BANGKOK: Thai Princess Ubolratana was put forward Friday (Feb 8) as a candidate for prime minister in the March elections, the first time a royal has entered frontline politics - a development the palace later condemned as "highly inappropriate".Her game-changing entrance into Thailand's turbulent political scene - and the displeasure it stirred from her brother, the king - layers on complexity into the coming poll, the first since a 2014 coup.So what do Friday's astonishing events mean for Thai politics?HOW IS THE JUNTA AFFECTED?The moment the princess entered the fray, for the Thai Raksa Chart party, junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha looked to be on the ropes.He agreed to be a candidate for premier shortly after her, in a move putting him in direct rivalry with a member of the institution he seized power vowing to defend.But the statement late Friday from the palace condemned the move "to bring" Ubolratana into politics as "highly inappropriate" and "unconstitutional", dimming … [Read more...] about What does Princess Ubolratana’s entry mean for Thai politics?
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What does Alberta pulling out of the federal climate plan mean for the environment?
By Hamdi Issawi StarMetro Edmonton David P. Ball StarMetro Vancouver Ainslie Cruickshank StarMetro Vancouver Fri., Aug. 31, 2018 EDMONTON AND VANCOUVER—After the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision to put the Trans Mountain expansion on hold, the Alberta government’s decision to opt out of the federal government’s climate plan wasn’t far behind. And the province’s move has left environmentalists and political observers perplexed. On Thursday morning, the court quashed the project approval based on insufficient consultation with Indigenous peoples and a failure to include tanker traffic related to the project in the National Energy Board’s review. By that evening Premier Rachel Notley announced that Alberta would no longer support the federal plan What does this mean for the environment? No one’s quite sure. Notley maintained that Alberta’s own climate leadership plan will … [Read more...] about What does Alberta pulling out of the federal climate plan mean for the environment?
What does the apparent Trump-EU trade truce mean for China?
HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - US President Donald Trump's surprise trade truce with the European Union has analysts asking, "What does this mean for the trade war with China?" So far there are two very different answers. One camp sees the deal between Mr Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to suspend new tariffs while negotiating over trade as a deliberate attempt to mend fences with allies as the United States girds for a protracted dispute with China. "De-escalating the US-EU trade track, and possibly the Nafta trade track in the period ahead, does not mean the US-China trade track is also ripe for an off-ramp," Mr Krishna Guha, vice-chairman at Evercore ISI, wrote in a note. "This is possible, but it is at least as likely that the US is reducing trade tension with its allies in order to improve its leverage and staying power in what we continue to fear will be a prolonged trial of strength with Beijing." Mr Guha said Evercore ISI's base case is there will be no … [Read more...] about What does the apparent Trump-EU trade truce mean for China?
Commuters ask: What does Grab’s takeover of Uber mean for us?
Commuters ask: What does Grab's takeover of Uber mean for us? MANILA, Philippines — Starting next month, Filipinos will only have Singapore-based Grab to use for ride-sharing as it acquires the operations of longtime rival Uber. Grab and Uber were seen as an alternative to the many inconveniences on the road. But some commuters are worried about the impending takeover, citing differences in services of the two companies. Will fares be fair? Therese Carillo, an Uber rider, said she finds Grab rides more expensive than Uber's, particularly during peak hours. When in a hurry, Carillo opens both apps to compare prices before booking. "Without competition, Grab drivers can now increase their prices because they know they're now the last resort of consumers... The quality of their service may also lessen," she told Philstar.com. In 2016, however, the LTFRB put a limit on the transport apps' surge prices. This lowered the maximum fare to twice the rates for … [Read more...] about Commuters ask: What does Grab’s takeover of Uber mean for us?
Grab buys over Uber: What does this mean for passengers?
[Update: March 26, 2.37pm]: This article has been updated with a quote from Grab. Ride-hailing firm Uber has sold its Southeast Asian business to rival Grab, which will integrate Uber's ridesharing and food delivery business in the region into Grab's platform. As part of the transaction, Uber would get a 27.5 per cent stake in the combined business. But what does this mean for existing Uber passengers? Here's what we know so far: Uber's ride-hailing service to be consolidated into the Grab app Grab said that nothing will change in the immediate term and operations will continue as usual, as they work to combine the Uber and Grab platforms. It mentioned that passengers "can expect better service with more drivers and transport options available in one app". What this means is that Uber passengers will soon have to use the Grab app to hail a ride within Southeast Asia countries, which includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, … [Read more...] about Grab buys over Uber: What does this mean for passengers?