Philippines places buoys in parts of South China Sea to assert sovereignty - CNA

MANILA: The Philippines has placed navigational buoys within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to assert sovereignty over the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, a coast guard spokesperson said on Sunday (May 14).

The step comes amid China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea as Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pursues warmer ties with treaty ally the United States.

The Philippine Coast Guard said it set up five buoys carrying the national flag from May 10 to May 12 in five areas within the 322km zone, including the Whitsun Reef, where hundreds of Chinese maritime vessels moored in 2021.

"This move highlights the Philippines' unwavering resolve to protect its maritime borders and resources and contribute to the safety of maritime trade," Commodore Jay Tarriela, the coast guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues, said on Twitter.

China's embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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2023-05-14 06:56:47Z
CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS9waGlsaXBwaW5lcy1wbGFjZXMtYnVveXMtcGFydHMtc291dGgtY2hpbmEtc2VhLWFzc2VydC1zb3ZlcmVpZ250eS0zNDg3NjEx0gEA

'May all Thais come out to vote': Record numbers expected at Thailand election - The Straits Times

There are about 52 million eligible voters in this election, and Thailand’s election commission has said it expects 80 per cent of them to cast their ballots. In the 2019 election, 74.69 per cent of the electorate cast their votes.

Ms Sariya Kanrayanamit, a voter in Bangkok, was upbeat about the changes that will come from this election.

“I think a lot of people will come out to vote this time round, because we want to give Thailand a new future,” the 50-year-old accountant told the Straits Times after she had cast her ballot at a school in the capital’s Watthana district. “I’m excited about the leader who’s going to emerge from this.”

Sunday’s poll is held under new rules where voters will cast two ballots – one for their choice of constituency candidate and one for the political party they wish to support. This system favours parties with deep grassroots support like Pheu Thai.

Although Pheu Thai’s two previous iterations were dissolved over electoral fraud, it has wielded a commanding lead in opinion polls among a populace struggling with household debt and the slower than expected recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pheu Thai has pitched its experience in economic rescues, dating back to the days when the government under its predecessor Thai Rak Thai party steered the kingdom to recovery after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998.

To install a prime minister, however, requires a party to win more than a simple majority in the 500-seat Lower House. Under a system erected during junta rule before 2019, an appointed 250-seat Senate gets to vote alongside 500 elected representatives on who gets to become premier.

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2023-05-14 01:00:00Z
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Charging of buggy suspected to have led to fire at Sentosa Cove house - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – The car porch of a house in Sentosa Cove was engulfed in flames on Friday evening, with the fire suspected to have started from a buggy that was being charged.

In response to queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at 12 Cove Way at about 6.50pm.

Chinese evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported on Saturday that a maid who works in the area said she saw the buggy being charged before it caught fire. The maid declined to be named.

The fire then spread to a nearby Porsche sports car.

A passer-by who gave her name as Ms Lee, 35, said she was walking around the neighbourhood when she heard an explosion and saw smoke and flames coming from the affected house, the Shin Min report said.

SCDF said the fire was extinguished with two water jets, and added that the fire involved the contents of a car porch on the first floor, outside the unit.

Two people managed to get out of the unit before SCDF officers arrived, and there were no reported injuries.

An investigation is under way to find out the cause of the fire.

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2023-05-13 14:49:04Z
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Fire breaks out in Sentosa Cove house, possibly due to charging of electric vehicle - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – The car porch of a house in Sentosa Cove was engulfed in flames on Friday evening, with the fire suspected to have started from an electric vehicle being charged there.

In response to queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at 12 Cove Way at about 6.50pm.

Shin Min Daily News reported on Saturday that a domestic helper who works in the area, and declined to be named, told the Chinese evening newspaper that she saw an electric vehicle in the unit charging before it caught fire.

The fire then spread to the Porsche sports car next to it.

A passer-by who gave her name as Ms Lee, 35, told Shin Min that she was walking around the neighbourhood when she heard an explosion and saw smoke and flames coming from the affected house.

SCDF said the fire was extinguished with two water jets, adding that the fire involved the contents of a car porch on the first floor, outside the unit.

Two people had self-evacuated from the affected unit before the SCDF arrived, and there were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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2023-05-13 08:20:00Z
2016806186

G7 finance chiefs warn of global uncertainty as US debt crisis looms - CNA

NIIGATA, Japan: Finance leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations warned of heightening global economic uncertainty on Saturday (May 13), as they wrapped up a three-day meet overshadowed by a US debt ceiling stalemate and fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Their gathering in the Japanese city of Niigata came as worries over a US default fuelled uncertainty over the global outlook, already clouded by stubbornly high inflation and US bank failures.

"The global economy has shown resilience against multiple shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and associated inflationary pressures," the leaders said in a communique after the meeting.

"We need to remain vigilant and stay agile and flexible in our macroeconomic policy amid heightened uncertainty about the global economic outlook."

The communique made no mention of the US debt ceiling stalemate, which hits markets at a time when borrowing costs are rising because of aggressive monetary tightening by US and European central banks.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday she would meet senior Wall Street bankers next week about the possibility that Washington could default on its debt for the first time since 1789.

"Clearly, distress in the world's biggest economy would be negative for everyone," World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters on the sidelines of the G7 meeting the same day. "The repercussions would be bad to not get it done."

On the banking troubles, the communique said policymakers would tackle "data, supervisory, and regulatory gaps in the banking system".

They retained their April assessment that the global financial system was "resilient", thanks to regulatory reforms made after the 2008 global financial crisis.

Warning that inflation remains "elevated," the G7 central banks stressed their commitment to price stability and ensure inflation expectations remained well-anchored, the communique showed.

The grouping reiterated its condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pledge to strengthen monitoring of cross-border transactions between Russia and other countries.

China has also been much on the leaders' minds, with this year's chair, Japan, spearheading efforts to diversify supply chains and reduce their heavy reliance on the world's second-biggest economy.

The G7 finance leaders set a year-end deadline for launching a new scheme to diversify global supply chains in their communique.

The new scheme envisages the G7 offering aid to low- and middle-income countries so that they can play a bigger role in supply chains for energy-related products, such as by refining minerals and processing manufacturing parts.

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2023-05-13 02:51:00Z
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Thai parties rally supporters in final push before Sunday's election - The Straits Times

BANGKOK/NONTHABURI (Thailand) – Less than two weeks after giving birth, Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the scion of one of Thailand’s most politically powerful families, bounded up the campaign stage on Friday to rally support for her Pheu Thai Party, the front runner in Sunday’s election.

“If Pheu Thai forms the government, we will create opportunities for the whole country,” she declared at the Impact Arena stadium just outside Bangkok, cheered on by thousands of red-shirted supporters who had gathered for their party’s last major rally before voting begins.

Up until then, the 36-year-old Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate had been limited to giving rally speeches by video conference while recovering after childbirth.

“We have been ousted twice,” she said, in reference to the military coup in 2014 that ousted the Pheu Thai government, and the one in 2006 which threw out the administration run by the Thai Rak Thai party, its predecessor.

But she stressed that the party had never given up fighting alongside the people, and appealed again for voters to give it a big majority to surmount a parliamentary system skewed in favour of military-linked parties.

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2023-05-12 15:05:00Z
2012611469

Lawrence Wong to make official visit to China in first trip there since DPM appointment - CNA

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will make an official visit to China, said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Saturday (May 13). 

Mr Wong, who is also the Finance Minister, will visit China from May 13 to May 17 at the invitation of China's vice premier Ding Xuexiang. Mr Wong will visit Shanghai and Beijing during his five-day trip. 

This is Mr Wong's first visit to China since he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in June 2022. 

In Shanghai, Mr Wong will meet the Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shanghai Municipal Committee Chen Jining and Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng. He will also meet Singaporeans based in the city. 

Mr Wong, when in Beijing, will call on China's Premier Li Qiang. 

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2023-05-13 01:00:37Z
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