Vietnam's party chief welcomes new trade deal with U.S.
He urged Washington to soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy and to lift export restrictions on certain high-tech goods.
The two leaders also discussed major directions and measures to further strengthen the Vietnam-U.S. comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming years.
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New Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Ringgit ends higher on regional trade optimism
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed higher against the US dollar today, supported by improved regional sentiment following a new United States-Vietnam trade deal, said SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes. At 6 pm, the local note rose to 4.2195/2255 versus the greenback from Wednesday's close of 4.2245/2305. Innes said the agreement to impose a reduced 20 per cent tariff on Vietnamese exports, down from a previously threatened 46 per cent has lifted risk appetite and supported regional currencies. "The markets see this as a positive sign for global trade recovery, which helped boost the ringgit," he told Bernama. Innes also said that the weaker-than-expected US ADP jobs data, with only 33,000 jobs added in June, reinforced expectations of two US rate cuts this year, pressuring the greenback. He noted, however, that market focus might shift on tonight's non-farm payrolls report, with consensus at 106,000. At the close, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It shrunk against the euro to 4.9756/9827 from 4.9748/9818, and depreciated against the Japanese yen to 2.9333/9376 from 2.9316/9360. However, it appreciated versus the British pound to 5.7621/7703 from 5.7859/7941 yesterday. The local note traded mixed against its ASEAN counterparts. It improved vis-à-vis the Singapore dollar to 3.3146/3196 from 3.3167/3217, and rose against the Thai baht to 13.0211/0457 from 13.0233/0482. It slipped against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.5/261.0 from 259.9/260.5, and weakened against the Philippine peso to 7.50/7.51 from 7.49/7.51 previously.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Exclusive-Jailed Russian dissidents call for mass prisoner release as part of a peace deal with Ukraine
LONDON (Reuters) -Eleven jailed Russian dissidents have written to world leaders appealing for a mass release of Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilians held by Russia - some 10,000 people in total, they say - as part of any peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. In the letter, published via Reuters, the dissidents said that alongside prisoners of war, thousands of Ukrainian civilian "hostages" were being held by Russia, mostly in Russian-held areas of Ukraine. Talks in May and June on ending Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine made no progress towards a ceasefire, despite a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the war, but the two sides have exchanged captured soldiers and war dead. "We call on both sides of the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to immediately conduct an exchange of prisoners of war and civilians according to the formula 'all for all', including Ukrainian civilian hostages," the letter said. Among the signatories was Alexei Gorinov, 63, who in 2022 became the first person to go to prison under laws passed shortly after the Ukraine invasion that made it a crime to spread "false information" about the armed forces. The youngest to sign was Darya Kozyreva, 19, who was sentenced in April to two years and eight months in prison for using graffiti and 19th-century poetry to protest against the war in Ukraine. They placed themselves alongside thousands of Ukrainians who, according to human rights groups, have been detained by Russia, mostly in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine. "There are at least 10,000 of us - Russian political prisoners and Ukrainian civilian hostages. We are all punished for one thing - for taking a civic stance," they wrote. Moscow has not commented on the alleged figure. The dissidents called for "the immediate and unconditional release of sick political prisoners who are dying in Russian prisons" in their statement, which was backed by a message from Russian Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov. Muratov's message and the letter urged leaders in Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and elsewhere to act. RUSSIA'S PEACE TERMS At the peace talks in Istanbul last month, Russia handed Ukraine a memorandum proposing "a mutual amnesty of 'political prisoners' and release of detained civilians" as a possible condition for a ceasefire in the three-and-a-half-year conflict. Asked about the status of the proposal and how many people it would cover, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday: "We don't publicly discuss the... content of the memorandum, which we haven't even discussed with the Ukrainian side yet. We believe that discussion through the media can only harm the process." The proposal was part of a wider package of Russian demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as an ultimatum. They include a halt to all Ukrainian troop movements except for withdrawals, and end to call-ups, foreign weapons supplies and martial law as well as the holding of new presidential and parliamentary elections. No date has yet been set for further talks. Describing their experience, the dissidents wrote: "The concepts of justice and fairness are absent in Russia today; anyone who dares to think critically can end up behind bars." Defendants in political cases had no chance of a fair hearing and were never acquitted, they said. Once in prison, their lives were in danger and they were at risk of denunciations from other inmates - something that led, in Gorinov's case, to an additional three-year sentence. The other signatories were sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky, self-described anarchist Azat Miftakhov, poet Artem Kamardin and activists Anna Arkhipova, Vladimir Domnin, Dmitry Pchelintsev, Andrei Trofimov, Ilya Shakursky and Alexander Shestun. The Kremlin says cases are a matter for the courts and the prison service and Russia needs to apply its laws firmly to deter what it sees as subversive, Western-backed activity. Elena Filina, an exiled opposition politician who helped gather the signatures from inmates scattered across Russia's vast penal system, told Reuters the prisoners felt the peace talks may provide their last chance to be free. "If peace agreements are signed without taking into account their amnesty, exchange or any other way of release, the window of opportunity will slam shut for a long time." (Additional reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Asian stocks cheer US-Vietnam trade deal; currencies steady
Most Asian stock markets rose on Thursday, buoyed by the U.S.-Vietnam trade deal seen as a positive signal for the region ahead of the July 9 tariff deadline, while currencies held steady as traders awaited key U.S. developments. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had sealed a trade deal with Vietnam, under which it would now be hit with a 20% tariff on exports, sharply down from 46% planned earlier. Vietnamese equities rose 0.6% to their highest level since April 2022, while the dong dropped 0.3% to hit a record low of 26,229 per U.S. dollar. Analysts at DBS noted the deal could mitigate downside risks to Vietnam's economic growth but added it "may not prevent a slowdown in the coming quarters." The U.S.-Vietnam deal lifted sentiment across most Asian equities on hopes other countries will strike similar agreements ahead of the July 9 tariff deadline. The MSCI EM-Asia index advanced 0.2% and touched a three-and-a-half-year high earlier in the day. Philippine stocks climbed 1.1% to log their highest since May 15. The country faces an 18% tariff under Trump's plan. Shares in Taiwan and Indonesia climbed 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively. South Korean stocks rose 1% after President Lee Jae Myung said he was working to secure a "mutually beneficial and sustainable" outcome from trade talks with the U.S. "Today's broad-based rally reflects multiple catalysts converging - Vietnam's 20% tariff deal setting a precedent, India pushing hard for its own agreement and the U.S.-China trade restrictions being rolled back on ethane," said Christopher Forbes, head of Asia, CMC Markets. The dollar index edged lower as investors awaited the U.S. Labor Department's June jobs report, due later in the day, after data earlier this week showed private payrolls fell for the first time in over two years. Trump's massive tax and spending bill, which was pending a possible final approval by the House of Representatives, was also in focus. The bill is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt, slash taxes and reduce social safety net programs. While most Asian currencies traded sideways, Taiwan's dollar strengthened 0.5% to touch its highest level since early April 2022. Exporters' demand to sell the greenback and steady inflows into domestic equities this week sustained the demand for the Taiwan dollar, OCBC forex strategist Christopher Wong said. The Philippine peso and Indonesia's rupiah were up 0.1%. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Saudi Arabia, Indonesia sign several deals worth around $27 billion, state news agency says ** US paves way to resume ethane exports to China amid trade truce - Reuters
