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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/world/asia-pacific/40024312

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023

Check out what’s hot in the region as The Nation puts together headlines from members of Asia News Network (ANN). Click to read more:

ANN news highlights: Tue, Jan 24, 2023
Bringing Asia Closer

Population 
Japan I
Japan PM: Tackling Declining Birth Rate is Top Priority – The Japan News

Japan II
Job Stability, Work Reforms Thought Key to Upping Birth Rate – The Japan News

China
IVF offers hope as China grapples with a shrinking population – NYT for Straits Times

Electricity Pakistan
Hours after major outage hits Pakistan, govt says power restoration under way – Dawn

Security Japan-US
Japan, U.S. to Review Division of Roles in Regional Security – The Japan News

South China Sea 
Allow joint patrols, military exercises in WPS, Marcos urged | Inquirer

Environment Bangladesh
Opinion: In ‘Smart Bangladesh,’ how smart is it to kill our rivers? | Daily Star

Food Philippines
Liberalize agriculture to allow crucial imports – NEDA chief | Inquirer 

EV UK-China
Geely to turn maker of London black cabs into EV powerhouse | Reuters for China Daily

Apple targets raising India production share to up to 25pc: minister – Reuters  for Dawn

Business Philippines
SteelAsia, BaoSteel forge deal to build P108-B facility | Inquirer 

Business Vietnam
Da Nang to build duty-free zone – Vietnam News

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/40024307

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023

Can Chinese tourists save Phuket?

Thailand is among the top international destinations for Chinese travellers after Beijing lifted travel restrictions on January 8.

Chinese tourists are now flooding into Phuket, where beautiful beaches and delicious local specialities await them.

Check out the bustling atmosphere on Thailand’s largest island – and also what local businesses have to say about the return of Chinese visitors

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asia-pacific/40024296

Raging fire spotted as Myanmar rebels attack Payathonzu border town

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023

Tall columns of flames were seen rising from Payathonzu township in Karen State in South Myanmar, some 800 metres from Kanchanaburi’s Sangkhalaburi district on Monday night.

The inferno is believed to have been started by members of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), when they set fire to the town office, military transport and communications facilities.

Residents of Nong Lu village on the border, where the Three Pagodas Pass is located, told reporters that they heard sporadic gunshots and explosions from 10pm on Monday.

There were no reports of casualties as of press time. The Royal Thai Army’s Surasee Force has been posted at the border to keep an eye on the situation. Preparations have also been made to provide assistance to Payathonzu residents who may be fleeing the fighting.

It is believed the attack was in retaliation to an attack on Saturday, when three Myanmar army aircraft hit DKBA’s training grounds, residences and other buildings in Payathonzu, in the Karen State of South Myanmar. The airstrike injured one rebel soldier.

Related stories:

Expanding access to education for children of migrants through learning centres

Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge reopens three years after closure during Covid

Deadly clashes continue between Myanmar troops and Karen rebels near Thai border

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/middle-east-africa/40024285

Thai-Turkish FDA, investment on table as Don heads to Ankara

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai will travel to Ankara on Wednesday for talks aimed at boosting two-way investment between Thailand and Turkey in renewable energy, electric vehicles, agriculture, development cooperation, and the defence industry.

Don will co-chair a two-day meeting of the Thai-Turkish Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (JETC) with Turkey’s Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, the Thai Foreign Ministry said.

The high-level bilateral meeting also aims to speed up the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and Turkey, it added.

Talks on the Thai-Turkish FTA launched in 2017 and were due to be finalised as early as 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic caused delays.

Thai exports to Turkey were worth US$1.31 billion (42.9 billion baht) in 2021, driven by shipments of cars, rubber and machinery.

Don is also due to meet with other Turkish dignitaries during his visit, including his counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Related Stories

Koran-burning in Stockholm draws strong condemnation from Turkey

Sweden says Turkey asking too much over Nato application

Turkey clears way for Finland, Sweden to join Nato – Stoltenberg

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/americas/40024282

Lula says Brazil and Argentina will study common currency for trade

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023

Brazil and Argentina are in early talks to establish a shared unit of value for bilateral trade to reduce reliance on the US dollar, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday, although the move is not aimed at replacing existing currencies.

In Buenos Aires on his first international visit since taking office, Lula made the comments alongside Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, a leftist ally, who said there was little decided about what would be involved in such a proposal.

“Our finance ministers are currently working (Brazil’s and Argentina’s), each with his own economic team, to make us a proposal for foreign trade and transactions between the two countries that is done in a common currency to be built after much debate and many meetings,” Lula told reporters in Buenos Aires.

The instrument is aimed at boosting trade within the Mercosur bloc – Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela – and reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar.

The two South American leaders met on Monday to sign an agreement to boost bilateral trade ahead of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).

Leaders from both countries are meeting at a regional summit in the Argentine capital, where Lula vowed to resume a closer relationship after former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro distanced himself from Argentina.

The discussions surfaced as part of an agreement to boost bilateral trade with more Brazilian export financing backed by Argentina’s international collateral, a Brazilian government source said on Monday.

Argentina’s Economy minister, Sergio Massa, and his Brazilian counterpart, Fernando Haddad, gave details on shared currency to reduce reliance on the US dollar.

Massa said the shared value would be based on each member’s gross domestic product, as Haddad said it was time to boost the Mercosur trade bloc integration.

Argentina’s economy is suffering from a series of challenges, including a lack of dollars, with the government battling to replenish foreign currency reserves while also grappling with an inflation rate of nearly 100% last year.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that his country supports the creation of a common currency for South America in response to the proposal by the Brazilian President and his Argentine counterpart.

“I announce that Venezuela is ready, and we support the initiative to create a Latin American and Caribbean currency,” Maduro said after leading a march against the US sanctions.

The Venezuelan leader said Brazil and Argentina’s project aims at the region’s unity as it will contribute to the “independence, union, and liberation of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/europe/40024281

No Turkish support for Sweden’s Nato membership – Erdogan

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2023

The US State Department on Monday said Finland and Sweden are ready to join the Nato alliance after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Sweden should not expect Turkey’s support for its membership after the burning of a copy of the Koran near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend.

Sweden should not expect Turkey’s support for its Nato membership after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend including the burning of a copy of the Koran, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

“Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy (in Stockholm) can no longer expect our support for their Nato membership,” Erdogan said in a speech after a cabinet meeting.

Protests in Stockholm on Saturday against Turkey and against Sweden’s bid to join Nato, during which a copy of the Koran was burned, have heightened tensions with Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to gain entry to the military alliance.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act, adding that “something can be lawful but awful.”

The Koran burning was carried out by Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right political party Hard Line. Paludan, who also has Swedish citizenship, has staged a number of demonstrations in the past where he burned the Koran.

Several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait denounced the event. Turkey had already summoned Sweden’s ambassador and cancelled a planned visit by the Swedish defence minister to Ankara.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to join Nato following Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine but all 30 member states must approve their bids. Ankara has previously said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

Reuters