We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. For China’s military, Belgrade embassy bombing was a ‘wake-up’ call … Read more
Essential medicines cost at least three times more than international prices in the Philippines. Nurses are overworked and underpaid. The sick have resorted to camping on hospital sidewalks as they wait to be seen. Teresa Tang sits down with CNA’s Buena Bernal to talk about the state of the healthcare system in the Philippines and … Read more
China frequently calls upon other countries to be “rational”, but it is worth asking whether it is applying the same standard to its own actions. Beijing’s requests for rationality are usually made of countries that China deems to be acting against its interests, and they are often made in the midst of controversies – from … Read more
MANILA: The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday (May 2) it summoned a senior Chinese embassy official over the “harassment of Philippine vessels” in the South China Sea. “The Philippines protested the harassment, ramming, swarming, shadowing and blocking, dangerous manoeuvres, use of water cannons and other aggressive actions of China Coast Guard and … Read more
MANILA: The Philippines will suspend in-person classes in all public schools for two days due to extreme heat and a nationwide strike by jeepney drivers, the country’s education department said on Sunday (Apr 28). Extreme heat has scorched Southeast Asia in recent weeks, prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person operations and authorities to issue health … Read more
MANILA: The Philippines on Saturday (Apr 27) denied a Chinese claim that the two countries had reached an agreement over an escalating maritime dispute in the South China Sea, calling the claim propaganda. A spokesperson at China’s embassy in Manila said on Apr 18 that the two had agreed early this year to a “new … Read more
But the government’s decision to shutter schools was no relief to 13-year-old Nur. Her cramped one-room home in the megacity, shared with her younger brother and parents, feels almost as suffocating as the streets outside. “The heat is intolerable. Our school is shut, but I can’t study at home. The electric fan does not cool … Read more
The US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office also initiated a probe into China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries, alleging that Beijing used “unfair, non-market policies and practices” to dominate these sectors. Henry Gao, a law professor at Singapore Management University, said he would not be surprised if China imposes countermeasures against the proposed tariffs through countervailing … Read more
A PENSIONER barred from moving his Filipino wife into his bungalow says he’s sending her £250-a-month to support her. Twice-divorced John Ball, 78, married “true love” Anita, 60, in September – just months after meeting on a dating app. 6 John Ball sends his wife Anita £250-a-month to support her after she lost her right to a pension … Read more
MANILA : The Philippines’ decision to ramp up ties with Japan and the United States is a “sovereign choice”, its foreign ministry said on Thursday (Apr 18), urging China to “reflect upon its own actions” in the South China Sea. “The source of tension in our region is well known to all,” the foreign affairs … Read more
