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☆ Factbox: Countries rush to evacuate foreign citizens from Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday some 16,000 people had crossed from Sudan to Egypt, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens. The foreign ministry said those evacuated included not only French nationals but also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Italians and Swedes. Cyprus said it had activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism at Britain's request to let third countries use it for reception and repatriation of foreign citizens evacuated from Sudan. NETHERLANDSAbout 100 Dutch nationals have been evacuated from Sudan since Sunday, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said. IRANIran's foreign minister said on Saturday 65 Iranian citizens had left from Port Sudan, through Jeddah, to Iran.

☆ Thai c.bank chief sees economy growing at 3.6% this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BANGKOK, April 24 (Reuters) - Thailand's economy is still seen growing at 3.6% this year, the central bank chief said on Monday, in spite of some turbulence in the first half of the year. Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput told reporters exports are seen down 7.1% year-on-year in the first half of 2023, before rising 4.2% in the second half. Headline inflation, which cooled to 2.83% in March, is expected at 3.3% in first half and 2.5% in the second half. The BOT last month raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 1.75% to curb inflationary pressures. The BOT has raised its key rate by a total of 125 basis points since August, less aggressive than many of its peers.

BANGKOK, April 22 (Reuters) - Thailand's opposition bloc should stick together to dislodge the military from politics and form a government after an election in May, the leader of a popular opposition party told Reuters on the sidelines of a packed campaign rally on Saturday. Thailand's election, on May 14, is shaping up as a contest between pro-military conservatives and the populist opposition led by Pheu Thai Party and its ally the Move Forward Party. Two governments Pheu Thai supported were overthrown by military coups, in 2006 and 2014. He is contesting the upcoming election but recent opinion polls put him behind both Pheu Thai and Move Forward, who maintained first and second places. Pita said that support bases complimented compliment Pheu Thai, backed by the working class and farmers in the rural north and northeast.

☆ Thai authorities issue extreme heat warnings for dozens of provinces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Chalinee ThirasupaBANGKOK, April 22 (Reuters) - Thai authorities on Saturday warned residents across large swathes of country, including the capital Bangkok, to avoid going outdoors due to extreme heat. Parts of Asia are reporting extreme heat this month, with record-breaking temperatures seen in some countries. In Bangladesh and parts of India, extreme heat is leading to surge in power demand, causing power cuts and shortages for millions of people. Thailand's department of disaster prevention and mitigation said that temperatures will exceed 40 C in at least 28 provinces on Saturday. "What is happening right now is caused by climate change, influencing abnormal (weather) and a phenomenon that is called extreme weather," Mathinee Yucharoen, a researcher of coastal oceanography and climate change at Prince of Songkhla University, told Reuters.

☆ A man bought $250,000 of plane tickets for $17,000 after a Japanese airline made a mistake with currency conversions, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A passenger told Bloomberg he'd bought 25 tickets, including one with an almost 95% discount. A man bought airline tickets worth $250,000 for just $17,000 after Japanese airline All Nippon Airways made a mistake with currency conversions, Bloomberg reported. Herman Yip, who runs a travel website and lives in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg that he bought 25 tickets at heavy discounts. Yip said that he bought tickets for family and friends as well as for himself. "If you see something that's probably a 10th of the original price, just book," he told Bloomberg.

☆ Tesla cuts US prices for sixth time this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Members of media and guests surround the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 during Thailand Tesla's official launch event in Bangkok, Thailand, December 7, 2022. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaCompanies Tesla Inc FollowApril 18 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) late on Tuesday further slashed prices in the United States for some of its Model Y and Model 3 electric vehicles, according to its website, ahead of its first-quarter results on Wednesday. The Elon Musk-led electric vehicle maker's sixth price cut in the U.S. will see the cost of both the Model Y Long Range and Performance vehicles cut by $3000 each. The cost of its Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive will be cut by $2000 to $39,990. The move comes after the company recently cut prices for its electric vehicles in Europe, Israel and Singapore, expanding a global discount drive it began in China in January, while raising concerns about its industry-leading profit margin.

In February, over 150,000 Chinese tourists travelled to Thailand, the latest data from the Thai Ministry of Tourism show - a three year high but still 85% below February 2019 levels. Chinese tourists used to make up 10% of European arrivals from outside the continent. Flights to Europe are up to 80% more expensive than before the pandemic, according to ForwardKeys, a travel data firm. Chinese tourists making a comeback is crucial for regional economies. Reuters GraphicsPre-pandemic, China was Australia's top source of tourists, but numbers following Beijing's reopening of borders have only trickled back.

In Southeast Asia, some countries posted their highest ever recorded temperatures this week, while searing heat in the Indian subcontinent has killed more than a dozen people. Neighboring Myanmar set an April temperature record on Monday as Kalewa, in central Sagaing region, reached 44°C (111°F), Herrera tweeted. April and May are typically the hottest months of the year for South and Southeast Asia as temperatures rise before monsoon rains begin and bring some relief. On Monday, more than 100 weather stations in 12 provinces broke their April temperature record, according to climatologist Jim Yang. Extremely hot temperatures across South and Southeast Asia are expected to continue.

☆ Young Thais who questioned monarchy look to win seats in parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Panu Wongcha-Um | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

They are bringing the issue of the role of monarchy in society into the open. Changing - though not abolishing - those laws is part of the platform of Lookkate's progressive Move Forward party, which is campaigning on reducing the severity of punishments for royal insult and how it is applied. Kanokrat said the protests had put issues such as LGBT rights and the ending of the military conscription on the agenda. They had energised the progressive left while at the same time triggering the rise of a right-wing royalist party, Thai Pakdee, which is campaigning on toughening up the lese majeste law, he said. "We have a real progressive left that connects with street politics and a far-right party that rises as a response."

☆ New year revelry returns to Thai streets as tourism rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Devjyot Ghoshal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People play with water as they celebrate during the Songkran holiday which marks the Thai New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, April 13. Festivities for Songkran, a much-loved Thai festival sometimes described as the world's largest water fight, had been muted or barred for the past few years due mainly to COVID-19 restrictions. ABut as travellers now return to Thailand, the key tourism sector is helping revive Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. Thailand beat its target of 6 million tourist arrivals in the first quarter, recording 6.15 million visitors between January and late March, according to government data. At least 30 million tourists are expected to visit Thailand this year and spend 1.5 trillion baht ($43.74 billion), according to projections by the Tourism Council, an industry body.

☆ You could fly the 11 hours from San Francisco to Tokyo for as little as $100 this summer, thanks to a budget airline's new route
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Zipair is set to launch flights between San Francisco and Tokyo this summer. Japanese low-cost airline Zipair announced that it's offering a new route between San Francisco and Tokyo, according to the airline's press release on April 7. A one-way flight ticket from San Francisco International Airport to Narita International starts from just 10,000 Japanese yen, or $91. The airline is set to operate five flights a week between San Francisco and Tokyo. Tickets for Zipair flights between San Francisco and Tokyo are available for booking on its website.

☆ Budget airline launches 11-hour flight between San Francisco and Tokyo this summer for under $100
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Anutin Charnvirakul, Bhumjaithai Party's leader and prime ministerial candidate, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bangkok, Thailand, April 10, 2023. This time, new election rules favour bigger parties, and Bhumjaithai has strengthened its slate of candidates to compete with larger opponents. "Last time, Bhumjaithai Party won millions of votes from people who believed in the benefits of marijuana," he said. Some small parties have suggested amending it and Pheu Thai has raised the possibility of discussing it in parliament. "Protecting the monarchy is an inspiration for the party," Anutin said.

[1/5] Javier Ramiro, Co-Chief Scientific Officer of Spanish indoor hops farming start-up Ekonoke controls the plantation of hops in Alcobendas, Spain, March 23, 2023. "We're on a mission to save the world's beer," Ines Sagrario, chief executive and co-founder of Ekonoke, told Reuters. Strict hygiene measures such as protective clothing for staff ensure the space remains pest-free, taking the pesticides on which traditional farming often depends out of the equation. The most obvious challenge indoor farming faces, he said, is its high energy cost. "Demand from breweries is quite inelastic; you can't make beer without hops and they don't want to produce less," Sagrario said.

☆ The 'mammoth meatball' grown in a lab probably doesn't taste like woolly mammoth at all
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It probably doesn't taste like woolly mammoth, a meat specialist and mammoth DNA researcher said. The Belgian startup Paleo says it added woolly mammoth myoglobin to a plant-based burger. The mammoth meatball doesn't have either of those elements from woolly mammoth. Mammoth myoglobin doesn't necessarily bring mammoth flavorThough he didn't taste it, Ryall said everyone could smell the meatball while it was cooking. So why make a mammoth meatball that doesn't taste like mammoth?

☆ Pollution choking Thailand's north hits tourism, worries public
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, April 10 (Reuters) - High pollution levels in Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai and surrounding provinces are keeping tourists away and alarming locals, with the government on Monday urging residents to avoid outdoor activities. For several weeks last month the city was at the top of air quality information platform IQAir's global chart on poor air quality, ahead of Lahore and New Delhi. That is far short of the 80% to 90% expected ahead of this week's Thai New Year holidays, known as Songkran. Addressing the deteriorating air quality in the north, Thailand's health ministry urged the public on Monday to avoid outdoor activities and wear masks that can filter particles. Chiang Mai resident Pathsharasakon Po, 36, said she was concerned about allergies, or even cancer.

Members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church in Pattaya, Thailand, last month. A congregation of Chinese Christians seeking asylum abroad is traveling to the U.S. with plans to resettle permanently, capping a three-year quest for a new home outside China that was impeded by repeated legal setbacks and police detention. The 63 members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, who were detained in Thailand last week for visa violations, have departed the Southeast Asian country for the U.S., a spokeswoman for the United Nations’ refugee agency and a Thai police official told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

[1/5] A woman works inside a cannabis shop, at Khaosan Road, one of the favourite tourist spots in Bangkok, Thailand, March 29, 2023. Thousands of cannabis shops and businesses have sprung up, especially in Bangkok and tourist spots, since Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalise the drug. A deluge of marijuana smuggled in from abroad has swamped Thailand, driving down wholesale prices and hurting growers, the industry members said. He did not comment on the scale of smuggled cannabis in the market or its impact on farmers. "A lot of cannabis that's coming in from the U.S. is going to dispensaries in Bangkok or Phuket or Pattaya," she said.

[1/2] Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha attends the draw for the party's list usage for the upcoming election ahead an event by the election commission in Bangkok, Thailand, April 4, 2023. The election broadly pits political groups backed by the royalist military and Bangkok establishment against an opposition led by the populist Pheu Thai party, which together with its previous incarnations has won every election since 2001. Pita Limjaroenrat, another opposition figure, was nominated by his Move Forward party, popular among young voters. Political experts say the generals would have an advantage in the race, having led the junta that appointed the current slate of senators. Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Nacho DoceMADRID, April 5 (Reuters) - A 68-year-old Spanish TV actress said that her newly adopted daughter was conceived using her dead son's frozen sperm and is in fact her granddaughter, reigniting a debate over the bioethics of surrogacy and children's right to privacy in Spain. The weeks-old baby, named Ana Sandra, was born to a surrogate mother identified on Wednesday by the Lecturas magazine as a Cuban woman living in Miami, Florida. "This girl isn't my daughter, but my granddaughter," TV actress Ana Obregon told celebrity magazine ¡Hola! Obregon's only biological child, her son Aless Lequio, died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 27. Obregon rose to prominence in the 1980s and starred in Spanish sitcoms in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

☆ China's GWM taps Brazil's WEG for electric vehicle charging network
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] EV car Good Cat by Ora, a brand by Great Wall Motors, is displayed at the Bangkok International Motor show in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2022. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaSAO PAULO, April 4 (Reuters) - Chinese electric car maker Great Wall Motors (GWM) (601633.SS) on Tuesday said is planning to install an electric vehicle charging network in Brazil through an exclusive partnership with local motor manufacturer WEG (WEGE3.SA). The partnership involves developing "a broad network for recharging electrified vehicles at dealerships, parking lots, shopping malls and other commercial establishments," GWM said in a statement. WEG will provide the Chinese firm "electric vehicle chargers to be sold to consumers and to be installed at the automaker's dealerships," it added. ($1 = 5.0852 reais)Reporting by Alberto Alerigi Jr., editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Chinese demand is helping boost Singapore property prices, Chinese students are snapping up apartments in Sydney and Melbourne, and agents say Chinese interest is ticking up in Thailand. But they indicate that in the wake of the pandemic, Chinese families are looking to relocate assets, and even themselves, overseas. Home purchases in Singapore, where Chinese are the top foreign buyers, cooled early in 2023 from last year's torrid pace - but only slightly despite a steep rise in real estate stamp duties. The Singapore American School has "seen significant interest from Chinese families looking to enrol," it said in a statement responding to Reuters questions. Canada, another real estate market popular with Chinese investors, has put a two-year ban on foreign purchasers.

[1/6] Spanish Labour Minister and Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz applauses as she presents new political platform 'Sumar' in Madrid, Spain, April 2, 2023. REUTERS/Isabel InfantesMADRID, April 2 (Reuters) - Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz launched her bid to become the country's first woman prime minister on Sunday at a packed event in Madrid, where the absence of two government ministers signalled a deepening rift among the progressive left. Today, I want to become our country's first female prime minister," Diaz told the crowd to a standing ovation. Although she has yet to release a detailed platform, Diaz outlined the broad outline of her manifesto, including a new "bill of rights" and a democratic, economic and social "contract" for the next decade. She also touted her ministry's accomplishments, such as raising the minimum wage and a pro-union labour law reform.

☆ China's Xi: Ties with Singapore set benchmark for countries in region
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - Relations between China and Singapore have set a benchmark for countries in the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during talks in Beijing on Friday. China is willing to work with Singapore in further building new "channels" by land and sea, Xi told Lee, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. "Other countries must be able to accept that China today is not what China used to be," Lee told CCTV in an interview ahead of his visit. China is Singapore's largest trading partner, while the island-state is China's biggest foreign investor. Lee's visit to Beijing was his first trip to China since 2019, before the global COVID pandemic broke out.

☆ Masks off, beer poured at Hong Kong Rugby Sevens after COVID restrictions dropped
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The general view of Hong Kong Stadium during the first day of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament in Hong Kong, China November 4, 2022. The Hong Kong leg of British music festival Creamfields is also taking place on April 1-2. The Chinese special administrative region has hosted financial summits in the past two weeks as well as Art Basel Hong Kong, one of Asia's leading contemporary art fairs. Scores of events were cancelled, postponed or taken to other Asian cities such as Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul because of Hong Kong's rigid coronavirus rules. "Over 20% of tickets purchased in the public sale are coming from overseas audiences, signalling Hong Kong’s return is in full swing."

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