Asia Minute

It’s been another volatile week on global stock markets. Stock prices have rallied around the world today, although they’re still down since the start of the year.  And the declines have been even steeper in several Asia Pacific markets—but not all of them. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

This is an important week for the political future of Vietnam. The country’s leadership will be undergoing some changes at the weeklong Communist Party Congress. But local media are focused on the death of a famous turtle—and even that has political overtones. HPR’s Bill Dorman explains in today’s Asia Minute.

South Korea has toughened its laws against unruly passengers on airplanes. The new measures increase fines and the possibility of jail time—and they come as complaints about passenger behavior are rising across the Asia Pacific. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

It’s been less than a week since that record Powerball lottery drawing resulted in three winning tickets. While some form of lottery or other gambling proposal often comes up in Hawaii’s legislative session, it’s another story for a different set of lawmakers considering a similar move. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

India’s capital city has some of the worst air pollution in the world—even worse than Beijing. This week, authorities in New Delhi will evaluate an experiment that began with the start of the New Year. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

Over the last few days, reactions to President Obama’s last state of the union address have been mixed. Most of the opinions have been split along partisan lines. But in one Asian country, a lot of attention is being paid to what was not said. HPR’s Bill Dorman has details in today’s Asia Minute.

This coming March will make two years since Malaysian Airlines flight MH-370 disappeared from radar screens.  The search for the bulk of the plane’s wreckage is still going on. But this week comes news of another discovery made by the search team.  HPR’s Bill Dorman has details in today’s Asia Minute.

The team still searching for the wreck of Malaysian Airlines flight MH-370 has stumbled across a shipwreck, believed to be roughly two-hundred years old.  That word came this week from researchers at the Shipwreck Galleries of the Western Australian Museum.

While China’s stock market has been volatile lately, this has been a week of big business deals involving Chinese financing.  Buy-outs involving two California companies in very different lines of business underline the growing appetite for corporate acquisitions.  There’s a multi-billion dollar cash agreement for a Hollywood production company and a much smaller deal involving  a gay dating app. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

A missing person’s drama continues this week in Hong Kong. It’s a case that involves booksellers, protests, and questions about authorities in Beijing.  HPR’s Bill Dorman has details in today’s Asia Minute.

Five Hong Kong booksellers are still missing.  Activists fear they’ve been kidnapped by the order of Chinese authorities.

The mystery began in October when 4 employees of the Causeway Bay Bookstore and a small publishing house associated with it went missing, 3 in southern China and one in Thailand.

The Iowa caucuses are three weeks from today. But this is an election year in a number of countries—including several in the Asia Pacific. First up is Taiwan—where residents pick a new president this coming Saturday. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

Voters in Taiwan are likely to elect their first woman president this weekend, unseating the political party in power for the past 8 years.  Tsai Ing-wen carries the banner of the Democratic Progressive Party or DPP, and is favored by about 40% of voters according to the latest polls.