Agreement between Manila and Washington on civil nuclear power
Today's News: Hamas reassures Bangkok about the condition of the 25 Thai hostages, a kidnapped migrant woman has reportedly given birth in Gaza. Vietnam has expanded work on artificial islands in the Spratly Islands disputed with China. 20% of young people in East Timor are neither studying nor working. Kazakhstan has reached 20 million inhabitants.
PHILIPPINES-UNITED STATES
On the sidelines of the APEC summit underway in San Francisco, the United States and the Philippines signed an agreement on Friday that will allow Washington to export nuclear technology and material to Manila, which is exploring the use of nuclear energy to decarbonize and increase energy independence. Philippine President Marcos Jr has repeatedly called for the reactivation of the only nuclear plant in the Philippines - the Bataan power plant, completed in 1984 - closed two years later, following the ouster of his father, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and the accusations of corruption.
THAILAND-PALESTINE-ISRAEL
The Thai government has received information from Hamas that 25 of its citizens held hostage in Gaza by the Palestinian terrorist group are safe. This was stated by Muslim politician Lepong Syed, who is part of the team of negotiators who are negotiating for the release of their kidnapped fellow citizens. Meanwhile, Sara Netanyahu, wife of the Israeli prime minister, revealed that one of the foreign migrant women held hostage gave birth in Gaza during her captivity.
VIETNAM-CHINA
Vietnam has stepped up dredging and seabed filling work in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, creating an additional 330 acres of land since December last year. The expansion, much larger than the 120 acres created between 2012 and 2022, made Vietnam second only to China in terms of island-building in the Spratly archipelago, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said ) from Washington in a new report released this week that is based on satellite imagery.
EAST TIMOR
20% of young people aged between 15 and 24 in East Timor do not study or work due to serious deficiencies in the education system. This was revealed by a recent World Bank report on the topic of human capital. Average school attendance is only 6.3 years and is symptomatic of the country's poor performance in offering learning opportunities.
INDIA
Four migrant workers from Bihar died in Surat in the Indian state of Gujarat due to asphyxiation while manually cleaning a septic tank. Although this is a practice that has been banned in India since 2013, according to official government data, 339 people have died while engaging in this type of activity in India in the last five years.
RUSSIA
The Russian Federal Customs Service (FTS) has published data on Russia's foreign trade, from which it can be deduced that in the period January-September 2023 it decreased by 16% overall, falling from 629 to 530 billion dollars. Exports decreased by 29%, while imports increased by 18%, with a positive balance of just over 103 billion, 2.6 times less than last year, when it was 268 billion.
KAZAKHSTAN
The twenty-millionth inhabitant was born in Kazakhstan, two years after the 19-millionth, as President Kasym-Žomart Tokaev triumphantly announced, recalling that "a happy family is the foundation of the nation's well-being and the country's constant progress", therefore the State will continue to strengthen the values of family, motherhood and childhood.
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15/07/2023
