Flagship

Thailand OKs same-sex marriage

Thailand will become the first Southeast Asian nation to recognize same-sex marriage. The historic marriage equality bill was overwhelmingly approved by the country’s Senate. Once it gets the king’s endorsement, largely a formality, Thailand will become the third Asian territory to allow same-sex marriage, following Taiwan and Nepal. Marriage equality is popular among Thais, with 80% in favor in recent polling. The vote comes as the country tries again to join the United Nations Human Rights Council. Its candidacy is threatened, though, by the detention of dissidents and others accused of defaming the monarchy; the country’s powerful former prime minister was indicted Tuesday on such charges, a power move by the royalist-military establishment.

US lambasts Vietnam for hosting Putin

The US criticized Vietnam for hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin this week. The condemnation is part of Washington’s ongoing effort to isolate Russia and make Putin a pariah on the global stage. But for Communist-ruled Hanoi, the visit reflects its “omnidirectional foreign policy doctrine, which seeks fruitful relations with as many significant powers as possible,” The Diplomat’s Southeast Asia editor noted. In the last two years, Vietnam has also hosted US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. But while Washington and Hanoi upgraded ties last year, the warm reception to Putin suggests the relationship has limits. Vietnam has also maintained a neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and did not attend last weekend’s peace summit in Switzerland.

More NATO countries hit defense goal

Most NATO nations are hitting the alliance’s target to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense, the organization’s chief said. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said 23 of NATO’s 32 member nations now meet the benchmark, up from six in 2021. Since then, former US President Donald Trump accused alliance members of reneging on their defense commitments, and suggested that if he wins back the presidency, he would ignore NATO obligations. The alliance is in a moment of flux: Stoltenberg’s term ends in October and outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte became the clear successor Tuesday after winning the support of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, a close Russian ally. Rutte reportedly promised not to use Hungary’s money to aid Ukraine or send its forces there.

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‘Vigilantes’ supporting China’s local cops

In China, volunteers are patrolling streets, conducting traffic stops, and resolving local disputes — with the support of the government. Groups such as the “Shangrao Vigilantes,” who, despite the moniker, work with local political forces, mark the latest evolution in Beijing’s effort to mobilize ordinary citizens to uphold its surveillance state, serving “as another corps of eyes and ears to help the state enforce its vision of a ‘stable’ society,” ChinaFile wrote. China’s police force is understaffed and underfunded, so it might welcome the extra help. The scheme could also help keep China’s overall crime stats artificially low, criminologists said, despite the “chaotic” reality of empowering locals to act like quasi-police.

China moon mission stokes debate

China’s historic Chang’e 6 moon mission has revived a debate over how Chinese scientists share their discoveries with the wider world. The spacecraft is currently on its way back to Earth toting a cargo of dust and rocks from the moon’s far side that could revolutionize our understanding of our nearest celestial neighbor, and Chinese scientists will get the first look. In the past, Chinese space scientists abided by the international standard of publishing in English in top Western journals like Science and Nature, but some want to recalibrate. “We certainly hope that some of our country’s groundbreaking scientific and technological achievements can appear in China’s top journals,” a Chinese journal editor told the South China Morning Post.

Nvidia is world’s most valuable company

Nvidia surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable company in the world Tuesday as its market cap hit $3.33 trillion. The US-based chipmaker commands about 80% of the market for high-powered artificial intelligence chips, and the stratospheric climb in its share price has encapsulated the investor frenzy around the AI boom. “It’s Nvidia’s market; we’re all just trading in it,” a market strategist at a global brokerage firm said. Another analyst called Nvidia’s chips “the new gold or oil in the tech sector.” Its global investments, especially in Southeast Asia, have been a big part of Nvidia’s success. The company has made major inroads in Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia, which are considered more immune to geopolitical fallout from US-China tensions.

Amazon could face powerful US union

The union representing Amazon workers at a New York warehouse moved to affiliate with the Teamsters, one of the largest and most powerful unions in the US. Amazon has refused to recognize the warehouse union, which formed after a 2022 election that the company has contested. But the team-up with the Teamsters — which has 1.3 million members and last year negotiated a historic contract for the 340,000 UPS workers it represents — could get Amazon to the bargaining table, and bolster efforts to organize nationally at Amazon, which employs about 1.5 million people in the US. The Teamsters also provides crucial financial support and infrastructure; the Amazon union has been beset by money troubles and internal leadership squabbles.

Dubai’s billionaire islands are back

Dubai is dusting off its billionaire island project as its ultra-luxury property market booms. In the early 2000s, 300 artificial islands, known as the World Islands, were built a 15-minute boat ride off Dubai’s coast, in the hope of recreating the success of the Palm Jumeirah archipelago. But the 2008 financial crisis imploded Dubai’s property boom and the islands were never developed. Flash forward and the country’s property market is hot again; more $10-million-plus properties sell there than anywhere else. Developers are now building dozens of mega-villas, and associated infrastructure, on the islands, betting that the ultra-wealthy will return — and the demand is high, the Financial Times’ Gulf business editor reported.

Cost of mosquito-borne disease is rising

The economic cost of invasive mosquitoes and the diseases they carry was at least $94.7 billion in 2022 and is rising, a new study found. The research focused on mosquitoes that transmit potentially deadly viruses, including Zika and dengue fever, and looked at their economic impact across 166 territories and over 45 years. The calculated cost, the authors note, “reflects considerable underreporting and underestimation.” Just one-tenth of the money was spent on disease prevention and invasive species management, the research found. “The economic impact of Aedes and Aedes-borne diseases is likely to continue in future decades in conjunction with the increase in their drivers (climate change, global change, urbanization, tourism, trade), putting most of the world’s population at risk,” the researchers conclude.

Old bones identified as sea monster

Scientists have identified the oldest fossil of a marine reptile ever found in the Southern Hemisphere. The fossil vertebra, found on New Zealand’s South Island in 1978, belonged to a nothosaur — a predecessor to the better-known, long-necked plesiosaurs. The fossil dates to 246 million years ago, winding back the clock on the Southern Hemisphere’s fossil record by 40 million years. Nothosaurs were among a cadre of reptiles that colonized the sea after a huge extinction event some 252 million years ago, which also paved the way for the dinosaurs. This discovery suggests the creatures likely evolved near the equator and spread toward the poles, upending earlier theories of how dinosaurs came to evolve.

June 19:

• South Africa’s president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa is inaugurated for a second term.
• The US celebrates Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people.
• An exhibition on model Naomi Campbell opens at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

A Titian painting that has been stolen not once, but twice, could set a new auction record for the Italian Renaissance artist. The Rest on the Flight into Egypt was last sold at Christie’s in 1878 for 350 guineas. The painting was once in the hands of the Habsburgs, but was looted by French troops for a museum that is now the Louvre, Art & Object wrote. A British marquess subsequently bought the work, and hung it in his family home for more than 100 years before it was stolen in 1995. A renowned art detective recovered the painting after striking a deal with the thief, who left the painting rolled up in a bag at a bus stop. The 1510 work could fetch up to $32 million at auction next month.

• Why Trump is ready to go harder on China.
• Bitcoin (sort of) grows up.
• Spying fears delay British army badges.