AROUND ASIA

CHINA

Chinese taxation authorities have fined A-list movie star Fan Bingbing 479 million yuan (US$70 million) for tax evasion and ordered her to pay back 255 million yuan in taxes, the Xinhua news agency said last Wednesday. The Jiangsu provincial tax bureau delivered its judgement on Sept 30, Xinhua said. The movie star dropped off the radar in June amid reports that she was involved in an investigation into tax evasion in the film industry. Her vanishing act sparked wild speculation about her fate, including reports she had been detained.

INDIA

The leaders of Russia and India on Friday announced deals worth billions of dollars, including one for an air defence system, as New Delhi walks a tightrope between Moscow and Washington with a wary eye on China. The highlight of the visit by President Vladimir Putin was a deal for the formidable S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system, worth US$5.2 billion. Washington has already sanctioned China for buying an S-400 system and says India won’t be spared despite its close ties with the US. Mr Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed other deals for railways, fertilisers and space exploration, with Russia undertaking to train astronauts for India’s first crewed space mission in 2022.

Indian police on Tuesday fired tear gas and water cannons to halt a march by thousands of protesting farmers heading for New Delhi to demand better prices. More than 50,000 farmers from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, a top producer of wheat and cane, blocked part of the main highway to the capital. They are also seeking loan waivers, cheaper power and tougher action to get sugar mills to pay dues owed for their cane, as discontent turns to anger against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who faces a general election next year.

JAPAN

“Abenomics” needs a revamp if Japan wants to make its economic revitalisation sustainable, the International Monetary Fund said during talks with officials in Tokyo last week. Continued monetary stimulus and deep labour market reforms are among the priorities, the IMF said. In the near term, it said, risks to the recovery include weaker global demand due to trade or geopolitical tensions, which could trigger a strengthening of the yen, as well as a disorderly tightening of global financial conditions. A bigger-than-expected hit to consumers from a sales-tax hike next year could also undermine momentum, it said. The economy is expected to grow 1.1% this year and 0.9% in 2019, it predicted.

MALAYSIA

Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, was charged on Thursday with 17 counts of money laundering and tax evasion. She pleaded not guilty to the charges at the court complex where her husband Najib Razak was making a separate appearance in connection with the alleged plunder of state funds that led to his electoral defeat in May. Reviled in Malaysia for her lavish overseas shopping sprees and fetish for Birkin handbags and dazzling jewellery, Rosmah, 66, was released on bail of 2 million ringgit after spending the night in detention at the office of the anti-corruption agency. She was also ordered to surrender her passport and barred from contacting any witnesses.

INDONESIA

People living in tents and shelters have little but uncertainty since the powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck Sulawesi on Sept 28. The number of known deaths exceeded 1,400 as of late last week and efforts to retrieve scores more victims buried deep in mud and rubble were still hampered by a lack of heavy equipment. More than 70,000 people were displaced from homes that were destroyed or damaged and lack power and water. They are unsure when they’ll be able to rebuild. The death toll is certain to rise as the quake caused a phenomenon called liquefaction, where loose, wet soil loses its strength and sinks in a quicksand-like effect. Survivors have described homes and relatives being lost in the mud. The damaged airport at Palu reopened for civilian traffic on Thursday, but it was expected to be used mainly for military, rescue and humanitarian flights initially.

THE PHILIPPINES

Beach boozing and smoking will be con

signed to the past when Boracay, the Philippines’ top holiday island, welcomes back a capped number of tourists after its six- month shutdown, authorities said last Wednesday. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the resort shuttered in April, after declaring years of unchecked growth had turned the white sand idyll into a “cesspool”. When hotel doors reopen on Oct 26, the island known for its party atmosphere will crack down on drinking and smoking on its beaches, while only 19,000 tourists will be allowed at any one time.

BUZZ

The next time you’re standing at the edge of a scenic cliff or on top of a waterfall, take care when you have the urge to snap a quick selfie. It could very well be the last thing you do. More than 250 people worldwide have died while taking selfies in the last six years, according to a new study by researchers with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The findings, which analysed news reports of the 259 selfie-related deaths from October 2011 to November 2017, were published in the July-August edition of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

AUSTRALIA

Australia will become the first country to effectively eliminate cervical cancer if vaccination and screening rates are maintained, researchers say. The disease could be eradicated as a public health issue nationally within 20 years, according to new statistical modelling. It is predicted to be classified as a “rare cancer” in Australia by 2022, when it should drop to less than six cases per 100,000 people. Australia will remove a controversial tax on female sanitary products following years of campaigning by women’s groups. Currently, tampons and sanitary pads are sold with a 10% goods and services tax (GST) because they are categorised as non-essential items. Women argued it was an unfair classification, noting items such as condoms and sunscreen were exempt. “We’re really delighted that everyone’s come on board to scrap what is an unfair tax,” said Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer.

SINGAPORE

Companies in Singapore announced US$91 billion of overseas deals this year through September, more than double the $41.9 billion reported in the same period of 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Temasek Holdings and GIC dominate the activity, but increasingly others are signing their biggest-ever transactions to put Singapore on the world stage. The flurry of activity shows a new determination by firms to adopt a more aggressive stance amid an escalating trade war between China and the US. An economy that is forecast to expand next year at the slowest pace since 2016 is also putting pressure on companies to look farther afield for growth.

Housing Board resale prices fell by 0.7% in September from August, and by 2.1% compared to a year ago. While four-room flats recorded a price increase of 0.6% from August, prices of three-room, five-room and executive flats fell between 1.3% and 1.9%. Prices in older estates fell by 1.2%, while the drop in newer ones was 0.3%.

VIETNAM

Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is poised to become the most influential leader in Vietnam since the late revolutionary founder Ho Chi Minh once he takes on the role of president. The Party’s central committee on Wednesday nominated Mr Trong, 74, to succeed Tran Dai Quang, who died on Sept 21. Mr Trong outmanoeuvred influential former prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung to win a second five-year term as the Party chief during its 2016 congress. Mr Trong has spearheaded anti-corruption campaigns targeting officials and is likely to accelerate those efforts after consolidating power, observers said.

CAMBODIA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Cambodia will hover around 7.25% a year in the near term due to strong economic activity and reforms now under way. “Cambodia has made significant progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals due to the years of impressive economic growth and reforms implemented,” an IMF statement said. “Income growth has outpaced peers, poverty has declined, and the economy has begun to gradually diversify.”

S. KOREA

Troops from North and South Korea began removing some landmines along their heavily fortified border, the South’s defence ministry said, in a pact to reduce tension and build trust on the divided peninsula. Project details were agreed during last month’s summit in Pyongyang between Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The ministry said the two sides agreed to remove all landmines in the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom within the next 20 days, with military engineers performing the hazardous task on the South Korean side. There was no immediate confirmation from North Korea that its troops had begun the process.

N. KOREA

Pyongyang has raised the stakes in negotiations with the United states, saying it will not give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for a peace treaty. The declaration came just hours after Washington announced a new visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to North Korea, where he was to hold talks with Kim Jong-un. Mr Pompeo, who is trying to arrange a second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump, is also visiting Japan and South Korea, as well as North Korea’s chief ally China.

MYANMAR

State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi became the first person to be stripped of honorary Canadian citizenship last week over her refusal to condemn the atrocities carried out by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya Muslim minority. The move was made official after Canada’s Senate voted to revoke the symbolic honour. The lower house approved a motion to the same effect a week earlier. The House of Commons granted the privilege to Aung San Suu Kyi in 2007, but her international reputation has since been tarnished her muted response to events in Rakhine.