Recently, Reuters quoted sources as saying that since being invited to join the BRICS countries last year, Saudi Arabia is still considering becoming a member of the organization. It is reported that members of the BRICS countries include China, Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa. The organization invited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Argentina, and Ethiopia to join the organization on January 1, 2023. Among them, the United Arab Emirates stated that it has accepted the invitation and joined the BRICS group.

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal·Ali Brahim confirmed that the country is still in the process of evaluating its decision to join the BRICS countries, and he stated that January of this year was not a decision madeThe final decision on the deadline and emphasizing the great benefits of joining the BRICS countries, as China and India are Saudi Arabia's largest trading partners within the member countries. However, in the context of escalating geopolitical tensions, Saudi Arabia still needs to weigh the pros and cons and make careful choices.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, recently, Deputy Finance Minister Juravan of Thailand told the media that the digital wallet plan could not meet the schedule this yearLaunched in May. It is reported that the Digital Wallet Plan is one of the campaign promises promoted by Thai Prime Minister Sita during his campaign. The government will distribute 10000 Thai baht per person to Thai citizens aged 16 and above, with an estimated total amount of up to 500 billion Thai baht. However, after being elected as Prime Minister, Seta was unable to fulfill this promise for a long time, and the plan was repeatedly forced to scale down. The implementation time has been postponed from the originally scheduled February to May.

The specific reason why it cannot be implemented is that the plan has been opposed by the opposition party and some economists, who are concerned that the government's implementation of the plan through public borrowing and fundraising may exacerbate inflation and expand the fiscal deficit. Previously, in order to promote the implementation of the digital wallet plan, the Thailand Anti Corruption Commission was commissioned to establish an expert group to explore the feasibility of the digital wallet plan. The report pointed out that the plan may violate election laws and politicsGovernment financial management regulations and recommendations for the government to suspend this plan.

Authoritative political scientists have analyzed that the digital wallet plan is no longer just an economic issue. If the plan fails, it will have a greater political impact on Thailand than on the economy. Supporters of the Thai Party will surely be very disappointed, which will shake the party's position as the ruling party. The Thai Anti Corruption Association has urged the Election Commission to investigate the Thai Party because it deviates from its promises during the election.

military affairs

01Iran uses new long-range missiles for the first time in actual combat

According to the TASNIM news agency in Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard recently launched a precision guided "Haibar Assassin" ballistic missile from southwestern Iran, striking the Islamic State Organization in Syria from 1300 kilometers away. This is also the farthest strike operation in the history of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. It is reported that this is the first time Iran has used this new type of long-range missile in actual combat, with a maximum range of 1450 kilometers for the Haibar Assassin.

Analysis shows that,The strike distance of the "Haibar Killer" ballistic missile is almost identical to the distance required to strike Tel Aviv, Israel, which means that Iran'sRemote weapons may have the ability to directly strike Israel. Iran and Israel have a long-standing hostile relationship, with Iran previously linking its missile development direction to this. But some military experts have analyzed that Iran usually conflicts with Israel through proxy organizations such as Hamas, rather than launching direct attacks, and Israel also has the world's best missile defense system.

01Singapore Food Authority's first tender for marine aquaculture

The Lianhe Zaobao reported that recently, the Singapore Food Bureau announced that the two sea spaces near Maohiroshima would be sold to practitioners of seafood farming such as fish and crustaceans through public bidding. This is the first time that the Singapore Food Authority has tendered for marine aquaculture.

It is understood that these two sea areas each have an area of approximately5 hectares, with a maximum annual aquatic output of 1732.5 metric tons per plot, approximately90% of the spatial carrying capacity of each sea area. Bidders can choose to bid for one or two sea areas. For each proposal, the Singapore Food Authority will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the production capacity, performance record, relevant agricultural experience, innovation ability, and business sustainability of practitioners.

The Senior Director of Land, Sea and Farmland Planning at the Food Authority of Singapore stated that Singapore has limited marine space available for agricultural production and needs to achieveThe goal of achieving a sustainable production of 30% of the nutritional needs of the Chinese population by 2030 requires farms to utilize technology and innovation to improve productivity and adopt sustainable practices. The local coastal aquaculture farms used to adopt an open net cage aquaculture method, which is easily affected by environmental factors and causes serious economic losses. So the authorities require that the winning bidder adopt sustainable technologies such as enclosed fish tank aquaculture to allow fish schools to grow in isolated and controlled environments, avoiding external factors.

According to a reporter from Vietnam News Agency in Cairo, recently, the production plant of EuP Egypt, a European plastic company, was officially completed in the city of Shadat, Egypt. This is the first production plant built by a Vietnamese company in Egypt, attended by Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Nguyen Phi yong and Chief Executive Officer of the Egyptian Investment and Free Zone Authority Hossam Heiba.

It is understood that there are currently 8 European plastic companies in VietnamProduction plantThere are a total of 4 filling masterbatch production plants with an annual capacity of 800000 tons and an annual revenue of 250 million US dollars. The products are sold to more than 100 countries and regions. The EuP Egypt factory, which has landed in Egypt, is expected to have a total investment of 30 million US dollars and covers an area of over 34000 square meters. It specializes in producing filling masterbatches. After the project is put into operation, there will be a total of 24 production lines with an annual output of 300000 tons, creating employment opportunities for 300 local workers.

The chairman of the company emphasized that,The investment and construction project of the EuP Egypt production plant is an important step in the expansion strategy of European Plastics Corporation. This is not only a production plant, but also a part of the good relationship between Egypt and Vietnam. Egypt has stated that it will continue to provide preferential treatment and protection mechanisms to foreign investors, including Vietnamese investors, and also hopes that more Vietnamese enterprises will invest in the Egyptian market.