Author: Desk Team

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — President Joe Biden hopes to use his visit to Asia to confirm his belief that long-standing friendships can afford to become even friendlier — and pay dividends. He opened the trip in South Korea on Friday and will end in Japan next week at a time when world events are resetting the foundations of the global order. The coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains and exposed the fragilities of a trade system focused primarily on low prices for consumers and high profits for corporations. Then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ushered in a return to Cold War-era intrigues. The U.S. and other wealthy democracies — including Japan and South Korea — banded together to help Ukraine and punish Russia, but not all countries were ready to side with the alliance. China, India

Marcos Jr eyes victory as Philippines votes for new president Philippine presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr (centre) cast his vote at Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary in his family's traditional stronghold of Ilocos Norte on Monday. BATAC CITY, Philippines: Millions of Filipinos thronged polling stations Monday to elect a new president, with the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos the favourite to win the high-stakes vote. Nearly 40 years after the patriarch was deposed by a popular revolt and the family chased into exile, Ferdinand Marcos Jr looks set to complete their remarkable comeback from pariahs to the peak of political power. Ten candidates are vying to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte in elections seen by many as a make-or-break moment for the Philippines' fragi...

Focus to be on high tech and BCG model EEC Automation Park at Burapha University in Chon Buri opened last October. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office is keen to draw Japanese investment in electric vehicles, smart electronics, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, digital, smart farms, the bio-, circular and green (BCG) economic model and smart cities over the next decade. According to Petch Chinabutr, deputy secretary-general of the office, the strategy is based on a memorandum of intent on collaboration on green industry and advanced technological development signed by the EEC Office and the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) on Jan 13 this year during a visit to Thailand by the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda. The memoran...

Dirty tricks mar last days of Philippine election campaign Ferdinand Marcos Jr, son the Philippine dictator, is tipped to win the presidential election. MANILA: Philippine election rivals traded allegations of dirty tricks and vote-rigging Friday, in the final stretch of an acerbic campaign that is tipped to bring the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos to power. After months of fierce campaigning marked by relentless misinformation and an online whitewashing of the country's violent history, rivals Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Leni Robredo implicated each other in underhand tactics. Marcos Jr -- the son the late dictator and notoriously kleptocratic first lady Imelda Marcos -- is predicted to win Monday's poll by a landslide. The Marcos campaign on Friday urged supporters to "protect ...

An aerial photo shows cargo containers stacked at a port in Lianyungang in China's eastern Jiangsu province on May 9, 2022. (Photo: AFP) China's lockdowns in big cities are having an adverse effect on the Thai manufacturing sector and its supply chains, with the problems likely to continue, warns the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC). The spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant has led to the closure of Chinese deep-sea ports, paralysed major industrial hubs, and disrupted the mainland's supply chains. According to an NESDC study on the lockdowns of big cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, and significant ports such as Qingdao and Xiamen, goods and raw materials cannot be exported, which is hindering production and supply chains in both China and Thailand. Danuch...

Russian ceasefire to begin at besieged Mariupol steel plant Smoke rises from the grounds of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, site of a planned three-day ceasefire that will begin Thursday. ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine: A Russian-announced ceasefire was due to begin Thursday at the besieged steel plant in the devastated Ukrainian city of Mariupol, to allow civilians to flee even as its defenders vowed to fight to the end. The three-day halt in Russia's attack on the Azovstal steelworks was announced as EU member states debated a proposed ban on Russian oil, the bloc's toughest move yet over Moscow's invasion of its neighbour. The EU also pledged to "significantly increase" support for Ukrainian neighbour Moldova, where a series of attacks in a Russia-backed separatist region has sparked f...

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the namesake son of an ousted Philippine dictator, declared victory Wednesday in this week’s presidential election and faced early calls to ensure respect for human rights, the rule of law and democracy. Marcos Jr. garnered more than 31 million votes in an unofficial vote count from Monday’s polls in what’s projected to be one of the strongest mandates for a Philippine president in decades. His vice-presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, appeared to have also won by a landslide. Marcos Jr.‘s electoral triumph is a victory for democracy and he promised to seek common ground across the political divide, his spokesman, Vic Rodriguez, said. “To the world: Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” Rodriguez quoted Marcos Jr. as sayin

Thousands of monks gather in Mandalay but many uncomfortable about dealing with military A monk receives alms during a gathering to mark the Buddha's birthday in Mandalay on Saturday. (AFP Photo) MANDALAY: Thousands of monks celebrated the birth of Lord Buddha at a junta-organised event in Myanmar's second-largest city on Saturday, highlighting a division in the clergy since last year’s military coup. Since the coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, more than 1,800 people have died in a brutal military crackdown on dissent, according to a monitoring group. Some monks have joined street protests opposing the power grab, while other religious leaders have defended the military junta. Ahead of the religious observance, a group of Mandalay monks opposed to the coup urged other

OTTAWA — Canada wants to ban any Russian sanctioned over the war in Ukraine from entering the country, a move that could affect upwards of 1,000 people and counting. The federal government introduced a bill in the Senate on Tuesday to amend existing immigration law, in order to make explicit that those on the sanctions list are inadmissible to Canada and can be removed if they’re already here. “Banning close associates and key supporters of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s regime, including those responsible for this unprovoked aggression from entering our country, is one of the many ways in which we’re holding Russia accountable for its crimes,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said in a statement. “We will continue to exhaust all options to uphold freedom and democracy, puni

The Thai entertainment scene got a welcome boost this past week with news that bars, clubs and pubs will reopen from June 1, albeit with a closing time of midnight. The government also announced that the lifting of restrictions would apply to 31 provinces that have successfully controlled potential outbreaks of Covid-19, with the other 46 provinces still under Covid-based surveillance and restrictions. Summer festivals are being held in many countries this year after a two-year hiatus and many record companies have resumed normal(ish) operations with the result that there are plenty of exciting new releases for you to consider for some summer fun. A couple of years ago I wrote about the Iranian singer Marjan Vahdat and her collaboration with the Kronos Quartet on the 2019 release Placele...