Asian markets extended a Wall Street advance into Thursday as forecast-busting U.S. earnings and consumer confidence data tempered worries about a deep recession. With dust settling after the Bank of Japan’s surprise shift from ultra-loose monetary policy, investors embarked on a mini Santa rally ahead of the Christmas break, while …
Read More »Russian army must tackle problems it has suffered in Ukraine: Putin
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the Russian army must learn from and fix the problems it had suffered in Ukraine, promising to give the military whatever it needed to prosecute a war nearing the end of its 10th month. In a speech to defense chiefs in Moscow, Putin …
Read More »Mekong countries urged to fight plastic pollution in rivers
Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia have been asked to adopt stronger solutions to deal with plastic pollution in the Mekong River and its tributaries. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) said in a Wednesday report that the four member countries should establish a “joint, permanent mechanism to monitor and clean up …
Read More »South Korea, US consider live-fire drills amid North Korea threats
South Korea and the United States are considering staging their first large-scale joint live-fire demonstration in six years in 2023 amid North Korea’s growing military threats, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Thursday. The drills have been floated as South Korea and the United States discuss preparations for the 70th anniversary …
Read More »France fines Microsoft $64M over advertising cookies
France’s privacy watchdog said Thursday it has fined US tech giant Microsoft 60 million euros ($64 million) for foisting advertising cookies on users. In the largest fine imposed in 2022, the National Commission for Technology and Freedoms (CNIL) said Microsoft’s search engine Bing had not set up a system allowing …
Read More »11 girls forced to become prostitutes to pay off debts
Eleven women, one as young as 14, who were forced into sex work by a husband-wife business couple, were rescued by the police in HCMC’s District 12. The police raided a hotel owned by Le Thanh Doan, 36, and Le Thi Hue, 32, where they found the girls being guarded …
Read More »Bankman-Fried leaves Bahamas after consenting to extradition
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried left the Bahamas on Wednesday on an aircraft bound to the United States, according to a person familiar with the matter and a Reuters witness who saw the plane take off. Bankman-Fried earlier on Wednesday consented at a Bahamas courthouse to be extradited to the United …
Read More »Tesla to freeze hiring, lay off employees next quarter: Electrek
Another wave of layoffs are coming at electric-car maker Tesla Inc in the next quarter, news website Electrek reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. Tesla is also going to freeze hiring, according to the report. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for …
Read More »Vietnamese in Japan form union to support compatriots
A group of 20 Vietnamese students and trainees in Japan have formed a labor union to help other compatriots in the country. Nguyen Van Bao, 24, deputy head of the managing committee of the Tomoiki Union, said there are many Vietnamese in Japan who cannot speak Japanese and have no …
Read More »Foreign ministry’s leaders should be punished for repatriation scandal: investigators
The Central Inspection Committee has proposed that the Politburo and the Party Central Committee Secretariat discipline the Minister of Foreign Affairs for his misconduct in the Covid-19 repatriation flight scandal. It recommended disciplinary action against the ministry’s Party Civil Affairs Committee in the terms of 2016-2021 and 2021-2026, and former …
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