ASEAN and the world

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for their design and production of molecular machines.

Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres will be the next UN Secretary General, after the security council agreed he should replace Ban Ki-moon at the beginning of next year.

(CPV) - The European Parliament has approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union.

India and Singapore decided to hold a dialogue to enhance bilateral trade and economy on October 4th, according to Indian news agency PTI.

On October 4th, Hurricane Matthew's strong winds pounded Cuba and the authorities declared a hurricane alert for six eastern provinces; evacuating dozens of thousand people.

The 45th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta themed “Desert Kaleidoscope” has kicked off in the US state of New Mexico.

On October 4th, Japanese new agencies announced Deputy Foreign Minister Shinuke Sugiyama would visit Moscow where he would have talks with Russia’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov, in Russia next week.

The gross domestic product of the Philippines will expand by 6.4 percent in 2016, making the country become one of the fastest growing economies in East Asia and the Pacific, according to an updated report announced by the World Bank (WB) on October 3rd.

(CPV) - Honorable Minister of Education D. R. Poudel and the Country Director of ADB’s Nepal Resident Mission, Kenichi Yokoyama today laid the foundation for the reconstruction of Shree Kali Devi Primary School in Kavre District.

The Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute has announced Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize in medicine 2016.

The People’s Republic of China has solemnly organized a ceremony to mark its 67th founding anniversary at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing.

Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) Tsetska Tsacheva has been nominated by Bulgaria’s GERB, the party of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, to run for president in the November 6th election.

Myanmar is drafting a new policy in drug control as part of efforts to deal with drug problem along with crime suppression, Myanmar’s official media reported on October 2nd.

The Abu Sayyaf armed group has released three Indonesian hostages detained in the Philippines’s southern Sulu province, a senior official of the Philippine Government said on October 2nd.

The European Union (EU) has upgraded its Delegation to Laos to a fully-fledged diplomatic mission in recognition of the growing relationship between the two sides.

A landslide in China’s eastern Zhejiang province has hit Japan, leaving at least one people dead and 26 people missing.

(CPV) - A stronger-than-expected first half performance and further stimulus measures will see the People’s Republic of China (PRC) post slightly above previously forecast growth for 2016 and 2017, even as domestic and global pressures continue to drag on the economy, says a new ADB study.

UNICEF has revised its humanitarian appeal for Nigeria from USD55 million to USD115 million to assist an additional 750,000 people who can now be reached across conflict-affected areas in the northeast of the country.

On September 29th, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that pregnant women postpone travel to 11 Southeast Asian countries because of the risk of Zika virus infection.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the region of the Americas is the first in the world to have eliminated measles.

US President Barack Obama on September 27th nominated the first United States ambassador to Cuba in 55 years.

An ASEAN conference on the application of laws, policies and practices to the identification, management and treatment of victims of trafficking, especially women and children, was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 28th.

(CPV) - ADB has approved a loan and grant amounting to USD95.1 million to rehabilitate a section of the North–South Alternate Road Corridor in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Singapore kicked off the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) exercise “Deep Sabre 2016” on September 27th at the Changi Command and Control Center.

(CPV) - ADB will provide USD1.5 billion to Bangladesh to build a dual-gauge railway line that will bring key trade and tourism to the southernmost parts of Bangladesh. The new railway, part of the Trans-Asia Railway network, will also improve access to Myanmar and beyond.

On September 27th, the leaders of the World Bank agreed to reappoint Mr. Jim Yong Kim for a second five-year term as World Bank President.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has met Venezuelan President Maduro, the first formal encounter between the two since Kerry became the top U.S. diplomat.

On September 27th, the Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA) reported nearly 12,000 dengue cases in Singapore since the beginning of 2016.

As trade and commerce is expected to increase between Southeast Asian countries and between them and the world, there will be more opportunities for logistics services providers in the region to connect with each other to take goods to the consumers and to increase their efficiency, according to Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion.

(CPV) - Economic developments in Cambodia in 2016 have broadly unfolded as expected, says a new ADB report released on September 27th 2016.