Nothing gets your attention more than a whiff of the King of Fruits, whose pungent aroma can offend even an adult. Durian is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia and is mainly grown in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The hard, outer shell is covered in thorns, whose shape and size differs depending on the type. When ripe, the custard-like flesh inside can be sweet and creamy.
Southeast Asian leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand's prime minister said Friday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world's biggest commercial deal.Beijing is seeking to shape the rules of free trade across the Asia-Pacific, as America retreats from multilateral deals under United States (US) President Donald Trump.The China-crafted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes all 10 economie
Protestors in Bangkok on Thursday dumped plastic waste in front of a government building and called on Southeast Asian leaders to ban imports of trash from developed countries.The protest comes ahead of a weekend meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with many countries struggling to deal with the flood of plastic waste unleashed by China's decision last year to stop importing recyclables from abroad.Countries in ASEAN now receive more than a quarter of
Whip out your good ol’ passport and dust off your trusted backpack, it’s time to plan for your next adventure. If you’re feeling like you’re in a rut and in need for new destinations to explore, boy, do we have some suggestions for you! The sky’s the limit when it comes to your travel plans! But let’s start with the following 11:1. Goa, IndiaIsolated from the rest of the country for more than 450 years by Portuguese rule, Goa has a distinct identity compared to the rest of India.
The sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the disputed South China Sea was "just a collision", the Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday as he moved to soothe anger over the crash.The typically brash Duterte urged calm in his first public comments about the June 9 incident, which has fed into outrage over China's expansive claims to the resource-rich waterway.Critics have voiced anger over the Chinese trawler's failure to rescue the 22
The United Nations (UN) expects 68 percent of the world’s population to live in urban areas by 2050. As governments scramble to manage this flood of urban migration, they must address not only basic needs such as housing and employment but also issues impacting liveability and public health – including air pollution.Nowhere is this challenge more urgent than in Asia. In recent months, cities like Bangkok, Seoul, Kathmandu, and Dhaka have faced major pollution events.
The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest against China after it said the crew of a Chinese fishing boat sank a Filipino vessel carrying 22 fishermen in the South China Sea (SCS), potentially inflaming a dispute calmed by warm ties between the nations’ leaders.Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on his personal Twitter account Thursday he had “fired off a diplomatic protest yesterday” on the incident, which he said in another tweet he’d call a "hit and run."President
Vietnam’s already strong economic outlook received another boost last week after Japanese investment bank Nomura named it the biggest winner from the United States (US) – China trade war, with its economy surging by 7.9 percent as a result of one year’s worth of trade diversions leading up to the first quarter of this year.The standoff has seen gross domestic product (GDP) gains in several other countries, though none of them are anywhere as close to Vietnam’s. Taiwan are the next bi
Hanoi has vowed to crack down on manufacturers illegally using "Made in Vietnam" labels on items destined for America to dodge punishing tariffs as the US-China trade spat drags on.Exporters have started shifting production from China to Vietnam to avoid 25 percent levies imposed by US President Donald Trump on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. But Hanoi said some manufacturers are illegally claiming their goods - including textiles, seafood and agricultural products - a
Since the Tiananmen Square massacre 30 years ago, China has achieved extraordinary economic development. Yet, contrary to the expectations of many Western leaders and analysts, the country has not gradually embraced press freedom or respect for civil rights.
Southeast Asian nations no longer want your trash. Last week, Malaysia announced it was sending 3,300 tons of scrap plastics including CDs, insulated electric cables and milk jugs back to countries ranging from Australia to Bangladesh, Canada, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Just when a trade agreement between the United States (US) and China appeared to be in sight, negotiators found themselves back at square one. The immediate reason for the disruption was China’s insistence on a substantially rewritten draft agreement, which, according to US President Donald Trump’s administration, reneges on previously agreed terms.
