Politics
- Politics News
China downplays Micron ban as individual case, not broader US firm targeting
China is attempting to mitigate the fallout from its recent decision to partially ban sales of US chipmaker Micronโs products in the country on national security grounds. The ban has been challenged by Washington, which views it as a deliberate targeting of US businesses in response to export controls imposed on China. However, Chinese authorities, including the foreign ministry andโฆ
- Politics News
White House reports progress in talks to avert US debt default
The White House has reported some progress in the ongoing discussions with Republican negotiators to prevent a catastrophic US debt default before the June 1 deadline. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that both sides must understand that they wonโt get everything they want. The talks between US President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress are set to continue,โฆ
- Politics News
China bans US Micron chips, escalating global chip industry risks
Chinaโs recent ban on certain sectors using chips from United States-based Micron Technology has highlighted the potential risks faced by the global chip industry amidst rising Sino-US trade tensions. The move against Micron, the largest US memory chipmaker, is widely perceived as retaliation for Washingtonโs attempts to limit Beijingโs access to crucial technology. This comes as the Group of Sevenโฆ
- World News
Greeceโs political earthquake: Mitsotakis wins, Tsipras suffers huge setback
Greece experienced a โpolitical earthquakeโ as the conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his centre-right New Democracy party secured a significant electoral victory. With nearly 41% of the vote, the party was just five seats short of a majority. Alexis Tsipras, the centre-left rival and leader of the Syriza party, congratulated Mitsotakis as Syriza only managed to secure 20% ofโฆ
- Politics News
Thailandโs Democrats deny seeking to join Move Forward Party-led coalition
Prominent members of Thailandโs Democrat Party dismissed claims that they are considering joining the coalition led by the Move Forward Party (MFP). These rumours emerged on Thursday night after the formation of a 10-party alliance, suggesting that a group of winning Democrat candidates close to acting party secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on were seeking to approach the MFP and Pheu Thai to joinโฆ
- World News
China commerce minister to meet US officials amid tense relations
Chinaโs Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is set to visit the United States next week to meet with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, according to Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for Chinaโs embassy in Washington. The visit comes as the US aims to engage with Beijing to repair strained relations. Liu announced the plans during anโฆ
- Business News
Move Forward Party policies to boost retail, banking, and tourism stocks
The new coalition government led by the Move Forward Party is expected to have a positive impact on retail, banking, and tourism stocks, as per analysts. The partyโs policies aim to enhance the economyโs efficiency by reducing monopolies and increasing welfare for all, says Asia Plus Securities (ASPS). The sectors likely to benefit from these policies include retail, tourism, transport,โฆ
- World News
Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok over Chinese surveillance fears
Montana becomes the first US state to ban the Chinese-owned TikTok app, with Governor Greg Gianforte signing legislation that prohibits Google and Appleโs app stores from offering it within the stateโs borders. The ban is set to take effect on January 1, 2024. TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, has faced increasing calls for a nationwide ban dueโฆ
- Thailand News
Thailandโs economy defies global recession fears with post-election boost
Thailandโs economy is predicted to gain momentum during the last three quarters of this year, despite the looming threat of a global recession, partly due to the boost from the May 14 General Election, according to analysts. The countryโs GDP growth for the first quarter was 2.7% year-on-year, surpassing the expected 2.3% and marking an improvement from the 1.4% growthโฆ
- World News
Council of Europe gathers to discuss future prosecution of Russian leaders
A year after Russiaโs expulsion from the Council of Europe (CoE) due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the leaders of the 46-nation human rights body convened in Iceland to take preliminary steps toward the potential prosecution of Russian leaders. The summitโs main focus was the creation of a โregister of damagesโ to document evidence for use in a specialโฆ
- Thailand News
Military-backed senators refuse to back MFP form a government
Military-backed senators yesterday told the Move Forward Party (MFP) that they wonโt be helping them form a government. The MFP need at least 376 members to form a coalition government but Thai senators said that they wonโt be getting any votes from them. They will have to find the votes from somewhere else if they have ambitions to run theโฆ
- Thailand News
Record breaking! Bangkok has highest turnout in voter history
The 2023 General Election witnessed the highest voter turnout in Bangkokโs history. According to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), over 74% of eligible voters cast their ballots in the election yesterday. Representatives from the BMA announced the unofficial election result from 6,360 polling stations in Bangkok in the early hours of this morning. Out of the 4,479,155 eligible voters, 3,339,664โฆ
- World News
Biden administration warns of catastrophic consequences if US defaults on debt
The United States government is facing a potential economic catastrophe if a debt deal is not reached in the coming days. The possibility of the countryโs first-ever default is causing concern, as negotiations between Democrats and Republicans are expected to continue this week. The two parties have been unable to come to an agreement, despite warnings from officials and bankersโฆ
- World News
Biden optimistic about avoiding US debt default despite impasse with Republicans
Tensions continue to rise over the US debt limit, with President Joe Biden expressing optimism about reaching an agreement with Republican counterparts while acknowledging that no deal has been struck yet. The ongoing deadlock has raised the spectre of a first-ever US default, which could bring potentially disastrous consequences, including a possible recession and global financial contagion. Republicans in Congressโฆ
- World News
Imran Khan calls for nationwide โfreedomโ protests after arrest in Pakistan
Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, has called for nationwide โfreedomโ protests today after last weekโs unrest following his brief arrest and detention. The former cricket star, who has faced numerous legal cases since his removal from office in April last year, was released on bail on Friday when the Supreme Court declared his detention unlawful, AFP reported.โฆ
- Politics News
Pheu Thai Party candidates launch campaign caravan at Democracy Monument
Today at 9.30am, the Pheu Thai Party began its campaign at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok. Led by 35 year old Patongthan Shinawatra, and Sathorn Taweewon, they were joined by 33 Bangkok constituency candidates. Patongthan and Sathorn waved flags and released a car caravan as a symbol of their commitment to Thailandโs democracy. The Pheu Thai Partyโs caravan procession wasโฆ
- Politics News
Thai Election Commission predicts 85% turnout, confident of smooth process
Thailandโs Election Commission (EC) predicts an 85% voter turnout for the upcoming General Elections tomorrow (May 14) and maintains confidence in its ability to conduct the elections efficiently despite a few issues encountered during advance voting last week. EC member Thitichet Nuchanart revealed the estimation after an impressive 91% turnout was recorded for last weekendโs advance voting process. The ECโฆ
- World News
UMNOโs relevance continues despite being perceived as lifeless, says party president
Despite widespread perceptions of being a โlifelessโ party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) still holds significance, according to party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Speaking at the partyโs 77th-anniversary celebration, he acknowledged that the party currently has only 26 members in parliament, along with four more from the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, but insisted the partyโs relevance endures. UMNO, Malaysiaโsโฆ
- Business News
Biden and senior Republicans meeting postponed for further staff discussions
Crunch negotiations between US President Joe Biden and senior Republicans have been delayed until early next week, allowing staff to continue their discussions, according to a statement from the White House yesterday. An insider familiar with the talks between the Democratic and Republican leaders described this as a positive development, implying that it was not the right time for theโฆ
- World News
China faces backlash over pressure on dissidents abroad but remains undeterred
China is currently facing a strong backlash from Western countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, regarding its controversial efforts to pressure dissidents and their advocates abroad. Despite arrests, expulsions, and investigations taking place, Beijing remains persistent and undeterred in its actions. Isaac Stone Fish, founder and CEO of Strategy Risks, suggests that the increasingly assertiveโฆ
- World News
Myanmar peace plan progress lacking, says Indonesiaโs president
Despite having agreed to implement a peace plan with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) two years ago, Myanmarโs ruling military has made no significant progress, according to Indonesiaโs president. Speaking on the second day of the ASEAN leadersโ meeting in Labuan Bajo, President Joko Widodo stressed the need for the blocโs unity in deciding the next steps toโฆ
- World News
Fumio Kishidaโs unexpected political comeback in Japan
It seems that remembering the name of Japanโs Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may be worth it after all, despite the nationโs rapid turnover of leaders. Kishidaโs premiership began positively in late 2021 but faced challenges when ties between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church became a focal point in the media after the killing of former leaderโฆ
- Business News
Taiwanโs offshore wind farms amid China tensions and geopolitical risks
In the port city of Taichung on Taiwanโs west coast, a crane hoists into place the final section of a white wind turbine tower that stands almost a hundred metres tall. This turbine will be one of 111 spinning at a multi-billion US dollar offshore wind project up to 60km into the Taiwan Strait. Constructed by Denmarkโs Orsted, this projectโฆ
- Thailand News
Pheu Thai sets conditions for coalition government formation
Pheu Thai Family leader and prime ministerial candidate Paetongtarn โUng Ingโ Shinawatra has revealed three conditions for the party to form a coalition government, with one condition being that Pheu Thai must manage all major ministries. During an hour-long interview published on TikTok and Instagram Live, which was hosted by celebrity Kachapa โMod Damโ Tancharoen on Monday night, Paetongtarn maintainedโฆ
- Thailand News
Eastern economic corridor barely accessible to small businesses
The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project in Thailand is falling short of its intended purpose, as only a few small local businesses are able to access and benefit from it, according to the Thai Sang Thai (TST) Party. Prime ministerial candidate for the TST, Supan Mongkolsutee, stated that the EEC scheme is predominantly aimed at larger companies, leaving small businessesโฆ
- World News
Canada wonโt be intimidated by Chinaโs expulsion of Canadian consul, says Trudeau
Canadaโs Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, stated yesterday that the country would not be intimidated by Chinaโs tit-for-tat expulsion of a Canadian consul. This came after Ottawa expelled a Chinese diplomat earlier this week, who was accused of targeting a lawmaker critical of Beijing. Trudeau emphasised that his administrationโs decision to expel the Chinese official was taken to convey a clearโฆ
- Business News
Biden meets Republican leaders in bid to resolve US debt limit impasse
A significant meeting took place between President Joe Biden and Republican leaders yesterday, with the hope of breaking the deadlock over the US debt limit, which could have repercussions in the upcoming presidential election. The key gathering had President Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell discussing the national debt ceiling, which currently stands at US$31.4โฆ
- World News
Philippine president clarifies use of military bases granted to US
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr emphasised on Thursday that the additional military bases in his country, recently granted to United States access, will not be utilised to target China or any other nation. Marcos spoke at a think-tank event and responded with a simple โnoโ when questioned if the United States had requested his government contribute troops for combat operationsโฆ