On January 11, Lazada carried out a new round of layoffs in Southeast Asia

In the great waves, I don't like or fear

Today in history: 182 years ago today, American psychologist William James was born. He is the first philosopher and psychologist in the United States, an educator, an advocate of pragmatism, one of the founders of the American functionalist psychology school, and one of the earliest experimental psychologists in the United States, known as the father of American psychology.

politics

01Thailand intends to tighten the cannabis bill

Thailand headline news, recently, Thai Minister of Public Health Chongranan announced a proposed bill on the use of cannabis, which clearly stipulates that cannabis can only be used for medical purposes, which will further promote the positive role of cannabis in medical health. In view of the potential misuse of cannabis for recreation, Chongranan said there will be clear guidelines to monitor and prevent such incidents. At the same time, Chonglanan also stressed that any use of cannabis for medical purposes in the country must strictly follow accurate medical procedures and research. Once the bill is passed by the Cabinet, it will be submitted to the House of Commons for scrutiny.

On the other hand, Thailand will also increase its ties with overseas drug enforcement officers and ban the use of marijuana for recreational purposes in all aspects. Previously, tax inspectors found cannabis drugs worth nearly 285,000 euros and weighing 14.2 kilograms in packages shipped across Dublin in Thailand.

02 French Prime Minister Bornet resigned

According to the French presidential office, on January 8, French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation submitted by Prime Minister Bornet. Until the appointment of the new prime minister is announced, Borne will still carry out his duties as prime minister. It is reported that in 2017, after Macron was elected president of France, Borne successively served as Minister of Transport, Minister of Ecology and Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, and in May 2022, Borne became Prime Minister of France, she is also the second female prime minister in French history. During her tenure, France's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 15 years, and youth unemployment fell to its lowest level in 40 years.

Earlier, talk of a reshuffle of the French cabinet had been circulating for several days. Analysts believe that with the reform of France's 2023 retirement system and the passage of the new immigration law, French President Emmanuel Macron needs a new government leader in the new year.

military

01U.S. expands Savannah River nuclear facility

Nikkei Asia: Recently, the Biden administration plans to continue the project of former President Trump to upgrade and expand the nuclear facility located in the Savannah River in Aiken County, South Carolina. The 800-square-kilometer complex, about the size of New York City, houses five abandoned nuclear reactors and was once the only production site for plutonium and tritium for U.S. nuclear weapons.

It is known that the nuclear facilities at the Savannah River were commissioned during the Korean War in the 1950s and were closed in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. The DOE's draft budget for the new fiscal year 2024, approved by the U.S. House Budget Committee in June 2023, includes spending on the facility to bolster nuclear weapons production and stockpiling, with a focus on updating plutonium craters, a key component in the explosion of a nuclear bomb. The cost of the upgrade is estimated at about $20 billion, making it the most expensive project in U.S. history.

Kent, director of the National Atomic Test Museum and a nuclear safety expert, said the administration was testing components from the nuclear stockpile and was studying how to extend the use of the 50-year-old weapons. However, there are also some people who oppose it, arguing that restarting nuclear facilities will lead to environmental pollution and waste of money.

economy

01Lazada carries out a new round of layoffs in Southeast Asia

According to the Financial Associated Press, recently, Alibaba's flagship e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, Lazada, began a new round of layoffs, and people familiar with the matter revealed that employees at all levels in all markets in Southeast Asia have been affected, among which Singapore is the most affected. At the moment, Lazada has not confirmed the rumors of layoffs, but they said that they are actively adapting their workforce to meet future business needs with a more flexible and streamlined way of working, and that this round of transformation will reassess the needs of employees and the operating structure to better meet the challenges ahead.

It is reported that Lazada's business covers Southeast Asian countries, with Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam being the most widely distributed, and the layoffs include all functional departments including commerce, retail and marketing. Currently, Lazada is facing stiff competition from e-commerce platforms such as Sea's Shopee and TikTok Shop. Lazada's leadership team has undergone many changes over the past few years. In June 2022, Lazada Group CEO Chun Li stepped down and was replaced by James Dong, who previously served as Lazada's CEO in Thailand and Vietnam.

02India requires pharmaceutical companies to meet new production standards within the year

Reuters News, recently, in order to rectify the $50 billion pharmaceutical industry, India's Modi government issued a notice requiring drug manufacturers to be responsible for the quality of drugs, ensure that drugs are suitable for their intended use, meet the requirements of the license, and do not pose risks to patients due to insufficient safety, quality or efficacy. The notice also requires drug manufacturers to obtain a "satisfactory result" from drug ingredient testing before they can sell finished products, and pharmaceutical companies must retain a sufficient number of samples of intermediate and final products to allow for repeated testing or verification of a batch of products.

Since December 2022, Indian authorities have inspected 162 pharmaceutical factories and found that they are not testing incoming raw materials, the data showed. According to the Ministry of Health, less than a quarter of India's 8,500 small pharmaceutical factories meet international standards for pharmaceutical production set by WHO. At least 141 children in the Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon died after taking cough drops made in India.

The notice gives Indian big pharma companies six months to fix the problem, while smaller pharma companies have 12 months. But India's small pharmaceutical companies claim to be heavily indebted and will have to invest extra money to meet new production standards, and nearly half of them will be unable to handle the capacity and may be forced to shut down.

safety

01 The cause of the Haneda plane collision accident in Japan was ascertained

According to Tokyo news, on January 3, 2024 local time, a Japanese Airlines Airbus A350 passenger plane flying from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan to Tokyo's Haneda Airport collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft while landing at Haneda Airport, and a fire broke out on the runway, killing five people and seriously injuring one. Subsequently, an international investigative team consisting of Japan, France, the United Kingdom and Canada launched an investigation into the incident.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the ATC had issued landing clearance to the JAL passenger plane at the time, but had not yet allowed the Coast Guard aircraft to enter the runway, and that the Coast Guard aircraft had trespassed into the runway without permission from the tower and stayed on the runway for 40 seconds, resulting in the accident. Japan Airlines also estimates that the operational losses caused by the Haneda Airport collision are as high as 15 billion yen.

The incident was the first major accident since the A350 entered service in 2015, and it also raised concerns about the gap in airport ground alert technology. The authorities called on the air traffic to become more congested, and the world must take action to prevent the increase in runway collisions, runway incursions and other accidents to avoid tragedy.

culture

01Nearly half of private schools in Yangon, Myanmar may be closed

According to Myanmar's latest private education law, private schools must meet the same standards as public schools in terms of campus area and classroom area, in addition, each classroom must be equipped with fire protection facilities to ensure fire safety, and schools need to be equipped with facilities such as children's playgrounds, stadiums and laboratories. But surveys show that nearly half of the private schools in Myanmar's Yangon province fail to meet these standards.

According to the data, there are more than 1,200 private schools in Myanmar across the country, and most of them meet the required standards in other provinces and states. However, more than 160 of the 279 private schools in Yangon province are rented private buildings, which cannot meet the required standards and face the risk of closure, which will have a greater impact on Myanmar's education industry.

Financial Newsletters

London Financial News, recently, WTI February crude oil futures closed down $3.04, or nearly 4.12%, at $70.77 per barrel. Brent crude oil futures for March delivery closed down $2.64, or 3.35%, at $76.12 a barrel.