ASEAN News

CHINA: After months of brutal Covid lockdowns, China’s economy had its worst quarterly performance in more than two years. The world’s second-largest economy’s gross domestic product grew by just 0.4% in the three months ending June 30 this year compared to the same period last year, according to NBS data released on Friday. Reuters polled economists had predicted a 1% …

CHINA: There has been a strong reaction among the Chinese public to the discovery in Wuhan, China, of a cholera-causing bacteria that was also detected in food market samples taken from softshell turtles. Officials in the area stated late on Thursday that the food market where samples from softshell turtles tested positive for the bacteria that can cause cholera had …

JAPAN: World Athletics has declared that Tokyo will host the 2025 World Athletics Championships, beating out Singapore, Nairobi, and Silesia (Jul 14). Last year’s Olympic Games will be returning to their original location for this year’s JAAF centennial celebration. The 2023 World Athletics Championships will be held in Budapest, according to World Athletics. WADA president Sebastian Coe remarked after the …

JAPAN: As the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Japan, Prime Minister Lee has written to his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida to congratulate him on the LDP’s success. Two days after the killing of a senior LDP member and former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s conservative coalition government extended its majority in the upper house of …

CHINA: A record quarterly profit from Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing pushed the company’s share price to its highest level this year in Tokyo trade on Friday. One-day gains of 8.5% were the most since April 15, and it was expected to conclude at its best level since November 2021. China, Fast Retailing’s most important international market, had severe losses in …

TAIWAN: According to a government official, Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, would need permission from the Taiwanese government to invest in troubled Chinese semiconductor firm Tsinghua Unigroup (Jul 14). According to reports in Taiwan’s media, Foxconn Industrial Internet, a China-listed affiliate of Foxconn, aims to invest 9.8 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) in Unigroup as part of Foxconn’s strategy …

JAPAN: Coronavirus cases appear to be spreading swiftly across Japan, prompting the country’s health ministry to issue a public health alert and urge residents to exercise extra caution ahead of the forthcoming long weekend and upcoming summer school breaks. Japan’s new COVID-19 cases have climbed to levels not seen since early this year, with Tokyo reporting 16,878 new cases on …

SOUTH KOREA: Ioniq 6, Hyundai’s first electric sedan, was unveiled on Thursday, July 14th, and the South Korean automaker hopes it will help them gain market share in the electric vehicle market, which is now dominated by Tesla Inc. More than 31 electric vehicles, including Hyundai Motor, its sister business Kia Corp, and the premium brand Genesis, will be introduced …

SOUTH KOREA: Each day’s COVID For the first time in the past two months, the number of infections in South Korea has surpassed 40,000, and the government has issued a warning about a possible five-fold increase in the months ahead. Han Duck-soo, the prime minister of South Korea, informed a government COVID-19 reaction meeting that between mid-August and late September, …

CHINA: A team of Chinese scientists from Sichuan University in southwest China believes that robot fish that “eat” microplastics could one day assist in cleaning up the world’s filthy oceans. These robots, which are only 1.3 centimeters in diameter, have already begun removing microplastics from shallow water. Wang Yuyan, one of the researchers behind the robot’s development, explained that the …