Zelensky just canât get what he wants from NATO
At the conclusion of the NATO summit last week in Lithuania, everybody involved tried to smooth over a major rift that broke out between Ukraine, which wanted a clear timetable for joining the alliance, and Western allies who didn’t want to specify a timeline.
Maybe after Russia’s war on Ukraine ends, US President Joe Biden said.
By the summit’s climax last Wednesday, all sides had tried to smooth over the differences with soothing words while NATO showered Ukraine with another bounty of weapons to fight off Russia.
NATO also created a group called the NATO-Ukraine Council to coordinate cooperation. In the end, though, the feel-good theatrics didn’t sell as talk of “unity” from all sides rang hollow.
To recap: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky torpedoed a prepared script meant to show Russia that the West and Kiev were in determined lockstep.
But on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Zelensky launched sharp criticisms of NATO’s apparent decision to withhold a clear timeline for Ukraine’s membership in the alliance.
“It’s unprecedented and absurd (that a) timeframe is set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership, while at the same time vague wording about “conditions” is added even for inviting Ukraine,” he wrote.
Zelensky then performed the necessary ritual of thanking NATO and told reporters, “The results of the summit are good. The Ukrainian delegation is bringing home a significant security victory for the Ukraine, for our country, for our people, for our children.”
At first, that seemed sufficient contrition. But no. After Zelensky had left Vilnius, a gaggle of unnamed NATO officials unloaded harsh criticism against the leader.
According to an article in the Washington Post, some officials wanted to punish Zelensky for his outburst.
“The incident illustrates the frustration inside NATO with Zelensky’s pressure tactics, where even some of his strongest backers questioned this week whether he was serving Ukraine’s interests,” the paper said.
What all this means for the war effort will probably be clear in the coming months. Ukraine’s current counteroffensive is going slowly. If anything, a clear statement on future NATO membership instead of an unseemly blame game would have represented a morale boost.
The oddest thing about the episode may have been that NATO leaders were caught by surprise by Zelensky’s complaints. His dissatisfaction had been building for months. In April, he launched a heated critique of allies for failing to deliver top items on his military wish list: jet bombers and advanced anti-aircraft weapons.
Such arms are valuable in part to support ground offensives of the type Ukraine launched over a month ago.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine has not yet received enough anti-missile systems from the West. It has not yet accepted military aircraft and has not accepted what partners can offer,” Zelensky said in a televised address.
“Every Russian missile that hits our cities and every bomb that is dropped on our people, our children, only adds a black shadow to the history of those on whom the decision depends,” he said.
An announcement by Biden to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine inadvertently exemplified Ukraine’s problem of getting timely allied supplies. Cluster bombs are flocks of armaments dropped over a wide area on enemy troops that might have been useful earlier in Ukraine’s current offensive, which began last month. Ukraine had requested the cluster munitions last December.
The end of the Vilnius summit is unlikely to represent the last display of tension between Ukraine and its NATO allies.
At an open forum in Vilnius, Ukrainian activist Daria Kaleniuk asked Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, “What should I tell my son? That President Biden and NATO didn’t invite Ukraine to NATO because he’s afraid of Russia, afraid of Russia losing, afraid of Ukraine winning?”
Ukrainian fears are rooted in the country’s post-Soviet relations with the West, where governments have often been ambivalent about guaranteeing the country’s security.
During the 1990s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union of which Ukraine was a part, then-president Leonid Kuchma hesitated to give up the nuclear arsenal Ukraine had inherited.
Kuchma feared surrendering the arsenal would leave Ukraine helpless to deter future domination, if not aggression, by Russia. He wanted atomic weapons as a deterrent; NATO membership was not presented as an option.
Russian president Boris Yeltsin was unwilling to let independent Ukraine keep its arsenal of nuclear warheads. The United States, eager to promote nuclear reductions generally, preferred that all former Soviet atomic weapons be turned over to Russia. That not only included Ukraine’s cache but also arsenals held by Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Strenuous diplomacy resulted in the so-called Budapest Memorandum. It was meant to ease security concerns of the three newly-independent nuclear-armed countries – in particular Ukraine.
In the memorandum, Russia, along with the US and Great Britain, pledged “to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence” of the three former Soviet Republics, “except in self-defense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”
Moscow, Washington and London also pledged “to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest” Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Ukraine turned over its nuclear weapons.
Confirming Ukraine’s worse fears, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Putin, who considered the breakup of the Soviet Union a tragedy, ignored the memo Yeltsin had signed.
The Crimea takeover fueled Ukrainian desires for a new and reliable deterrent: NATO membership. NATO membership had already been provided to former Warsaw Pact Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe, as well as to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, which like Ukraine were former Soviet republics.
But in 2008, NATO countries meeting in Bucharest offered Ukraine and Georgia, which was already a victim of a Russian invasion in 2008, only a vague pledge that they would eventually “become members of NATO.”
Ukrainians have publicly criticized the 2008 failure to pin down a NATO commitment as an abject lesson. Some critics have laid retrospective blame on Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor in 2008, and Nicholas Sarkozy, France’s president at the time.
Last April, Zelensky called the 2008 indecision a “miscalculation,” saying it cast a shadow over Merkel’s 16-year legacy as Germany’s leader.
“I invite Ms Merkel and Mr Sarkozy to visit Bucha and see what the policy of concessions to Russia has led to in 14 years,” referring to the site of alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine during the current war.
Pointing fingers solely at European leaders for indecision avoids the touchy subject of US attitudes toward Ukraine’s NATO aspiration. In 2008, then-president George W Bush was ambivalent. His successor, Barack Obama, wanted to improve relations with Moscow and declined to press NATO to admit Ukraine.
American reluctance didn’t mollify Putin. His response to NATO’s vague Bucharest statement was negative.
Putin’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the time, “We will do all we can to prevent Ukraine’s and Georgia’s accession into NATO and to avoid an inevitable serious exacerbation of our relations with both the alliance and our neighbors.”
“Russia opposes the plan to grant membership on the grounds that such a move would pose a direct threat to its security.”
Curiously, Zelensky and Putin both share deep suspicions about NATO’s vague stand on Kiev’s eventual membership. Zelensky because he thinks NATO never intends to let his country in, and Putin because he’s sure it will.
Torrential rail triggers deadly South Korea flooding
ReutersSeven people have died and thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes due to flooding in South Korea.
A third day of torrential rain has caused landslides, power cuts, and damage to infrastructure across the country.
Early on Saturday, officials said that water had overtopped a dam in the central North Chungcheong province.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has asked the military to assist with rescue efforts.
As well as those confirmed killed, three people are currently missing and several are reported injured, with the overall number of casualties expected to rise.
Thousands of people have been affected by evacuation orders issued by various local governments.
The Yonhap News Agency reported that some 6,400 residents were evacuated after the Goesan Dam began to overflow at around 06:30 local time on Saturday (22:30 BST on Friday).
A number of low-lying villages near the dam, as well as many of the roads connecting them, were said to have been submerged, leaving some residents trapped in their homes.
Korail, the country’s national rail operator, has announced the suspension of all slow trains and some bullet trains, and said other bullet train services would be disrupted.
Late on Friday, a train was derailed in North Chungcheong after a landslide threw earth and sand onto the tracks.
One engineer was injured in the incident, but the train was not carrying passengers at the time.
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STMicro, Rohm forging ahead on next-gen power devices
Europe’s ST Microelectronics has launched new high-performance gallium nitride (GaN) power devices while Japan’s Rohm plans to buy an old factory in Kyushu and convert it into its largest silicon carbide (SiC) power device production base. Rohm has also started mass production of GaN devices.
China’s recently announced controls on exports of chip-making niche metal gallium should not be a problem for either STMicro or Rohm. But they may become an issue if strident European and Japanese politicians sustain their anti-China rhetoric.
On July 13, STMicro announced that it has begun volume production of GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMT) for use in wall adapters, chargers, lighting systems, industrial power supplies, renewable energy and automotive electrification applications.
The new products deliver better energy efficiency and enable more compact system designs. GaN is touted as third-generation power device material, following first-generation silicon and second-generation SiC.
In addition to producing GaN devices at its factory in Tours, STMicro has them made by TSMC in Taiwan. It began working on the industrialization of GaN in 2018, in cooperation with French research institute CEA-Leti.
SiC is now fast replacing silicon in a massive industry-wide ramp-up of production. Compared with silicon, silicon carbide offers greater energy efficiency and reliability, including resistance to higher voltages, longer device lifetimes and tolerance of a wider range of temperatures and vibration levels.
GaN improves on these advantages but so far lacks economies of scale and may be subject to supply constraints. Starting August 1, Chinese companies wishing to export gallium products will need prior government approval. According to a study by the EU issued earlier this year, China supplies 94% of the world’s gallium.
But the Chinese government has reason to look favorably upon STMicro. In June, the European company and China’s Sanan Optoelectronics announced a joint venture to produce SiC power devices in Chongqing using wafers made by Sanan Optoelectronics. The devices will be supplied to STMicro to meet growing demand from customers in China.
On July 12, Rohm announced that it had agreed to acquire Solar Frontier’s Kunitomi factory in Miyazaki:
Solar Frontier is a Japanese maker of solar panels owned by Idemitsu, a major Japanese oil company. The acquisition is scheduled to be completed in October. Rohm aims to start production of SiC power devices there at the end of 2024.
The 230,000 square meter factory equipped with clean rooms is large enough to cover Rohm’s anticipated production volume through 2030. It will be Rohm’s fourth SiC factory on the island of Kyushu. One of the others is also situated in Miyazaki and two others are in Fukuoka.
Rohm began production of SiC power devices in 2010 but did not launch its drive to become an industry leader until more than a decade later. The company is now targeting a 6.5-times increase in production capacity from 2021 to 2025.
With full use of the Kunitomi factory, it is aiming for a 35-times increase by the end of the decade. Production is also being shifted from 6-inch (150mm) to 8-inch (200mm) wafers.
In Japan, Rohm has developed SiC power semiconductors, sensors and other devices for use in Hitachi Astemo’s inverters and in e-Axle modules developed in a joint venture with Mazda Motor and Imasen Electric Industrial. Applications include engine control, powertrain, ADAS and navigation.
In China, Rohm has formed partnerships with BASiC Semiconductor of Shenzhen to supply power modules and Nanjing SemiDrive Technology to develop and produce devices for vehicle cockpit applications.
Rohm’s sales to China have overtaken its sales to North America and are forecast to account for nearly 15% of total sales this fiscal year. Given the trends in the auto industry, the importance of the China market for Rohm will almost certainly continue to grow.
In Germany, Rohm’s SiC devices have been qualified for use in Semikron’s power modules and will be supplied to Vitesco Technologies, a maker of electrified vehicle drive systems, under a recently signed long-term agreement.
Rohm began working on GaN power devices in cooperation with GaN Systems of Canada in 2018. In May 2023, it announced the start of mass production of HEMT devices similar to those made by STMicro.
These products were developed together with Ancora of Taiwan, an affiliate of power management specialist Delta Electronics. Ancora was established in 2022 to focus on the development of GaN devices.
Rohm appears likely to become a minority shareholder of Toshiba in the buyout by Japan Industrial Partners that was accepted by Toshiba management in March and recommended to shareholders in June.
This should give Rohm access to Toshiba’s power semiconductor technology, particularly as it relates to electric power generation equipment and other heavy electric machinery.
Toshiba’s heavy electrical competitors Mitsubishi Electric and Fuji Electric are also expanding production of SiC power devices.
In March, Mitsubishi Electric announced plans for a five-times increase in capacity by 2026 enabled by the conversion of an obsolete liquid crystal display factory in Kyushu, the expansion of another factory and the construction of a new assembly and packaging facility, also in Kyushu.
Processing of 200mm SiC wafers will be introduced while 150mm wafer production continues to increase. Fuji Electric also plans to build a 200mm SiC wafer line.
Mitsubishi Electric is also increasing output of power semiconductors on standard silicon wafers, with plans to begin mass production using 300mm (12-inch) wafers at its new factory in Hiroshima in 2024.
Explosive growth in output of power semiconductors continues as memory and logic ICs for computing slog through a long and severe cyclical downturn.
Follow this writer on Twitter: @ScottFo83517667
Heavy rains, flooding leave more than 20 dead in South Korea
SEOUL: At least 22 people have died and 14 are missing after heavy rain caused flooding and landslides in South Korea, officials said on Saturday (Jul 15), with thousands more ordered to evacuate their homes. South Korea is at the peak of its summer monsoon season and there has been heavyContinue Reading
South Korea landslides, floods kill 7, over 1,000 evacuated
SEOUL: Seven people have died, three were missing, seven injured and thousands evacuated in South Korea on Saturday (Jul 15), officials said, as a third day of torrential rains caused landslides and the overflow of a dam. As of 11am local time, 1,567 people had been evacuated nationwide, according to theContinue Reading
Malaysia state polls: Selangor expected to be most fiercely fought; outcome will be closely scrutinised
‘ECONOMY NOT IN SHAMBLES’
“The economy is not in shambles. Our growth rate of between 4 to 5 per cent is among the highest in the region and inflation is trending down at 2.8 per cent,” he said, adding that the problem lies in low wage growth.
The government has clear economic policy and solutions, which will be unveiled in the lead up to the Aug 12 state polls to win over fence sitters, he said.
His ministry will be releasing the renewable energy transition plan on Jul 27 that will attract RM25 billion (US$5.45 billion) in investments and create some 23,000 high-paying jobs.
“For the last six, seven months, the governing parties have focused very much on running the country. Everything was about policies, while there was a lot of build up of opposition content against us which we now have to neutralise,” said Mr Rafizi, who insisted there is still time to counter the opposition narrative.
Meanwhile, Mr Anwar has promised to unveil the Madani Economic Narrative next month to put the country on a stronger economic growth path.
Observers said he needs a strong win in Selangor to inject public confidence in his administration and ensure the stability of his unity government.
Why McDonald’s dropped tomatoes from Indian menus
ReutersThe conundrum over the tomato in India right now is not whether it’s a fruit or a vegetable – it’s that it has become expensive, and ridiculously so.
The price of the everyday staple has been climbing steeply for the past couple of weeks, and now stands at almost 200 rupees (£2; $3) a kilo in certain parts of India – a sharp shift from the usual 40-50 rupees.
The costly tomato has wreaked havoc on wallets, in kitchens and even on the streets.
McDonald’s recently made news – not for adding a new dish – but dropping tomatoes from its menu in most of its outlets in northern and eastern India. It cited the unavailability of quality tomatoes “due to seasonal crop issues” as the reason.
The skyrocketing prices have been particularly hard on India’s middle and lower classes, who make up the bulk of the population.
In the western city of Pune, a vegetable seller allegedly smacked a customer in the face with a weighing scale for bickering over the price of 250g of tomatoes.
In India’s holiest city Varanasi, a politician reportedly hired two bouncers to prevent people from haggling over tomato prices at his shop.
There have been reports of people stealing tomatoes from fields and hijacking tomato-laden trucks.
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Experts say that bad weather conditions have damaged crops, fuelling shortages in the market and a mismatch between demand and supply. The government has said that the soaring prices are a “temporary problem” and that they will drop in the coming months.
Some states have started selling tomatoes at reduced prices at government-run or farmer-backed outlets to help consumers. On 30 June, the Indian government launched a Tomato Grand Challenge Hackathon in Delhi to encourage the public to share ideas to combat the escalating prices.
The tomato holds a surprising amount of sway over Indian cooking – it’s added to almost every dish. So when it becomes scarce and expensive, it becomes the subject of headlines and even political rows.
Economists say the steep price rise could disrupt India’s delicate inflation balance, pushing retail inflation towards 5.5% in July-September from 4-5% in April and May.
Ironically, close to two months ago, farmers in India dumped crates of tomatoes on the road after prices crashed to 2-3 rupees a kilo in the wholesale market as supply exceeded demand.
Farmers resorted to the same measure last year to draw attention to their plight and, in March, farmers in Maharashtra state took out a protest march to demand higher prices for onions.
India often faces supply-demand challenges when it comes to perishable, but essential, vegetables like the onion and tomato. Both crops are grown almost around the year and produce from different states hits the market during different months.
This year, a bumper crop of tomato was followed by a poor harvest season.
“The current bout of tomato prices is actually a result of unseasonal rains during March-April-May in tomato-growing areas, particularly Kolar belt [in southern Karnataka state], which has the largest tomato market of the country,” says, Ashok Gulati, farm economist.
“From mid-June, the supplies have shrunk, while demand pressures have mounted, leading to spikes in fresh tomato prices,” he adds.
Mr Gulati says the excessive rains in north-western India are likely to put further pressures on supply.
“Significant areas are also reeling under floods, especially Himachal and Uttarakhand states. Supply lines during heavy rains often get displaced,” he says.
Anil Malhotra, an Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) member, told PTI news agency that though tomato prices escalate every monsoon, he had never seen them this high.
“There is a major dip in supply due to rains. Around half our stock, which we get from Himachal Pradesh, got damaged,” he said.
Arvind Malik, a tomato farmer from Haryana state, told the Guardian newspaper that while he usually sold 30,000kg of tomatoes every year, this year he could only harvest half of that as his crops had been destroyed by pests.
“Experts told us that irregular weather – sudden rise and decline in temperatures – is the reason behind the diseases in our tomatoes,” he said.
So how does India overcome this supply-demand gap? A straightforward solution would be to just store excess produce for the proverbial – and in this case, literal – rainy day.
But experts say that this is easier said than done because tomatoes are highly perishable and tend to go bad after a few weeks even in cold storage.
Mr Gulati says that one way to stabilise supply is to incentivise protected cultivation of tomatoes to save the crop from extreme heat or unseasonal heavy showers.
Another step is to process tomatoes into puree, which can help consumers shift to processed tomatoes when prices of fresh tomatoes are running high. “But to promote processing of tomatoes, the government has to incentivise the processing and lower GST [general sales tax] on tomato puree from 12% – 5%,” says Mr Gulati.
“Overall, a value chain approach has to be adopted to de-risk the vegetable from production to consumption, but the framework is absent right now.”
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Pheu Thai looms large as potential coalition leader
Party is ‘weighing up’ its options
The Pheu Thai Party has a good chance to become the leader of a new coalition if the Move Forward Party (MFP) and its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, can’t win the parliamentary selection of the new prime minister, a political science academic said on Friday.
As the party with the second-highest number of House seats, Pheu Thai will be able to justify a move to take over from the MFP and form a new coalition, possibly together with some other major parties outside the MFP-led alliance, Olarn Thinbangtieo from Burapha University, told the Bangkok Post.
The current alliance comprises eight parties, including Pheu Thai, he pointed out.
“All Pheu Thai has to do is wait and see what its best option is — its own prime ministerial candidate or that of another party [that it will form a new political alliance with],” said Mr Olarn.
If Mr Pita repeatedly fails to win the prime minister vote, Pheu Thai might have to decide if it should stay with the MFP-led alliance or switch sides to form a new alliance with parties such as Bhumjaithai or Palang Pracharath, he said.
If Pheu Thai chooses to remain in the same political alliance but grabs the opportunity to nominate its prime ministerial candidate in a new prime ministerial vote, the party might fail to garner sufficient votes from the Senate as well, Mr Olarn said.
As for the possibility of MFP’s supporters taking to the street after Mr Pita failed Thursday’s vote, Mr Olarn said that appeared remote at this point as Mr Pita has the chance to again contend for the premiership.
Thursday’s debate before MPs and senators voted on Mr Pita — the sole nominee for the parliamentary selection for the role — actually served no use as those who voted had already seemingly made their mind up, he said.
Other political science academics echoed Mr Olarn’s view, including Wanwichit Boonprong of Rangsit University, Stithorn Thananithichot of King Prajadhipok’s Institute and Thanaporn Sriyakul of Kasetsart University.
They shared a similar view that senators who either abstained or voted no in Thursday’s vote claimed MFP’s stance against Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law, was the reason why they would not support Mr Pita as the country’s new prime minister.
Additionally, the academics thought Mr Pita and the MFP had no room to back down on their Section 112 stance after making it a key part of their electioneering.
âStories I can tell my grandchildrenâ: Meet the couple driving from London to Singapore in a convoy of 12 cars
As the season of revenge travel unfolds, Jeremy See and his wife Sharleen Lim are eagerly joining the ranks of those whose pandemic-born holiday dreams are now becoming a reality. Except their upcoming road trip has been in the works for three years.
In August, they will embark on a journey to London, where their Singapore-registered 2019 Toyota Land Cruiser 4.6L V8 was transported a month prior. Over the course of 100 days, they are prepared to cover 25,000km, passing through 23 countries as they make their way back to Singapore.
Their route includes the following countries: UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkiye, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and finally, Singapore. With a budget of S$110,000 for two people, it’s no wonder that none of their five children will be accompanying them.
MFP stands firm on S112 amendment
Fresh vote for PM to be held Wednesday
The Move Forward Party (MFP) has insisted that it will not back down from its plan to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law, saying the party does not want to fall into a trap laid by the senators.
MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said on Friday that he had met key Pheu Thai figures for talks on how to push for MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat to become the new prime minister.
They agreed that they would still nominate Mr Pita in a second round of voting in parliament scheduled for Wednesday, he said, adding that efforts will be made to gather more support for Mr Pita from senators.
Mr Pita failed to gather enough support for his nomination for prime minister in parliament on Thursday.
Section 112 was cited as the main reason why several senators refused to back his nomination.
However, Mr Pita insisted that the party would press ahead with its plan to amend the law, and said that he would try to gather the required support before the next round of voting.
Mr Chaithawat on Friday also reiterated the party’s stance on an amended bid, saying it was one of the pledges it made before the May 14 election.
“Moreover, I don’t think the senators will vote for Mr Pita even if we announce that we will back down.
“The senators have fixed opinions about us. Even if they do not criticise us over the issue [Section 112], they will still find other excuses to attack us.
“There are reports that old power groups are trying to pressure and control the senators in the hope of forming an alternative coalition government.
“Old power groups and major business establishments do not want Move Forward to become the new government,” Mr Chaithawat said.
Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha said on Friday that if Mr Pita is nominated for a second round of voting next Wednesday, the outcome will be no different from Thursday’s vote.
Moreover, last Wednesday the Election Commission asked the Constitutional Court to rule on Mr Pita’s eligibility in light of the iTV shareholding scandal.
The constitution prohibits a stakeholder in a media organisation from running in a general election.
The same court also accepted for deliberation a petition filed by lawyer Theerayut Suwankesorn who claimed the MFP’s policy to amend Section 112 breaches Section 49 of the constitution, which prohibits people from using their rights and freedoms to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.
“If Mr Pita is nominated again on July 19, he will not receive the votes of senators, maybe not even from the 13 who voted for him on Thursday, either,” Mr Kittisak said.
”The runner-up party should be given a chance to nominate its prime ministerial candidate for the vote instead,” Mr Kittisak said, referring to the Pheu Thai Party.
He went on to say that even if the MFP promised to back down from its bid to amend Section 112, he would still not trust it considering that the party has been adamant about amendment over the past few years.
Prapan Koonme, another senator, said he believed that Mr Pita could not be nominated for a PM vote on Wednesday after he failed to gather enough support in Thursday’s vote.
Mr Prapan cited the parliamentary regulation No.41, which stipulates that “any motion that is dropped cannot be resubmitted to parliament during the same parliamentary session, except for a motion that parliament has yet to vote on or a motion which is allowed by the parliament president who decides that the circumstances have changed.”
In light of this, the regulation also applies to the motion regarding Mr Pita’s nomination for a vote on Thursday, Mr Prapan said.