Undersea cables from Singapore and Hanoi to upgrade regional data centres

Today's news: Xi Jinping in Macau for the 25th anniversary of the handover of the former Portuguese colony to China. Rice (and wheat) stocks in India have reached record levels. According to Rsf, the Israeli army killed at least a third of the reporters killed in 2024. The Indonesian president wants to pardon 44,000 prisoners, among them opponents from Papua province.

VIETNAM - SINGAPORE

The Singaporean company Keppel (KPLM.SI), in cooperation with the Vietnamese Sovico Group, plans to build new undersea fibre-optic cables to strengthen the region's data centre sector. The south-eastern countries remain important crossroads for cables connecting Asia to Europe, expanding their networks to meet a booming demand in intelligence and data centre services. Hanoi alone plans to have 10 new submarine cables by 2030.

CHINA - MACAO

Xi Jinping will visit Macau for an event celebrating 25 years since the handover of the former Portuguese colony to China. The president will attend the induction of the new administration and lead an inspection tour during the visit between 18 and 20 December. The city has become the world's top casino hub by revenue and a popular destination for Chinese tourists, and is the only place in China where casino gambling is allowed.

INDIA

Rice stocks hit a record high in early December, reaching more than five times the government's target and boosting exports. Rice stocks, including unmilled paddy, in state-owned granaries amounted to 44.1 million tonnes as at 1 December, compared to the 7.6 million tonnes forecast. Wheat stocks 22.3 million tonnes, against 13.8 million tonnes assumed. Foreign trade restrictions lifted.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE

The Israeli army killed at least a third of the world's journalists who died unnatural deaths in 2024. This was reported by Reporters Without Borders (Rsf), according to which 550 reporters were arrested, 55 held hostage and 95 were missing. A total of 54 were killed in 2024, the highest figure in five years. Of these, one in three was killed during Israeli bombings, including 16 in Gaza and two in Lebanon. Since October 2023, more than 145 journalists have been killed in Gaza.

INDONESIA

President Prabowo Subianto intends to pardon some 44,000 prisoners, ranging from activists convicted of defamation to those imprisoned in the eastern province of Papua for criticising the government. Behind the measure - which would affect about 30% of the total number of prisoners - there would be humanitarian reasons and an attempt to alleviate prison overcrowding.

RUSSIA

According to data from the Rospotrebnadzor, at the end of 2023 there were 1.2 million people with Aids in Russia, with consistently high statistics in the world average, among the top five along with South Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria and India. Now it seems to be spreading further among young people, who seek to infect themselves because the disease excludes them from mobilisation to war.

KYRGYZSTAN

After the endless discussions about changes to the national flag, there is now a clash in Kyrgyzstan about the new state anthem that should replace the current one, which is considered ‘too Soviet’. The Žogorku Keneš has set up a special commission headed by deputy speaker Nurbek Sydygaliev, which will have to choose the three best versions and present them to parliament.

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