World

Illustrative image (Source: Sabi News) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian prosecutors said on March 18 that they would summon representatives of two units of US Investment Bank Goldman Sachs in London and Hong Kong to appear at a June hearing of a case linked to corruption in state investment fund 1MDB. Prosecutor Aaron Paul Chelliah told reporters that fresh summonses will be served on the bank's Hong Kong and London offices ahead of the next pre-trial hearing on June 24. Soon after being elected in May 2018, the new government charged three units of Goldman Sachs for misleading investors by making untrue statements and omitting key facts in relation to bond issues totaling 6.5 billion USD for state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). However, on March 18, only the Singapore unit of Goldman Sachs appeared at a pre-trial hearing in a Kuala Lumpur court as a respondent. On December 17, 2018, Malaysia filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two of the US bank's … [Read more...] about Malaysia to summon two Goldman Sachs units linked to 1MDB scandal

International Criminal Court (Photo: Medium) Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines officially withdrew from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 17, becoming the second country to quit the organisation. The Philippines’ withdrawal becomes final a year after it told the United Nations that it was quitting the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal. … [Read more...] about Philippines officially quits International Criminal Court

An early voter casts her ballot in Samut Prakan on March 17 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) - An average of 75 percent voter turnout was reported in the March 17 early voting for the general election in Thailand, according to an official from the country’s Election Commission (EC). Of a total of 2.63 million Thais who had registered for early voting, over 75 percent reportedly cast their ballots on March 17, one week earlier than the official election date on March 24, confirmed EC Deputy Secretary General Nat Laosisavakul. Bangkok's constituency with the largest number of registered early voters was in Bang Kapi district, where up to 82 percent of those registered cast their ballots, Nat said. In Chiang Mai, up to 95 percent of some 47,000 registered early voters went to the polls. According to the EC’s deputy secretary general, those who had registered as early voters but failed to cast their early votes on March 17 are not allowed by law to do so on the election … [Read more...] about Thailand: early voters’ turnout reaches 75 percent

Rescuers help locals after flash flood in Sentani, Indonesia (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia has issued a 14-day state of emergency to cope with the heavy consequences of flash floods and landslide triggered by torrential rain in the eastern province of Papua, as fatalities have climbed to 77 on March 18. According to the disaster agency, 43 are still missing while scores have suffered from injuries in the flood. Rescue forces are struggling to search for survivors under heaps of mud, soil and fallen trees.   The military said 5,700 people had been evacuated from the worst hit areas. Floods are common in Indonesia during the rainy season which lasts from October to next year’s April. Last January, floods and landslides in Sulawesi claimed at least 70 lives. Also on March 18, three tourists, including two Malaysians, were killed at the Tiu Kelep tourist site in Lombok island in a landslide triggered by an earth quake. Dozens of others were injured … [Read more...] about Indonesia issues emergency state due to serious floods in Papua

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on people to use electricity sparingly for fear of electricity shortage (Photo: khmertimeskh.com) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen called on people to use electricity sparingly, fearing the country could lack up to 400 MW in available electricity during this dry season. Addressing the opening ceremony of the fifth River Festival in Kampong Chhnang province last weekend, the PM said the droughts in several years dried up many rivers and lakes across Cambodia. He has called on the general public, hoteliers and businesspeople with generators to use them as back-up as the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EDC) cannot generate enough electricity to meet needs due to low water levels in power station reservoirs. EDC has yet commented on the information. However, a senior official from the agency said the prolonged dry spell has considerably affected power station reservoirs across the country. According to the … [Read more...] about Cambodia to face severe electricity shortage in dry season

A fisherman tries to catch fish on the Mekong River (Photo: AFP/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Lyu Jian said on March 17 that his country will work closely with Thailand under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) framework to help promote the development of the Mekong Basin region. The statement was released to mark the start of the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Week, which will end on March 24, as well as to commemorate the third anniversary of the establishment of the LMC - a sub-regional cooperation mechanism launched in 2016 that counts China, Cambodia, Laos Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam as its members. Lyu said China has been closely cooperating with Thailand to work on water resources management, cross-border trade, and promote e-commerce in rural areas. According to the ambassador, the two countries are planning to expand their area of cooperation to include agriculture, vocational education, training, health care, youth exchanges, and … [Read more...] about China vows to work closely with Thailand in LMC framework

A corner of Singapore (Source: internet) Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose by 4.9 percent year-on-year in February, following a sharp drop of 10.1 percent in the previous month, according to International Enterprise Singapore. On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports expanded by 16 percent over the month, after January’s 5.7 percent decline, due to strong growth in non-electronic exports. Non-electronic products grew by 9.4 percent year-on-year in February, after a 7.9 percent January decline. February’s exports to the country’s 10 leading markets saw growth, excluding Japan, the Republic of Korea, the European Union and Indonesia.  The largest contributors to the NODX growth were China (34.4 percent), Hong Kong (41.9 percent) and the US (6.6 percent).-VNA … [Read more...] about Singapore exports bounce back in February

At the forum (Photo: VNA) Pretoria (VNA) – The news agency of the South African Government on March 17 reported on the fourth meeting of the South Africa-Vietnam Intergovernmental Partnership Forum in Pretoria on March 14-15, underlining that the two countries had agreed to do more to enhance their trade ties. The news agency quoted South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Reginah Mhaule as saying during the meeting that the two sides should remove their market barriers. The deputy minister also stressed the significance of bilateral cooperation in wildlife preservation and protection. On the Vietnamese side, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong, who co-chaired the meeting with Reginah Mhaule, lauded outcomes of the bilateral relations, as reflected through the exchange of 14 high-level visits since the third forum in Hanoi in 2015, particularly the visit to Vietnam by Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2016 and the South Africa … [Read more...] about South African press highlights partnership with Vietnam

In Bandung, West Java, Indonesia (Source: AFP)   Hanoi (VNA) - At least 42 people were killed by flash floods in Papua province, eastern Indonesia as of March 17 morning. The floods in Sentani, near the provincial capital of Jayapura, were triggered by torrential rain on March 16, according to Papua authorities. The disaster also left 21 people injured, and damaged dozens of homes, said spokesman of the national disaster agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, adding the number of casualties and impact of the disaster will likely increase. Indonesia is frequently hit by floods and landslides during the rainy season which runs from October to April. In January, floods and landslides killed at least 70 people on Sulawesi island, while earlier this month hundreds in West Java province were forced to evacuate when torrential rains triggered severe flooding. - VNA … [Read more...] about At least 42 people killed by flash flood in eastern Indonesia