JERUSALEM — At a tourism conference in Phuket last month, Thailand’s prime minister looked out at attendees and posed a question with a predictable answer. “Are you ready?” Prayuth Chan-ocha asked, dramatically removing his mask and launching what’s hoped to be the country’s economic reset after more than two years…
A Russian airstrike on residential areas killed at least 21 people early Friday near the Ukrainian port of Odesa, authorities reported, a day after the withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from an island in the Black Sea had seemed to ease the threat to the city. Video of the attack before…
The Philippine National Police reported no untoward incident during the inauguration on Thursday of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., as he has been scheduled to attend today’s 75th anniversary commemoration of the Philippine Air Force, his first official engagement with the military as its Commander-in-Chief. Air Force spokesman Col.…
Covid-19 has returned to the central Chinese city where it first emerged, with two cases reported in Wuhan and a swelling outbreak in a neighboring province, just as Beijing and Shanghai appear to have quelled the virus once again. Two port workers in Wuhan came down with asymptomatic Covid infections,…
THE local business community and the average Filipino consumer shared mixed views on their economic prospects in the coming months, with consumer confidence outshining that of the business sentiment in the local scene. The results of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) quarterly survey showed that consumers are more optimistic…
Tunisia’s president unveiled constitutional changes that’ll be put to a referendum in July, risking riling opponents with a move dubbed a power grab just as the country needs consensus to secure help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The draft reform of the constitution was published in the official gazette…
THE country’s manufacturing sector improved, albeit at a slower rate in June this year—mirroring the region’s trend of softer improvement during the month. In a report published on Friday, S&P Global announced that the Philippines’ Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) “slipped marginally” to 53.8 in June from 54.1 in May. ADVERTISEMENT…
THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has vowed to step up its campaign against cartel activities and abuses of dominance, saying such could derail the country’s recovery process from the pandemic. “Risks of anticompetitive behavior persist, including anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions, cartel activities, and abuses of dominance,” said outgoing Chairman Arsenio…
President Vladimir Putin offered to have Russian Railways invest in Indonesia’s new capital, in a sign of warming ties with Southeast Asia’s biggest economy as the US and its allies seek to isolate Moscow. Putin said Moscow could take part in President Joko Widodo’s plan to move Indonesia’s capital to…
THE national government’s (NG) debt stock dipped to P12.5 trillion as of end-May, a month before the end of former President Duterte’s term. From a record high of P12.76 trillion as of end-April, the NG’s outstanding debt was trimmed by 2.1 percent or P267.41 billion, mainly due to its full…