GUANGZHOU – China stands ready to deepen cooperation with other APEC economies on cross-border e-commerce, green trade and agricultural product market access to expand opportunities through inclusive opening and pragmatic collaboration, said a senior customs official on Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting during the First Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings of APEC China 2026 in Guangzhou, capital of South China’s Guangdong province, Zhao Zenglian, vice-minister of the General Administration of Customs, highlighted growing pressures on global and regional supply chains. Zhao said that in response to common challenges, customs authorities of all APEC economies should enhance regulatory transparency, strengthen…
Author: Asia News Network
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s officials and diplomatic figures said the country may withdraw from the Board of Peace if the US-backed diplomatic initiative fails to advance Palestinian independence. The remarks came after President Prabowo Subianto’s two-day engagement with political, religious and foreign policy stakeholders to clarify Jakarta’s stance and manage domestic sensitivities over its participation in the board. After a meeting on Feb 3 with leaders of Islamic community organisations at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Foreign Minister Sugiono, who was present, said Indonesia would leave the Board of Peace if its core goals – including Palestinian independence – were not…
SINGAPORE – An AirAsia flight from Vietnam to Thailand was disrupted when an intoxicated passenger stripped down to his underwear during the flight and attempted to leave the aircraft shortly after landing, according to a witness and local reports. The incident is said to have happened on Jan 29 aboard an Airbus A320 travelling from the Vietnamese coastal city of Cam Ranh to Thai capital Bangkok. The incident, relayed by Ms Piaporn Chamsrio, a passenger on the flight, was said to have begun about 15 minutes before landing, with the man, who appeared to be inebriated, becoming agitated and walking…
DHAKA – Alarmed, she wrote: “Getting seriously worried about … [name withheld] bhai’s well-being. Your views do not need to align with his in order to be concerned for his safety, especially in these dire times. If you recognise this person in the screenshot, or have any way to reach him, please step forward and take legal action.” By the time this report was filed, the post drew over 10,000 reactions — 8,500 of them “haha,” signalling mockery rather than concern. While social media users agreeing or disagreeing with a post may react with “like,” “love,” or “haha”, a closer…
LAHORE – After years of silence, Basant returns, and Lahore’s kites wait — patient, hopeful, and ready to lift the city’s spirit once more. In the ancient city of Lahore, where the Ravi river whispers secrets to the minarets of the Badshahi Mosque, spring arrives not with a gentle sigh, but with a sudden, jubilant roar. When the winter’s fog finally yields to the sun’s warm gaze, the skies above the walled city awaken. Kites (‘patangs’) burst upward from rooftops, their paper bodies trembling, their tails slicing the blue sky like calligraphy in motion. This is Basant: a centuries-old festival…
HO CHI MINH – In recent years, many general education schools in HCM City have proactively integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into teaching and learning, either through dedicated AI lessons or by applying the technology to innovate teaching methods across subjects. The approach has delivered encouraging results, enabling students to gain early exposure to emerging technologies and develop digital thinking. It also lays an important foundation for the city to advance comprehensive digital transformation and promote the widespread application of digital technologies and AI in education and training, in line with the Politburo’s Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in education and…
NEW DELHI – Indian exporters expressed relief after US President Donald Trump announced a sharp tariff reduction on Indian goods, even as the deal triggered political controversy domestically over whether India had conceded far too much on ties with Russia and oil imports. Mr Trump announced on Feb 2 that the United States would reduce the tariff on Indian goods from 50 per cent, among the highest imposed on any country, to 18 per cent. He said that India, in return, had “agreed” to stop buying Russian oil, increase oil purchases from the US and Venezuela, and buy US$500 billion…
BEIJING – On Jan 22, Chinese space start-up InterstellOr created a buzz on Chinese social media when it announced plans to send tourists to suborbital space in 2028 – at a cost of 3 million yuan (S$549,000) a ticket. The flight is expected to last about 2½ hours and reach the Karman line, 100km from earth, that defines where space begins. More than 20 people have reportedly signed up for the potentially historic mission, including a power grid engineering expert, Mr Li Licheng; the chief marketing officer of Shanghai-based robotics firm AgiBot Qiu Heng; and actor Huang Jingyu. InterstellOr is…
SEOUL – Bae Hyun-jin (not her real name), 46, is an activist who openly opposes South Korea’s private education culture. Yet she carries a secret. She currently spends about 2 million won ($1,380) a month on private tutoring for her high-school-aged son, hoping like most Korean parents that he can get into an elite university. Her spending amounts to more than half of South Korea’s average monthly salary of 3.73 million won. While publicly criticizing a society “sickened by private education,” Bae finds herself trapped in a dilemma: In a country where the university someone goes to still largely determines…
SINGAPORE – Asia Pacific’s richest families are grappling with the balancing act of growing their wealth while protecting it, even as they are enticed by artificial intelligence as the next growth catalyst. A new survey report of 60 leading family offices released on Feb 3 paints a picture of the region’s richest clans at a critical inflection point as the next few years will see the greatest transfer of wealth from founders to the younger generation. But many are ill-prepared, the report said. Families are grappling with a shift from growth to wealth protection, while at the same time being…