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☆ U.S. President Biden slips up on name of ASEAN summit host Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PHNOM PENH, Nov 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday referred to Cambodia, which is hosting an international summit led by Southeast Asian leaders, as Colombia. He was referring to Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, who is currently chairing the 10-member regional bloc. The president, who is on a whirlwind trip with stops at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt, ASEAN in Phnom Penh and the G20 summit in Indonesia, made a similar slip-up while speaking to reporters at the White House recently. Supporters call that ageism and say the president, who overcame a childhood stutter, has been ad-libbing in public speeches for decades. Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jiraporn Kuhakan; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Southeast Asia leaders kick off ASEAN summit in Cambodia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Cambodia, this year's chair for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), is hosting the weekend summit in Phnom Penh — the group's first in-person meeting since the Covid pandemic. Leaders from the U.S., China, South Korea and Japan will also be meeting ASEAN leaders in Phnom Penh. "Looking to the future, ASEAN needs to strongly promote the values that have made ASEAN successful over the past five decades. The ASEAN nations want more trading partners, the more, the better," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Thursday. The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia is a peace treaty among Southeast Asian countries established in 1976.watch now

☆ Morning Bid: Disinflation stations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A year ago, the prospect of a 7.7% annual inflation rate 12 months on would have been shocking. As world markets everywhere rose in sympathy, those Wall St gains appear to be holding at least on Friday. The swoon in U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar was probably even more significant, with two-year yields recording their biggest one-day drop since 2008 and the dollar its deepest fall since 2015. Although Bitcoin managed to bounce with all world markets, it's struggled to keep a foothold back above $17,000 on Friday and is still nursed losses totalling 17% this month alone. University of Michigan November sentiment and inflation expectationsUS inflation, Fed rates and marketsReuters GraphicsReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsBy Mike Dolan, editing by Angus MacSwan <a href="mailto:mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com" target="_blank">mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com</a>.

☆ Biden departs White House for COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsBiden departs White House for COP27PostedU.S. President Joe Biden departed Washington on Thursday (November 10) to attend the COP27 U.N. Climate Change summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in a wide-ranging trip that also includes meetings of ASEAN and the Group of 20 industrialized nations in Cambodia and Indonesia.

☆ Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend G-20 summit in Indonesia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, an Indonesian government official said Thursday, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders are to attend the two-day summit in Bali that starts Nov. 15. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the Chief of Support for G-20 events told reporters in Denpasar, Indonesia, that Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation. Biden will attend ASEAN and the G-20 while Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to APEC. Putin’s decision not to attend the G-20 comes as Russia’s forces in Ukraine have suffered significant setbacks.

☆ ASEAN summit begins with Myanmar likely to dominate agenda; 'little progress expected'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cambodian Prime Minister and ASEAN host Hun Sen addressed Friday's opening ceremony with a call for vigilance and wisdom during times of economic and geopolitical turmoil. The junta has blamed a lack of progress on the pandemic and obstruction from armed resistance movements that it calls terrorists. James Crabtree, Executive Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies-Asia, said ASEAN was struggling to cope with internal divisions over Myanmar and other issues. One Western diplomat who will attend the meeting said that while the bloc may try to make the Myanmar peace plan more action-oriented, "little progress is expected". G20 leaders are meeting in Bali next week and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will take place in Bangkok after that.

WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol during an upcoming trip to Asia to discuss how to stem North Korea's nuclear program, a White House official said on Wednesday. The leaders will meet in Cambodia on Sunday, Nov. 13, when Biden visits Asia for meetings with ASEAN and the Group of 20 industrialized nations. In October, North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile farther than ever before, sending it soaring over Japan for the first time in five years and prompting a warning for residents there to take cover. Last week, a U.S. official told Reuters that China and Russia have leverage they can use to persuade North Korea not to resume nuclear bomb testing. North Korea has long been banned from conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches by the U.N. Security Council, which strengthened sanctions on Pyongyang over the years to try and cut off funding for those programs.

☆ ASEAN wants to continue picking up the pace of trade with the U.S., says former U.S. ambassador
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailASEAN wants to continue picking up the pace of trade with the U.S., says former U.S. ambassadorTed Osius, U.S. ambassador to Vietnam from 2014 to 2017, and current president of the US-ASEAN Business Council, says four ASEAN countries are already in the United States' top 20 global trade partners.

He'll hold his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20, where he hopes to explore Xi's "red lines", talk to allies about punishing Russia for its Ukraine invasion and discuss containing North Korea after a barrage of missile tests. On Wednesday, Biden said U.S. aid for Ukraine will continue uninterrupted and any territorial compromise between the two countries is up to Ukraine. Putin will not attend the G20 summit in person but is due join one of the meetings virtually, an Indonesian government official said. They will address North Korea's "unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," the official said. Biden will "continue to urge the Egyptian government to release political prisoners and undertake human rights related legal reforms," said one of the officials.

☆ We don't want to choose sides between the U.S. and China, says Cambodian government official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe don't want to choose sides between the U.S. and China, says Cambodian government officialKung Phoak, Cambodia's secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, says U.S.-China relations are the "most important," stressing that ASEAN remains neutral on the rivalry between the two countries.

☆ Cambodian PM to give luxury watches as ASEAN summit souvenirs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A view of the mechanism of a wristwatch intended as a souvenir for world leaders gathering at the ASEAN Cambodia 2022 summit, in this undated image obtained from social media on November 10, 2022. Hun Sen official Facebook page/via REUTERSPHNOM PENH, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, an aficionado of luxury watches, will hand out intricate, locally made timepieces as souvenirs for world leaders at an international summit he is hosting this week. "These watches have been prepared and assembled by pure Cambodian technicians, which is part of scientific and technology and developments of Cambodia," Hun Sen wrote of the 25 limited-edition watches. While some Cambodians criticised the extravagance of the high-end gift, others praised Hun Sen for promoting the country's fledgling watchmaking ambitions. Sok Eysan, a spokesperson for Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party, said there was "nothing political or strange" about the watches.

☆ Biden to attend summit of Southeast Asian leaders as Myanmar looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

BANGKOK — Southeast Asian leaders convene in the Cambodian capital Thursday, faced with the challenge of trying to curtail escalating violence in Myanmar while the country’s military-led government shows no signs of complying with the group’s peace plan. U.S. President Joe Biden will be on hand for the Phnom Penh summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which comes as Washington and Beijing are increasingly jockeying for influence in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to Myanmar, the four-day meetings are expected to focus on ongoing disputes in the South China Sea, pandemic recovery issues, regional trade and climate change. Neither Xi nor Putin is expected to attend the ASEAN talks or the parallel East Asia Summit, though both China and Russia are thought to be sending high-level delegations. “For Southeast Asia it’s really important to physically show up, and I think the Americans are very aware of this,” Daniel said.

☆ Philippines' Marcos to address Myanmar situation at ASEAN summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MANILA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday the situation in Myanmar will be among several issues that will be addressed at the ASEAN summit. "We will also address regional issues such as the pandemic and the situation in Myanmar, developments in the South China Sea and the ongoing conflict between Russia and the Ukraine among other important matters," Marcos said in a speech ahead of his departure for Cambodia where the summit is being hosted. Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea's Yoon to attend ASEAN, G20 summit meetings this month
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Nov 9 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend meetings of ASEAN and the Group of 20 industrialised nations this month, a senior administration official said on Wednesday. South Korea is arranging a possible bilateral summit between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden as well as a trilateral summit involving the United States and Japan on the sidelines of the events, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. "We are arranging summits with key countries on the occasion of attending the ASEAN and G20 meetings," Yoon's national security adviser, Kim Sung-han, told a briefing. Nothing has been decided regarding a possible one-on-one meeting between Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Yonhap said. Yoon, who took office in May, has been keen to improve relations with Tokyo at a time when both countries face North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.

Retno Marsudi, foreign minister of Indonesia, which is due to chair the regional bloc next year, told Reuters that blame for a lack of progress lies with the junta. The Myanmar junta did not respond to requests for comment. Retno also said her Southeast Asian counterparts are coming up with fresh recommendations for the implementation of the peace plan ahead of the ASEAN leaders' summit next week. "We facilitate the national dialogue that will take Myanmar out of the political crisis. The bloc has barred Myanmar's generals from attending high-level meetings and the junta has not allowed non-political representatives to participate.

☆ North Korea says U.S.-South Korea drills 'can no longer be tolerated'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - North Korea on Tuesday again demanded that the United States and South Korea halt joint military exercises, saying such "rashness and provocation can be no longer tolerated," while the White House said concern remains high about the potential for a North Korean nuclear test. In denouncing the drills in a statement carried by North Korea's official news agency, Pak Jong Chon, secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, warned the United States and South Korea against any attempt to attack. North Korea's foreign ministry on Monday demanded an end to the drills, saying they could draw "more powerful follow-up measures" from Pyongyang. North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war since an armistice agreement ended fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War.

☆ Renault-backed Beyonca EV venture touts health monitoring, targets Audi in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Soh, Beyonca's chairman, said the company was targeting the high-end premium segment, where they would compete with models such as Audi's A8L, BMW's 7 Series and Mercedes' S Class. Soh said that by the time the car was launched, third generation EV technology would offer faster charging times and longer driving ranges. Soh acknowledged the difficult backdrop but pointed to steady growth in the premium car segment, which he said had potential annual sales of 3 million cars in China. He declined to say how much Beyonca had raised from investors or how large a stake Renault and Dongfeng held in the company. Beyonca is headquartered in Beijing and has a design center in Munich and an artificial intelligence development hub in Singapore.

☆ SE Asian ministers discuss Myanmar crisis, without any Myanmar representative
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JAKARTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian foreign ministers began meeting in Jakarta on Thursday to discuss how to kick-start a stalled peace process in military-ruled Myanmar, where dozens have been killed in recent weeks as violence escalated. The meeting at the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indonesian capital will not be attended by any representatives from Myanmar. Myanmar had been invited to send a non-political representative to the meeting in Indonesia, but the junta did not agree, according to the host government. There was also interest among some ASEAN members to seek quiet negotiations with the junta, the source said. Reporting by Poppy McPherson in Bankok and Stanley Widianto in Jakarta Writing by Ed Davies Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Why is ASEAN holding a special meeting on Myanmar?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Martin Petty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In August it cited "notable progress" on the peace plan, without providing specifics, but said its commitment would be determined by developments on the ground. It has accused its opponents of trying to sabotage the ASEAN plan and has justified military offensives as necessary to secure the country and enable political talks. Instead of advocating for the five-point ASEAN plan, the generals have instead been pushing a five-step roadmap of their own towards a new election, with few similarities. Suspending Myanmar as an ASEAN member would be extremely unlikely, as would any trade sanctions, and the junta has demonstrated it will not respond to threats. ASEAN has so far opted to bar the generals from key summits and invited non-political representatives instead, which the junta has declined.

[1/3] Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn speaks during a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers at the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 27, 2022. Galih Pradipta/Pool via REUTERSJAKARTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government warned on Thursday that any pressure from its Southeast Asian neighbours to put a time frame on a peace plan would create "negative implications". No Myanmar representatives were present at the special meeting of the group's foreign ministers to discuss the stalled peace plan. Late on Thursday, Myanmar's military-appointed foreign ministry released a statement blaming armed resistance movements for violence and saying pressure to set a time frame will create more negative implications than positive ones. And Indonesia has mentioned that this request needs to be delivered to Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) immediately," said Retno.

☆ ASEAN chair alarmed over escalating Myanmar violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 26 (Reuters) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is gravely concerned about an escalation of violence in Myanmar and is calling for restraint and an immediate cessation of fighting, the bloc's chair Cambodia said. "We are deeply saddened by the growing casualties, and the immense suffering that ordinary people in Myanmar have endured," said the statement. "We, therefore, strongly urge utmost restraint and immediate cessation to violence," said the statement, which called for all parties to pursue dialogue. ASEAN is leading diplomatic efforts to bring peace to Myanmar but the junta has done little to implement the "consensus", which committed to an immediate halt to violence and the start of dialogue towards a peace agreement. A group of 457 Myanmar civil society organisations have called in an open letter for ASEAN leaders to scrap the peace plan it agreed with the military and instead work with civilian leaders and a shadow government.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Vietnam may widen dong trading band again to conserve FX reserves - source
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HANOI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Vietnam is preparing to loosen its tight leash on the dong currency, including possibly widening its trading band with the U.S. dollar again, in order to conserve its shrinking currency reserves, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has intervened to defend the currency, although it rarely discloses FX reserves data or the amount of dollars spent. Widening the band, which would allow the market to drive the currency lower without triggering so much FX reserves selling, was one possibility, the source said. Other measures to cushion the dong, without exhausting FX reserves, were also being discussed, he said, without providing further details. The source said the SBV was trying to conserve its dollars as the country's FX reserves had sunk to the International Monetary Fund's recommended level, which is at least three months of imports.

☆ Air strike during Myanmar concert kills at least 50 - media, opposition
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Myanmar has been gripped by fighting since the army overthrew an elected government early last year. Resistance movements, some armed, have emerged across the country, which the military has countered with lethal force. Since the coup, open conflict has resumed between the Myanmar army and bitter rival the KIA, which has been fighting on and off for six decades for greater autonomy for the Kachin people. The U.N. in Myanmar said it was deeply concerned and saddened by reports of the attack. Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN are due to meet later this week to discuss the Myanmar crisis, its chair Cambodia said on Sunday.

CNN —Dozens of people have been killed in military airstrikes that hit a celebratory event in Myanmar’s mountainous Kachin state on Sunday, according to local news outlets and international organizations. Reuters and local news outlet The Irrawaddy reported at least 50 people were killed. CNN cannot independently verify the number of reported deaths and has reached out to the military for comment. Kachin Alliance, a Kachin community organization based in Washington, DC, said Kachin artists, local elders, and KIO leaders were among those killed. The attack on Sunday drew international condemnation, with the United Nations saying it was concerned over reports of more than 100 civilians impacted.

The previous day, the 27 EU leaders locked horns over a joint response to the acute energy crunch that has engulfed the bloc since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Smaller countries also appealed for a united EU front vis-a-vis Beijing, pointing to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's planned visit to China next month. "Germany's industrial strategy, and its economic model that feeds it, is toxic for the EU," Eurointelligence said in a commentary on Thursday. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, also leads the small EU camp opposed to capping gas prices, with Scholz defending himself on Thursday against accusations from other EU leaders that Berlin is pursuing selfish and unfair energy policies. Some EU countries want wider sanctions imposed on Iran, and the summit will also condemn Tehran's use of force against protests.

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