SEOUL: On Tuesday, South Korea’s central bank said it expected inflation to be higher than previously forecasted, and that it will examine debt repayment difficulties closely to determine whether a half-percentage-point interest rate hike in July is reasonable. The Bank of Korea, which recently raised its 2022 annual average inflation projection to 4.5 percent from 4.7 percent, said it did …

AUSTRALIA: One of Australia’s least-visited and least-understood places is located in the country’s far north. However, thanks to indigenous entrepreneurs like Fraser Nai, change will be coming. The Torres Strait is a group of 247 islands off the coast of Queensland, close to Papua New Guinea. There are Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Australian Torres Strait Islanders living there. Patty Mills, who …

MALDIVES: A city is rising from the Indian Ocean’s depths. A floating metropolis, large enough to house 20,000 people, is being built in a beautiful lagoon approximately 10 minutes by boat from Male, the Maldivian capital. The city will be built in the shape of brain coral, with 5,000 floating units including housing, restaurants, businesses, and schools, connected by canals. …

SWEDEN: After decades of neutrality, Sweden and Finland agreed to join NATO, the world’s most powerful military alliance, on May 18, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a turning point. The Nordic countries’ bids appeared to be on track to receive the necessary unanimous backing from all 30 NATO members. Then they are thrown a problem: Turkish opposition. President Recep …

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health and the expert committee on COVID-19 vaccinations are now conducting investigations on the efficiency and safety of Moderna and Pfizer’s BioNTech vaccines in children. From the age of six months up to four year olds, the trial will evaluate the use of the aforementioned vaccines. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended COVID-19 …

JAKARTA: Due to concerns from two creditors, the ratification of Garuda Indonesia’s deal to restructure the airline’s more than 9 billion dollar debt has been postponed for a week, according to an administrator. Garuda’s restructuring proposal was approved by the majority of its creditors last week, and the agreement was set to be formalized in a meeting on Monday. The …

MANILA: Considering the challenges that the global economy is facing, the Philippine central bank said that it expects the country’s current account deficits to be larger in 2022 and 2023 than they originally had predicted. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revised its balance of payments (BOP) projections and had estimated a current account deficit of over 19.1 billion dollars …

SINGAPORE: Fish and seafood prices jumped 5.6 percent year over year in April, up from 5.2 percent in March, according to the latest statistics from the consumer price index, which tracks inflation. Sea bass prices also increased, rising from S$11.26/kg in March to S$11.40/kg in April. Singapore imported 134,000 tonnes of fish worth S$760 million in 2020, the majority of …

DOHA: Malaysia Airlines’ chief executive said that the airline aims to announce its decision to replace its fleet of 21 Airbus A330 widebodies with more fuel-efficient new-generation planes in mid-to-late July. Malaysia Airlines CEO Izham Ismail told Reuters at the IATA’s annual convention in Qatar that they are at the end of the process and that they are looking at …

TAIWAN: Buildings in Taipei trembled briefly on June 20 after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan’s eastern coast, but no damage was reported. According to the meteorology office, the quake had a depth of 6.8 kilometres and its epicentre was in Hualien county, a remote area of the island. It was reported that the quake was felt throughout Taiwan. Taiwan …