In the third quarter, Indonesia experienced its first downturn in more than two decades and millions of people lost their jobs over the past year as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the largest economy in Southeast Asia. As household consumption dropped while spending also fell in the third quarter, official statistics shows, the gross domestic product ( GDP) shrank by a …

TAIPEI – Taipei on Tuesday established the ASEAN parliamentary friendship group with the aim of building closer ties with the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote regional peace, economic development and trades. According to the head of Taiwan-ASEAN Parliamentary Friendship Association, Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), the establishment of the …

METRO MANILA – Kapamilya actress Julia Barretto revealed that she’s in a new relationship. On an Mega Entertainment (November issue), Julia confirmed that she’s inlove however she did not disclose any information as to who is the guy she’s inlove with. Julia said that she learned her lesson on relationship being publicized. View this post on Instagram #JuliaBarretto gets real. …

METRO MANILA – President Duterte said on Monday that expect a lot of dismissals, suspensions as well as prosecutions as swore to o clean up the bureaucracy before the year ends. Duterte, In a government’s typhoon response briefing said that several officials from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) will …

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian authorities reported 12 new Covid-19 deaths today, a record in the past 24 hours, all in Sabah, with 1,054 new cases, bringing its total infection to 34,393 and 263 deaths. According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah during a press conference on the daily Covid-19 update, the 14-year-old foreigner who died had underlying tuberculosis and …

KUALA LUMPUR – PAS MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh today retracted and issued an apology in the Parliament today over his controversial statement about alcohol consumption and the Bible being “distorted or altered”. The lawmaker from PAS, who made the statement in the Dewan Rakyat last August, said he had no intention of hurting the feelings of Christians when he …

As one of the major greenhouse gas emitters in the world, Indonesia is turning to green finance markets to support new construction ventures that it promises will be environmentally and socially sustainable. The country joins a rising number of developing countries in issuing these green and sustainable bonds, aiming to cater to foreign buyers who are ecologically and socially responsible. …

The Office of the Judiciary insisted that it behaved in compliance with proper protocols, after four anti-government leaders were released.  Suriyan Hongwilai, the judicial spokesperson, said the lawsuits had not yet entered the justice system, so his decision to turn down a police order to apprehend opposition leaders for a third time was in accordance with universal legal norms. It …

METRO MANILA – Moody’s Investors Service said on Monday that Philippines may suffer the negative consequences of expensive payment as early as next year. In a research note which explored a scenario of a prolonged dollar weakness, Moody’s Investors Service said that it threatens to further deteriorate the fiscal house of Asian economies especially for countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka …

Critics had the chance to slam the suggestion by a Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) deputy leader to hold a referendum for two years to ban political rallies, arguing it would breach the rights of people and just escalate the continuing conflict. Paiboon Nititawan, who said it would allow the economy to rebound and avoid tensions from escalating, floated the proposal. …