The new Thai government led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, sworn in by King Maha Vajiralongkorn in Bangkok on September 5, delivered its policy statement to parliament on September 11. In the policy statement, Prime Minister Thavisin detailed the main political, social and economic challenges facing Thailand, on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disturbed the country in the past three years. The new coalition government is made up of 11 parties. Prime Minister Thavisin, whose Pheu Thai party leads the coalition, and 33 cabinet ministers pledged their loyalty to the monarchy duri
On September 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded the G20 Summit in New Delhi by symbolically passing the presidency’s gavel to Brazil. During the two-day summit, the G20 officially adopted the New Delhi Leaders Summit Declaration after the member states successfully reached a consensus. The New Delhi Declaration, running into 38 paragraphs, was adopted on September 9 with “100% consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues,” said the Government of India. The declaration was welcomed with G20 members thumping their desks. Earlier on Saturday, PM Modi called for bri
Top diplomats of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries on September 4 reviewed a stalled peace plan for Myanmar, as the country’s ruling military failed to end violence more than two years after it seized power in a coup. ASEAN Foreign Ministers are meeting in Jakarta, capital of chair Indonesia, this week to discuss Myanmar, a code of conduct for the South China Sea, the region's economy, transnational crime and other issues. Myanmar is a member of ASEAN. However, its military rulers have been excluded from top bloc meetings since they ousted an elected government led
On September 1, Singapore elected Tharman Shanmugaratnam as its new president. The 66-year-old Former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister won 70.4% of votes to gain a six-year term. He will replace Halimah Yacob, the island nation’s first female head of state. Shanmugaratnam faced stiff competition in a three-way contest, which included two candidates of Chinese descent, as indicated by the preliminary vote count released by the Elections Department. His main rival, Ng Kok Song, a former chief investment officer of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, won 15.7% of the vote. Pri
As Jakarta hosts the 43rd Asean Summit and other related summits from September 4 to 7, students in more than 700 schools in south and central parts of the Indonesian capital and most civil servants will study and work remotely for a few days. The move aims to reduce traffic congestion during the summit. General traffic on several roads in the vicinity of the Jakarta Convention Centre, the summit venue, will be diverted or blocked to allow for the smooth movement of Asean leaders and delegates. During the summit, 75% of the city’s civil servants will work from home. Presently, half of
Indian-origin entrepreneur and US presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy was one of the main stars of the first Republican primary debate of the 2024 US presidential election cycle on August 24 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Former US President Donald Trump skipped the event, with eight Republican candidates facing off for two hours in the debate. Ramaswamy garnered a lot of attention, particularly for his comments on the Ukraine war, Donald Trump and climate change. The 38-year-old presidential aspirant raised more than $450,000, with an average donation of $38, in the first hour after the debate
Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia are the new full members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). In a landmark decision on August 24, the current members of the group declared expansion of the grouping by welcoming the six new countries into the fold. The membership will come into effect on January 1, 2024. Announcing the decision at the end of the 15th BRICS summit at Johannesburg, South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the addition of new members would strengthen the outfit and increase confidence in the idea of a mu
India’s digital public Infrastructure is secure, scaleable and provides inclusive solutions to challenges globally, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while virtually addressing the G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ Meet held in Bengaluru on August 18. In his speech, the Prime Minister said that the government has created a digital goods depository, India Stack, on a global platform to overcome the digital divide. He emphasised the way India has leveraged technology to transform governance, making it more efficient, inclusive, faster and transparent than before. The PM underlined the fact
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended a 'Ram Katha' by spiritual preacher Morari Bapu at Cambridge University campus on August 15. The nine-day Ram Katha at Cambridge University ran until August 20. The leader said that he was at the event not as a Prime Minister, but as a Hindu. He said that for him, faith was very personal, and it guides him in every aspect of his life and gives him “courage, strength, and resilience” to do the best he can as leader of the country. He said that he was proud to be British and Hindu, before recalling his childhood in South Hampton where
Greeting India on its 77th Independence Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that India has achieved universally acknowledged success in economic, scientific and technical, social and other fields. In a message of greetings to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Putin said he is confident that the two nations will continue to boost fruitful bilateral cooperation in all areas through joint efforts, as well as constructive partnership in resolving pressing issues on the regional and global agenda. The Russian leader was joined by other eminent world