Reuters Asia Top

By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) -An International Monetary Fund mission will visit Pakistan later this month to discuss the stalled ninth review of the country’s current funding programme, the lender’s resident representative said on Thursday, with the cash-strapped nation’s economy in turmoil. Pakistan secured a $6 billion IMF bailout in 2019, which was …

IMF mission to visit Pakistan this month to discuss stalled bailout programme Read More »

By Asif Shahzad and Sudarshan Varadhan ISLAMABAD/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Pakistan’s generators produced more power than was required on Monday, causing voltage fluctuations that culminated in a system collapse that plunged 220 million people into darkness, an internal government document reviewed by Reuters showed. Complete grid failures are rare, and operators of modern grids count local …

Exclusive-Power surge crashes Pakistan grid, plunging millions into darkness Read More »

By Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine economy ended 2022 with the fastest growth in over four decades underpinned by a robust final quarter, but analysts and policymakers warn that a global slowdown and soaring inflation will make for a difficult year ahead. Manila’s fourth quarter forecast-beating annual growth …

Philippines 2022 GDP growth quickest in over 4 decades, but outlook challenging Read More »

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Several demonstrators who were apprehended for publicly protesting China’s then-ongoing zero-COVID policy remain in detention, face charges or have not been heard from, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday. In late November, protests broke out in numerous cities across China calling for an end to the country’s nearly three …

Rights group says several Chinese ‘white paper’ protestors still in detention Read More »

By Hyonhee Shin and Hanna Song SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea plans to double energy vouchers and a discount of gas prices for underprivileged families to cope with spiralling heating bills amid a prolonged cold wave, officials said on Thursday. Countries around the world have faced rising energy costs in the face of a global surge …

South Korea to double energy vouchers amid soaring bills, cold wave Read More »

BANGKOK (Reuters) – The mere mention of Thailand’s ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra prompted Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to walk out of a news conference this week, irked by talk of the exiled political heavyweight’s long-touted return. As a general in a royalist military that ousted the governments of both Thaksin in 2006 and his …

Thai PM walks out of news conference over question on ex-leader Thaksin Read More »