Asean – Official results indicated Thursday that South Korea’s governing party achieved a landslide win in local elections for mayors and governors of key cities and provinces, giving newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol a considerable boost. Yoon, an outspoken anti-feminist and political newcomer, won the March presidential election by only 0.7 percent — the smallest margin ever — and now …

Asean – The White House announced on Thursday that K-pop idols BTS would visit the White House next week to discuss hate crimes against Asians and people of Asian descent with US President Joe Biden. On Tuesday, Biden will host the worldwide musical sensation and will “explore Asian inclusion and representation, as well as anti-Asian hate crimes and prejudice, which …

Korea – Following President Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration on Tuesday, President Halimah Yacob of Singapore and President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea have reached an agreement to boost the level of bilateral cooperation between their respective countries (May 10). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Singapore released a statement on Tuesday evening saying that the leaders of the two nations …

ASEAN – Officials said a group of foreign policy advisers to South Korea’s president-elect met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday in an effort to restore long-strained relations between the two US allies. At a time when both countries confront dangers from North Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, who took over as South Korea’s president on May 10, has announced …

South Korea – Large number of BTS fans flocked to Seoul on Thursday for the K-Pop singers’ first public performance in the country since the outbreak, despite Covid laws prohibiting them from dancing or singing along. The septet’s three-concert series, dubbed as “Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul,” begins Thursday evening at the capital’s Olympic Stadium. BTS has gone …

Malaysia – The Malaysian men’s team topped Group B and qualified for the semi-finals of the Badminton Asia Squad Championships (BATC) 2022 with a 3-2 victory against a second-string Japanese team. Malaysia, the 2020 runners-up, will face South Korea in the men’s semi-finals, while defending champions Indonesia will face Singapore. Malaysia will square off against defending runners-up South Korea in …

Malaysia – The toss-up between two names for the position of deputy national head coach for the Harimau Malaya side has almost reached its conclusion. FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the list was reduced down by FAM technical director Scott O’Donell after interviewing more than six applicants lately, without divulging the identities of the individuals. He stated that …

South Korea – Today, the daily total number of new coronavirus cases in South Korea surpassed 8,000 for the first time, as the highly infectious Omicron strain spreads swiftly despite the recent expansion of tight social-distancing measures to reduce infection. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) recorded 8,571 cases yesterday, surpassing the previous high of 7,848 in mid-December. The …

South Korea – As worry grows over the development of the extremely contagious Omicron variant, South Korea will begin treating coronavirus patients with Pfizer‘s antiviral medicines on Friday, according to health officials. As stated by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), at least 21,000 Paxlovid pills will be arriving on Thursday and to be distributed to a total of 280 pharmacies and 90 residential …

Japan – Japan’s ambassador to Indonesia has urged Jakarta to lift its recent coal export restriction, which he claims has had a “significant effect” on the world’s third-largest economy. Indonesia exports almost three-quarters of its coal production, with the primary customers being Asia’s economic powerhouses China, Japan, South Korea, and India. However, on January 1, it barred coal exports, citing …