Malaysia partially lifted on Tuesday a ban on chicken exports that was aimed at fighting domestic shortages but sent prices soaring in neighbouring Singapore, sparking squawks of protest.However, the curbs are only being eased on a small number of chicken types – and not the one most commonly exported to Singapore – meaning the impact could be limited.The halt on exports of 3.6 million chickens a month, which began on 1 June, was the latest protectionist step in Asia as prices of everyday goo

People in Thailand can now grow cannabis plants at home and sell the crop after the nation removed marijuana from its banned narcotics list.The nation is the first to advance such a move in Southeast Asia, a region known for its stringent drug laws.But recreational use is still banned, even though advocates say the easing effectively decriminalises marijuana.The government is hoping that developing a local cannabis trade will boost agriculture and tourism.It's even giving away one millio

Hong Kong authorities on Saturday strove to stop any public commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, with police warning gatherings could break the law as Beijing vies to remove all reminders of the events of 4 June. On that day in 1989, the government sent troops and tanks to break up peaceful protests, crushing a weeks-long wave of demonstrations calling for political change and curbs on official corruption.Hundreds, by some estimates more than 1,000, were

Indonesia will lift its ban on palm oil exports next week, President Joko Widodo said, relieving pressure on the global vegetable oil market after prices spiked because of the suspension and the war in Ukraine.The archipelago nation issued the ban last month to secure supplies of the commodity, used in a range of goods from chocolate spreads to cosmetics, in the face of a domestic shortage."Based on the supply...

As millions of Indonesians travelled to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, one common struggle was being discussed in most family gatherings: the price of cooking oil.“I always host Eid al-Fitr celebrations for my big family. I cook everything for around 20 of us.

Indonesia’s ban on palm oil exports is sending soaring cooking oil prices even higher worldwide, exacerbating global food security fears amid adverse weather and the war in Ukraine.The export ban, announced by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo last Friday, comes as global food supplies come under strain due to disappointing harvests in some countries, export disruptions due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prices of palm oil on Mo

United States (US) President Joe Biden on Wednesday revoked executive orders from his predecessor Donald Trump seeking to ban Chinese-owned mobile apps TikTok and WeChat over national security concerns, the White House said.A statement said that instead of banning the popular apps, the Biden administration would carry out a "criteria-based decision framework and rigorous, evidence-based analysis to address the risks" from internet applications controlled by foreign entities.Trump ha

Shortly after United States (US) President Donald Trump issued an executive order effectively banning the Chinese-owned social-media app TikTok, he issued a second order prohibiting “any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person … as identified by the Secretary of Commerce.” According to the White House, the WeChat ban – which will take effect on 20 September – is intended to protect Americans and visiting Chinese in the US from violations of privacy by the Chinese governme

Both Japan and Jakarta have implemented new bans on single-use plastic shopping bags on 1 July, 2020.  The Minister of the Environment of Japan, Shinjiro Koizumi, said that Japan aims to increase the percentage of people who do not receive plastic bags up to 60 percent by the end of this year. As a result of the new regulations in Japan and Jakarta, many people started to use their own bags for shopping.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to ban Huawei from its 5G networks has dealt a painful blow to China. Until recently, China was still counting on the UK to stick to its earlier decision to allow the Chinese telecom giant to supply non-core equipment for the country’s 5G networks.But two recent developments made such a decision untenable. The first was the United States’ (US) escalation of its war on Huawei.