New Zealand PM Ardern says she will step down next month
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2023
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, announced her resignation on Thursday, saying she will stand down as leader by early February.
Ardern said she still believed New Zealand Labour would win the upcoming election, due this year.
“I know what this job takes and I know I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice,” Ardern told media.
As the country’s youngest leader in more than a century, the charismatic 42-year-old’s response to the mass shooting by a white supremacist in Christchurch, a fatal volcanic eruption and her success with the Covid-19 pandemic has won her international praise and admiration.
Ardern’s brand of liberal, inclusive and compassionate leadership has seen some even label her “the anti-Trump”.
Having previously worked under former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and as an advisor to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Ardern rose to become Labour Leader in 2017.
Her communication skills and ability to connect with the public – dubbed “Jacinda-mania” – helped upstage the 2017 election, which had previously been seen as a shoe-in for the ruling centre-right National Party. In October 2017, Ardern, then 37 years old, became New Zealand’s third female prime minister through a coalition deal after an inconclusive election.
In January 2018, Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford – a television fishing show presenter – made the announcement that she was pregnant with her first child. The couple said they found out the news six days before she secured power.
Ardern gave birth in June 2018 to Neve Te Aroha, becoming only the second leader in history after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto to give birth while in office.
On her return from a six-week maternity leave, Ardern spoke at the United Nations and at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, highlighting issues such as gender equality and climate change.
But it was her leadership in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings in March of 2019 that turned a global spotlight onto Ardern, where she helped New Zealand grieve following the country’s worst peacetime mass shooting that shook the nation to its core.
She prompted the government to quickly enact and tighten gun laws, as well as urged changes to the role social media plays in the propagation of violent and extremist media.
Ardern and Gayford became engaged in mid-2019.
Ardern’s Prime Ministership was tested once more when 21 people died when the White Island volcano erupted when their tour party were visiting the location.
With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Ardern moved quickly to close New Zealand’s borders to all foreigners to slow the spread of Covid-19. She implemented a one-month compulsory lockdown for the country, telling New Zealanders to behave as if they had the coronavirus and cut all physical contact outside of their households.
A video of Ardern staying cool and continuing a live TV interview during an earthquake that rattled Wellington, encapsulated for many her poise.
After progressively lifting social restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Ardern led the country to 102 straight days without domestic transmission.
However, praise for her prolonged lockdown of the country began to diminish by 2022 and led to a 3-week protest outside the parliament house.
Jim Thompson collabs with artist Pichaya O for their Chinese New Year Collection
The Jim Thompson X Pichaya Osothcharoenpol collection is inspired by traditional Chinese cultural elements, as 2023 is the year of the Rabbit in Chinese astrology, the new collection features the rabbit, which is regarded as a symbol of peace, patience, and prudence, together with flowers and trees that symbolize good fortune.
Alternative rockers find unlikely fans with smash hit ‘Bad Boy’
Thai alternative rock duo Paper Planes found an unlikely audience with “Bad Boy”, their first major hit with an unexpected audience.
Grade 1 students and even their parents have embraced the catchy tune about a playboy gangster suffering the blues of unrequited love.
The song went viral after its video was released on October 17 last year. As of Wednesday, it had more than 54 million views, 430,000 likes, and 11,000 comments on YouTube.
Even though the song is about the kind of guy parents often warn their children about, young children across the country know the lyrics by heart.
Parents are posting about their Grade 1 sons singing the song constantly, and many praise Paper Planes for avoiding inappropriate language.
The duo’s Children’s Day performance on Saturday saw all 6,000 seats at Bangkok’s Safari World snapped up in 15 minutes by young children and their parents. The performance was held near the dolphin exhibition area, where more than another 1,000 fans waited outside the performance area to hear the duo perform the song live. So many children sang along they nearly drowned out vocalist Tunwa “Hye” Ketsuwan.
He, and guitarist Nakarin “Zen” Khunpakdee, comprise the duo that has suddenly become beloved. Tunwa and Nakarin advised children to enjoy life and do what they love without comparing themselves to others. They also asked parents to take good care of their children so that they will become high-quality citizens.
“We may be dubbed leaders of the children’s gang, but we believe that we are their big brothers,” Paper Planes said. “We have done both good and bad things, but we believe that we and parents can work together to encourage children to do the right thing.”
Tunwa and Nakarin also thanked the parents of their young fans for their support and for refraining from judging them by their appearance. Paper Planes debuted in 2017 under Thai record label Genie Records, a subsidiary of GMM Grammy. The band released its first music video “Kon Sia Ther Pai” (“Before Losing You”) on March 6, 2017.
Another Paper Planes’ video, “Pretend”, has accumulated 103.36 million views on YouTube since its release on March 8 last year. The video has also drawn more than 590,000 likes and 20,000 comments.
Tunwa also produces songs for Thai artists like Retrospect, Lomosonic, Sweet Mullet, Wonderframe, Mirrr, Annalynn, Gavin.D, ActArt, SBFIVE, and PiXXiE.
Speakers of Southeast Asian languages help drive cross-border biz in Nanning
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has seen a spark in business thanks to residents who speak languages that, while regionally important, are not spoken widely across the globe, officials said.
The city is incubating its cross-border e-commerce live-streaming business as a result of the talent living there being fluent in what are sometimes called minor languages.
Unlike Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Nanning doesn’t possess many advantages in the e-commerce supply chain.
Yet, with a low cost of living and government support for foreign trade with Southeast Asian nations, Nanning has shown an important strength. The city has also benefited from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement that took effect on Jan 1, 2022.
The Rcep agreement covers 15 Asia-Pacific countries, which include 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Over the next 20 years, the pact is expected to reduce up to 90 % of tariffs on goods traded among its members.
Nanning is located close to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. Many foreigners have gravitated to Nanning, which has provided the city with a diverse language pool.
Nutchaya Seyungkun, a young Thai live-streaming anchor, has continued to live and work in Nanning after her graduation from Guangxi Minzu University in 2020. Besides anchoring e-commerce live-streaming sessions, Nutchaya said she is considering opening a Sino-Thai cultural company to promote exchange between the two countries.
During the fifth China International Import Expo held in Shanghai in November, Nutchaya set up a demonstration live-streaming session representing Guangxi. During the 19th China-Asean Expo held in Nanning in September, Nutchaya recommended Thai products at a booth.
Livestreaming has reshaped the e-commerce business in China, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. Anchors serve as the core of the live-streaming sector, and providing a competitive salary has been critical for retaining talent.
Anchors who speak minor languages and conduct live streaming sessions often earn 4,000 yuan ( 19,475 baht, $596 ) to 5,000 yuan ( 24,343 baht, $738 ) monthly, comparable to the average level of local salaries, based on public recruitment information. In higher-cost cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen, the monthly salary of a similar job is often above 10,000 yuan ( 48,681 baht, $1,476).
One company, Guangxi Tus Innovation Cross-Border E-Commerce Co Ltd, has recruited international students in cooperation with a number of domestic colleges, officials said. They have attracted students from Southeast Asia who are eager to learn about cross-border e-commerce and encouraged them to start their own businesses in China.
The company has also helped overseas returnees and high-level overseas talent engage in cross-border e-commerce entrepreneurship or work in Guangxi.
A Vietnamese student (left) from Guangxi University of Foreign Languages introduces products in his mother tongue at a livestreaming booth in Nanning in May 2020. [Photo by LIN HAO/CHINA NEWS SERVICE]
“The popularity of cross-border e-commerce live streaming in minor languages in Nanning is expected to rise continuously and drive the accumulation of resources such as talent, materials and more cross-border platforms,” said Zhao Hui, head of overseas projects at Guangxi Tus.
Another company, Guangxi G&M Enterprise Management Co Ltd, a cross-border integrated service platform, opened a live streaming centre in Nanning a few months ago. It aims to recruit and train anchors and conduct live-streaming sessions on TikTok. It also plans to organize an anchor contest, officials said.
The salaries of anchors who speak English or minor languages are anticipated to range from 3,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan a month, they said.
In the first quarter of 2023, the centre plans to foster 30 retailers on TikTok conducting live streaming sessions in minor languages. It will provide offline training, and qualified businesses will be supported through subsidies, it said.
The company already operates a Thai live-streaming room and a couple of Chinese anchors who speak Thai serve as anchors. They hold live-streaming sessions on TikTok and sell products to Southeast Asian countries, with average daily transactions exceeding 1,000 yuan.
The centre plans to foster 500 cross-border e-commerce anchors and create a total of 2,000 jobs by 2025. It also plans to provide professional services to more than 1,000 local enterprises in Guangxi.
Meanwhile, the shopping platform Lazada, acquired by Alibaba Group in 2016, has been a primary force in advancing the development of live streaming sessions locally. While the business is still in the beginning stage, the company jointly trains talent with the local government and colleges.
Covid-19 has accelerated online shopping among residents from Southeast Asian countries. The gross merchandise volume of Southeast Asia’s digital economy is expected to have reached $200 billion, according to a recent report jointly released by Google, Temasek Holdings of Singapore and management consultancy Bain & Company of the United States.
E-commerce adoption is high across both urban and suburban consumers in the six countries the report tracked — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
According to another survey released in early December by Singaporean consultancy Black Box Research, 35 % of surveyed respondents in Singapore said they prefer online shopping and deliveries.
In Nanning, more companies involved in cross-border e-commerce businesses are looking to work with local colleges and recruit more talent.
The School of Southeast Asian Language and Culture under the Guangxi University of Foreign Languages has been a major source of training in Asian languages in Guangxi. The school offers undergraduate majors in Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Indonesian, Burmese and Japanese.
“The school has been devoted to teaching practical, interdisciplinary skills, and students should constantly improve their language abilities to be better prepared for future jobs. The school is looking to strengthen cooperative arrangements with more related enterprises,” said Wu Guiming, vice-principal of the Guangxi University of Foreign Languages.
Southeast Asian markets are continuing to expand, according to executives at Nanning Lightning Future E-commerce Business Co Ltd, and the demand for related language talent is also growing. The company hopes to work with the university and fill the shortage of those who can speak regional languages, the executives said.
The Guangxi branch of another company, Shenzhen Jiuye Industrial Group, which is involved in the cross-border e-commerce business, plans to strengthen cooperation with the university by training recent graduates in minor languages at its e-commerce incubation centre in Shenzhen.
During internships, the company offers opportunities for students to learn and practice in a type of apprenticeship, according to Liu Zhiping, general manager of Shenzhen Jiuye. Students will have opportunities to conduct live-streaming sessions on different social media platforms.
“Students will also engage in work such as answering and solving different problems and complaints from customers about the usage of products. We will help students introduce the related resources of trading companies and propose employment solutions based on their needs,” Liu said.
Red ‘ong lai’ makes auspicious comeback in Chinese New Year
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
For the Chinese community, pineapples play an important part in the Lunar New Year celebrations, as they call it “ong lai”, which sounds exactly like “fortune comes” in the Hokkien dialect. And it is even better if the pineapples are red.
Red pineapples with disproportionately tall, spiky crowns are back in the market for Chinese New Year and are sought after by those who want an auspicious touch to their prayers.
Clothing trader Jeffrey Chin, 48, who sells the fruit yearly, said the pineapples are harvested at a friend’s farm in Balik Pulau.
“These pineapples are unlike ordinary ones as they are more for decoration and prayers than to be eaten,” said Chin at the Pulau Tikus market.
He said that while red pineapples were not as sweet, they could be kept for up to two months.
Priced between RM5 ( 38 baht )and RM20 ( 152 baht ) each depending on the size, Chin said many customers purchased them this year after life returned to “normal”.
They were even willing to pay more for the fruit.
“If you are expecting guests, having a red pineapple to decorate the house is something that is auspicious. Many families are performing prayers on a larger scale this year, and the red pineapples can last throughout the two-week festivity,” he added.
However, Chin said a shortage of supply would mean there would be fewer of these pineapples this year.
“I’m fortunate to obtain a steady supply from my friend’s farm.
“The rainy season last year reduced the harvest by almost 40%,” he said.
This rare pineapple variety is believed to have originated in South America and is often grown as an ornamental plant. While the outside is red, the flesh is pink.
Meanwhile, tiny ang pow packets are in vogue, as proven by their high demand, says Lee Jin Huat, 67.
With over 30 varieties to choose from, these ang pow packets measure only 5cm by 4cm, and they are so unique that people buy them in bundles.
“You just have to fold your money several times to slip it inside. Some just wanted to buy them as decorations,” said the ang pow trader.
The packets are sold for between RM6 ( 45 baht ) and RM10 ( 76 baht ) for packs of 20 or 40 pieces.
Don hosts Portugal’s foreign minister for talks to strengthen ties
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai hosted his Portuguese counterpart João Gomes Cravinho for talks in Bangkok on Tuesday, as Thailand and its oldest European partner sought to strengthen ties.
Don and Cravinho, who was on a two-day visit to Thailand, discussed bilateral ties in economy, culture, tourism, and other sectors, according to a Thai Foreign Ministry press release. Their talks covered trade and investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor under the Thailand 4.0 policy, labour, culture, language, gastronomy and tourism.
Both foreign ministers also exchanged views on global developments such as the crises in Myanmar and Ukraine.
Cravinho also hosted Thai businesspeople who are investing in Portugal at the Portuguese Embassy, and visited the capital’s Kudi Chin neighbourhood, which grew from the historic settlement of Portuguese in Bangkok.
This year marks the 512th anniversary of the first Portuguese diplomatic mission to Siam. Portuguese envoy Duarte Fernandes travelled to Ayutthaya in 1511 and had an audience with King Ramathibodi II.
Don paid a state visit to Portugal in December 2019, the first Thai foreign minister to have done so in almost 30 years.
Former Wagner commander seeks asylum in Norway after fleeing Russia
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
A former commander of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group who fought in Ukraine said he has fled to Norway and is seeking asylum in fear for his life after witnessing the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners brought to the frontline.
Norwegian police said a foreign citizen had been arrested on the night of Thursday to Friday after illegally crossing the Russian-Norwegian border in the Arctic and was seeking asylum.
“During the night to Friday at approximately 01:58 a person was arrested in Pasvikdalen on suspicion of illegally crossing the Norwegian-Russian border, in the area of Skroeytnes. There was a person who came over and contacted the civilian population in the area. He was ungrammatically arrested by a joint border patrol between the defence and the police,” said Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen, from the Finnmark Police District.
Andrei Medvedev, who joined the group on July 6, 2022, on a four-month contract, said in a video posted by the Gulagu.net rights group that he had crossed the border into Norway before being detained by Norwegian police.
Medvedev, an orphan who joined the Russian army and served time in prison before joining Wagner, said he had slipped away from the group after witnessing the killing of captured deserters from Wagner.
He said he crossed the border, climbing through barbed-wire fences and evading a border patrol with dogs, and heard guards firing shots as he ran through a forest and over thin and breaking ice into Norway.
His Norwegian lawyer said Medvedev was now in the “Oslo area” but did not give details.
Brynjulf Risnes, who declined to say where Medvedev was fighting in Ukraine, said Medvedev said the escape was dramatic.
“He was chased and they both fired shots and dogs were sent after him. The way he tells the story, it’s like a spy thriller, where you escape just at the last minute. He saw a light in a house on the other side and ran there, and a woman came out. There he said that he wanted to talk to the police. They called the police who arrived at the quite quickly. They were dramatic minutes and hours”.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded Wagner, said that Medvedev had worked in a Norwegian unit of Wagner but had “mistreated prisoners”.
In interviews with Gulagu, Medvedev said he grew disaffected after his contract was repeatedly extended by Wagner without his consent. He said he had witnessed the killing and mistreatment of Russian prisoners who were brought to the front by Wagner.
Russia sent forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it calls a “special military operation” to “denazify” its neighbour and protect Russian security.
India set to overtake China as world’s most populous nation
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2023
India is expected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country this year even though its population growth has been slowing down, the United Nations says.
China’s population fell last year for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy and the world.
India estimates its population at 1.38 billion, compared to China’s 1.4 billion.
At a children’s hospital in the Indian capital New Delhi, newborn babies were being kept under observation at its neonatal intensive care unit.
Doctor Rinku Sengupta Dhar, a senior consultant at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, said that although a high population has its advantages such as a young workforce, it also presented a challenge to economic growth and resources.
For Nikita Bhola, mother to a one-day-old son, however, giving her three-year-old daughter a sibling was important. Bhola said she was elated at the birth of her baby boy.
“I always wanted to have one of each,” she said.
On the streets of the Indian capital, people felt that the government needed to take steps to tame its population growth, which is actually slowing down.
The South Asian nation’s annual population growth has averaged 1.2% since 2011, down from 1.7% in the previous 10 years.
“They should bring out some rules and regulations that help in controlling our country’s population,” New Delhi resident Azhar Khan said.
“When the country’s population is in control, then only we can develop further.”
The use of family planning methods in India increased to 66.67% in 2019-21, up from 53.5% in 2015-16.
India’s total fertility rate – the number of children per woman – fell to 2 in 2019-2021, down from 3.4 in 1992-93.
With 27.3% of its population aged between 15 and 29 years, India is among the youngest countries in the world.
Vietnam President resigns amid anti-corruption drive
TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023
The Party Central Committee noted that during his term as the Prime Minister in 2016-21, Nguyen Xuan Phuc must bear the “political responsibility of the leader” as many officials had committed violations and shortcomings, causing very serious consequences.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc, 68 years old, has stepped down as President of Vietnam after a number of senior officials were found to have committed violations in connection with Covid-19 test kits and repatriation flights.
The 13th-tenure Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam convened on Tuesday and decided to relieve Nguyen Xuan Phuc of all duties, including the Presidency, Politburo and Party Central Committee membership, and Chairman of the National Defence and Security Council for the 2021-26 term.
Delegates voted at the meeting of the Party Central Committee on Tuesday in Hanoi. — VNA/VNS Photo Tri Dung
According to the announcement from the Party Central Committee, Nguyen Xuan Phuc is a key leader of the Vietnamese Party and State, born to a family with rich revolutionary history, and matured politically from the grassroots level.
He was entrusted by the Party Central Committee and the Politburo to hold many important Party and State leadership roles.
In 2016-21, as he served as the Prime Minister of Vietnam, the Party recognised that Phuc had made many efforts in leading the national Covid-19 response and achieved important accomplishments.
However, the Party Central Committee noted that during his term, Phuc must bear the “political responsibility of the leader” as many officials, including two Deputy Prime Ministers and three ministers, had committed violations and shortcomings, causing very serious consequences.
Two former Deputy Prime Ministers, Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam, have resigned from their positions, while two former ministers – former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and former Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh – and many officials have been criminally handled, in connection with the Covid-19 test kits and repatriation flights scandals.
“Fully aware of his responsibilities before the Party and people, Comrade Nguyen Xuan Phuc has submitted an application to resign from his assigned positions, and retire,” the announcement from the Party Central Committee reads.
Based on the current regulations of the Party and State and considering the wishes of Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Party Central Committee has agreed to let him resign from the positions of a member of the Politburo, member of the 13th-tenure Party Central Committee, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Chairman of the National Defence and Security Council for the 2021-26 term.
The Party Central Committee assigned the Politburo to direct relevant agencies to implement the procedures in line with regulations.
![A Vietnamese student (left) from Guangxi University of Foreign Languages introduces products in his mother tongue at a livestreaming booth in Nanning in May 2020. [Photo by LIN HAO/CHINA NEWS SERVICE]](https://media.nationthailand.com/uploads/images/contents/w1024/2023/01/sapAjjfxGNvDJCHEptxI.webp)
A Vietnamese student (left) from Guangxi University of Foreign Languages introduces products in his mother tongue at a livestreaming booth in Nanning in May 2020. [Photo by LIN HAO/CHINA NEWS SERVICE]
Delegates voted at the meeting of the Party Central Committee on Tuesday in Hanoi. — VNA/VNS Photo Tri Dung
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