Latest Southeast Asia News
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UMC Singapore unit expands and puts focus on RD
United Microelectronics (UMC) announced on May 22 that its 12-inch fab in Singapore has turned into a dedicated R&D facility for advanced specialty process ...
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Singapore Economy Posts Surprising Expansion
Singapore on Thursday reported a surprise expansion in its economy in the first quarter, helped by a surge in financial services as trading in stocks and foreign exchange soared. The Southeast Asian city-state, whose economy is heavily dependent on trade, manufacturing and financial services, said gross domestic product expanded 1.8 percent in January-March on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally ...
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Energy officials in Laos look at best practice in hydropower sustainability
Lao government energy officials yesterday met with hydropower experts from around the world to discuss ways to advance sustainable hydropower development. The talks between Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Viraphonh Viravong, his delegation and hydropower experts took place this week during a meeting of the International Hydropower Association (IHA) in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. "We ...
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ADB urges Laos to ensure better land management
The Asian Development Bank has urged the Lao government to strengthen its capacity to manage land and natural resources in order to ensure the sustainable growth of the Lao economy in the longer term. According to the bank's recently released Asian Development Outlook report, the Lao government is experiencing difficulties managing land concessions after allowing private sector investors ...
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Vietnam-France relations edge closer
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday hailed Vietnam's valued relationship with France and declared that the two nations are making efforts to develop their ties to the strategic partnership level in 2013. The PM made the comments at a meeting with the former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who is on an official working visit to the country. Dung declared ...
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Asian movies with Western style
movie s in Taiwan is that I will always see things from a different perspective. My films are about Taiwanese people, but there is a Western sense of humour and film-making style," says the second-generation American. "And there will always be things that only I will notice about the daily lives of Taiwanese, because I find them unique and different. I think the same will happen if I ...
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South Thailands blackout not a reason to build plants
An academic yesterday warned the government against trying to use the recent power blackout in the South as an excuse to push ahead with the construction of more power plants. Several current power-plant projects face opposition from locals. "Various agencies have now given conflicting information, especially in regard to power demand in the South," assistant professor Prasart Meetam ...
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Sri Lanka pile up 425 India 280
Thilan Samaraweera made an unbeaten 137 as Sri Lanka piled up 425 in their first innings against India on the second day of the third cricket Test here ...
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Enjoying a luxury cruise in Southeast Asia
'Here's the plan. We'll eat in the bistro first, have our butler bring us some caviar and then we'll freshen up for dinner."I overheard this conversation in the van shuttling me back to the cruise ship Crystal Symphony from a daylong excursion in Thailand. My fellow passengers and I were set to weigh anchor from Laem Chabang near Bangkok and head to Saigon, our next port ...
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Fitch Upgrades Indonesias BCA Finance to AAA Outlook Stable
Fitch: Recession Concern Dampens European Investor Sentiment An increasing number of investors expect fundamental credit conditions will deteriorate across sectors, according to a Fitch Ratings investor survey. The more circumspect sentiment was most notable for the sovereign segment, where the proportion of survey respondents anticipating worsening conditions more than doubled to 55%, from 24% ...
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Bangladeshi factory collapse volunteers struggle to sleep haunted by rescue trauma
MAMUN was hailed a hero for pulling survivors from the ruins of Bangladesh's Rana Plaza factory complex but now he struggles to sleep, haunted by the memory of sawing off a young woman's hand. "I had never even touched the hand of a woman before but it was the only way to save her and the others," said the 22-year-old in an interview ahead of the one-month anniversary of ...
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Bulog to import additional beef for Idul Fitri holidays
A worker cleans up a cow shed in Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Monday. The Agriculture Ministry's latest data says Indonesia still suffers from a 35 percent deficit on beef, or 135,100 tons, from a total demand of 385,000 tons mainly due to an incomprehensive and unsustainable cattle breeding ...
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Calls mount for disaster risk management for businesses
Paper Edition | Page: 12 Disasters are having a growing impact on businesses. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the Chao Phraya River floods in Thailand have focused attention on the growing impact of disasters on the private sector.Businesses suffer direct losses when they have invested in locating factories, offices, plants, warehouses and other facilities in locations exposed to ...
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Norway RI ties growing stronger Envoy
Paper Edition | Page: 11 Norway may be a faraway country, but interest in the Scandinavian state has been growing among Indonesians, with Norwegians reciprocating that interest, says a Norwegian diplomat.More and more Indonesians are eating Norwegian salmon in restaurants and surprisingly, more Indonesian tourists are visiting Norway. "Last year, Indonesia imported 4,000 tons of Norwegian ...
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Stronger ties as EU-RI celebrate Europe Day
Paper Edition | Page: 10 It was German beer and French wine all around as the European Union (EU) business community in Indonesia and a host of distinguished guests celebrated Europe Day at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday.Europe Day marks the anniversary of a speech given by former French foreign minister Robert Schuman in 1950 that led to the formation of the EU.In his toast, EU ...
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4 sentenced to death for murder of Malaysian cosmetics queen Sosilawati
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Four men accused in the murder of Malaysian cosmetics businesswoman Sosilawati Lawiya and three others were sentenced to death by the High Court here on Thursday. The murder in Tanjung Sepat, Banting in 2010 had dominated the headlines in Malaysia for months. "The prosecution have proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt," said Justice ...
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Lis Pakistan visit signals stronger ties
an official visit to India, Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany , with the first leg in India receiving wide attention from the world's media. Premier Li's visit to Pakistan will also be closely scrutinized, as it immediately follows the country's general ...
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Drone strikes in Pakistan have fallen sharply says report
Ahead of US President Obama's long-awaited address on drones at Washington's National Defence University on Thursday, the New York Times said that drone strikes in Pakistan have fallen sharply since their peak in 2010, perhaps in response to increasing scrutiny of the programme by Congress and the American public. President Obama embraced drone strikes in his first term, and the ...
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Cooling measures drive up car loan interest rates in Singapore
The widely expected rise in interest rates for car buyers has materialised in Singapore, since measures to restrict the amount and tenure of loans were introduced in March to cool the market. As of yesterday, DBS Bank remained the ...
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Rana Plaza was built poorly Bangladesh govt. report reveals
Extremely poor construction materials and violation of construction rules contributed to the collapse of the nine-storey Rana Plaza in Savar, Bangladesh on April 24, revealed a government probe body yesterday.The crash was one of the largest industrial building collapses in the world that claimed 1,127 lives and maimed over 2,000 others.The probe body, formed on April 25 by the home ministry to ...
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Rice imports fall to 16-year low in Bangladesh
Rice imports in Bangladesh hit the lowest in 16 years, thanks to increased domestic production that helped the country become nearly self-sufficient.Bangladesh imported only 27,700 tonnes of rice since the beginning of fiscal 2012-13, down 94 per cent from 515,000 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, according to the food ministry."It reflects that we are close to self-sufficiency in ...
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US admits killing four Americans in drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen
Washington: The US government formally acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday that it had killed four Americans, including militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who died in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan.Attorney General Eric Holder named the dead US citizens in a letter to members of Congress a day before President Barack Obama is expected to promise more transparency on national security ...
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Amnesty Report Highlights Refugee Plight
annual report by Amnesty International cites the increasing number of refugees around the world, and the lack of support for them, as the key human rights issue for the past year. The London-based group also calls the Internet an important tool in fighting human rights abuses, and calls on governments to increase access to it. Amnesty International reports that the number of refugees ...
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Traffic control unit still not running at full tilt
The Traffic Control Center of the Jakarta Transportation Agency monitors city traffic. Despite the sophistication of the facility, the control center lacks the budget and human resources to do its job ...
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Clinics need to learn more about mental disorder problem
Paper Edition | Page: 9 To help reduce the number of mental health cases in the city, doctors at community health clinics (Puskesmas) need to learn psychological symptoms, says psychiatrist Hervita Diatri from the University of Indonesia school of medicine."Seventy percent of suicides in the city happen because of late help from the community to the victims," she told The Jakarta Post ...
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