ASEAN and the world

The Carnival Corporation has announced it will offer cruises to Cuba starting on May 1st, following President Barack Obama’s recent historic trip to Cuba from March 20th - 22nd.

The half lion-half mermaid figure is a well-known symbol of Singapore, known as the Merlion.

China Railway Group Ltd (CREC) will invest USD2 billion in building its regional centre in Bandar Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian news agency Bernama reported on March 21st.

The water level of the Mekong River in Thailand’s northeast province of Nong Khai rose to 1.8 metres on March 19th, a 27-cm rise after China released water upriver, a Thai irrigation department official said.

(CPV) - Timor-Leste and ADB have announced major water supply and sanitation investment plans for the towns of Baucau, Lospalos, Same, and Viqueque.

Nearly 4 million Lao voters cast their ballots in the election of deputies to the eighth National Assembly (NA) and the provincial People’s Councils on March 20th.

Indonesia posted a USD1.14 billion trade surplus in February, the biggest monthly surplus for the past five years, the country’s statistics agency BPS.

President Barack Obama and his family have arrived in Havana, Cuba for the first visit to the island nation by a sitting US president in nearly 90 years.

Singapore will enhance security measures against rising terrorism threat, local media reported on March 18th, quoting Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam as saying in a speech on March 18th.

(CPV) - Sean O’ Sullivan, Director General of ADB’s Central and West Asia Department has concluded a 3-day visit to Afghanistan, where he met key government officials to discuss ADB’s current country operations, explore options for enhanced service delivery, and reaffirm ADB’s support in the current challenging environment.

Cambodian Defence Minister General Tea Banh will arrive in Bangkok to meet his Thai counterpart Prawit Wongsuwan to discuss continued cooperation along the border, the Cambodian Defence Ministry said in a statement on March 19th.

The East Sea issue was one of the main topics discussed at an international conference held in New Delhi, India on March 18th.

Indonesia has waived visa requirements for nationals from 79 other countries, expanding the list to 169 visa-free nations as it continues to boost foreign arrivals.

The 18th ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) took place in Hanoi on March 17th-18th.

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has announced Denmark is the happiest country in the world.

Changi Airport of Singapore has been voted the World’s Best Airport for the fourth consecutive year, according to a recent survey conducted by Skytrax – the UK’s specialist research advisor to the air transport industry.

Sea law experts and researchers, policy makers, diplomats and scholars have agreed on the need to address disputes in the East Sea by peaceful measures in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).

(CPV) - The continued moderation of growth in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) could knock off a third of a percentage point a year in growth for the rest of developing Asia over the next 2 years.

President Barack Obama has nominated the Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Merrick Garland to fill the late Antonin Scalia's seat on the Supreme Court.

The 14th Meeting of the ASEAN-Russia Joint Cooperation Committee (ARJCC) took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 16th, to discuss measures to increase bilateral cooperation in celebration of the 20th founding anniversary of their dialogue partnership.

(CPV) - Yields of local currency bonds in most emerging East Asian markets remained on a downward trajectory in the first month and a half of 2016, pressured by worries over global growth prospects and still lackluster economic performances in industrialized economies, ADB’s latest Asia Bond Monitor said.

(CPV) - Vietnam is attending the 21st World Building and Construction Expo (WorldBex) in the Philippines from March 16th - 20th.

(CPV) - Fast Company (the US-based magazine) included GE in its annual list of the most innovative companies. GE is the top-ranked industrial company on the list, which includes many digital darlings like BuzzFeed (ranked at the very top), Uber and Alphabet.

A Russia – Malaysia business council was established on March 15th with a view to strengthening collaboration in economy, science, technology and culture.

(CPV) - As Asia and the Pacific grapple with increasingly complex challenges in climate change, income inequality, and a global economic slowdown, deeper development partnerships can offer important new funds and ideas to help, says a new report from Independent Evaluation at ADB.

Billionaire Donald J. Trump won the Florida Republican primary and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the winner in the Democratic primary.

Cambodian and US armies on March 14th kicked off a joint military exercise dubbed "Angkor Sentinel 2016," which aims to strengthen bilateral military ties and cooperation.

The 13th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting (ACDFIM-13) commenced in Vientiane, Laos, in the morning of March 14th, under the theme “Promoting Defence Cooperation for a Dynamic ASEAN Community”.

(CPV) - ADB and the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) have signed an agreement for a USD27 million loan to support road asset management and maintain over 300 kilometers (km) of national and local roads in the provinces of Attapu, Salavan and Xekong.

A photo set of street life in Hong Kong (China) in the 1950s and 1960s was taken by photographer Fan Ho, a master photographer in Asia. His photographs are published in his new book “Fan Ho: A Hong Kong memoir”.