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In today's bulletin: China halts imports of barley from Australia, Yoshihide Suga announces bid to be next PM, Taiwan changes appearance of words on its passport, economies in trouble, Muhyiddin wins approval for his handling of Covid-19, Asia's top universities, and more.
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AFTER CURBS ON AUSTRALIAN BEEF, WINE & DETENTION OF AUSSIE JOURNALIST, CHINA HALTS BARLEY IMPORTS
China's ties with Australia took a hit today as Beijing decided to halt barley imports from the country's biggest grain shipping company. Chinese customs said harmful weeds were found in the cargoes.
Earlier this week, China detained high profile television anchor Cheng Lei, who is an Australian citizen, in a move that has left Australians baffled.
Ties between the two countries have frayed over Australia's push for an independent inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak.
In addition to banning Huawei Technologies Co. from participating in Australia's 5G network, China halted some beef imports earlier this year and launched an anti-subsidy investigation into wines from the country.
Read also:
Canberra's move belies its claim to value ties: China Daily
Australia to probe foreign influence at universities
ABENOMICS TO CONTINUE, SAYS YOSHIHIDE SUGA
Japan's chief Cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga, who formally announced his bid to become the country's next prime minister today, said he would continue with the 'Abenomics' stimulus policies started by current PM Shinzo Abe, if he were to become the next premier.
Mr Suga is widely seen as the lead candidate to be Mr Abe's successor after a vote is held by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sept 14.
The LDP has opted for a scaled-back leadership vote that will not include rank-and-file members, instead polling only MPs and three representatives from each of the country's 47 prefectures.
Read also:
Walter Sim: LDP election a three-horse race, with Suga the runaway favourite
Tough tasks ahead for Japan's next PM
TAIWAN UNVEILS NEW PASSPORT LOOK TO STOP CONFUSION WITH CHINA
Taiwan unveiled a new look for those holding the island's passport to reduce confusion with China.
Images of the new passport show that it has the word 'Taiwan' used in caps and a larger font size while the English words "Republic of China" have been removed, although the Chinese characters have been retained.
Taiwan has said previously that some of its people faced problems entering other countries because of the confusion with China. The new passport also comes amid growing tensions between Taiwan and China.
Read also:
Taiwan Parliament passes proposal to rebrand China Airlines
INDIAN ECONOMY IN BIG TROUBLE DUE TO PANDEMIC
The pandemic has resulted in the Indian economy performing at its worst since 1996, latest figures show, and analysts are calling for a fresh stimulus package to get it back on track.
Data for the first quarter ended June 30 revealed that manufacturing had contracted by 39 per cent, construction by 50.3 per cent and trade, hotel, transport and communication segments by 47 per cent, India bureau chief Nirmala Ganapathy reports. A rare positive - agriculture, forestry and fishing, which inched up 0.4 per cent to 3.4 per cent.
Credit ratings agency CARE Ratings said India is now only behind Peru and Macau in having the severest contraction out of the 54 economies that reported GDP figures for April to June.
Read also:
Vikram Khanna: Weak Singapore economy, high uncertainty mean hard adjustments
Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja: Indonesia's economy contracts for first time in 21 years
MSIA'S PM MUHYIDDIN GETS HIGH APPROVAL FOR BATTLING COVID-19
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been given the thumbs up by seven out of 10 Malaysians, largely thanks to Malaysia's success in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, reports Malaysia Bureau Chief Shannon Teoh. Top pollster Merdeka Center said Wednesday a survey found that 69 per cent of 3,415 voters polled from July 15 to Aug 10 approved of his leadership.
IN OTHER NEWS
INDIA SENDS TROOPS TO HILLTOPS: Indian troops have been deployed on four strategic hilltops, a senior official said, after what New Delhi called an attempted Chinese incursion along the disputed Himalayan border. China, however, has denied that it had moved first, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying saying yesterday that Indian troops had trespassed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) - the de facto border - on Monday, conducting "flagrant provocations".
ASIA'S TOP UNIVERSITY: Tsinghua University became the first university in the region to break into the global top 20 list of universities, in the Times Higher Education rankings, released on Wednesday. It was ranked 20th. Peking University, ranked second in Asia, was placed in the 23rd position globally. The National University of Singapore retained its position as the world's 25th best university and Asia's third top university.
JACKIE CHAN'S BEIJING CONDO IN OWNERSHIP ROW: Two luxury Beijing apartments seized from martial arts film star Jackie Chan will be put up for auction for around US$10 million (S$13.6 million) due to an ownership dispute, reports said. Chan and his wife Joan Lin and son Jaycee Chan have lived in the high-end properties since 2007. But a legal dispute between two real estate firms has resulted in the properties being commandeered and put up for sale, despite appeals by the star.
CAMBODIA'S NOTORIOUS KHMER ROUGE EXECUTIONER DIES: The Khmer Rouge commander known as Comrade Duch, Pol Pot's main executioner and security chief who oversaw the murder of at least 14,000 Cambodians at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, died on Wednesday. He was 77. Kaing Guek Eav, or Comrade Duch, was the first member of the Khmer Rouge leadership to face trial for his role in a regime blamed for at least 1.7 million deaths in the "killing fields" of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979.
That's it for today. Thanks for reading. We'll be back with you tomorrow.
Shefali
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