International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
NATO allies and partners have delivered almost all their promised combat vehicles to Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday. “More than 98% of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine have already been delivered. That means over 1,550 armoured vehicles, 230 tanks, and other equipment, including vast amounts of ammunition,” he told reporters
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fulfilling a longstanding goal of Kyiv which had publicly sought such talks for months. Zelensky, describing the hour-long phone call as “long and meaningful”, signalled the importance of the chance to open closer relations with Russia’s most powerful friend, naming a former
US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea it would face a nuclear response and the “end” of the leadership there if Pyongyang uses its own arsenal. Speaking at the White House after Oval Office talks during only the second state visit so far in the Biden presidency, the two
Presidents Joe Biden and Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday will sign an agreement that includes plans to have U.S. nuclear-armed submarines dock in South Korea for the first time in more than 40 years, a conspicuous show of support to Seoul amid growing concern about nuclear threats by North Korea, according to senior Biden administration
Netflix Inc said on Tuesday (April 25) it plans to invest $2.5 billion in SouthKorea over the next four years to produce Korean TV series, movies and unscripted shows, doubling the amount the company has invested in the market since 2016. The U.S. streaming service made the announcement after a meeting between Netflix co-CEO Ted
Global military spending grew for the eighth consecutive year in 2022 to an all-time high of $2.24 trillion, with a sharp rise in Europe, chiefly due to Russian and Ukrainian expenditure, a Swedish think tank said Monday. Spending globally increased by 3.7% in real terms, but military expenditure in Europe was up 13% — its
The Thai government started to evacuate 150 Thais from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum this morning, heading for the coastal town of Port Sudan where they will board a chartered ship or naval vessel of a foreign country for onward travel to Saudi Arabia. According to informed government sources, the 850km overland journey from Khartoum
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its carrier strike group arrived in Thailand Monday on a week-long visit after crossing the South China Sea. The US Embassy said in a statement that the visit of the aircraft carrier, which docks at Laem Chabang Port during April 24-29, is part of US Navy port
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol flew to Washington Monday for a six-day state visit, as the allies move to bulk up military cooperation over North Korea’s expanding nuclear threats. Pyongyang has conducted another record-breaking string of sanctions-defying launches this year, including test-firing the country’s first solid-fuel ballistic missile this month — a key technical
Charles III will be officially crowned king next month, in a solemn religious service eight months after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II. The set-piece coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6 is the first in Britain in 70 years, and only the second in history to be televised. Charles will be the
The Thai Foreign Ministry has been coordinating with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United States over the use of their airbases, such as the US airbase in Djibouti, in case Thai citizens need to be evacuated from strife-torn Sudan, Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said Sunday. The Thai National Security Council, led by its secretary-general
Japan ordered its military Saturday to prepare to shoot down a North Korean ballistic missile after Pyongyang said this week it was ready to launch its first military spy satellite. Placing the satellite into orbit would require a long-range projectile, which North Korea is banned from launching as the United Nations views such exercises as
