logo
Thailand will hold trade talks with US next week, finance minister says

Thailand will hold trade talks with US next week, finance minister says

Straits Times2 days ago

FILE PHOTO: Thailand's new Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira reacts on the day of the cabinet meeting at Thai Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2024. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File Photo
Thailand will hold trade talks with US next week, finance minister says
BANGKOK - Thai Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Friday he will travel to the United States for trade talks next week.
The negotiation date has been scheduled, he told reporters, without elaborating.
Thailand faces a 36% U.S. tariff on its exports, a key driver of growth, if it fails to negotiate a reduction before a moratorium expires in July. A tariff of 10% has been set for most nations while the moratorium is in place.
Earlier this month, Thailand's commerce minister Pichai Naripthaphan said talks between the two countries could reach good terms on tariffs, and possibly settle on a rate as low as 10%.
Thailand has said it hopes the negotiations will be extended beyond the expiry of the tariff pause next month. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Top Ukraine commander sees new assault on key eastern city
Top Ukraine commander sees new assault on key eastern city

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Top Ukraine commander sees new assault on key eastern city

Ukrainian servicemen outside the front-line city of Kostiantynivka, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, in May 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS KYIV - Ukraine's top commander said on June 28 that his forces faced a new onslaught against a key city on the eastern front of its war against Russia, while Moscow said it was making progress in another sector farther south-west. After their initial failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks after the February 2022 invasion, Russian troops have focused on capturing all of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The city of Kostiantynivka has been a major target. Ukrainian forces have for months defended the city against fierce assaults, with the regional governor urging remaining residents this week to evacuate as infrastructure breaks down. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksander Syrskyi, writing on Telegram on June 28, said the area around Kostiantynivka was gripped by heavy fighting. 'The enemy is surging towards Kostiantynivka, but apart from sustaining numerous losses, has achieved nothing,' General Syrskyi said. 'The aggressor is trying to break through our defences and advance along three operating sectors.' A spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, Major Viktor Trehubov, told the Ukrinform news agency that Kostiantynivka and the city of Pokrovsk to the west were 'the main arena of battles and the Kremlin's strategic ambitions'. Gen Syrskyi also said that Ukrainian forces had withstood in the past week a powerful attack near the village of Yablunivka in northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces have been trying to establish a buffer zone inside the Ukrainian border. Russia's Defence Ministry, in a report earlier in the day, said Moscow's forces had seized the village of Chervona Zirka - further south-west, near the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk region. Apartment buildings damaged by Russian military strikes in the front-line town of Kostiantynivka, in Ukraine's Donetsk region. PHOTO: REUTERS Russia's slow advance through eastern Ukraine, with Moscow claiming a string of villages day after day, has resulted in destruction of major cities and infrastructure. Moscow has insisted that progress towards a settlement of the 40-month-old war depends on Ukraine recognising Moscow's control over four Ukrainian regions - Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russian forces control about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, though they do not fully hold any of the four regions. Moscow has said in recent weeks that its troops have made advances in areas adjacent to Dnipropetrovsk region, which lies next to both Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian officials have denied those reports. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Top Ukrainian commander sees new assault on key eastern city
Top Ukrainian commander sees new assault on key eastern city

Straits Times

time2 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Top Ukrainian commander sees new assault on key eastern city

A Russian military helicopter flies past a flock of birds in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled city of Ukraine, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko Ukraine's top commander said on Saturday that his forces faced a new onslaught against a key city on the eastern front of its war against Russia, while Moscow said it was making progress in another sector farther southwest. After their initial failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks after the February 2022 invasion, Russian troops have focused on capturing all of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. The city of Kostiantynivka has been a major target. Ukrainian forces have for months defended the city against fierce assaults, with the regional governor urging remaining residents this week to evacuate as infrastructure breaks down. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksander Syrskyi, writing on Telegram on Saturday, said the area around Kostiantynivka was gripped by heavy fighting. "The enemy is surging towards Kostiantynivka, but apart from sustaining numerous losses, has achieved nothing," Syrskyi said. "The aggressor is trying to break through our defences and advance along three operating sectors." A spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, Viktor Trehubov, told the Ukrinform news agency that Kostiantynivka and the city of Pokrovsk to the west were "the main arena of battles and the Kremlin's strategic ambitions". Syrskyi also said that Ukrainian forces had withstood in the past week a powerful attack near the village of Yablunivka in northeastern Sumy region, where Russian forces have been trying to establish a buffer zone inside the Ukrainian border. Russia's Defence Ministry, in a report earlier in the day, said Moscow's forces had seized the village of Chervona Zirka -- further southwest, near the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's slow advance through eastern Ukraine, with Moscow claiming a string of villages day after day, has resulted in destruction of major cities and infrastructure. Moscow has insisted that progress towards a settlement of the 40-month-old war depends on Ukraine recognising Moscow's control over four Ukrainian regions -- Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russian forces control about one-fifth of Ukraine's territory, though they do not fully hold any of the four regions. Moscow has said in recent weeks that its troops have made advances in areas adjacent to Dnipropetrovsk region, which lies next to both Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian officials have denied those reports. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Huge crowds pack Budapest as banned Pride swells into anti-Orban rally
Huge crowds pack Budapest as banned Pride swells into anti-Orban rally

Straits Times

time3 hours ago

  • Straits Times

Huge crowds pack Budapest as banned Pride swells into anti-Orban rally

People attend The Budapest Pride March in Budapest, Hungary, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY BUDAPEST - Tens of thousands of protesters marched through Hungary's capital on Saturday as a banned LGBTQ+ rights rally swelled into a mass anti-government demonstration, in one of the biggest shows of opposition to Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Crowds filled a square near Budapest's city hall in sweltering heat before setting off across one of the main bridges over the Danube, waving rainbow flags, some draped in capes and some carrying signs mocking Orban. "This is about much more, not just about homosexuality ... This is the last moment to stand up for our rights," Eszter Rein Bodi, one of the marchers, said. "None of us are free until everyone is free," one sign read. Orban's government has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade, and lawmakers passed a law in March that allows for the ban of Pride marches, citing the need to protect children. Orban's opponents see the move as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms ahead of a national election next year when the veteran prime minister - whose party has dominated Hungary's political scene for 15 years - will face a strong opposition challenger. Small groups of far-right counter-protesters attempted to disrupt the peaceful march, but police separated them and diverted the route of the march to avoid any clashes. Orban and his government, who promote a Christian-conservative agenda and have championed family values, have defended the restrictions saying that the need to protect children supersedes all other rights. Orban posted a photo with his grandchildren on the morning of the march, with the caption: "This is what I am proud of." Several of his supporters followed suit. Marchers included students, families and people from the countryside who said they had never attended a rally before. The Erzsebet bridge, built to carry six lanes of traffic, was engulfed with people. Local media sites including and Magyar Hang estimated the crowd at 100,000, though Reuters could not confirm that figure. "The message is clear, they have no power over us," Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony told the rally. He thanked police for securing the march. March organisers said participants had arrived from 30 different countries, including 70 members of the European Parliament. More than 30 embassies have expressed support for the march and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to let the parade go ahead. 'LEGAL CONSEQUENCES' Budapest's mayor had tried to circumvent the law by organising Pride as a municipal event, which he said does not need a permit. Police however banned the event, arguing that it fell under the scope of the child protection law. Orban provided some clues on Friday about what participants can expect when he warned of "legal consequences" for organising and attending the march. Earlier this week Justice Minister Bence Tuzson warned in a letter sent to some foreign embassies in Budapest that organising a prohibited event is punishable by one year in jail, while attending counts as a misdemeanour. The law that allows for the ban of Pride lets police impose fines and use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. Orban's attacks on Pride initially increased his support, political analyst Gabor Torok wrote on Facebook on Saturday. But opinion shifted after the police ban and the legal debates surrounding the march, he said. Orban's dominance and ability to set the political agenda had faced increasing challenges from centre-right opposition leader Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which had a 15-point lead over Orban's Fidesz in a poll this month. Tisza, which has been avoiding taking a strong position on gay rights issues, did not specify in response to Reuters questions whether it believed the Pride march was lawful, but said those attending deserved the state's protection. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store