Royal Thai soldiers cast their ballot in Bangkok. AFP photo Viet Nam News by Cod Satrusayang Thailand goes to vote for the first time since the military took power in May of 2014. Despite clear attempts to influence the election by the military, voters are turning out in huge numbers to make their voices heard. We look at several likely scenarios that could emerge after today. Peu Thai and Allies win +376 seats What would happen then? Several possible outcomes are possible in this scenario. The first is that the junta backs off and finally fulfills one promise and lets the government govern. A more likely scenario is that the constitution court disbands Future Forward for breaking electoral laws and maybe even the Peu Thai party itself. Peu Thai and Allies win 250 seats but not enough to nominate PM What would happen then? There is a chance, like when the Democrat government was formed in the late noughties, where a Thaksin-backed party gains the … [Read more...] about What are the likely and unlikely scenarios after Thailand’s election?
World
China demanded to compensate Vietnamese fishermen
Vietnamese fishing boat coded QNg 90819 TS sank about 0.5 nautical mile to the northwest of Da Loi Reef at about 10am on March 6 after it was fired water canon by a Chinese coast guard ship coded 44101 On March 6, Chinese vessel numbered 44101 approached and fired water canon on a Vietnamese fishing boat coded QNg 90819 TS which was anchoring in the vicinity of Da Loi Reef in Viet Nam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, according to Vietnamese authorities. While moving, the Vietnamese boat crashed into a reef and sank at an area about 0.5 nautical mile to the northwest of Da Loi Reef at about 10am. All the five-member crew held on to the boat’s prow and went adrift until around 1pm when they were saved by another Vietnamese fishing boat. On March 20, the Consular Department of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry met with representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Viet Nam to present … [Read more...] about China demanded to compensate Vietnamese fishermen
VN lodges solemn protest against Taiwan’s live-fire drill around Ba Binh Island
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang She made the above statement in response to reporters' questions on the issue at the Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing in Ha Noi on August 23. The diplomat elaborated that Viet Nam has sufficient legal basis and historic evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagos in accordance with international law. Taiwan’s continuation of live-fire drills in the waters surrounding Ba Binh island in Viet Nam’s Truong Sa archipelago, despite Viet Nam’s opposition, is a serious violation of Viet Nam’s territorial sovereignty over the archipelago, posing a threat to peace, stability, and maritime security and safety, as well as causing tension and complicating the situation in the East Sea, she stressed. “Once again, Viet Nam resolutely objects and requests Taiwan not to repeat similar actions in the future,” the spokesperson noted. By Vien Nhu … [Read more...] about VN lodges solemn protest against Taiwan’s live-fire drill around Ba Binh Island
Sympathy to Mozambique over losses from Cyclone Idai
10:00 | 21/03/2019 VGP – Party General Secretary, State President Nguyen Phu Trong on March 20 sent a message of sympathy to President of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi over the great losses in human lives and property caused by Cyclone Idai. Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi has confirmed that more than 200 people died and close to 350,000 are “at risk” after Cyclone Idai, according to aljazeera.com. … [Read more...] about Sympathy to Mozambique over losses from Cyclone Idai
Assault on IS jihadist redoubt in Syria grinds on
BAGHOUZ, Syria — A shroud of black smoke covered the Islamic State group’s last redoubt in eastern Syria on Monday as US-backed forces battled holdout jihadists after a night of shelling and heavy air strikes. Even as it fought IS, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces also came under threat from Damascus, which has sworn to retake the third of the country the SDF controls. The SDF has been closing in on IS fighters holed up in a small sliver of territory in the eastern village of Baghouz since January. A cluster of rudimentary tents and vehicles is all that remains of the once-sprawling "caliphate" declared across large swaths of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014. Tens of thousands of men, women and children have poured out of the small farming village in recent weeks, slowing down an SDF offensive aimed at crushing the last vestige of the jihadist proto-state. Backed by air strikes by the US-led coalition, the SDF pummelled the IS pocket with shelling on Sunday … [Read more...] about Assault on IS jihadist redoubt in Syria grinds on