Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha affirmed that martial law will not be invoked to quench anti-government demonstrations, stating that the new usual steps are adequate to deal with those who breach the law. Asked for martial law, Gen Prayut said he had not considered it and the new laws were adequate to cope with the demonstrators. Following a meeting of the …

This time in Zamboanga City, not even the coronavirus pandemic that emptied shopping centers could deter retail giant SM Supermalls from opening another outlet, as the organization aims to take advantage of travel restrictions to attract shoppers. Sy-led SM Prime Holdings Inc., the consolidated property arm of the SM Group, said in a statement sent to the stock exchange on …

The Department of Tourism condemned the reckless mass assembly of Halloween parties in an institution on the island of Boracay. In view of this, Secretary of Tourism Bernadette Romulo-Puyat previously sent a video showing a Halloween party that took place in Boracay at Casa de Arte, Sitio Cagban, Barangay Manoc-Manoc. Visitors attending the social event were seen not practicing obligatory …

As economic and trade cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has developed, border areas in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China have played an important role in linking China to ASEAN. Despite the pandemic, China’s trade with ASEAN exceeded $500 billion in the first 10 months, according to data from the General Customs Administration. …

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian lawmakers are expected to determine the fate of the country’s largest-ever budget bill as soon as Thursday in what is likely to be a close vote that could overthrow the teetering government of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and prompt snap elections.Muhyiddin was appointed prime minister by the country’s constitutional ruler, Al-Sultan Abdullah, in late February after …

KUALA LUMPUR -Malaysia’s Top Glove, the world’s largest rubber glove manufacturer, said Wednesday that due to an outbreak of the coronavirus, supply disruptions at its factories may drive glove prices up. After nearly 3,000 employees tested positive for the virus, the company said it had shut down 20 of its factories in an area outside Kuala Lumpur in phases since …

The Duterte administration declared that it intends to get 60 to 70 million Filipinos vaccinated against coronavirus in three to five years, with some 35 million inoculation priorities already established. In a Laging Handa briefing, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., the vaccine czar of the country, shared that by mid-2021, mass vaccination could begin in the best case scenario. But he …

Philippine Airlines is planning a major restructuring of its activities, which supposedly involves running to court to request compensation from paying creditors and holding the airline afloat. The declaration of Dominguez was accompanied by that of PAL, which said that a comprehensive plan for recovery and restructuring is ongoing, all but suggesting plans to seek court involvement. Strictly speaking, after …

Asian climate leadership is rising, with three major economies, Japan and South Korea by 2050, and China by 2060, recently promising to decarbonize their economies towards net-zero targets.In particular, our area is exposed to threats from climate change, including increasing sea levels and weather changes that can affect agriculture and food production. One reminder of the vulnerabilities is the recent …

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25-The most recent survey by Transparency International on corruption in Malaysia showed that 71 percent of people here see government corruption entrenched. 67% of Malaysians surveyed, however, believe that the new government is doing a decent job of combating corruption.The Global Corruption Barometer for Asia 2020 by Transparency International, covering 17 nations and 20,000 respondents, was conducted …