the words: “If we burn, you burn with us.”
On Monday, much of the city burned under clouds of teargas, hails of rubber bullets, and fires lit by angry protesters facing off against riot police. Protesters and a group of men brawled on the street, hitting each other with wooden rods and traffic cones. In another neighbourhood, two people were knifed. Three cars rammed through crowds of protesters, injuring one person.
Continue reading...Chinese state media accuse US of ‘destroying international order’ – business live
- Beijing hits back after being branded a currency manipulator by Washington; yuan steadies
- European shares rise after strong German factory orders
Gold has hit a fresh six-year high, rising above $1,473 this morning, after Beijing hit back at Washington’s branding of the country as a currency manipulator.
Asian stock markets were painted red overnight but shares in Europe have stabilised, no doubt helped by the strong factory orders data from Germany this morning. Germany’s Dax has risen 0.46%, France’s CAC is up 0.67%, Spain’s Ibex has edged 0.09% higher and Italy’s FTSE MiB is 0.25% ahead.
UBS, the Swiss investment bank, has sent us its analysis of the impact of the 10% tariff on $300bn of US imports from China threatened by Donald Trump last Friday.
The direct impact of the new tariffs, if implemented, would reduce US GDP by 0.15%, and we estimate Chinese GDP growth in the next 12 months could fall by 0.25–0.5 percentage points as a result, which would push the country’s growth rate below 6% into 2020.
China’s response to recent trade escalations has been relatively measured and we expect a similar reaction this time, with retaliation involving a mix of more tariffs and non-tariff measures. Potential non-tariff measures include a managed depreciation of the yuan to mitigate the trade impact from higher tariffs, penalising select US companies operating in China, and imposing export restrictions on rare earth metals.
There is still time to find a compromise, trade talks between the US and China scheduled for September have not been called off, and investors should also consider potential offsetting factors such as rate cuts by central banks and stimulus in China. Our base case assumes a long, drawn-out negotiation process, during which tensions can occasionally flare up.
An environment of a) rising trade tensions and b) potential stimulus, including falling interest rates, is tricky for investors to navigate. While we ultimately believe that US–China tradetensions will be resolved through negotiations, we think equities may struggle to move markedly higher until there is greater certainty.
Continue reading...China accuses US of ‘deliberately destroying’ world order
Trade war rhetoric ratchets up as Beijing responds to US claim of being ‘a currency manipulator’
China stepped up the trade war rhetoric on Tuesday, accusing the US of “deliberately destroying international order” with “unilateralism and protectionism”.
A day after Washington branded China a currency manipulator in a rapidly escalating trade dispute, China’s central bank said it “deeply regretted” the move by the US and said such behaviour “seriously undermined international rules” and damaged the global economy.
Continue reading...Hiroshima remembers – in pictures
Survivors mark 74th anniversary of atomic bombing of city in second world war with one minute’s silence
Continue reading...Nora Quoirin: Malaysian police expand search for missing Briton, 15
Helicopter and sniffer dogs join search for British teen who disappeared from bedroom at resort on weekend
Police in Malaysia have deployed a helicopter and sniffer dogs in an expanded search for a 15-year-old British girl who disappeared from her bedroom at a nature resort over the weekend.
The district police chief, Mohamad Nor Marzukee Besar, said the operation to find Nora Quoirin, involving more than 150 people, resumed on Tuesday morning, with a helicopter, sniffer dogs and villagers helping in an expanded search through the dense jungle. An earlier mission ending at 3am on Tuesday found no further clues.
Continue reading...Masked Hongkongers dismiss government warnings amid fresh fears of China thugs
Hongkongers stage first press conference to challenge government’s ‘empty rhetoric’ on protests after fresh clashes
Masked Hongkongers have staged their first press conference, calling for the return of power to the people and the pursuit of democracy, as protest groups and authorities attempt to control the narrative of the events that have shaken the city for more than two months.
“Netizens have initiated the citizens’ press conference, to bring the people’s unheard voice to the public and to highlight the repeated condemnations and empty rhetoric presented by the HKSAR [Hong Kong special administrative region] government,” said an unidentified speaker wearing a yellow hard hat, which has become a symbol of the protest movement, accompanied by a sign language translator.
Continue reading...North Korea fires more projectiles, says it may be ‘compelled to seek new road’
Pyongyang says US-South Korea military drills are ‘flagrant violation’ of efforts to reach peace
North Korea has fired two unidentified projectiles into the sea from South Hwanghae province, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The launches came as Pyongyang described Washington and Seoul’s war games as a “flagrant violation” of efforts to reach peace on the Korean peninsula which reflected a lack of “political will” to improve relations.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protesters clash with police and group of armed men
Citywide general strike descends into chaos as officers fire teargas and rubber bullets
Hong Kong protesters have clashed with police and fought off a group of men armed with poles as political unrest continues to roil the city.
A citywide strike accompanied by rallies in seven districts devolved into chaos on Monday evening as thousands of protesters fanned out across the city, occupying roads, disrupting traffic, and vandalising police stations and other public buildings.
Continue reading...Hong Kong protests: fights break out and police fire teargas – video
Chaos erupted on the streets of Hong Kong on Monday as the city entered its ninth consecutive week of anti-government protests. In North Point, protesters clashed with a group of men carrying sticks, while riot police deployed teargas in various parts of the city to disperse demonstrators
Continue reading...Nora Quoirin: Malaysian police deny case treated as possible abduction
Police contradict charity helping family of London schoolgirl found to be missing on holiday
Malaysian police have denied that the disappearance of a 15-year-old London schoolgirl is being treated as a possible abduction, contradicting a statement from a charity supporting her family.
Nora Quoirin, who has special needs, is the daughter of an Irish-French couple who have lived in London for about 20 years. She went missing while on holiday with her family at the Dusun resort in a nature reserve near Seremban, 40 miles south of the capital, Kuala Lumpur. The resort is adjacent to the 4,000-acre (1,600-hectare) Berembun forest reserve.
Continue reading...Violence, strikes and chaos as protests sweep Hong Kong – in pictures
For the ninth consecutive weekend pro-democracy protesters rallied on the streets of Hong Kong against a controversial extradition bill. As clashes between protestors and police became more violent, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, apologised for introducing the extradition bill and declared it ‘dead’. However protesters – who are calling for Lam’s resignation and for the complete withdrawal of the bill – continued to draw huge crowds
Continue reading...Suburb in the sky: how Jakartans built an entire village on top of a mall
Depending who you ask, Cosmo Park is an ingenious urban oasis or an ill-conceived dystopia
It’s Thursday and the residents of Jakarta’s Cosmo Park are out jogging, watering their plants or walking their dogs along neat asphalt roads.
Neighbourhood kids pedal their bikes under frangipani trees and peach-coloured bougainvillea to the pool and tennis court. Apartments, comfortable and modern, sit side by side, with barbecues and toys stacked outside.
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