With a new HIV infection every 2 minutes, governments in Asia-Pacific countries must urgently invest in prevention programs and community-led initiatives, it suggests. Ending AIDS as a public health threat in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030 is achievable only if leaders take rigorous actions now to ensure necessary resources for HIV responses and human rights protection for everyone, reveals this year’s global AIDS update from UNAIDS. The Urgency of Now: AIDS at A Crossroads report acknowledges the progress some countries have made in reducing HIV infections and AIDS cases, but also highlights the significant treatment gaps and stigma still faced…
Author: Asia News Network
A sound and stable China-Italy relationship serves the common interests of both nations, President Xi Jinping told visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday, urging the two countries to stay committed to mutual opening-up and cooperation. During their talks at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Xi told Meloni that China’s readiness to develop bilateral ties, as well as the importance it attaches to bilateral relations, remains unchanged, despite ongoing profound changes in the global landscape. Win-win cooperation is still the nature of China-Italy relations, he said, calling on the two sides to continue to understand and respect each…
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is considering joining the camp of Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., which are planning to cooperate in fields including electric vehicles, it was learned Sunday. The move would divide major Japanese automakers into two groups—one centering around Toyota Motor Corp. and the other comprising Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi. As the business environment surrounding the industry is rapidly changing partly because of the spread of EVs, moves among automakers to seek collaboration for survival are accelerating. Honda and Nissan are considering sharing software and key parts for EVs. They are expected to announce specifics of their…
Self-restraint, adherence to international law and dialogue-led resolutions using ASEAN mechanisms must be exercised to prevent an open conflict, ASEAN ministers reiterated in a joint communique released on Saturday after their annual week-long ministerial meetings with the US, China, and Russia. Southeast Asia’s top diplomats expressed their anxieties over the weekend about the risk of an “emerging arms race” in the region, as tensions between global powers persist with ever more countries seeking to throw their hats into the Indo-Pacific ring. Self-restraint, adherence to international law and dialogue-led resolutions using ASEAN mechanisms must be exercised to prevent an open conflict,…
Analysts explore what would be likely to happen should upcoming Constitutional Court verdict go against Srettha Political analysts are predicting two scenarios in Thai politics after the Constitutional Court issues its verdict in the case against Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on August 14. The case stems from the accusation by a group of 40 former senators that Srettha breached the charter and ethical standards by appointing Thaksin’s former lawyer Pichit Chuenban as PM’s Office minister even though he had spent six months behind bars. Some spectators fear that the case could spell the end of Srettha’s career. The business tycoon…
Economists predict that the impact of the widespread unrest and internet blackouts will be much greater than the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. Business and industrial activities resumed yesterday amid a semblance of normalcy after a spasm of violence, internet outage and a curfew that left deep wounds in almost all corners of the economy. Violent clashes, stemming from the quota reform demonstrations, shuttered garment factories and shops and choked port activities when the country was grappling with the toughest economic challenges in decades: high inflation, falling exports and a persistent dollar crisis. Economists predict that the impact of the…
The world again registered its hottest day on record on Monday, inching past the previous high recorded just 24 hours earlier on Sunday, according to preliminary data from a European Union (EU) monitoring agency. As heatwaves sizzled around the world and wildfires engulfed parts of the Mediterranean, Russia and Canada, the global average surface air temperature rose to 17.15 degree Celsius on Monday, July 22. That was 0.06°C higher than Sunday’s record according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such data since 1940. This includes temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere, which is currently in winter, bringing…
The research published on Wednesday showed that 73.84 per cent of respondents in Bangkok and other main cities nationwide used AI in their daily lives, leaving only 26.16 per cent who have not used the technology. The majority of respondents trusted AI for its potential to help with their work (48.23%), followed by saving time (40.60%), boosting operational efficiency (37.92%), increasing accuracy (22.48%) and reducing mistakes (18.12%). As high as 73 per cent of respondents supported AI and its further development, and 72.37 per cent said technology would play a crucial role in people’s daily lives in the next five…
The meeting also discussed cooperation activities between the ASEAN Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, to share lessons learnt on nuclear weapons-free zones. Foreign ministers from the 10 ASEAN member countries have reviewed the work carried out under several important frameworks and future blueprints for the bloc’s intergovernmental commission and other fundamental initiatives. Hosted and chaired by Laos’ Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Saleumxay Kommasith, a meeting of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Commission and related ASEAN foreign ministers’ meetings took place…
The aircraft had suffered a runway excursion and plunged into a gorge on the eastern side of the airport. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has confirmed the death of 18 people aboard the Saurya Airlines aircraft which crashed at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday. A total of 19 people, including two crew members, were in the Pokhara-bound flight, with registration number 9NAME, which took off from Kathmandu at 11:11 am, the aviation authority said. The police reported that one of the passengers had been a Yemeni citizen. The aircraft had suffered a runway excursion and…