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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019261

The United States has promised to help Thai and Asean SMEs get back on their feet after the Covid-19 crisis, Thailand’s Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) said on Tuesday.

DTN director-general Oramon Sapthaweetham said Washington had vowed to deliver the aid under the Asean-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed last year.

“For 2022-2023, the United States has promised to provide technical assistance to Asean members, especially for online business, upgrading labour skills, environmental standards, and other projects that facilitate international trade,” she said.

Washington would focus on helping small and medium enterprises suffering impacts from Covid-19, she added. “Aid will come in the form of an upgrade for the Asean SME Academy to train and assist operators.”

Oramon added that under the Asean-US TIFA, Asean countries agreed to promote a single-point e-customs network connected to the US network for seamless international customs operations. Asean members also agreed to facilitate the protection of intellectual property, labour rights and environmental standards to forge a long-term trade partnership with the US.

The DTN is also preparing for Asean-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA) talks from August 29-September 1, by summarising agenda points from the previous 16 meetings ahead of a final agreement.

The ACAFTA is expected to follow the Asean-Canada Trade and Investment Framework of 2021-2025, with a focus on promoting sustainable economic growth in both regions in the post-Covid era through technical cooperation, promotion of digital economy, and knowledge exchange in trade, services, labour, and environmental management.

Published : August 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019254

State-run broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday showed comparison satellite images of the drought affecting Poyang lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, in Jiangxi province, in April and in August.

In April, Poyang lake covers an area of nearly 4,000 square kilometres, according to state television CCTV. It now covers less than 600 square kilometres, according to the report.

Poyang Lake, located in one of the Yangtze river’s flood plains and described as China’s “kidney” because of the role it plays in regulating water supplies, is now 67% smaller than the average over the last 10 years, CCTV reported.

China remains on a heat “red alert” for the 12th day on Tuesday, temperatures are expected to fall in parts of central China by Wednesday, and in Sichuan and Chongqing from Aug. 29, the National Meteorological Center said on its official Weibo channel.

State forecasters said China’s heatwave, which has lasted more than two months, was about to hit a “turning point,” with a cold front looming from the west and a typhoon approaching in the southeast.

Published : August 23, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019236

A Chinese military survey ship that docked at Sri Lanka’s Chinese-built port of Hambantota despite opposition from neighbouring India left on Monday after a week-long stay.

Drone images showed the ship leaving port.

Analysts say the Yuan Wang 5 is among a group of Chinese ships that monitor satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

India, Sri Lanka’s northern neighbour, fears China could use the port as a military base.

Sri Lanka, facing its worst economic crisis in decades and in need of financial support from both China and India, had delayed the ship’s arrival after India raised its concerns but gave in to Chinese demands later.

The ship has now left the southern Sri Lankan port, said the Hambantota International Port Group, a partnership between Sri Lanka’s government and China Merchants Port Holdings.

The ship’s next destination was not immediately known.

The Pentagon says the Yuan Wang ships are operated by the Strategic Support Force of the People’s Liberation Army.

Yuan Wang 5 Captain Zhang Hongwang said last week that the ship’s visit would “deepen the exchange between China and Sri Lanka in the field of space science and technology and promote the common progress of the space industry of the two countries.”

China says the Hambantota port, leased by China Merchants in 2017 for 99 years, is a key part of its Belt and Road initiative linking infrastructure projects in various countries.

Published : August 23, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019233

The heart of Portuguese monarch Dom Pedro I, who declared Brazilian independence from Portugal 200 years ago and was named “emperor” of Brazil, arrived from Portugal on Monday and will be put on display as part of independence anniversary celebrations.

The heart has been kept in an urn with formaldehyde in the Portuguese city of Porto since Pedro’s death in 1834 in Portugal at the age of 35.

The Portuguese government agreed to loan the heart to Brazil for three weeks for the bicentennial celebration. The Brazilian air force flew it to Brasilia, where it was received on Monday by the country’s defence minister.

Porto Mayor Rui Moreira said the arrival of the monarch’s heart to Brazil represented a great joy for the Portuguese people.

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro will receive the relic on Tuesday (August 22) at the presidential palace with military honours and a gun salute, before putting it on public display at the Foreign Ministry through Brazil’s Independence Day on Sept. 7.

Pedro’s declaration of independence from Portugal, which is acclaimed by Brazilian nationalists as the birth of their country, was an act of defiance against his father, Portuguese King Joao VI.

The Portuguese king’s family was escorted to safety in Brazil by the British Navy in 1807 before Napoleon’s forces invaded Portugal. On returning to Lisbon in 1821, he left his son Pedro as prince regent of Brazil.

Pedro’s heart was separated in 1834 and kept in a church in Porto according to his last wishes. His remains were donated to Brazil in 1972 for the 150th commemoration of Brazilian independence and are kept in a museum in Sao Paulo.

Published : August 23, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019231

US officials on Monday discouraged former American pro basketball player Dennis Rodman’s reported plan to travel to Russia to seek the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner.

Griner, 31, is a two-time Olympic champion and star player in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WBNA). Earlier this month she was convicted by a Russian court and given a nine-year sentence on drug charges.

U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned the verdict, calling it “unacceptable.”

The United States has offered to exchange her for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

Rodman told NBC News on Saturday that he plans to visit Russia to seek Griner’s release.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said if Rodman travels to Russia he would not be on behalf of the U.S. government and warned that his trip could “complicate” and “hinder” ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan who was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in jail for spying.

The State Department has issued a travel advisory warning Americans not to travel to Russia.

Rodman has sought to inject himself into international diplomacy in the past. He is one of a handful of westerners to have met North Korean head of state Kim Jong Un.

Published : August 23, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019229

Police arrested a female suspect at Atlanta’s international airport on Monday, ending an hours-long search after shootings in the city centre that left two dead and a third wounded.

The Atlanta Police Department said it was trying to determine whether the victims were targeted by the suspect or shot at randomly.

Responding to a report of a shooting at around 1:45 PM (17.45 GMT), police found two people at an upscale condominium building near Colony Square, an office and shopping complex in Atlanta’s Midtown area. One of them died while the other was taken to a hospital, police said.

While at the first location, officers received another call about a shooting less than a mile to the southeast at a high-rise office building, where police found the third victim.

That person also appeared to have been shot and later died at a hospital, police said.

Officers were investigating the connection between the two locations. Initial information indicated that a female suspect was responsible for both incidents, police said.

Before the suspect was located at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and taken into custody, police blocked off multiple blocks in Midtown, and people in some buildings were directed to shelter in place.

Published : August 23, 2022

By : Reuters