Author: Nathaniel Fields

Việt Nam always places importance on strengthening relations with traditional friends, including Hungary – a priority partner in Central Eastern Europe, said Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính Hungary consistently regards Việt Nam as its most crucial partner in Southeast Asia, Hungarian President Katalin Novák stated at a January 19 meeting with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, who is paying an official visit to the European country. Novák said she hoped Hungary-Việt Nam cooperation would continue to develop across all sectors based on mutual respect, and become a model for East-West collaboration. She described PM Chính’s visit as a significant milestone…

With bank lending interest rates and land prices plummeting, more and more people are borrowing money to buy land in rural areas to build homestay and farmstay facilities. Nguyen Quang Hieu of Hanoi’s Dong Da District withdrew his bank deposit of VND5 billion (US$208,000) after deposit interest rates fell sharply, and borrowed VND600 million at an interest rate of 7% and bought nearly a hectare of farmland in Thuy An Commune in Ba Vi District for VND6 billion. He says: “Farmland prices on the outskirts of Hanoi have dropped sharply, deposit interest rates are very low, and loan interest rates are not…

In February 2023, Myanmar and Russia marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. For most of that period, relations have been insubstantial. It was only in the 2010s that the two countries began to move closer together, primarily due to the Myanmar military’s (Tatmadaw) growing preference for Russian-made arms over Chinese-manufactured equipment. Since the Tatmadaw seized power in a coup on 1 February 2021, and Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the two countries have entered into a much tighter embrace. In the face of international disapprobation and Western sanctions, Naypyidaw and Moscow have forged closer diplomatic…

Much like its ideological counterparts at HispanTV (Iranian-owned) and Actualidad RT (Russian-owned), Telesur wraps its incitement into a sophisticated and slick twenty-four-hour news platform through its website, broadcasts, and social media presence. Though it is difficult to gauge its influence, numbers suggest that Telesur’s message is impactful. Telesur has two million followers on its Spanish X account, 117,500 on its English X account, and more than half a million on Instagram. Its YouTube account has over 1.7 million subscribers, with 100,000 new subscribers and almost 7.4 million video views since October 7 (It also posts its videos on the Daily Motion). The network traditionally pushes out conspiracy theories, fake news, “whataboutism,”…

The delegation will be led by Abdur Rahim, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Commerce; Makawadee Sumitmor, Ambassador of Thailand to Bangladesh; and Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTCCI) President Shams Mahmud. Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry along with the Commerce Ministry of Thailand and the Royal Thai Embassy in Dhaka jointly organised this programme. The delegation visit will be the first of a series of planned visits to Thailand by Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry to make Thailand the gateway for Bangladesh to Southeast Asia and promote Bangladesh as the gateway to South…

Bangkok, Thailand – Three words in English gave Thai migrant worker Khomkrit Chombua the first signal in 50 days that his captors in Gaza were about to release him: “You go Thailand.” Khomkrit was among 17 Thai captives who arrived in Bangkok on Thursday, tired and visibly thin but appearing in good spirits. The returnees were mobbed at the airport by tearful relatives overwhelmed with relief that their loved ones, who had left home to earn money for their families back home, had returned alive after being caught up in someone else’s war. Khomkrit Chombua, 28, a shy man of few…

Myanmar has increased the daily minimum wage rate after a five-year hiatus to 5,800 kyat (US$2.76) for an 8-hour day, from 4,800 kyat (US$2.28). The new rate impacts both public and private sector workers in the country and means employees will see a 20 percent increase from the previous salary. The previous minimum wage hike was implemented in 2018. The new minimum wage rate is applicable as of October 1, 2023. Myanmar’s military government implemented the reforms amid soaring inflation with the Asian Development Bank predicting that inflation reached 14 percent in September. In contrast, the developing Asia region could…

Thailand’s new Prime Minister has been off to a rocky start. The ascension in August of Srettha Thavisin, a former real estate developer and relative newcomer to politics, was marked by controversy—his Pheu Thai party partnered with the country’s military-backed and monarchy-supporting establishment, helping to prevent the more popular, progressive Move Forward party from taking power. His first month, too, was capped by tragedy, after a 14-year-old shooter killed two and injured five people at a popular mall in Bangkok on Wednesday. Srettha, meanwhile, has set out over his first few weeks to define his premiership around economic populism, likening…

BANGKOK — “I have a dream that everyone should have the ability to access medical care equally,” says Oraphan Wanacharoen (Ice), BGI Genomics Field Application Scientist. “It’s very challenging to achieve such a goal in Thailand. With the advanced technology of the company and our sustained development, I believe that we will be able to realize this dream.” Known as Ice to her friends and family, she has been passionate about this dream since her days at Chulalongkorn University and Chulabhorn Graduate Institute, where she graduated with a BSc in Genetics and an MSc in Carcinogenesis, Environmental Toxicology, respectively. Ice continues to…

BANGKOK/HANOI — Southeast Asian countries are rushing to expand their major airports to meet rising domestic demand as well as attract foreign investment and travelers to boost economic growth, although some plans are raising concerns about over- investment. According to Nikkei research into expansion plans for airports near the capital cities of seven countries in the region — Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Cambodia — total annual passenger handling capacity will reach at least 653 million people by 2030, nearly doubling from the 336 million people as of January 2023. In Thailand, a satellite terminal opened at…