(Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has asserted the need for the armed forces to incorporate an offset policy in procuring weapons and military hardware. Under this policy, reciprocal benefits should be secured as a condition for approving a new procurement deal, he said. The prime minister mentioned the government's offset policy to Mr Wallenberg and expressed his wish to see the Swedish jet maker's aircraft technology development be based in Thailand. He said the offset policy should apply even if the air force buys US F-16 fighter jets instead. Mr Sutin said the armed forces will meet later this week to establish a joint working group tasked with implementing the government's so-called military hardware procurement package policy.

Job reminder for the 'permanent five'The United Nations Security Council meets about the situation in Syria at the UN Headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, on Feb 28, 2020. The maintaining of international peace, security, and prosperity falls under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, which is comprised of five permanent members, the victors of World War II, and 10 non-permanent members on a rotating basis. Although the Security Council has 15 members, in practice, it is a council of five, as the five permanent members maintain a veto power, and thus, no substantive decision can be made or adopted without the consent or agreement of all five. Despite these drastically opposing ideologies, there has been a tie that binds the permanent members of the Security Council, and that is the use of force to promote these ideologies and other self-interests. It is for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to take stock of this situation and look inward at the damage they are causing to such a large percentage of the global community.

Many were found to have been victims of trafficking by scam centres operating in the lawless region on the border with China. Thailand remains on Tier 2 for the third consecutive year in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report issued by the United States this week. Authorities identified more migrant labour trafficking victims, courts ordered increased amounts of restitution to victims and established 13 victim identification centres, said the report issued by the State Department. Among the recommendations the report made were proactive investigation and prosecution of officials complicit in facilitating trafficking, with significant prison terms. Authorities must protect the welfare of trafficking victims by adhering to a victim-centred principle and providing victim-friendly treatment and trauma-informed care, especially for young people, he said.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin speaks to reporters at Government House on Tuesday. Palang Pracharath remains a steadfast coalition partner, Mr Srettha said on Tuesday, adding that he has no reason to avoid meeting its leader, Gen Prawit Wongsuwon. They are mostly military men who are strongly loyal to Gen Prawit, who oversaw the screening of all the Senate appointees in 2019. Deputy Prime Minister Phatcharavat Wongsuwan, in his capacity as chief adviser to the PPRP, also played down the rumoured conflict. Mr Thamanat said the party was preparing to host a dinner for the coalition parties and a date would be set soon.

Summer Palace at the Conrad Singapore Orchard first opened its doors in 1982 and has since remained one of the country’s most revered Cantonese restaurants. Under the guidance of executive Chinese chef Liu Ching Hai, Summer Palace offers a dining experience where authentic Cantonese cuisine meet modern culinary inspirations. The tea programme at Summer Palace encapsulates the traditions of Chinese tea culture where the each tea served is brewed tableside on a tea trolly. At Summer Palace, we have fish tanks in the kitchen and the fishery comes daily with fresh catch. This is where perhaps Summer Palace leads the pack, as to most diners this would be akin to coming home.

Flags of European Union member states fly in front of the Konrad Adenauer building of the European Parliament in Luxembourg. The EU on Tuesday formally opened membership negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. “For our nation, the European Union signifies much more than a physical space,” he said. Arduous journeyThe journey to EU membership is arduous for candidate countries, as they must reform to meet EU standards on a wide range of issues, from fighting corruption through regulating agriculture to harmonising customs rules. Ukraine and Moldova will have to navigate not just technical and legal obstacles to membership but also political hurdles.

A lawmaker with the opposition Thai Sang Thai Party (TST) warned a House committee against approving the Royal Thai Air Force's (RTAF) plan to procure digital transceivers, saying the price quoted in the proposal is more than double the item's market price. Mr Chatchawan said the model in question can be found online for just 367,500 baht per unit, which means 40 units should only cost about 14.7 million baht. He said the price can go even lower if the RTAF decides to buy in bulk. "According to the information I've received and verified, if the RTAF's purchase plan is approved, the country stands to lose at least 23.55 million baht. He said the public is barred from accessing information on the land due to national security and military confidentiality reasons.

STT GDC Thailand has announced its readiness for an artificial intelligence-enabled data centre to support demand for growing AI usage. STT GDC in Singapore reported its data centres across Southeast Asia have AI readiness. Mr Supparat said by becoming an AI-ready data centre, it requires additional power consumption of 15-20MW, compared to a regular cloud-based data centre's average power consumption of 5-10MW. By year-end, total data centre capacity in Thailand should reach 357.45 MW before exceeding 400MW at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, global cloud data centre provider Google Cloud plans to expand its partnership with Gulf Energy Development Plc on cloud capability, with an agreement scheduled to be signed on Thursday.

Big-biker dies in flames after hitting busThe crash scene on Highway 36 in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri on Sunday night. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)A motorcyclist died when his big bike hit a bus making a U-turn and caught fire in Bang Lamung district, near Pattaya, on Sunday night. He was unable to avoid hitting the bus as it began making a U-turn, crossing in front of him. The bus driver said his vehicle was big, so he had to make the U-turn from the left lane. The motorcyclist was travelling in the right lane and had tried unsuccessfully to swerve into the left lane to avoid the collision.

India buys record amount of sunoil amid Ukraine-Russia price warFILE PHOTO: A sunflower is seen in a field, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a frontline in the village of Velykomykhailivka in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine on Aug 15, 2023. Higher sunflower oil purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils will help to reduce sunflower oil inventories in the Black Sea region and lift sunoil prices. India on an average bought 250,000 tons of sunflower oil every month in the last marketing year, mostly from Black Sea region. In January 2023, India had imported a record 461,458 tons of sunflower oil. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil from Argentina, Brazil, and United States.

Thailand’s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) is set to issue 20 billion THB (540 million USD) in sustainable bonds to institutional investors this year. Thailand’s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) (Photo: bangkokpost.com)Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) is set to issue 20 billion THB (540 million USD) in sustainable bonds to institutional investors this year. Sustainable bonds are a subset of ESG bonds, and the PDMO currently has 467 billion THB in outstanding ESG bonds, accounting for 5.6% of its total bond portfolio. Jindarat confirmed that the PDMO aims to issue ESG bonds annually to establish a benchmark for this type of financial instrument. The Thai Bond Market Association classifies ESG bonds into four categories: green bonds, social bonds, sustainability bonds, and sustainability-linked bonds./.

Key suspect in Stark fraud arrives in Bangkok after Dubai deportationChanin Yensudchai, the former CEO of scandal-hit Stark Corp, is being questioned by the Department of Special Investigation after he arrived back in Thailand on Sunday. (TV screen capture)Chanin Yensudchai, one of the key suspects in the Stark Corporation embezzlement scandal, arrived in Bangkok on Sunday after he was deported from Dubai. United Arab Emirates authorities handed over Mr Chanin to their Thai counterparts in Dubai on Saturday to bring him back to Thailand. The five companies were Stark and its subsidiaries: Phelps Dodge International (Thailand), Thai Cable International, Adisorn Songkhla Co and Asia Pacific Drilling Engineering. The accounting and embezzlement scandal at SET-listed Stark was one of the country’s largest corporate frauds in recent years.

A billboard featuring Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Fidel Castro has generated significant debate in Miami, Florida. Installed by Mad Dog PAC, the Spanish-language billboard is part of a campaign targeting battleground states to raise concerns about potential dictatorship.

Hemp's potential goes up in smokeSince the legalisation of marijuana, or ganja, in 2022, the total lack of regulatory control has sparked a public outcry, prompting the Srettha administration to criminalise ganja again. In Thailand, hemp has long been used in the traditional textiles of the Hmong highlanders, both for their cultural rites from birth to death and for the markets. Yet the Public Health Ministry wants to include the non-psychoactive hemp in the narcotics list along with ganja. Following his directive on May 8, 2024, the Public Health Ministry issued a new regulation that will come into effect on Jan 1, 2025. Since hemp is not a drug, any law concerning narcotics should not include hemp at all, they insist.

(Photo: Reuters)WINDHOEK, Namibia - The High Court in Namibia has declared two colonial-era laws that criminalised same-sex acts between men unconstitutional, in a landmark win for the LGBTQ community in the southern African country. The case was brought by Namibian activist Friedel Dausab with the support of the British-based non-governmental organisation Human Dignity Trust. John Nakuta, a law professor at the University of Namibia, said the court’s order can be appealed by the Namibian government within 21 days. Namibia inherited the laws when it gained independence from South Africa in 1990, though same-sex acts between men were initially criminalised under colonial rule. The latter measure is being challenged in court and the country’s president has yet to assent to it.