Thais Cast Votes in First Parliamentary Elections

Around 51 million registered voters of Thailand

casted their votes on 24 March 2019. Being the first
parliamentary election after the military coup in 2014, all
500 seats in the House of Representatives are vacant
and the election was considered as a standoff between
the military and anti-junta parties. Prime Minister Prayut
Chan-o-cha, Head of the Thai military who led the coup,
is the sole nominee of the Palang Pracharat Party for
the same position. Prime Minister Chan-o-cha is being
challenged by Sudarat Keyuraphan, leader of the Pheu
Thai Party, who supports Thailand’s ousted Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra; Abhisit Vejjajiva of the
Democrat Party; and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit
of the Future Forward Party. The House of Representatives as the lower house of the
Thai parliament will choose the next government together with the Senate, which is
appointed by the Thai military. (OSINT)(Sputnik)

Italy Signs MOU with China

In spite of pressure from

Washington and Brussels, Italy signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with China on 23 March 2019 to support
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Italy, the first G7 country, has reportedly
agreed to take part in Beijing’s trade and
infrastructure projects. During a state
visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping,
Italy signed 29 agreements that include
two port management deals between
the China Communications Construction
engineerin company and the ports of
Trieste, situated in the northern Adriatic
Sea, and Genoa, Italy’s biggest seaport.
Likewise, other agreements pertains to
satellites, e-commerce, agriculture, beef and pork imports, media, culture, banking,
natural gas and steel. However, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who
heads the Northern League faction in the coalition government, protested and did not
attend the signing ceremony. Salvini said that China’s investments should only be
allowed if made on equal terms. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that European nations should implement stricter
rules on Chinese investments as they perceived that China will only took advantage of
European Union (EU) member states’ divisiveness and uncoordinated approach. In fact,
the European Commission urged its leaders to adopt a 10-point action plan that would
establish a more balanced and reciprocal relationship with China in areas such as trade
and technology. Meantime, Brussels has labeled China as an “economic competitor”
while Washington is expected to send a message among other EU member states as
Italy’s participation causes alarmed in the EU, being one of its founding member and
third largest economy in Europe. The White House’s National Security Council already
expressed concern over Italy’s decision saying that it would only legitimize China’s
predatory approach to further its political agenda to replace the United States as the
world’s top global power broker. At present, Xi is on a six-day trip in Europe to promote
Chinese investments in the region particularly in France, Germany, and the United
Kingdom. (OSINT) (South China Morning Post)