Members of the Philippine Congress attends reading of the death penalty bill on March 7. (Photo: Xinhua)
Hanoi (VNA) – Philippine lower house lawmཧakers onꦑ March 7 approved there-imposition of capital punishment for eight drug-related crimes.
Voting216 to 54 with one abstention, members of the House of Representatives passedthe bill in the final reading. The first draft prescribed death penalty or lifeimprisonment for 21 offences. However, the figure was reduced to eight in thesecond reading. Thebill will be submitted to the Senate and will become law whenPresident Rodrigo Duterte signs it. The Philippines abolishedthe death penalty in the 1987 Constitution and became the first Asian country todo so. The death penalty was restored in 1993 under President Fidel Ramos,before being scrapped again in 2006 by President Gloria Arroyo. President Duterte expressedhis wish to restore the penalty since he took office in June 2016, claiming it is an effective deterrent against crime.-VNA
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on February 2 that the military will take a leading role in his war on drugs, while vowing to kill more traffickers and addicts.
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The Philippine army will establish a battalion-sized task force to help the government’s anti-narcotics agencies track down high-level targets in the war on drugs launched by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The tax adjustment supports the Malaysian Government’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign food supply chains and to assist domestic farmers, a finance official has said.
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Connectivity is expected to improve further with the completion of the fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge by the end of 2025, facilitating logistics and agricultural exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
In the today context of socio-economic development and growth, the professionalism of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalists continues to rise, guided by exemplary mastery of new information technologies and the modernisation of their founding principles to preserve the enduring values of revolutionary journalism.
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Organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Thai Silk & Culture Promotions, the event honors Her Majesty the Queen on her 47th birthday anniversary and promotes Thai craftsmanship on an international stage.
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The lab focuses on four key thematic areas: energy transition and green innovation, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and sustainable cities, and nature-based solutions and biodiversity.
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This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
Efforts to empower women must transcend dialogue and translate into concrete commitments, including corporate pledges and government partnerships, according to the spouse of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
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Minister Counselor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen reaffirmed Vietnam’s principled and consistent stance on the Palestine issue, calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire across the entire Gaza Strip.
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Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Vietnam’s Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925–2025), Nikulina, who is also a veteran journalist of Russia’s Sputnik News, emphasised the vital role of mainstream journalism in defending the truth and maintaining public trust.
The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
The World Bank will provide a 2.1 billion USD financing package for Indonesia, focusing oncreating jobs, stimulating economic growth, and enhancing access to clean energy across the country.
Members of the Philippine Congress attends reading of the death penalty bill on March 7. (Photo: Xinhua) 
