President Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong on Thursday to mark 20 years since it was handed back to China by Britain, a trip that has already riled democracy activists in the politically divided city. The three-day visit is his first since becoming leader in 2013 and comes at a time when there are growing … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday blamed “lobby money” for the downfall of his outspoken environment secretary Regina Lopez, who earned the ire of the country’s mining industry after accusing it of corruption. Despite his widespread popularity and hardline posture, Duterte said he was helpless to save Lopez from failing to be approved as a … Read more
A pro-China committee will choose a new leader for Hong Kong Sunday to take the helm of a deeply divided city that is fearful Beijing is squeezing its freedoms. The vote comes after an unprecedented five years of anti-China protests under current chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who is seen by opponents as a Beijing puppet … Read more
Hong Kong’s leadership candidates faced off in a live television debate Tuesday as criticism mounts over an appointment process skewed towards Beijing, bypassing the vast majority of voters. A committee of 1,194 mainly pro-establishment representatives from special interest groups will choose the next chief executive later this month in the first leadership vote since mass … Read more
The vote for Hong Kong’s new leader kicks off this week, but most of its 3.8 million-strong electorate will have no say in choosing the winner, prompting calls for an overhaul of a system skewed towards Beijing. It is the first leadership vote since mass pro-democracy protests in 2014 failed to win political reform and … Read more
People have queued up outside banks across India to exchange 500 and 1,000 rupee notes after they were withdrawn as part of anti-corruption measures. Indians will be able to exchange their old notes, which stopped being legal tender at midnight on Tuesday, for new ones at banks until 30 December. The surprise move is part … Read more
One of President Enrique Pena Nieto’s closest advisers and confidants, Finance Secretary Luis Videgaray, resigned Wednesday in a move seen as linked to the unpopular decision to invite Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to visit Mexico. Pena Nieto has taken responsibility for inviting Trump, but a former government official familiar with the workings of the … Read more