• Facebook looking to partner with Samsung to boost mobile advertising sales

  With the growing mobility of internet, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed potential partnership with Samsung company's president Shin Jong Kyun during Mark Zuckerberg's Asia tour. According to Bloomberg report, the partnership would reportedly focus on advancing mobile-advertising sales. Facebook has been strongly encouraging advertising on mobile. In April, Facebook Home had been ...

• Asian assets hammered on China fears

  Tokyo - Asian markets buckled badly on Thursday after the Federal Reserve heralded an eventual end to free money and China turned the screw on credit even as factory activity in the world's second largest economy hit a nine-month ...

• Indonesia chides Singapore over reactions on haze situation

  Indonesia on Thursday accused Singapore of"behaving like a child" by complaining about severe haze from raging forest fires on Sumatra island that has cloaked the ...

• 148 forest hot spots detected in Indonesias Riau province

  The number of the hot spots in Riau increased to 148from 106 on June 18, indicating that the forest and plantation fires in theprovince have spread to a wider ...

• Service centre planned to help SMEs access Asean markets

  Thailand's Commerce Ministry's Trade Negotiations Department will forge closer ties with the private sector and other organisations to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) penetrate Asean markets. Director-general Piramol Charoenpao said his department in cooperation with private enterprises, financial houses, educational and research institutions, and legal and accounting ...

• NZ shares join Asia-wide rout

  Source: Photos.com New Zealand shares fell, joining an Asia-wide rout after the Federal Reserve signalled an end to bond buying, weak Chinese manufacturing figures and economic growth at home that missed expectations. Chorus, Diligent Board Member Services and Westpac Banking Corp paced the slide. The NZX 50 Index fell 49.62 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4395.93. Within the index, 39 stocks ...

• India floods strand thousands more than 100 dead

  LUCKNOW, India (AP) -- Days after floods killed more than 100 people - possibly many more - Indian officials say rescuers are using helicopters and climbing through mountain paths to reach nearly 4,000 people trapped by landslides in a narrow valley near a Hindu shrine in the northern ...

• SKorea adopts tougher penalties for sex offenders

  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea says it's taking tougher action against sex offenders by allowing plaintiffs other than the direct targets of sexual violence to press charges of rape or sexual ...

• Southeast Asia e-tailer Lazada raises $100M in funding

  (Credit: Lazada) Lazada, an online retail sales business focusing on Southeast Asia, announced Wednesday it has raised another $100 million from investors apparently confident of the region's growth potential. The e-commerce site, which bills itself as the "Amazon of Southeast Asia," was launched in early 2012 by Germany's Rocket Internet, which specializes in ...

• Myanmar welcomes ILO decision to lift restrictions

  International Labor Organization to lift all remaining restrictions on the formerly isolated nation will help accelerate trade and foreign investment. The UN agency initially imposed restrictions - which recommended its 185 member nations limit relations - just over a decade ago because of the military regime's use of forced labor. The decision on Wednesday cited progress by President Thein ...

• Mandela International Day launched

  Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (NMCM) on Wednesday launched the Mandela International Day, even as the anti-apartheid icon spent his 12th day in hospital for a recurring lung problem. Wednesday's event marked the official launch of programmes to celebrate Mandela's 95th birthday July 18, Xinhua reported. July 18 was endorsed in 2009 by the UN General Assembly as Nelson Mandela ...

• Thick haze sweeps through Singapore

  Smoke from forest fires in Indonesia has choked Singapore, prompting authorities here to take precautionary measures following the worsening pollution level in the ...

• Singapore haze at worst yet Malaysia schools shut

  SINGAPORE (AP) -- Singapore urged people to remain indoors amid unprecedented levels of air pollution Thursday as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically. Nearby Malaysia closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some ...

• Royal prank call Australian station tries to halt probe

  Australian radio station involved in the controversial royal prank call that led to the suicide of an Indian-origin nurse at a UK hospital is reportedly trying to block investigation into its conduct. Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said Sydney radio station 2Day FM has applied to the Federal Court for an order to stop ACMA from continuing its investigation into the ...

• The Asian stock markets plunged in line with the US markets

  The appetite for risk remained subdued in the Far East after imploding late Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve maintained its bond-buying program, but Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the FOMC plans to moderate purchases later this year. The foreign currencies remain under pressure after tanking. The Asian stock markets plunged in line with the US markets. The short-term outlook for the ...

• US spying foiled attack in India during CWGThe Obama administration has claimed that more than 50 potential terrorist plots have been busted worldwide since 911 including in India thanks to US surveillance.

  In Berlin, Obama revealed hat he came to office "with a healthy skepticism about how our various programs were structured," and maintained that he has been "able to do is examine and scrub how our intelligence services are ...

• $A does little to deter Asian travellers

  A growing influx of travellers from Asia are flying into Sydney, with Chinese and Singaporean visitor numbers surging during May. The Australian dollar still held above parity with the greenback until last month, but this did little to deter overseas visitors, with international air travel volumes taking off by 5.9 per cent. Meanwhile, Chinese visitor numbers surged by 29.4 per cent in May ...

• Asian stocks down as Fed sees slower bond buys

  A visitor is seen at Tokyo Stock Exchange during a morning trading in Tokyo Monday, June 17, 2013. Asian stocks edged up Monday amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will put off plans to wind down its stimulus program. Tokyo's Nikkei 225, the regional heavyweight, jumped 2.2 percent to 12,960.81, extending Friday's 2.4 percent ...

• Asian firms need to understand politics to succeed experts

  Asian companies will have to reinvent their business strategies and develop long-term plans in order to be able to take the advantage of the surge in the region's economy, experts have said. In addition to the improvement of marketing strategies, companies should also understand the highly dynamic local political situation in the region to achieve success. Takumi Shibata, ...

• Asia Markets Asia stocks take double hit from Fed China data

  HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks fell Thursday as data showed Chinese manufacturing activity deteriorating further in June, adding to the selling pressure after the Federal Reserve signaled it may wind down its bond purchases if the U.S. economy continued to ...

• Asian Markets Trade Sharply Lower

  markets are mostly trading sharply lower on Thursday, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks tumbled overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at winding up its stimulus program by mid-2014.The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower with investors pressing heavy sales almost across the board.Financial, mining, energy, industrial, consumer discretionary and property trusts ...

• China jails 11 for extremist crimes in Muslim west

  BEIJING -- China says it has sentenced 11 people for inciting religious extremism and related crimes in the northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang.The sentences handed down Wednesday come shortly before the July 5 anniversary of the bloodiest recent ethnic rioting in the region four years ago.The Justice Ministry's official newspaper Legal Daily said Thursday that Aihetaimu Heli was given ...

• Top Asian companies more optimistic but sentiment in Thailand sags

  Asia's top companies have become more optimistic about their business outlook with the retail and shipping industries rebounding sharply in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest Thomson Reuters/Insead Asia Business Sentiment Survey. Thailand's sentiment index dropped to an all-time low of 42 from 60 in the survey. The Asia Business Sentiment Index climbed 6 points ...

• India Second Asian Nation To Get Google Store

  Android bites a MacBook. Tastes like chicken. Not to be outdone by smartphone rival Apple, Google has taken to create their own stores and will have a foot in one of the biggest mobile markets in the world -- India -when it partners with Singapore-based Spice Global to open Android Nation in New Delhi's Select Citywalk Mall later this ...

• REPEAT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks tumble on weak China PMI Fed policy plan

  Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:03pm EDT * MSCI Asia ex-Japan slides 2.8 pct to 9-month low * U.S. Treasury yields hit 15-mth high, underpin dollar * China "flash" PMI hit 9-month lows * Asian credit market spreads widen 23 points By Chikako Mogi TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares tumbled to nine-month lows on Thursday as slowing Chinese manufacturing activity exacerbated sentiment already ...

• One killed 5 injured in helicopter crash in Nepal

  police official said the helicopter belonging to local Fishtail Air crashed on Wednesday evening near Muchu village. That's about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north west of the capital, Katmandu. The injured were flown by a rescue helicopter to the nearest town for treatment. It was not clear why the helicopter crashed, but it had been raining in the area for the past few days and visibility ...

• Syria opposition vows to fight on to topple president Bashar al-Assad

  United Nations to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces in rebel-held areas, and said it "reserves the right to use all means at its disposal" to topple Assad. "The Assad regime has continuously killed civilians using ballistic missiles, chemical weapons and warplanes. It is the only source of terrorism ...

• Asia Roundup Mostly down ahead of US Fed decision

  Asian markets were mostly lower yesterday, Wednesday June 19 2013 with focus on the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the trading day, but Tokyo enjoyed another rally as data showed a surge in exports thanks to a weaker yen. Wall Street again provided a healthy cue, with investors betting the Fed will stop short of reeling in its ';quantitative easing'; bond-buying ...

• Lamphier Canada needs economic pipeline to Asia

  Protesters against Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline gather outside the joint review final argument hearings in Terrace on Monday. The joint review panel on the project sits through June ...

• Rockets Lazada gets $100 million in bid to be Southeast Asias Amazon

  (Reuters) - Lazada, the Southeast Asian online retail company founded by Germany's Rocket Internet Gmbh, has secured another $100 million from investors in its bid to lift the region from its status as an e-commerce ...

• Pilgrims stranded by floods in India deaths could rise

  June 19, 2013: People gather to look at submerged buses and trucks in the rising Yamuna River as they stand on a flyover in New Delhi, India. Indias prime minister said Wednesday that the death toll from flooding this week in the northern state of Uttrakhand had surpassed 100 and could rise ...

• Protesters out again in Brazilian citiesScattered street demonstrations popped up around Brazil Wednesday as protesters continued their collective cry against the low-quality public services they receive in exchange for high taxes and rising prices.

  SAO PAULO: Scattered street demonstrations popped up around Brazil Wednesday as protesters continued their collective cry against the low-quality public services they receive in exchange for high taxes and rising prices. In one of several protests, about 200 people blocked ...

• Obama wants to cut nuclear armsPresident Barack Obama wants to reduce deployed nuclear weapons by up to a third and revive negotiations with Russia to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures he said in a speech on Wednesday in Berlin.

  nuclear weapons by up to a third and revive negotiations with Russia to "move beyond Cold War nuclear postures", he said in a speech on Wednesday in Berlin. "After a comprehensive review I have determined that we can ensure the security of America and our allies, and maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent, while reducing our deployed strategic nuclear weapons by up to ...

• UK deputy speaker held again over new gay rape charges

  Nigel Evans , already under arrest for alleged rape and sex assault, has been held on suspicion of three more counts of indecent assault on young men. The 55-year-old MP answered bail on Wednesday at Preston police station in the north-west of England following his arrest in May on suspicion of rape and sexual assault and was told that he faced the additional allegations. All the claims involve ...

• Chinese military under pressure after Xis cleansing drive

  People's Liberation Army and armed police has come under pressure in China to curb extravagant lifestyles and corrupt practices of some officers following a diktat issued by the country's ...

• 11-yr-old fathers child with 36-yr-old woman

  MELBOURNE: An 11-year-old boy in New Zealand has become a father after conceiving a child with the 36-year-old mother of a school friend. The woman coerced the boy, from Auckland, into repeated sexual encounters over a period of time before becoming pregnant, the New Zealand Herald daily reported. The woman gave the boy beer to drink and then later took part in a sexual encounter with him, the ...

• U.S. senators seek cost cuts for F-35 fighter jet

  WASHINGTON -- Senators sought cost-cutting opportunities Wednesday in the Pentagon's $400 billion program for the next-generation F-35, a fighter jet with a troubled testing record that military leaders said America couldn't afford not to build. Chairing the hearing, Sen. Dick Durbin lamented that the F-35 -- which is being tested at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas -- already has ...

• Brazil middle-class anger turns to Fifa cups

  Fifa boss Joseph Blatter is the most hated person in Brazil today. With his caustic comments on the ongoing protests in several cities across the country, Blatter has provoked young demonstrators and might have added to the problems of Brazilian governors and federal government. On Tuesday, as thousands of people were rallying here against the bus fare hikes and public spending on 2014 World Cup ...

• Dolce and Gabbana get jail for $268m tax dodge

  ROME: An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced fashion house duo Dolce & Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion of 200 million ($268 million). They were also ordered by the court in Milan to pay a fine of 500,000 to Italy's national tax agency. Lawyers for Dolce and Gabbana, whose celebrity clients include Beyonce and Madonna, immediately said they will appeal, ...

• Ghost tale becomes best seller in atheist China

  BEIJING: A novel with a ghost as the narrator has become a best seller in China, attracting orders of nearly a million within days of its release. The popularity of the novel, 'The Seventh Day', is surprising because China's Communists have battled superstitious beliefs in ghosts and afterlife for over five decades. It is becoming popular become the novel taps into public anger ...

• Brazil rolls back subway bus fare hike

  Beginning as protests against bus fare hikes, the demonstrations have quickly ballooned to include broad middle-class outrage over the failure of the government to provide basic services and ensure public ...

• World Briefing | Asia Muslim Women Sentenced to Hard Labor in Myanmar

  A court in Myanmar has found two Muslim women guilty of setting off a recent outbreak of sectarian violence, one of them by bumping into a Buddhist novice monk. Myint Thein of the pro-government National Unity Party, who attended their trial, said Wednesday that the two women in the central township of Okkan were convicted of ...

• Asian mkts fall on Bernanke comments China data eyed

  US stocks tumbled more than 1 per cent on Wednesday and benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield surged 17 basis points to 2.355 per cent, its highest in 15 months, while the dollar advanced broadly on the back of rising yields. Bernanke said on Wednesday the US economy is expanding strongly enough for the Fed to begin slowing the pace of its $85 billion monthly purchases of Treasuries and ...

• More From Mad Mad World

  "Happy Birthday to You," the ditty sung around the world in tribute to everyone from toddlers to centenarians, belongs to the public, according to a lawsuit filed ...

• Rail Gains Popularity for Asia-Europe Trade

  Slow-steaming by shipping lines, the shift of production centers in China inland and the easing of customs barriers in Eastern Europe are rapidly opening up overland transport routes between Asia and Europe.Trans-Russia routes from China into Eastern Europe and the ancient Silk Road via Kazakhstan are all seeing rising volumes. Forwarders claim ...

More Asia News