The General Department of Vietnam Customs will participate in Operation Mekong Dragon IV, a joint regional operation against drug and wildlife trafficking, from April 15 to September 15 this year, the department has announced. Under Operation Mekong Dragon IV, local customs units are requested to accelerate collection of information regarding drug and wildlife trafficking across Vietnam and the methods and tactics that traffickers use. The information will be used for risk analysis and warnings to improve the effectiveness of customs inspection and supervision. Initiated by Vietnam and China, Operation Mekong Dragon was launched in September 2018, and has gone through…
Author: Asia News Network
A total of 39 Malaysian Members of Parliament (MP) have switched their political loyalties since the 2018 general election, said the Cabinet minister in charge of Parliament on Saturday. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Parliament and Law, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying their switch of allegiances had led to political instability, with three prime ministers being appointed in a single parliamentary term. “This has not brought about political stability in the country. When there is political instability, then the economy becomes difficult to manage as well . . .…
The solidarity on display at the recent NATO, US-EU, and G7 summits, as Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to wage war on Ukraine, revealed a rejuvenated West. The Atlantic democracies have responded to the Russian invasion with impressive – and somewhat unexpected – unity as they arm Ukraine, reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, and sanction the Russian economy. Instead of turning away migrants, EU member states are opening their doors to millions of Ukrainian refugees. The US Congress seems to have rediscovered the bipartisan comity that has long been missing in Washington. The political theorist Francis Fukuyama even foresees a “new…
People who contracted Covid-19 may be at a higher risk of developing diabetes as a long-term effect of the coronavirus. According to Aurora Macaballug of the Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Covid-19 can affect an individual’s beta cells found in the pancreas that produce insulin, which is the hormone that regulates the level of glucose, a type of sugar, in the blood. “It can affect the beta cells . . . and that could be the pathway. There are theories on that,” Macaballug told reporters in an online briefing last Wednesday. US study Patients who were given steroids…
To contain the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, an increasing number of Chinese cities have taken strict prevention and control measures including implementing phased lockdowns. That has added to the problems of the already struggling micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the quarterly Online Survey of Micro and Small Enterprises jointly conducted by Peking University and Ant Group Research Institute, the percentage of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) performing below par compared with the previous quarter has increased, and their cash flow has declined over the past three quarters. The government launched a…
South Korea “successfully” test-launched a homegrown solid-fuel space rocket for the first time, taking one significant step to further develop and launch microsatellites for military surveillance and reconnaissance. The state-run Agency for Defence Development said it conducted the test-firing to “verify the performance” of the solid-propellant carrier rocket developed with indigenous technologies on Wednesday at its own testing site in Taean, South Chungcheong Province. South Korean defence minister Suh Wook and other senior military officials were present. The test aimed to “verify core technologies for space launch vehicles”, including large-scale rocket propellants, payload fairing and stage separation mechanisms, and upper…
Indonesia is delaying the roll-out of its carbon tax to July from April, a move that analysts say will help its economic recovery amid surging energy prices and support businesses. Last October, Southeast Asia’s top economy initiated a new levy of as much as 30,000 rupiah (S$2.80) per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) for emissions generated by coal power plant operators beyond a set limit. “The road map has not been finished and we are still preparing for a few regulations so that [the tax] can be implemented mid-year,” said finance minister Sri Mulyani early this week, noting that…
The combination of Covid-19 and the fourth Industrial Revolution has been disrupting the labour market and accelerating the process of job transition and vocational training. Speaking at the ‘Youth Forum 2022: Vocational training for the Youth’ on Wednesday, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Nguyen Anh Tuan said that the world is facing many unpredictable challenges and uncertainties which directly affect policy-making and the development of countries all over the world. “Among the challenges, the strong impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the fourth Industrial Revolution can be considered ‘dual challenge’…
The Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) has called on businesses, including garment factories, to pay workers the increased minimum wage, which rises from 1,100,000 kip to 1,500,000 kip ($94 to $128) per month this year. The federation is concerned that Laos will face a shortage of skilled workers if companies do not pay the higher minimum wage, with many people already heading back to jobs in Thailand. Most of them are skilled and can earn more money in Thailand, where the minimum wage is higher than in Laos. A senior Federation official, who asked not to be named, told…
Scholars and political observers have raised concerns over public opinion manoeuvring on social media in Southeast Asia as three countries in the region – the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, are gearing up for elections. Propagandists’ strategic manoeuvring of public opinion on social media remains a dangerous threat to democracy in Southeast Asia. Over the years, strategic use of cybertroopers in Southeast Asian countries has been prominent, especially during the election periods. Political actors have attempted to sway public opinion via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to push for a political narrative to garner more supporters in the region. Now, TikTok, as…