Day: December 31, 2022

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27 Bodies Recovered from Cambodian Casino Fire

Cambodian officials said Friday at least 27 bodies have been recovered from the charred remains of a casino hotel complex in Poipet, on the country’s border with Thailand.

 

The cause of the fire at The Grand Diamond City casino and hotel was not immediately clear, but Sek Sokhom, head of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department, told Reuters that the blaze may have been due to an electrical short circuit.

 

Firefighters and rescue teams from Thailand were deployed across the border to help extinguish the fire and to engage in the search and recovery process. Many victims of the fire were transported to hospitals in Thailand.

 

Eung Buleng, a survivor of the fire, told VOA, “People on the upper floors were terrified and didn’t know how to escape. I think it would have been OK if there were more fire trucks.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday after expressing his condolences for the victims and their families, “Seeing this, we must be better equipped. We need firetrucks capable of spraying water on high-rise buildings.”

 

Yong Kim Eng, President of the People Centre for Development and Peace, an NGO, questioned the safety of the complex’s buildings. He said, “It’s very sad. Cambodia is building a lot of high-rise buildings. We need to go back to reevaluate the safety systems in existing buildings to avoid similar accidents.”

 

About 400 people – both guests and employees – were thought to have been in the complex when the fire erupted.

 

Source: Voice of America

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China Accuses US of Distorting Facts After Aircraft Close Call

A U.S. military plane involved in a confrontation with Chinese aircraft in disputed southern waters last week had violated international law and put the safety of Chinese pilots at risk, a defense ministry spokesperson said.

 

The U.S. military said Thursday that a Chinese Navy J-11 fighter jet had come within 3 meters of a U.S. air force RC-135 aircraft on Dec. 21, forcing it to take evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.

 

But Tian Junli, spokesperson for China’s Southern Theater Command, said in a statement late Saturday that the United States had misled the public about the incident near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

 

He said the U.S. plane violated international law, disregarded repeated warnings by China and made dangerous approaches that threatened the safety of China’s aircraft.

 

“The United States deliberately misleads public opinion … in an attempt to confuse the international audience,” Tian said.

 

“We solemnly request the U.S. side to restrain the actions of frontline naval and air forces, strictly abide by related international laws and agreements, and prevent accidents in the sea and the air.”

 

China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its sovereign territory, but parts of it are contested by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

 

Source: Voice of America

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Nearly 6,400 People Died Due To Traffic Accidents In Vietnam In 2022

HANOI, A total of 11,448 traffic accidents occurred in 2022 in Vietnam, killing 6,364 people, severely injuring 4,215 and slightly injuring 3,613, according to the country’s Traffic Police Department, yesterday.

 

The number of traffic accidents and slight injuries decreased by 0.3 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively, while the number of deaths and severe injuries rose 9.9 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

 

On average, in 2022, Vietnam saw 31 traffic accidents per day which claimed 17 lives and injured 22 people.

 

A total of 11,454 traffic accidents occurred in the country in 2021, killing over 5,700 people and injuring nearly 8,000, according to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office.

 

Source: Nam News Network

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Singapore Reported 1,026 New COVID-19 Cases

SINGAPORE, Singapore reported 1,026 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total tally to 2,201,379.

 

A total of 87 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with four of them held in intensive care units, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

 

No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported yesterday, making the total death toll stay unchanged at 1,711.

 

Source: Nam News Network

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Roundup: Malaysia Economy Recovers With Expectations To Deepen Cooperation With China

KUALA LUMPUR, In 2022, Malaysia’s economy recovers steadily, thanks to improved labour conditions, increasing trade with foreign countries, etc. However, according to some research agencies, Malaysia faces such challenges as a sluggish economy and weaker exports in 2023.

 

The Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia’s central bank, said, the Malaysian economy expanded by 9.3 percent in the first three quarters of 2022. It projected the overall GDP growth will be between 6.5 percent and seven percent for the year, compared with 3.1 percent for 2021.

 

In Sept, the World Bank raised Malaysia’s 2022 economic growth forecast to 6.4 percent from 5.5 percent. The World Bank said in its report, Malaysia’s economic growth will be supported by strong domestic demand, which is underpinned by continued improvements in labour market conditions and tourism-related activities, by domestic and international travellers.

 

In terms of foreign trade, statistics from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry showed that, for the period of Jan to Nov, 2022, trade expanded by 29.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Exports increased by 27.2 percent, imports rose by 33.3 percent, and trade surplus edged up by 2.6 percent.

 

On the other hand, due to the spillover effects of the U.S. Fed raising interest rates, Malaysia suffered from high inflation. In the third quarter, the inflation rate was 4.5 percent. In Sept, the ringgit slid against the U.S. dollar, breaching the all-time low that was recorded during the Asian Financial Crisis period in 1998.

 

Looking ahead, several research agencies worry that an expected world economic slowdown and weaker global demand will bring challenges to the recovery of the economy in 2023.

 

A recent statement of S&P Global Market Intelligence showed, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global Malaysia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted at 47.9 in Nov, down from 48.7 in Oct.

 

According to Malaysia’s central bank, the country’s economy is expected to expand by four percent to five percent in 2023.

 

Analysts pointed out that, China is an important trading partner of Malaysia, and China-Malaysian economic and trade cooperation will continue to play an important role in the development and transformation of the Malaysian economy.

 

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority showed, for the first three quarters of 2022, Malaysia attracted approved foreign direct investments of 130.7 billion ringgit (29.7 billion U.S. dollars), among which China dominated with 49.2 billion ringgit (11.17 billion dollars).

 

Malaysian Transport Minister, Anthony Loke Siew Fook, recently said that, Malaysia looks forward to further strengthening economic cooperation with China. Chinese enterprises contribute a lot to the economic and trade prosperity between Malaysia and China. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, a large number of high-end and cutting-edge Chinese enterprises entered Malaysia, injecting vitality and hope into the prosperity and development of Malaysia.

 

He also said, Malaysia encourages and welcomes more high-tech, energy-saving and eco-friendly Chinese enterprises to come to Malaysia, to help with industrial transformation and upgrading. It is expected that Chinese enterprises will make more contributions to Malaysia’s economic development in terms of technology transfer and job creation.

 

Source: Nam News Network

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Lao prime minister resigns amid soaring inflation, criticism over mining concessions

Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh resigned on Friday for health reasons, retiring after serving in the position for less than two years amid a tanking economy, with soaring inflation and a sharp drop in the value of the currency, the kip. 

Viphavanh, 72, submitted his resignation to the National Assembly earlier in the day. He took office in April 2021 following a general election. 

“In the current situation, our country is experiencing a lot of hardships. I’m not able to do this difficult job any further,” he said in a speech at the Lao National Assembly. He said he submitted his resignation to the president on Dec. 15, and the president granted his request.

The leadership change comes as the government tries to temper inflation that has reached nearly 40 percent, with people complaining that the price of some basic necessities have nearly doubled.

About 500,000 people, or 21% of the workforce, are unemployed due to the economic downtown and coronavirus pandemic, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.

Minutes after Viphavahn’s speech, lawmakers of the country’s one-party government voted overwhelmingly for Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone to be the Southeast Asian nation’s new premier.  

President Thongloun Sisoulith, who is also general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, has been the country’s president since March 2021.

In his acceptance speech, Siphandone, 56, said he was honored and very proud to be elected prime minister. He is the Soviet-educated son of Khamtai Siphandone, 92, a former president of Laos.

The country’s constitution permits prime ministers to hold up to two five-year terms.

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New Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone addresses the national assembly in the capital Vientiane in this screenshot from Laos state broadcaster Lao TV, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. Credit: AFP/Lao TV

Viphavanh’s resignation comes amid criticism that he granted too many concessions for mining exploitation, especially in the northern provinces of Xieng Khouang and Xaysomboun, a source with knowledge of the political scene said. When taxes from the operations failed to go into the state budget, the country’s debt jumped.

Viphavanh also failed to make headway cracking down on rampant corruption, the source said. 

The president of the State Audit Organization reported to parliament last week that 141 billion kip, or about U.S.$9 million, of tax revenue did not go into the state budget and that more than 1,430 companies, most of them Chinese, had not paid taxes to the Lao government for more than a year.

Finance Minister Bounchom Oubonpaseuth also told lawmakers that at least 53 employees from his ministry had been disciplined or fired for corruption in 2022.

Some Lao citizens said they hoped the new prime minister could solve the country’s current financial and economic woes, especially high inflation and the depreciation of the Lao currency, the kip.

But a retail store owner in Savannakhet province was not optimistic. “I don’t think the new prime minister is going to make any difference,” he said. “Whoever is at the top, it will be the same.”

Translated by Max Avary for RFA Lao. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Edited by Malcolm Foster.