Author: Business News Asia

DHAKA, BANGLADESH – At least 24 people have been confirmed dead while dozens more are injured as a severe storm continues to sweep across Bangladesh, authorities said today. Most of the fatalities were residents of Bogra district, a northern district of Bangladesh in the Rajshahi Division. Among those killed in the severe storm were women and children. There were also reported fatalities in the capital Dhaka while more than 50 people were brought to the different hospitals around the country due to injuries caused by the storm, Bogra’s Chief District Administrator Shafiqur Reza Biswas said. Several houses were were also…

PHILIPPINES – A gold processing plant owner, his son and their family driver were killed in what police described as a massacre on Eastern Sunday in the province of Masbate. The Philippine National Police said a thorough investigation has been launched to determine the real motive of the massacre, which resulted to the death of businessman Jesus Amaro, his son Gilbert, and their family driver. Initial investigation pointed to robbery as the suspects carted away a bag filled with gold after shooting to death the victims inside their house in barangay Luy-a, Aroroy town. The police said armed men barged…

GUIYANG, China – At least 21 people were confirmed dead and several others injured when the bus they boarded plunged into a river Saturday night in Guizhou Province, southwest China, authorities confirmed on Sunday. Initial investigation showed that the bus suddenly swerved off a mountain road and plunged directly onto a dry riverbed in Nayong County, Bijie City, according to rescuers who responded at the site. Authorities said the bus passed through the mountain road illegally because the road was intended only for small vehicles. The accident occured at 7pm Saturday. An investigation was still on going to determine how…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Intensifying its efforts in the preparations for Typhoon Chedeng, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is also focusing its attention on providing emergency telecommunications support in areas that will be hit by the typhoon. “In times of disasters, the need for communication is as important as the need for food. People in disaster-stricken areas need to immediately communicate with their loved ones to assure them that they are safe or to ask for help,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said. To ensure the smooth flow of communication during these crucial times, staff of the DSWD’s Information…

MALAYSIA – In what others considered as a miracle, a four-year-old girl survived a potentially deadly seven-floor fall from an apartment building in Presint 14, Putrajaya, Malaysia. Although she sustained injuries in the head, the four-year-old girl survived the plunge as she hit a roof on the first floor, saving her from instant death, the police said. Putrajaya Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Razak Abdul Majid said the incident occurred at 3pm when the victim and her aunt wanted to take the elevator to the 7th floor of the apartment block. The girl first entered the elevator but the lift’s…

PHILIPPINES – Three minors died in separate incidents of drowning in the rivers of Sigay and Tagudin Ilocos Sur on Black Saturday, authorities here said. A 14-year-old boy and his 12-year-old brother drowned in the river off Sitio Namatingan, Barangay Sto. Rosario, Sigay when they went swimming without adult supervision. The victims, identified as Winky Bello, 14, and his brother Wendy, 12, asked permission from their parents to go to the nearby river for a swim. The family was visiting a relative in the area, the police said. When the two boys failed to come back afer a few hours…

CANADA – Amanda Graham, 24, thought her pet cat Cleo was already dead after it went missing nearly six years ago in Ontario. On Friday, the two reunited in what witnesses described as a very emotional reunion. “She just liked getting outdoors and just kept getting out and not coming back,” Graham stated. “And then the last time we just did not locate her and assumed the worst.” Cleo went missing from her family’s farm in Kemptville, Ontario just south of Ottawa six years ago. Graham said her family looked for the cat but gave up days after the search…

AUSTRALIA – A two-car crash on Wyee Road, Doyalson on the NSW Central Coast killed an eight-year-old girl and critically injured two other kids, aged nine and 12, authorities said. Four women were also injured in the crash but their injuries were not life threatening, authorities said. The kids were onboard a Holden Astra car when the vehicle collided with a Toyota Hilux while rounding a bend about 5pm, the police said. The three children were rushed to the nearby Wyong Hospital but were later transferred to Westmead Children’s Hospital. The eight-year-old girl, however, died hours after the crash while…

SINGAPORE – Authorities here said the two foreign workers who died in a fire in a private residential unit along 88 Geylang Lorong 6 last Friday were Bangladeshi nationals. The Bangladeshi workers, whose identities have not been disclosed yet, were sleeping inside their rented unit in the two-storey private residential building when fire broke out at 4 a.m. on Friday. The two foreign workers were declared dead at the scene by responding paramedics. Two men were rushed to the Singapore General Hospital due to burn injuries while another one was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital due to a sprained…

MALAYSIA – Six people, including Rompin MP Jamaluddin Jarjis, were killed when the helicopter they boarded crashed in Semenyih, Kajang Saturday, Malaysia’s Home Ministry said. Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Jamaluddin was on board the crashed helicopter and was believed to be among the six fatalities reported. Jamaluddin was a member of Parliament for Rompin, Pahang from 1990. He was also Malaysian special envoy to the United States All of those onboard the helicopter, a AS 3655N2 Dauphin (9M-1GB), perished in the crash, the police said. The other five victims were identified as businessman Tan Sri Robert Tan, Dato…

ALABAMA, USA – After nearly 39 years of languishing in jail as a death row inmate, Anthony Ray Hinton has been freed as a new trial found that he was innocent of murder, to which he was convicted, in 1985. Hinton was about 20 years old when he was arrested, charged and then sentenced to death penalty for killing two people – fast-food restaurant managers – in Alabama. Hinton was charged based on the testimony of an injured worker, who pointed at him as the shooter. A subsequent raid in the home of Hinton’s mother resulted to the discovery of…

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean singer and actor Choi Siwon, a member of the South Korean boy band Super Junior and Super Junior-M, is joining the Chinese version of the popular Korean show “We Got Married”. Choi’s role in the Chinese version of the popular Korean show was confirmed through the official Weibo page of the show itself. He will be playing the role of one of the three male hosts in the Chinese version of the variety show. We Got Married is a South Korean reality variety show, one segment of the Sunday Sunday Night program. First broadcast…

TOKYO – Japanese carmaker Suzuki is building a new plant in Myanmar with plans to hire around 300 new people as it seeks to increase output in the country by more than five times, sources said. Suzuki has secured a 20-hectare land at the Thilawa special economic zone, southeast of Yangon, to make it the site of its second plant in Myanmar, a country where the car market continues to grow. The second plant in Myanmar is expected to start production by 2017, with annual capacity of 10,000 cars. Suzuki is expected to manufacture Ertiga, a seven-seat compact, in the…

MALAYSIA – The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah is in stable health and not ill as rumored through text messages, authorities assured Malaysians today. Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir told reporters that there is not truth about text messages that said the King’s health has deteriorated following a request to hold Yassin prayers for His Majesty’s health. The text messages said the King was ill and had collapsed in the palace. Authorities, however, denied the rumors. “His Majesty is not ill as rumoured through the short messaging system (SMS), the source of which I am…

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air announced cancellations of flights due to weather disturbance brought about by Typhoon Chedeng (international name Maysak), the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) said today. On Saturday morning, Cebu Pacific cancelled its Manila-Naga and Naga-Manila flights due to bad weather. While its Manila-Caticlan, Caticlan-Manila flights were also cancelled due to marketing requirement. The management of Cebu Pacific assured the public of full refund for the cancelled flights. Passengers can also opt for rebooking. On the other hand, Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced the cancellation of four flights scheduled on Sunday as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical…

SINGAPORE – Nadaman at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore welcomes certified vegetable sommelier, Fusae Enomoto to enhance the current seasonal menu with organic produce air-flown from her own farm from 13 to 19 April 2015. Aside from enjoying the a la carte creations and set menus, guests can participate in two cooking classes led by Enomoto on 15 April 2015. Enomoto is a certified vegetable and fruit meister, who currently co-manages the Enomoto Farm, a family-owned farm in Saitama Prefecture located to north of Tokyo. She cultivates more than 100 varieties of seasonal vegetables without utilising chemical fertilisers and pesticides. One of…

SINGAPORE – Greenhouse and Summer Pavilion, signature restaurants at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore are scheduled to undergo a five-month transformation through late August, the hotel said. Award-winning, New York-based designer, Tony Chi who possesses worldwide renown for crafting some of the world’s most stunning hotels and restaurants, has been appointed to design the interiors for the new restaurants. A new all-day dining restaurant will be unveiled post-transformation, while an elevated Cantonese fine dining experience awaits at the transformed Summer Pavilion. During the transformation, Chihuly Lounge and the Pool Bar will offer enhanced lunch and dinner a la carte menus, while…

Italian insurance Assicurazioni Generali has appointed Jack Howell as its new regional officer of Asia, further boosting the Italian insurance group’s international management team. Howell be be responsible for Generali’s activities in 10 Asian markets, succeeding Sergio Di Caro, who was been appointed head of Generali Employee Benefits. Howell, 44, has extensive leadership experience in Asia, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. He was chairman and CEO of Philam Plans, an insurance company based in the Philippines and was appointed CEO of Prudential Vietnam in 2008. Aside from Howell’s appointment, Generali also announced the appointments of Antonio Cassio dos…

MALAYSIA – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged authorities to allow Sirul Azhar Umar to reveal the mastermind in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu. “He was asked to do it, so the question that should have been asked a long time ago was, who asked you to do it?” Dr Mahathir said at a forum in Cyberjaya. He said it was “grossly unfair” to just hang Sirul, who is now in Australia, to death for murdering the Mongolian model as he kept saying that he was only carrying out orders. “Until now somehow or other there is…

MALAYSIA – At least 500 people were rendered homeless after fire destroyed 50 wooden houses at Kampung Bangau-Bangau water settlement in Semporna Saturday morning, fire officials said. The blaze ocurred just 10 days after fire destroyed 250 wooden stilt houses in the same area, leaving more than 2,000 people homeless. Sabah Fire Services Department spokesman Mohd Affendi Ramin said no one was injured in the fire that broke out at about 1:40 a.m. on Saturday. It took firefighters almost two hours to control the blaze, whose origin was still being investigated. Twenty personnel including few from Kunak district were dispatched…