Global rice markets are in crisis amid ‘artificial’ shortage

Rice is a crucial staple for over half the global population and the world is bracing for its most significant shortage in 20 years. India’s export ban on rice is reverberating through global rice markets, threatening food security if developing nations cannot afford or access rice. “The only shortage out there right now would really … Read more

Tencent-backed J&T Express fell in Hong Kong IPO debut

Courier handing over package asking female customer to do electronic signature, delivering, receiving, efficiency 10’000 Hours | Digitalvision | Getty Images Shares of Indonesia’s J&T Express fell 1.33% when it went public on Friday. The logistics service provider traded at 11.84 Hong Kong dollars ($1.51) on Friday morning, after opening at HK$12. The HK$3.92 billion … Read more

Four Bhutanese para-athletes leave for China to participate in 4th Asian Para Games at Hangzhou

Thimphu [Bhutan], October 19 (ANI): Four Bhutanese para-athletes have left for China to participate in the 4th Asian Para Games at Hangzhou which will start on Sunday, The Bhutan Live reported. The four para-athletes will take part in air rifle, recurve archery, badminton and shot put. As many as 4,000 athletes from 43 National Paralympic … Read more

Indonesia launches China-backed ‘Whoosh’ high-speed railway

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train named ‘Whoosh’ is seen after the inauguration at Padalarang station in Padalarang, West Java on October 2, 2023. Bay Ismoyo | Afp | Getty Images Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday inaugurated a $7.3 billion high-speed railway connecting the country’s capital with the city of Bandung, a China-backed project that has … Read more

Myanmar won’t be allowed to lead ASEAN in 2026, in blow to generals

Philippine’s President Ferdinand Marcos, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thailand’s Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sarun Charoensuwan, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, Laos’ Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and East Timor’s Prime Minister … Read more

Indonesia’s China-backed high-speed train sparks concerns of debt trap

Indonesia is starting trial runs for its first high-speed train, which will connect the capital Jakarta to a neighboring city of Bandung, after years of delays and cost overruns plagued the project. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images A $7.3 billion high-speed electric rail line between Indonesia’s two biggest cities is set to be launched … Read more

Asia food inflation fears rise as rice prices surge

An undated stock photo of a market stall with piles of many varieties of Vietnamese rice in Ho Chi Minh city grocery. Vietnam is one of the largest exporters of quality rice, Asia’s most important staple food. Bicho_raro | Istock | Getty Images A perfect storm may be brewing in Asia. Rice prices surged to … Read more

A ban ends dog and cat meat trade in Sulawesi

The Tomohon Extreme Market was once a top tourist attraction in the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi — a live animal market filled with everything from fileted pythons to skewered bats and rats. But the market drew international condemnation in 2018 after animal activists shot videos of dogs and cats being brutally beaten and blowtorched … Read more

India have slowly started dominating in Asian Games, CWG: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

New Delhi [India], August 4 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics in shooting (double trap), said that India have started dominating in the big multi-sports events like Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. India’s campaign at the Commonwealth Games 2022 officially ended, with … Read more

Central banks in Asia could soon diverge from the Federal Reserve: Nomura

A food stall in Gwangjang Market in Seoul as South Korea’s central bank is seen to be among the first in the region to cut its benchmark interest rate. Francois Lochon | Gamma-rapho | Getty Images Central banks in Asia could start cutting rates earlier than the Federal Reserve, economists at Nomura predicted. A dovish … Read more