PHILIPPINES
Despite the Philippine government's efforts to expand its fishing capacity, fish production in the country has reportedly decreased by between 60 and 80 per cent due to the degradation of the marine environment and intensive exploitation. This was denounced by Jonathan Anticamara of the Institute of Biology at the University of Philippines (UP). ‘Government agencies provide thousands of boats and ships, but these are left lying around empty,’ said Anticamara.
CHINA-TAIWAN
China announced that it will remove preferential tariffs on 134 import products from Taiwan, blaming the island for continued ‘discriminatory bans’ on goods from the mainland. The categories include machine tools and industrial chemicals. The new duties will come into effect on 15 June. The news comes just as the defence ministers of the People's Republic of China and the United States meet in Singapore today for the first time in 18 months in a face-to-face meeting in which they look forward to an easing of tensions around Taiwan.
RUSSIA-CHINA
A number of large Russian metal companies have begun selling production in China with payments in cryptocurrencies, circumventing international sanctions and using stablecoins linked to the US dollar, Bloomberg reports based on anonymous sources, according to which most of the transactions are carried out via Hong-Kong.
INDIA
With his election campaign over, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last night began a 45-hour meditation period at the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. He is meditating in the ‘dhyan mandapam’, the meeting point of the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea at the place where Swami Vivekananda meditated in 1892 to gain a clear vision of India's future. Tomorrow India holds the last of seven election days that will determine the composition of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament. The results will be released on 4 June.
SOUTH KOREA
President Yoon Suk Yeol said yesterday that South Korea will promote a space project to send an exploration vehicle to the Moon by 2032 and plant a national flag on Mars by 2045. Yoon unveiled a 100 trillion won ($72.5 billion) investment plan by 2045 during the opening ceremony of the new national space agency, the Korea AeroSpace Administration, in Sacheon, about 300 kilometres south of Seoul.
MALAYSIA
Kuala Lumpur International Airport is experiencing four to nine times the average number of migrant worker arrivals these days, as employers rush to let them in ahead of a visa squeeze set for 31 May. Videos circulating on social media show droves of migrant workers in the gate area of the two airport terminals, some of them sitting and lying on the floor. According to local media, there are about 2.17 million foreign workers in Malaysia.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Over the past decade, the United Arab Emirates has been the main destination for tens of billions of dollars of gold smuggled illegally from Africa. This is according to a new report by the NGO Swissaid. According to data collected in 2022 alone, 435 metric tonnes of gold, worth more than USD 30 billion, were smuggled out of Africa, mostly extracted by artisanal or small-scale miners. Of this amount, about 405 tonnes of gold passed through the United Arab Emirates.
