Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged the international community to put their differences to one side, warning that history has shown countries that choose to go it alone “will always fail.” Speaking via videoconference as he addressed the annual World Economic Forum, Xi discussed global challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic and the climate […] Read more
Facebook on Thursday announced that it will refer its decision to indefinitely suspend the account of former President Donald Trump to its newly instituted Oversight Board. The independent body, which has been described as Facebook’s “Supreme Court,” will review the decision to suspend Trump and make a binding decision on whether the account will be reinstated. Until a […] Read more
The Chinese government slapped sanctions on former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and former trade adviser Peter Navarro, along with other members of the Trump administration Wednesday. The move came after Joe Biden was sworn in as 46th president of the United States. “Over the past few years, some […] Read more
On his way out the door, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out anew at China on Tuesday by declaring that its policies on Muslims and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang region constitute “crimes against humanity” and a “genocide.” The rarely used designation is sure to provoke an angry response from Beijing. Pompeo made […] Read more
Moderna plans to test a booster shot of its Covid-19 vaccine a year after the initial two-dose immunization, as the duration of protection from the new vaccines is still unclear. The biotech company plans to start the trial in July, according to a corporate presentation at the JPMorgan Moderna planson Monday. Staff at its clinical trial sites […] Read more
The U.K. has introduced new measures to root out the presence of alleged forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region in British supply chains. China is accused of extrajudicially detaining over 1 million Uighur Muslims and other minorities in political re-education camps in the northwestern autonomous region, along with invasive surveillance, restrictions on Uighur culture and […] Read more
Morgan Stanley has downgraded Chinese stocks, and reduced its rating on a major index which tracks Chinese shares listed overseas and off the mainland in Hong Kong. The investment bank cut its rating for the MSCI China to equal weight, or the same weight as the benchmark. The MSCI China index includes large-cap and mid-cap […] Read more
Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases on Sunday said it had detected a new variant of the coronavirus in four travelers arriving from Brazil. The newly discovered mutant strain of Covid-19 was found to share some of the mutations in common with those of concern for increased infectivity, the institute said, referring to highly infectious variants recently discovered […] Read more
China on Thursday tried to draw parallels between the U.S. riot on Capitol Hill and pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong that took place two years ago. Chinese state media avoided sharing too much opinion on the news, though state-backed tabloid Global Times showed photos of the chaos in both riots and highlighted what it said […] Read more
South Korean stocks had their best year in more than a decade in 2020. Here’s what drove them higher
Investors who stuck with South Korean stocks through 2020 were handsomely rewarded. The Kospi index, South Korea’s stock-market benchmark, rallied 30.8% for the year, its biggest annual jump in more than a decade. The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) rose 38.4% in 2020, outperforming most developed and emerging markets. The ETF’s year-to-date gains top those […] Read more
