Asia

Searches for crypto exchanges currently blocked in China
14Jun mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Searches for crypto exchanges currently blocked in China

The Chinese government has possibly censored the internt as users are unable to search for popular crypto exchanges.Keywords searches for online trading platforms including Binance, OKEx and Huobi on popular internet services such as Baidu, Sogo, Zhihu, or Weibo are yielding no results. Other media outlets including CoinDesk first reported the possible blockage.The Chinese government has recently renewed a regulatory crackdown on crypto mining and trading, helping send Bitcoin down about 45% since its peak in April.The exchanges that appear to be impacted are some of the largest in the digital-asset world, with Asia-based users being among the earliest adopters. Binance is the world’s biggest crypto platform, with $30 billion in trading volume in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarket...
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Oil steadies after sell-off as US stockpiles rise less than expected
14Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

Oil steadies after sell-off as US stockpiles rise less than expected

Oil prices fell on Thursday after a slump in the previous session, as rising U.S. stockpiles added to concerns about a hit to demand from surging coronavirus infections in Asia and possible U.S. rate hikes. TOKYO -Oil prices steadied on Thursday after a two-day slump, reflecting the world's mixed economic recovery from the pandemic, with U.S. demand expected to keep rising, while a second coronavirus wave raging in India has led to more curbs on movement. Brent crude was up 18 cents, or 0.3per cent, at US$66.84 a barrel by 0527 GMT, having fallen 3per cent on Wednesday. U.S. oil gained 37 cents, or 0.6per cent, to US$63.73 a barrel, after a 3.3per cent drop in the previous session. "U.S. gasoline demand is holding up well ahead of the driving season," ANZ Research said in a note. Al...
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Is bone-breaking surgery to grow taller worth the risk?
13Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, World

Is bone-breaking surgery to grow taller worth the risk?

Limb-lengthening surgery for cosmetic reasons is in demand in India, but it does not always end well, the programme Undercover Asia finds out. DELHI: Hoping to propel his career to greater heights, sales consultant Amit (not his real name) underwent surgery to break his bones and make himself taller. At 1.6 metres, he felt everyone towered over him. With a new job in the United States lined up, he decided to take his chances with orthopaedic surgeon and height-gain specialist Amar Sarin. “There are moments when you feel that there’s no need, and why do you go through all the hassle?” said Amit, 36, who did not want to be identified. “Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong … time will tell. But for your own self-confidence, I think a couple of centimetres shouldn’t hurt.” He had wires in...
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China touts success building a Tibet less focused on religion
13Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, USA, World

China touts success building a Tibet less focused on religion

China’s top leader in Tibet lauded the progress his country has made developing the region, touting an ethnic-assimilation campaign that has fueled international accusations of human rights abuses. “More and more believers have been trained from pursuing a good afterlife to living a good life in this life, and religion has been increasingly compatible with a socialist society,” Wu Yingjie, the Communist Party chief of Tibet, said at a press briefing in Beijing on Saturday. Wu also listed a wide array of ways the ruling party has transformed the region where most people are Buddhist — from building schools and paved roads to improvements in health care — as China marks the 70th anniversary on Sunday of an agreement giving it control of the region. The event puts a renewed focus on Tibet ...
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Stocks set record highs as bond yields slide
13Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

Stocks set record highs as bond yields slide

U.S. bond yields fell to three month lows and a broad gauge of Asian shares rose on Friday as investors saw enough one-off factors in U.S. consumer price data to back the Federal Reserve's conviction that rising inflation will be transitory. NEW YORK/LONDON: European shares, the S&P 500 and an index of global stock performance scaled new peaks while yields on U.S., Japanese and European government debt fell on Friday as investors embraced the easy monetary policies of major central banks. Investor sentiment rose in Europe after the European Central Bank raised its growth and inflation projections on Thursday, and also renewed a pledge to keep stimulus flowing. The pan-regional STOXX Europe 600 index rose 0.7per cent to a record close, posting its sixth straight session of gains and ...
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Thai museum unveils 1,000-year-old artefacts returned from US
12Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, World

Thai museum unveils 1,000-year-old artefacts returned from US

BANGKOK: Two ancient sandstone artefacts believed to have been stolen from Thailand during the Vietnam War were unveiled on Monday (May 31) at a Bangkok museum, greeted with a fanfare of traditional dancers and an elaborate worship ceremony. The temple support beams - which were returned on Friday - boast exquisite carvings of the Hindu deities Indra and Yama that date back to the late 10th or 11th century. They had been on display for decades at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, and their repatriation to Thailand followed a yearslong investigation by the US Department of Homeland Security. On Monday, museum staff carefully unpacked the artefacts under the watchful gaze of Culture Minister Itthiphol Khunpluem as Thai traditional music played. "These two lintels are evidence of ou...
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Dollar falls, equities gain as Fed calms inflation worries
12Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

Dollar falls, equities gain as Fed calms inflation worries

World equity markets made gains while the U.S. dollar hit new lows against major currencies on Tuesday after Federal Reserve officials reaffirmed a dovish monetary policy stance that eased inflation concerns. NEW YORK: World equity markets made gains while the U.S. dollar hit new lows against major currencies on Tuesday after Federal Reserve officials reaffirmed a dovish monetary policy stance that eased inflation concerns. Investors weighed the Fed's soothing words that put to rest tapering worries for the time being and helped to drive the dollar to four-and-a-half-month lows. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note also hit two-week lows and was at 1.56per cent in afternoon trading, down from 1.608per cent late on Monday. The yield curve flattened for a fourth straight session, as pa...
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Want to buy a ship? Oil tanker that received stolen fuel in Shell Bukom heist up for police auction
11Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Market, USA, World

Want to buy a ship? Oil tanker that received stolen fuel in Shell Bukom heist up for police auction

SINGAPORE: Over the years, the police have auctioned off various items seized from crimes: Clothes, cameras, computers and, once in a while, a supercar or two. But the latest article up for sale is quite different – it is more than 100m long, weighs more than 3 million kg and, according to court documents, is valued at US$4.5 million (S$5.9 million). The item in question is the chemical oil tanker Prime South, which the police seized in 2018 after it was used to receive stolen marine gas oil worth an estimated US$7.1 million from Shell's Pulau Bukom refinery. The pilfering was part of the largest marine fuel heist from Shell's biggest petrochemical production and export centre in the Asia-Pacific. Not many items seized by the police and auctioned off are valued in the tens ...
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In meeting today’s great challenges: Think ‘moonshot’
11Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, Market, World

In meeting today’s great challenges: Think ‘moonshot’

Moonshots are in. I’m not referring to space travel, although the regular launches and landings of space probes suggest that the conventional use of the word is apropos. Here, “moonshots” are grand, government-backed missions that unite the considerable powers of the state, its scientists and its entrepreneurs to accomplish a single goal. There are many potential moonshots, from creating a vaccine for COVID-19 to solving global warming. What differentiates them from other problems is that they address extraordinary, if not existential, challenges. The pursuit of moonshots is forcing a reassessment among governments that normally — wrongly in many cases — view industrial policy as an aberration, a dangerous indulgence that is inefficient at best and corrupt at worst. China’s impressive pe...
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Israel’s foreign policies won’t change much even as a new coalition looks set to take power, ambassador says
10Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, USA, World

Israel’s foreign policies won’t change much even as a new coalition looks set to take power, ambassador says

A new coalition may soon take power in Israel, but that doesn't signal a change in the country's foreign policies, according to Israel's ambassador to Singapore. "As far as foreign policy is concerned, we're about to see a continuation of previous policies of the government," Sagi Karni told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Wednesday. That means Israel will still want to maintain and expand the Abraham Accords, engage with the rest of the world, and "see a change" in Gaza, he said. Israel's parliament, the Knesset, will be voting on a new government on Sunday. If successful, the coalition led by opposition party leader Yair Lapid will feature tech millionaire Naftali Bennett as prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving head of government. The coalition includes a...
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