South Korea’s Finance Minister, the architect of rules aimed at protecting tenants and slowing deposit increases, has himself been forced to look for a new home as landlords react to the rules by quickly replacing tenants so they can bump up deposits. Hong Nam-ki is also faced with broadening his search as the average deposit where he lives 20 minutes from parliament has soared by a third since his housing rules took effect in July, with the irony of his predicament setting the internet alight. “Worse comes to worst, he can camp by the Presidential Blue House”, right?, one netizen … Continue reading South Korean finance minister made homeless due to his own rules

Thailand has lifted a ban on public gatherings, after an emergency decree failed to end mass anti-government protests in Bangkok, a government statement said it was revoking the measures as the “serious situation” had eased. The move comes after protesters gave Prime Minister Chan-ocha three-days to step down or face more rallies, Thailand has now faced months of large democracy protests targeting the premier and the king. The student-led movement is demanding the resignation of Mr Prayuth, a former general who seized power in a 2014 coup and last year became prime minister after a controversial vote, they want a … Continue reading Public gathering ban lifted in Thailand after days of protests

Sir James Dyson has agreed to sell his Singapore penthouse at a loss, just one year after buying it. Singapore’s Business Times reported that he accepted an offer for $62m Singapore dollars ($47m; £36m) from US-based billionaire Leo Koguan, the sale price is lower than the reported purchase price of S$73.8m. Sir James bought the luxurious flat said to be Singapore’s largest last year after announcing he was moving Dyson’s headquarters to the city state. The company is best known for vacuum cleaners, air purifiers and hair dryers, Dyson also considered building an electric car factory in Singapore, before pulling … Continue reading Sir James Dyson to sell Singapore penthouse at a loss

Thailand has blocked access to online petition site Change.org, after it hosted a petition calling for King Maha Vajiralongkorn to be declared persona non grata in Germany. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society said the petition’s contents violated Thailand’s Computer Crime Act. King Vajiralongkorn has been criticised by protesters for spending much of his time in Germany. The petition attracted nearly 130,000 signatures before the site was blocked, it comes as Thailand is seeing some of its biggest pro-democracy protests in years, protesters are demanding amendments to the constitution, a new election and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth … Continue reading Thailand blocks Change.org as petition against king gains traction

The United States Department of State on Wednesday formally warned international financial institutions doing business with individuals deemed responsible for China’s crackdown in Hong Kong that they could soon face sanctions. In a report to Congress seen by Reuters, the State Department named 10 individuals all of whom have already been sanctioned, including Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam and said within 60 days it would identify financial institutions that conduct significant transactions with them. It was the latest US response to China’s actions in Hong Kong, including the enactment of a new national security law this year that Washington … Continue reading Hong Kong protests: US warns banks they could face sanctions

The death of a three-month-old baby separated from her jailed mother despite pleas to keep the pair together has shocked the Philippines. Reina Mae Nasino, a human rights worker, didn’t know she was pregnant when she was arrested last year in Manila, she put her missed period down to the stress of a night-time police raid in which she was arrested, alongside two fellow activists, it was only during a medical examination in prison that the 23-year-old found out she was in her first trimester. The death of Ms Nasino’s newborn last week, less than two months after the baby … Continue reading Anger over death of baby separated from jailed mother in Philippines

Singapore diners have jumped at the opportunity to have lunch on a stationary Airbus A380 parked at the city’s main airport, despite a price tag of up to $496 (£380), the first two seating dates sold out within half an hour. The airline has added two more dates, with diners signing onto a waitlist for lunch and dinner sittings. Singapore Airlines is one of many carriers looking for new business models to make up for lost revenues, the airline currently plans to use two Airbus A380 aircraft for each three-hour session. Each one will be half full to help adhere … Continue reading Singapore Airlines sells out meals on parked plane

South Korean K-pop group BTS is facing a backlash in China over comments a member made about the Korean War, in a speech, the band’s leader, known as RM, mentioned South Korea’s shared “history of pain” with the US over the 1950-53 conflict, in which the two countries fought together, but his remarks have angered Chinese social media users, as Beijing backed the North in the war. The controversy also appears to have affected commercial deals, adverts featuring BTS from companies including Samsung, sports brand Fila and car manufacturer Hyundai disappeared from a number of Chinese websites or social media … Continue reading BTS in trouble in China over Korean War comments

A grid failure has caused a widespread power outage in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, and surrounding areas, authorities said, power cut across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region due to grid failure, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) agency said on Twitter on Monday. The rare occurrence disrupted train services in the city of 20 million, Mumbai’s intra-city and suburban trains are used by more than seven million commuters on normal days, a senior railway official in Mumbai told local ANI news agency that trains on the city’s Harbour Line had resumed while they were trying to restore services on others, … Continue reading India’s Mumbai city hit by widespread power outage

A turf war between criminal armed groups in Rohingya camps in southern Bangladesh has killed at least eight people and forced thousands to flee following clashes in recent days, police and humanitarian workers said, authorities on Thursday said they have arrested 12 people after days of gunfire, arson, and abductions by gangs competing for dominance in the sprawling camps, the world’s largest refugee settlement. The camps in Bangladesh host a million mainly-Muslim Rohingya since 2017 when a sweeping military crackdown forced more than 730,000 of them to flee their homes in Myanmar, a tense situation is prevailing there, Rafiqul Islam, … Continue reading Several people killed in gang war at Rohingya camps in Bangladesh

Firefighters in South Korea are struggling to completely put out a fire at a 33-storey tower block in the southern South Korean city of Ulsan, local media said. Hundreds were forced to evacuate and more than 80 people were sent to hospital for smoke inhalation, the blaze reportedly started at about 23:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Thursday and was spread by high winds. On Friday morning, it had still not been completely extinguished, the South Korean news agency said strong winds made it difficult to control the fire. The fire broke out between the 8th and 12th floors of … Continue reading Fire continues to burn at South Korea tower block

Workers in Indonesia are protesting for the third straight day after a new job creation law was passed this week, thousands have taken part in strikes and demonstrations in several cities, with hundreds detained by the police, protesters are worried that the so-called “omnibus law” will hurt both workers and the environment, but the government says the changes are needed to help its economy which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Demonstrations have gathered steam in the capital Jakarta and other cities such as Bandung on Wednesday and Thursday, after relatively peaceful protests earlier in the week. Indonesian … Continue reading Thousands protest against ‘omnibus law’ on jobs in Indonesia