‘Rally support’: experts weigh in on Japan’s Saudi deals as China deepens reach - South China Morning Post

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1. ‘Rally support’: experts weigh in on Japan’s Saudi deals as China deepens reach  South China Morning Post
2. Japan PM in UAE to pitch green technology ahead of COP28  CNA
3. Japan and UAE to work together on innovation, climate change  The Straits Times
4. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida steps up energy diplomacy in Middle East  South China Morning Post
5. Riyadh, Tokyo to cooperate on energy security, hydrogen and ammonia  CNA
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-07-18 01:30:18Z
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Geely to invest US$10b in Tanjung Malim, PM says - Malaysiakini

Chinese automobile manufacturer Geely will invest US$10 billion (RM45.3 billion) to turn Tanjung Malim, Perak, into the region’s largest auto city.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the aspiration, conveyed by the company in a letter to him last night, would create thousands of job opportunities for Malaysians.

“I am mentioning this for the first time. Geely, which is jointly producing cars with...

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2023-07-18 05:46:36Z
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Kerry says climate change requires 'new definition' of China-US cooperation - CNA

BEIJING: Global warming poses a threat to all humankind and requires a new kind of cooperation between China and the United States, US climate envoy John Kerry told Chinese officials on Tuesday (Jul 18).

Kerry has called for "urgent action" by Beijing and Washington to tackle the threat of climate change as the world's two largest polluters revive stalled diplomacy on reducing planet-warming emissions.

Speaking at Beijing's Great Hall of the People with China's top diplomat Wang Yi, Kerry underlined the need for "global leadership" on the issue.

His visit to China came as the Northern Hemisphere endured record-setting summer heatwaves, which scientists have said are being exacerbated by climate change.

"Climate, as you know, is a global issue, not a bilateral issue. It's a threat to all of humankind," Kerry told Wang.

"This is a matter of global leadership," he stressed, adding that the world "really hopes for that and needs it".

"Our hope is now that this can be the beginning of a new definition of cooperation and of capacity to resolve the differences between us," he added, noting that "we both know there are real differences".

"But we also know from experience that if we work at it, we can find the path ahead and ways that resolve these challenges."

Wang, in response, underlined the need "for a healthy, stable, and sustainable Sino-US relationship".

"Cooperation on climate change is advancing under the overall climate of China and the United States, so we need the joint support of the people of China and the United States," he told Kerry, who he described as an "old friend".

Climate talks between the two biggest greenhouse gas emitters came to a halt last year after Nancy Pelosi, then speaker of the US House of Representatives, enraged Beijing by visiting self-ruled Taiwan, which China considers to be part of its territory.

Kerry, a former secretary of state, has enjoyed comparatively cordial and consistent relations with China despite Washington and Beijing locking horns over Taiwan and other issues.

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2023-07-18 02:36:00Z
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Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Talim pummels southern China, Vietnam - CNA

BEIJING: A quarter million people were evacuated in southern China and Vietnam before a major typhoon roared ashore late on Monday (Jul 17) bringing fierce winds and rain and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and trains.

The China Meteorological Administration said typhoon Talim, the fourth typhoon of the year, made landfall on the coast of Guangdong province at around 10.20pm, bearing maximum winds of 136.8kmh.

Storm surges and lashing rains also hammered the southern coastline from Guangdong to Hainan provinces on Monday night, it said.

The forecaster had issued an orange alert, the second-highest warning in a four-tier colour-coded system.

Nearly 230,000 people in Guangdong were evacuated to safety before the storm's landfall, including more than 8,000 fish-farm workers who were brought ashore, according to state news agency Xinhua. Local authorities also ordered the closure of dozens of coastal tourist destinations, it added.

The meteorological administration said the storm was moving to the northwest at a speed of about 20kmh and could rake across the Guangxi region early Tuesday. Talim could lose speed by Tuesday morning and "weaken and dissipate over northern Vietnam" on Wednesday, it said.

Authorities in Vietnam said they were preparing to evacuate about 30,000 people from the areas forecast to be hardest hit in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces from Monday afternoon.

Talim "might be one of the biggest to hit the Gulf of Tonkin in recent years", Vietnam's top disaster response committee said in an online statement.

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2023-07-17 22:18:00Z
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Thai alliance reaffirms backing for Pita's PM bid - CNA

BANGKOK: An eight-party alliance seeking to form Thailand's next government on Monday (Jul 17) reaffirmed its backing for Pita Limjaroenrat to become premier, Pita said on Monday, despite his defeat last week in a parliamentary vote.

Pita, leader of election winners Move Forward, failed in his initial bid to win the requisite support of more than half of the combined lower house and military-appointed upper house or Senate.

The legislature will hold another vote on Wednesday.

After a meeting with the alliance, Pita said he was confident the Senate could not block his re-nomination for PM.

However, he added that if he could not secure more votes from the Senate in his second bid, he would let ally Pheu Thai party "take action".

At the weekend, he raised the prospect of a political ally leading the new government if he fails to become prime minister.

Pheu Thai won the second-largest share of votes in the May 14 election.

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2023-07-17 13:37:54Z
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Moscow halts grain deal in what UN calls a global blow to people in need - CNA

The grain deal was hailed as preventing a global food emergency when it was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye last year.

Global commodity food prices rose on Monday, though the increase was limited, suggesting traders did not yet anticipate a severe supply crisis.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the grain deal's sponsor, said earlier on Monday that he still believed Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted it to continue.

Western countries say Russia is trying to use its leverage over the grain deal to weaken financial sanctions, which do not apply to Russia's agricultural exports.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described Russia's suspension of the agreement as a "cynical move" and said the EU would continue to try to secure food for poor countries.

WITHOUT RUSSIA?

Russia has agreed three times in the past year to extend the Black Sea deal, despite repeatedly threatening to walk out. It suspended participation after an attack on its fleet by seaborne Ukrainian drones in October, leading to a few days when Ukraine, Türkiye and the United Nations kept exports going without Moscow.

Denys Marchuk, deputy head of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council, the main agribusiness organisation in Ukraine, said seaborne exports might proceed again without Russian agreement.

"If there will be safety guarantees from our partners, then why not conduct the grain initiative without Russia's participation?" he told Reuters.

Any such resumption of without Russia's blessing would probably depend on insurers. Industry sources told Reuters they were studying whether to freeze their coverage.

"The (key) question is whether Russia mines the area which would effectively cease any form of cover being offered," one insurance industry source said.

The balance of sea power has shifted since Russia imposed its blockade in the war's early months. Kyiv, with no comparable fleet of its own, managed to sink Russia's flagship, recapture the Snake Island outcrop overlooking shipping lanes, and target Russia's Black Sea Fleet in port with drones.

The latest blast on Russia's bridge to Crimea follows months of Ukrainian strikes on Russian supply lines as Kyiv pursues a counteroffensive to drive Russian forces out of its territory.

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2023-07-17 13:12:00Z
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Swatch files lawsuit against Malaysian govt over seizure of Pride watches - The Straits Times

Swiss watchmaker Swatch has filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian government over the seizure of 172 rainbow-coloured timepieces worth RM64,795 (S$18,800) allegedly linked to its Pride Collection.

In its lawsuit filed on June 24, the company wanted the Kuala Lumpur High Court to quash the Home Affairs Ministry’s seizure notices in May for the watches, and for the timepieces to be returned within five days of the order. It also wanted compensation in the form of aggravated and exemplary damages.

The lawsuit was filed via a judicial review application and named four respondents, namely the government of Malaysia, the Home Affairs Ministry, the ministry’s chief secretary and the ministry’s enforcement division secretary.

A judicial review is usually filed to challenge the actions or decisions of the government and public bodies, and to request the courts to review those decisions.

The case will be heard at the High Court on Thursday.

Between May 13 and May 15, officers from the ministry raided 16 Swatch stores across Malaysia and seized 172 watches featuring nine different designs.

Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said on May 29 that the letters “LGBT” were found on the dials of the confiscated watches, prompting a denial from Swatch on the same day, which said it would take legal action to recover the timepieces.

In the suit, Swatch Malaysia claimed the Home Affairs Ministry’s officers had acted “illegally, irrationally, with procedural impropriety”, and that their actions were allegedly disproportionate and for an improper purpose.

It said the seized watches did not cause any disruption to public order or morality, and the items did not violate any laws. It added that some of the models seized have been sold in Malaysia for over a year, and that it did not receive any complaints from the public.

Before filing its lawsuit, Swatch’s lawyers sent a letter to the Home Affairs Ministry on June 9 to demand the return of the watches, but said it did not receive any response.

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2023-07-17 04:45:00Z
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