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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017565

The United States and Thailand signed agreements on Sunday to deepen the countries’ already strong ties as Washington steps up its efforts to counter China’s expanding influence in Asia.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai pledged to advance partnerships in climate change, law enforcement and security cooperation.

“Apart from the strategic alliance partnership communique, the second signing was on the MOU on promoting supply chain resilience. Again, this ensures a strong, resilient and diverse supply chain cooperation, particularly in medical industry and technological innovation,” Don Pramudwinai told press after meeting with his American counterpart.

Blinken said: “Our countries share the same goal – a free, open, interconnected, prosperous, resilient and secure Indo-Pacific. In recent years, we’ve worked together even more closely towards that vision. Our economic ties are incredibly strong and even now, emerging from Covid, they will grow stronger. We’re grateful for Thailand’s partnership in launching with us the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – that’s going to help create a stronger, fairer, more resilient economy that will help families, it will help workers, it will help businesses across the region.”

He added that Thailand was an important US ally in achieving a resilient and secure Indo-Pacific.

Blinken will also meet with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has been engaged in intense diplomacy across Asia in recent weeks and met Prayut last Tuesday.

Reuters

Published : July 10, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017552

Bolivian Volkswagen (VW) Beetle enthusiasts drove in a convoy through the highways on the Cordillera Real mountain range on Saturday to commemorate the anniversary of the production of the last Beetle in 2019.

Close to a dozen classic Beetle car owners and their families participated in the activity.

Beetle owner Teresa Ledezma told Reuters a ‘peta’, the nickname given to Beetles in Bolivia, could easily climb more than 4,000 metres (13,123 feet) above sea level and could beat any luxury car of the year.

The “bug,” as the Beetle was also nicknamed, debuted in 1938 as an affordable vehicle commissioned by Adolf Hitler to promote car ownership among Germans.

With its recognizable design and inexpensive price, the car became a success story over subsequent decades and was one of the top-selling models of all time as well as the best-selling import in the United States in the 1960s, according to auto publications.

Despite its place in popular culture, sales of the Beetle had been lacklustre in recent years.

In July 10, 2019, VW plant in the Mexican state of Puebla rolled out its last iconic Beetle.

Published : July 10, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017551

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will step down next Wednesday, bowing to popular pressure after a day of violent protests in which demonstrators stormed the president’s official residence and set fire to the prime minister’s home in Colombo.

The announcement came after a dramatic escalation in months of largely peaceful anti-government protests over a dire economic crisis on the Indian Ocean island of 22 million people.

There was no immediate word from the president himself.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a video statement Rajapaksa had informed him that he would step down from his post.

“He will resign on 13 (July), Wednesday, to ensure a peaceful handover of power”, Abeywardena said.

The news of the president’s decision triggered an eruption of celebratory fireworks in parts of Colombo.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also said he is willing to resign to make way for an all-party government, his office said in a statement on Saturday evening.

It was not yet clear if this would quell popular anger.

Throughout the day, soldiers and police were unable to hold back a crowd of chanting protesters demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation and blaming him for the country’s worst economic crisis in seven decades.

Published : July 10, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017550

Parisians basked in the sun and cooled off in pools filled with water from the River Seine on Saturday as the capital’s annual beach installation opened to the public.

Locals found the “Paris Plages’ sites a good alternative for those who were not able to escape the city for a vacation, as the country faces record inflation that has driven up the prices of basic necessities and led the government to take new emergency measures costing 20 billion euros.

“For those who don’t have the chance to go on holiday, I think this is great because they can stay in Paris and enjoy the water, pools, playgrounds for the children,” said Parisian Michael.

The artificial beaches on the banks of the Seine in central Paris and the Bassin de la Villette, a man-made lake in the north-east of the city, have been a big success since they were launched by Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe in 2002.

This year, the sites included six pools in the Seine cordoned off from other boats. Visitors could also participate in water-related activities, such as kayaking and paddle-boarding.

Dutch tourist Stan Wahlbrenck sunbathed by the water on Saturday. He said he felt privileged to be able to go on holiday to Paris and see a more relaxed side of the bustling city.

“Paris brings a lot,” Wahlbrenck said. “I think people who are less privileged, they can enjoy it here as well as in the south of France.”

Published : July 10, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017549

Fire blazed and clouds of smoke rose from Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private home in an affluent Colombo neighbourhood on Saturday.

His office said that protesters had started the fire.

People watched from a nearby street and fire trucks were at the scene.

Local TV broadcast drone footage of huge crowds of protesters filling the streets of Colombo around the Presidential Secretariat building.

Sri Lanka’s parliamentary speaker announced on Saturday that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to step down, bowing to intense pressure after a violent day of protests in which demonstrators also stormed the president’s official residence.

Neither Rajapaksa nor Wickremesinghe were in their residences when the buildings were attacked.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a video statement that Rajapaksa had informed him that he would step down from his post next Wednesday.

Wickremesinghe also said he was willing to resign to make way for an all-party government, his office said in a statement on Saturday evening.

Throughout the day, soldiers and police were unable to hold back a crowd of chanting protesters demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation and blaming him for the country’s worst economic crisis in seven decades.

At least 39 people, including two police officers, were injured and hospitalised during the protests, hospital sources told Reuters.

The country is struggling under a severe foreign exchange shortage that has limited essential imports of fuel, food and medicine, plunging it into the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

Published : July 10, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017545

Tesla CEO Elon Musk decided on Friday to terminate his 44 billion U.S. dollars deal to buy Twitter, blaming the company for withholding information on its number of spam and fake accounts.

Musk’s lawyer claimed that Twitter failed to comply with its obligations in the merger agreement and was “in material breach of multiple provisions” of the agreement signed in April.
 

Twitter’s Board Chair Bret Taylor said the company is committed to closing the deal on the price and terms agreed upon with Musk, and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement.

“We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery,” tweeted Taylor, who is also co-CEO of Salesforce.

In April, Elon Musk announced the 44 billion-dollar acquisition of Twitter. Later in May, he said the deal was temporarily on hold as he asked for details on the number of the social platform’s spam and fake accounts.

Published : July 09, 2022

By : Xinhua

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017521

Foreign ministers and top diplomats of the Group of 20, or G20, gathered in Bali, Indonesia, for a ministerial meeting on Friday with the theme of “Building a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous world together”.

Among those present are Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting is divided into two sessions.

The first session on strengthening multilateralism discusses joint steps to strengthen global collaboration and build mutual trust among countries, which will become an enabling environment for world stability, peace, and development.

The second session on food and energy security discusses strategic steps to overcome the food crisis, fertilizers shortage, and rising global commodity prices.

Due to the ongoing Ukraine crisis, issues related to food security will be widely discussed at the meeting.

Rising commodity prices and disruption of global supply chains have caused major impacts on developing countries. For this reason, the G20, as an economic forum representing various regions of the world, discusses these issues comprehensively to find sustainable socio-economic solutions.

The G20, a strategic multilateral platform that connects the world’s 20 major economies, plays a strategic role in securing the future of global economic growth and prosperity.

Holding the 2022 G20 Presidency, Indonesia prioritizes cooperation in strengthening the global health architecture, digital transformation, and energy transition.

Published : July 08, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017518

Liberal Democratic party ( LDP ) sources say former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has died. He was shot during a speech on Friday in the city of Nara, near Kyoto.

Japan’s former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo reportedly has no vital signs after being shot on the streets of the western prefecture of Nara. Police arrested a man for attempted murder.

The incident happened Friday morning in Nara City. An NHK reporter was at the scene. She heard two gunshots at around 11:30 local time, shortly after Abe began to speak. She filmed footage which appears to show security guards at the event apprehending someone.

Sources with the investigation tell NHK a gun seized at the scene appeared to be handmade.

Abe was rushed by medevac to a hospital in Kashihara City in the prefecture.

Rescue officials say Abe was wounded and bleeding on the right side of his neck. They say he also has internal bleeding in his left chest and has no vital signs.

Yamagami Tetsuya is under arrest for attempted murder. The 41-year-old suspect lives in Nara City. Defense Ministry officials say he worked for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for three years until around 2005.

Police say the suspect told investigators that he was dissatisfied with the former prime minister and intended to kill him. But he also reportedly said that he doesn’t have a grudge against Abe’s political beliefs.

Abe was in the city to support a candidate in this weekend’s Upper House election. The local Liberal Democratic Party office says Abe’s appearance was decided Thursday afternoon and those details were later released to supporters.

Abe, 67, served two terms as prime minister to become Japan’s longest-serving premier before stepping down in 2020 citing ill health.

But he has remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) party, controlling one of its major factions.

His protege, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, faces an upper house election on Sunday in which analysts say he hopes to emerge from Abe’s shadow and define his premiership.

Abe has been best known for his signature “Abenomics” policy featured bold monetary easing and fiscal spending.

He also bolstered defence spending after years of declines and expanded the military’s ability to project power abroad.

In a historic shift in 2014, his government reinterpreted the postwar, pacifist constitution to allow troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.

Japan has some of the world’s toughest gun-control laws, and annual deaths from firearms in the country of 125 million people are regularly in single figures.

Published : July 08, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017512

Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, 67, is in “grave condition” after being shot while campaigning for votes in Nara City in the west of Japan.

Struggling to keep his emotions in check, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio told reporters that the assault was an unacceptable attack on the foundation of Japan’s democracy.

“Doctors are doing everything they can at this moment. I’m hoping and praying that former prime minister Abe will survive,” Kishida told the press.

Condemning the act as despicable and unacceptable, Kishida said the government will take all necessary measures to prevent such situations from happening again.

NHK reported that the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, is believed to be a former member of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence. Police recovered a handmade gun from the scene and quoted Yamagami as saying he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him.

Published : July 08, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017500

Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been taken to hospital bleeding after collapsing while delivering a speech in the city of Nara in western Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported on Friday.

Shots were heard and a white puff of smoke was seen as Abe made a campaign stump speech outside a train station.

An NHK reporter on the scene said they could hear two consecutive bangs during Abe’s speech.

“He was giving a speech and a man came from behind,” a young woman at the scene told NHK. “The first shot sounded like a toy. He didn’t fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke,” she added. “After the second shot, people surrounded him and gave him cardiac massage.”

National broadcaster NHK said a man in his 40s had been arrested for attempted murder and a gun had been confiscated from him, citing police sources.

Police identified the suspected shooter as Tetsuya Yamagami, a resident of Nara. He’s a former member of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. Police say the gunman admitted he tried to kill Abe because he was ‘dissatisfied’ with him.

Abe, 67, appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest, the network said and Kyodo news agency. 

He remains in hospital without vital signs after being shot.

Abe served two terms as prime minister to become Japan’s longest-serving premier before stepping down in 2020 citing ill health.

But he has remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) party, controlling one of its major factions.

His protege, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, faces an upper house election on Sunday in which analysts say he hopes to emerge from Abe’s shadow and define his premiership.

Abe has been best known for his signature “Abenomics” policy featured bold monetary easing and fiscal spending.

He also bolstered defence spending after years of declines and expanded the military’s ability to project power abroad.

In a historic shift in 2014, his government reinterpreted the postwar, pacifist constitution to allow troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed deep concern over Abe’s condition.

“Our thoughts, our prayers are with him, with his family, with the people of Japan,” Blinken said on the sidelines of a G20 meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali. “This is a very, very sad moment. And we’re awaiting news from Japan.”

The United States is Japan’s most important ally.

Japan has some of the world’s toughest gun-control laws, and annual deaths from firearms in the country of 125 million people are regularly in single figures.

Published : July 08, 2022

By : Reuters