Asia News fra SCMP

United States President Donald Trump said Washington and New Delhi were working on a major trade deal, but he was not sure if it would be completed before the US presidential election in November.As Trump heads to India on his first official trip on Monday, negotiators have been trying for weeks to put together a limited accord giving the US greater access to India’s dairy and poultry markets and lowering tariffs on other products.But no breakthrough has yet been announced, and a planned trip…

Nearly 800 passengers from the MS Westerdam cruise ship remaining in Cambodia have tested negative for the coronavirus, the country’s health ministry said on Wednesday.Spokeswoman Or Vandine said the ministry was waiting on additional lab results for other passengers, but did not say how many tests were pending.The 781 passengers – some on the ship and others staying in a Phnom Penh hotel – who tested negative for the Covid-19 disease did not have “health-related problems at all”, she said.The…

With Singapore in the grip of a coronavirus outbreak and the economy expected to take a beating, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday unveiled a “unity Budget” to help the city state weather the uncertainties ahead with a slew of measures for families, workers, elderly citizens and businesses.The Singapore government’s S$106 billion (US$76 billion) plan comprised ministries’ expenditures, special transfers and fund top-ups, and included two packages totalling S$5.6 billion to help…

Officials in India have intensified a probe into whether a US$2.2 billion Airbus jetliner sale to a state-owned airline involved bribes, according to a person directly involved in the investigation.India’s Enforcement Directorate is inspecting a payment of 1.42 billion rupees (US$20 million) linked to the 2006 purchase of 43 jets by Indian Airlines, as well as a commitment to provide aircraft-overhaul facilities that were never built, according to the person, who asked not to be named as the…

After spending 21 years abroad, I returned to India with my family in 2018 hoping to spend more time with ageing relatives, rebuild once-strong friendships and revive rusty professional ties. It did not take long for me to realise that, during my years abroad, not only had I become a different person, but India, too, had become a different country. So, I said my goodbyes and relocated to Dubai. But, like the millions of other Indians who have left their country in search of a better future, I…

The number of coronavirus cases in South Korea rose to 46 on Wednesday, after 15 new cases were reported, including a cluster of nearly a dozen centred on the southeastern city of Daegu.Of the new cases, 13 were in Daegu and neighbouring North Gyeongsang province, said the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), and eleven were believed to be linked to a single patient, a 61-year-old woman.Ten of them attend the same church as the woman, who was the 31st case, the KCDC said.The…

Passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship on Wednesday began disembarking after a controversial two-week quarantine period in Yokohama that raised questions about the Japanese government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak.The disembarkation of nearly 3,000 people was expected to take three days at least, according to the government.In the first group, some 500 mainly elderly passengers who have tested negative for the virus will leave the ship after final check-ups with doctors.The…

Before he began his budget speech, Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat sheepishly told parliament that he would speak for a tad longer than usual.In years past, he would confine his speech to two files, said Heng, who is also Singapore’s deputy prime minister – but because of the sudden outbreak of the Covid-19 disease, he had to expand it.“To support the national effort, the budget file grew and grew. So today, I have three files instead of two. So please be patient,” he said to a few…

Bussa Krishna first began worshipping Donald Trump four years ago when the US president appeared to him in a dream.Since then, after a run of good fortune, the Indian real estate broker has transformed his modest home into a shrine to the US president, who is due in India on Monday for a two-day visit.“My love for him has transformed into reverence. That has given me immense happiness. Hence instead of praying to other gods, I started praying to him,” Krishna said.Krishna, who lives alone in a…

Facebook blocked the page of an anti-government website in Singapore on Tuesday after a demand from authorities but slammed the “disproportionate” use of a controversial law against online misinformation.The widely criticised legislation gives ministers powers to order internet platforms and websites to put warnings next to posts they deem false, and also order that pages be blocked in the tightly regulated city state.Political website States Times Review (STR) – which regularly posts articles…