Australia
Obama’s Trip hints at US focus on Asia
On his first foreign trip since Tuesday’s election, US President Barack Obama is planning a historic visit to encourage reforms in Burma – seen as a key success during his first term – and he’ll also go to Thailand and Cambodia.
On his first foreign trip since Tuesday’s election, US President Barack Obama is planning a historic visit to encourage reforms in Burma and he’ll also go to Thailand and Cambodia.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta will also head to Asia this month. While the timing is coincidental – Obama is attending the East Asia Summit in Cambodia – experts saw a powerful sign.
“Actions speak louder than words; the visit shouts Obama’s intent for a purposeful focus on Asia in his second term,”
said Ernie Bower of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, pointing out that the trip is the first by an American president solely to South-East Asia since the Vietnam War.
Obama spent part of his childhood in Indonesia and took office vowing to pay more attention to South-East Asia, charging that the dynamic and mostly US-friendly region had been neglected as the administration of his predecessor George W. Bush was absorbed by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Press Release
Feathers Fly Over: Cock-fighting is One of Thailand’s Most Popular Activities
Some Thai citizens are fighting to end this practice. The notion of animal welfare is slowly gaining momentum in the country. Their push saw the introduction of the first-ever animal welfare law to the applause of animal rights activists.
Cock-fighting is a popular sport in Thailand. If you thought that was a cliché, then consider the fact that top-fighting birds could cost up to 3 million baht, and gambling wagers are usually as large as 22 million baht.
(more…)Australia
Asian students are vital to the health of Australian universities
Over 170,000 international student visa holders are stuck outside Australia, unable to enter because of travel bans.
Over the past two decades, Australian universities have been lucky. Every time something has threatened their prosperity, a new opportunity has arisen.
(more…)
China’s economy stumbles on power crunch
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economy hit its slowest pace of growth in a year in the third quarter, hurt by power shortages, supply chain bottlenecks...
Quarantine-Free Thailand Reopens for Vaccinated Tourists From 1 November 2021
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to confirm that Thailand is all set to welcome fully vaccinated foreign...
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (the “Agreement”) is a trade deal between the ten member states of ASEAN and...
Bangkok lifts more COVID-19 restrictions
In response to the Royal Thai Government’s announcement to relax more COVID-19 controls in the dark-red zone provinces, which include...
Thailand lifts curfew in ‘Blue Zone’ destinations from 31 October 2021
Bangkok, 22 October, 2021 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to provide an update that the night-time...