lucky calico withdrawal KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia becomes the first Southeast Asian nation to sign a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) with Vietnam, the upgrade in diplomatic relations signals a more united stand against China’s claims in the South China Sea, say analysts. The Southeast Asian nations, both of which have overlapping claims with China in the strategic waterway, stand to gain from signing the CSP, experts told CNA. They added that the announcement of the CSP, widely considered one of the highest levels of diplomatic ties, could pave the way for further relations between Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations. Dr Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow from the Vietnam studies programme at the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, said the enhanced partnership between Hanoi and Putrajaya could signal a “more cohesive ASEAN approach to addressing China's expansionism in the region”. “Vietnam is methodically constructing a network of robust relationships with ASEAN neighbours to achieve strategic equilibrium vis-a-vis China's regional influence,” he told CNA. The signing of the CSP took place during Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam’s official visit to Malaysia from Nov 21 to Nov 23 at the invitation of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. It comes as Malaysia prepares to assume chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2025, making it the first ASEAN state to establish a CSP with fellow member Vietnam. Hanoi began upgrading its bilateral partnerships in 2008, starting with a CSP with Beijing, its first. After the signing, the countries issued a joint statement on Nov 21 pledging further collaboration in defence and security issues, science and technology, green energy, education, human resources development, culture, sports, and tourism. A point that stood out was a promise to work “closely” together to maintain security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, and to promote peaceful settlement of disputes. The statement also mentioned the importance of adhering to international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and to “refrain from undertaking activities that could escalate tension” in the South China Sea. Vietnam maintains three tiers of diplomatic relationship with other countries: Comprehensive partnerships; strategic partnerships; and comprehensive strategic partnerships (CSP). A CSP is the highest tier. According to an August 2024 Voice of America article on diplomatic relationships, a comprehensive partnership may signal a general intent to cooperate across a broad range of issues, while strategic partnerships may have a narrower but deeper focus on particular sectors such as trade, energy or counterterrorism. “A comprehensive strategic partnership, then, implies both broad-based cooperation and a commitment to specific joint pursuits,” the article said. In March this year, Vietnam signed a CSP with Australia, with both countries pledging to deepen political, defence security and justice cooperation. In a joint statement, the countries promised to enhance economic engagement and strengthen climate cooperation. The countries also expressed concerns on the situation in the South China Sea and reaffirmed their commitment to peace, security, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded lawful commerce. They also agreed to adhere to legal and diplomatic processes and to the settlement of disputes, including those in the South China Sea, by peaceful means without resorting to the threat or use of force. Then in October, Vietnam established a CSP with France, making it the first European Union country to be accorded the highest level of partnership. It is worth noting, however, that there is no universal international standard for how such diplomatic relationships are defined, with individual countries choosing how to determine them. For instance, some countries and groupings may use similar terms without necessarily implying a tiered approach. In October 2021, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) accorded CSP status to China and Australia, saying that the new partnerships should be “meaningful, substantive, and mutually beneficial”. While a strategic partnership was understood to be the highest form of engagement between ASEAN and a dialogue partner prior to the CSP, ASEAN insisted that the new term does not confer a hierarchy of status. “ASEAN was clear that the new coveted partnership title is a recognition of the depth and breadth of the dialogue relations and not an upgrade,” Ms Joanne Lin, coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, wrote in a February 2023 Fulcrum blog post. “As a new nomenclature, it makes little sense that the CSP does not denote an elevation of partnership. One can wonder what value it can bring to a dialogue partner if there is no differentiation in status.” VIETNAM'S CSPS CHINA’S “DIVIDE AND CONQUER” Malaysia needs Vietnam’s better military capabilities to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, while Vietnam could tap into Malaysia’s geographical advantage at key routes in the same sea and the Strait of Malacca, an analyst said. While both countries share a similar “policy dilemma” concerning China, Hanoi commands more “hard power deterrence” and is less dependent on Beijing for economic growth, Mr Collins Chong Yew Keat, a foreign affairs and security analyst at Universiti Malaya, told CNA. On the other hand, Vietnam needs Malaysia’s geographical proximity to “key chokepoints” in the South China Sea and Malacca Strait, with a view towards developing deeper defence and security cooperation, he said. Malaysia and Vietnam see the need to "strengthen political, economic and defence partnership in jointly responding to common threats, and in showing a renewed solidified front against external power pressure", he added. This approach runs counter to what some observers have termed as China’s “divide and conquer” technique when dealing with Southeast Asian claimant states on the South China Sea, most of which Beijing claims within its so-called nine-dash line. Amid escalating hostilities between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, a conflict in which Manila has firmly chosen to stand with the United States, Beijing has embarked on a series of high-level diplomatic exchanges and defence engagements with individual Southeast Asian nations. Regional states’ negotiations with China over a code of conduct for the South China Sea have remained ongoing since 2002, casting doubt on the consensus-based grouping’s ability to take a decisive stand against Beijing. With Southeast Asian nations including the Philippines and Indonesia also involved in the South China Sea tensions with China, experts did not rule out the countries similarly upgrading their partnerships with Vietnam as a bulwark against Beijing. In January, Vietnam signed an agreement with the Philippines to boost cooperation on maritime security. Then in September, Hanoi and Jakarta agreed to establish a CSP next year. Dr Giang said it would be a “natural progression” for Vietnam to strengthen partnerships with Indonesia and the Philippines next, given how the trio shares concerns about China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea. “The CSP with Malaysia, potentially preceding one with Indonesia and the Philippines, illuminates Hanoi's strategic calculus of fostering solidarity among maritime claimants while reinforcing ASEAN's centrality in maintaining a rules-based order,” he said. The scuffle between China and the Philippines in the disputed and resource-rich Scarborough Shoal shows no signs of slowing down, with both countries’ coast guards trading accusations after the latest maritime confrontation between the neighbours. China's Coast Guard said four Philippine ships had attempted to enter its territorial waters around the shoal on Wednesday, accusing the ships of “dangerously” approaching the coast guard’s “normal law enforcement patrol vessels”, Reuters reported. But the Philippine Coast Guard said Chinese navy and coast guard vessels had taken "aggressive actions" against a routine patrol by it and the fisheries bureau. Indonesia has repeatedly said that it is not a claimant in the South China Sea disputes, with the government reiterating on Nov 11 that it had no overlapping jurisdiction with China. Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto’s recent visit to China yielded a joint statement that said the two countries had "reached important common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims". However, on Monday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sugiono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, clarified the statement, maintaining that Indonesia does not recognise China’s claim of Indonesia’s part of South China Sea or North Natuna Sea. “While some regional states may exercise caution due to their particular circumstances, the momentum toward greater collaboration among claimant states is evident,” Dr Giang said. “This trend becomes particularly salient given the increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment and the implications of a second Trump presidency, which may compel ASEAN states to further consolidate their strategic autonomy.” Some analysts believe there is growing concern among Southeast Asian states that US president-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated in January next year, will upend Washington’s longstanding relationships in the Indo-Pacific as he pursues a more isolationist “America first” foreign policy. SETTING DIFFERENCES ASIDE Despite occasional friction in the past, some analysts say the recent CSP is indicative of Malaysia and Vietnam’s common interests and that they have set aside differences. In early October, Malaysia, in a rare rebuke, sent a complaint letter to Vietnam over the latter’s alleged expansion of a South China Sea reef that both countries claim as their own, Reuters reported in November. Hanoi has remained silent on the complaint, in what analysts say reflects a careful diplomatic strategy to avoid jeopardising its relationship with an ASEAN neighbour, the South China Morning Post reported on Nov 7. “While both countries do have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, they are also smaller nations that stand to benefit from a robust rules-based international order,” Dr Francis Hutchinson, coordinator of the Malaysia studies programme at ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, told CNA. “Consequently, it is in both nations’ interests to promote the upholding of international law, the freedom of navigation, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Both Vietnam and Malaysia continue to maintain lucrative economic ties with China even as they push back against Beijing’s maritime claims. “The usage of ‘bamboo diplomacy’ has also ensured that Vietnam continues to maintain a balanced approach and in advocating for peace and stability with different powers,” said Mr Chong, referring to Hanoi’s strategy of flexibility when balancing competing geopolitical interests. “This concept aligns well with Malaysia’s long-held diplomatic position and reach of non-alignment, and the mantra of peaceful co-existence in preventing conflicts and threats through diplomatic approach.” MALAYSIA TOP CHOICE FOR VIETNAM While Vietnam has CSPs with eight other countries, including global and regional powers such as China, the US, Japan and South Korea, it is notable that Putrajaya has become the first ASEAN member. “This can be seen as a drive from Vietnam’s side to deepen its relationships with a wide range of players, organisations and groupings,” Dr Hutchinson said. Malaysia remains an important trading partner for Vietnam, and more pertinently will be ASEAN chair in 2025, the analyst highlighted. “As such, Malaysia will have considerable influence over what issues are discussed in ministerial meetings and how ASEAN communiques are structured and worded,” he added. “This is a likely reason why out of all ASEAN members, Malaysia was approached first.” In 2023, Singapore and Vietnam also agreed to upgrade their strategic partnership, established in 2013, to a CSP. On a visit to Vietnam last month, Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam said that Singapore hopes to elevate its relationship with Vietnam to this status by 2025. Singapore is not a claimant in the South China Sea and its Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan has said that “we do not take sides in the competing territorial and maritime claims”. Mr Chong said Malaysia could capitalise on Vietnam’s strengths and elevating strategic partnerships to emerge as a joint economic powerhouse and a stabilising force in regional and global geopolitics. “Both remain among the top destinations in attracting the next spectrum of top investments and inflow of trade and critical technology and industries, with the growing exodus of top firms from China,” he added. “This will create a spillover and ripple impact from economic integration and joint development into the spheres of defence and security.”

Patriots’ Jabrill Peppers’ trial set for January on assault, drug chargesNasa’s pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history on Tuesday, flying closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 1,700° Fahrenheit (930° Celsius). Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space-weather events that can affect life on Earth. Tuesday’s historic flyby should have occurred at 6.53am, although mission scientists will have to wait until Friday for confirmation as they lose contact with the craft for several days due to its proximity to the Sun. “Right now, Parker Solar Probe is flying closer to a star than anything has ever been before,” at 3.8mn miles (6.1mn km) away, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) official Nicky Fox said in a video on social media on Tuesday. “It is just a total ‘yay, we did it,’ moment.” If the distance between Earth and the Sun is the equivalent to the length of an American football field, the spacecraft should have been about four yards from the end zone at the moment of closest approach – known as perihelion. “This is one example of Nasa’s bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer long-standing questions about our universe,” Parker Solar Probe programme scientist Arik Posner said in a statement on Monday. “We can’t wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks.” So effective is the heat shield that the probe’s internal instruments remain near room temperature – around 85F (29C) – as it explores the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona. Parker will also be moving at a blistering pace of around 430,000mph (690,000kph), fast enough to fly from the US capital Washington to Japan’s Tokyo in under a minute. “Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory,” said Nick Pinkine, mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. “We’re excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the Sun.” “No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star,” he added. By venturing into these extreme conditions, Parker has been helping scientists tackle some of the Sun’s biggest mysteries: how solar wind originates, why the corona is hotter than the surface below, and how coronal mass ejections – massive clouds of plasma that hurl through space – are formed. The Christmas Eve flyby is the first of three record-setting close passes, with the next two – on March 22 and June 19, 2025 – both expected to bring the probe back to a similarly close distance from the Sun. Related Story Qatar establishes WEF's Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution 61 countries to compete in 8th Katara Award for Reciting Holy Qur’an

Winless in rivalry, Dan Lanning, No. 1 Oregon determined to tame HuskiesWASHINGTON – In an evening announcement, President-elect Donald Trump railed against Mexico and Canada, accusing them of allowing thousands of people to enter the U.S. Hitting a familiar theme from the campaign trail and his first term in office, Trump portrayed the country's borders as insecure and immigrants as contributing to crime and the fentanyl crisis. In an announcement that could have stark repercussions, he threatened to impose 25% tariffs on everything coming into the country from those two countries. Recommended Videos Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric has resonated with voters concerned about immigration and crime. Yet there's more to the story than Trump's short statement suggested. A look at what the numbers and studies say about border crossings, fentanyl smuggling and whether there's a connection between immigration and crime: Border crossings The number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is a key metric watched intensely by both Republicans and Democrats. Customs and Border Protection, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, releases monthly statistics that track everything from drug seizures to cross-border trade. One of the metrics tracked is the number of Border Patrol arrests or encounters each month with people entering the country between the official border crossings — known as the ports of entry. The vast majority of those arrests happen at the southern border. Those numbers have actually been falling this year under the Biden administration. The Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests in October, which is about a four-year low. It hasn't always been like that. The Biden administration struggled to bring down the growing number of migrants coming to the southern border. A little less than a year ago, in December 2023, the Border Patrol made about a quarter of a million arrests along the southern border — an all-time high . Cross-border trade was damaged as border agents were reassigned to help process migrants and train traffic was temporarily shut down. Since then, the numbers of people encountered at the southern border have dropped and stayed down through a combination of stricter enforcement on the Mexican side and asylum restrictions announced earlier this year by the Biden administration. Republicans put a caveat on those numbers. They have frequently accused the Biden administration of using an app called CBP One to let hundreds of thousands of people into the country who otherwise wouldn't be allowed in. They've described the program where 1,450 people a day can schedule an appointment to come into the U.S., as essentially a way to keep the border encounter numbers artificially low. On the northern border, the numbers are much smaller. Border Patrol made 23,721 arrests between October 2023 and September 2024, compared with 10,021 the previous 12 months. Trump also struggled to get a handle on illegal border crossings. Arrests topped 850,000 in 2019, nearly triple the amount two years earlier, though still far below the tally of more than 2 million for two different years under Biden. Drug smuggling Trump and many Republicans have often portrayed the U.S.'s southern border as wide open to drug smuggling. They have also linked immigrants to drug smuggling and accused Mexico of doing little to stop it. Much of America’s fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico. The fentanyl scourge began well before Biden took office. Border seizures have jumped sharply under Biden, which may partly reflect improved detection. About 27,000 pounds (12,247 kilograms) of fentanyl was seized by U.S. authorities in the 2023 government budget year, compared with 2,545 pounds (1,154 kilograms) in 2019, when Trump was president. Cooperation between the Mexican and U.S. governments on fighting drug smuggling undoubtedly suffered under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who left office at the end of September. Before López Obrador took office in December 2018, the U.S. worked closely with Mexico’s military to take down drug capos. But López Obrador, a nationalist and folksy populist, railed against the violence set off by the drug war waged by his predecessors and the Americans. He proposed addressing the root societal causes of violence found in poverty and a lack of opportunity for young people, in what he called “hugs, not bullets.” For years, López Obrador denied that Mexico made fentanyl, despite evidence to the contrary, including statements from his own security officials. He blamed U.S. society, where he said families push children out of home too early, for cultivating addicts. It's only two months into the term of President Claudia Sheinbaum. But while most of the fentanyl comes from Mexico, statistics show that it is Americans who are doing the smuggling across the border. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission , 86.4% of people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking crimes in a 12-month period ending September 2023 were American citizens. Crime and immigration Trump also has argued that the influx of immigrants is causing a crime surge in the U.S., although statistics show violent crime is on the way down. Texas is the only state that tracks crime by immigration status. A study published by the National Academy of Sciences, based on Texas Department of Public Safety data from 2012 to 2016, found people in the U.S. illegally had “substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses.” While FBI statistics do not separate out crimes by the immigration status of the assailant, there is no evidence of a spike in crime perpetrated by migrants, either along the U.S.-Mexico border or in cities seeing the greatest influx of migrants, like New York. Studies have found that people living in the U.S. illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes. Some crime is inevitable given the large population of immigrants. There were an estimated 11 million people in the country illegally in January 2022, according to the latest estimate by U.S. Homeland Security Department. In 2022, the Census Bureau estimated the foreign-born population at 46.2 million, or nearly 14% of the total, with most states seeing double-digit percentage increases in the last dozen years. Republicans have highlighted high-profile crimes by immigrants such as the February killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley in Georgia and argued that any crime committed by someone in the country illegally is a crime that shouldn't have happened. A Venezuelan man who entered the country illegally was convicted and sentenced to life in prison this month in Riley's killing .

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Aberdeen fans hoping to receive this season’s third kit for Christmas will be disappointed, as the club has confirmed it will not be restocked in time. The club issued an apology to supporters in an email sent today. Released in September, the “Granite Kit” is one of only a few third or special kits in the club’s 121-year history, and the first to be released since the 2007-08 season. The kit was so popular among fans of Jim Goodwin’s high-flying team that it quickly sold out. The shirt features AFC’s historic logo, which became iconic after the club’s triumph over Real Madrid in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup and during the glory years under Sir Alex Ferguson’s management. Synonymous with Aberdeen, the kit celebrates “ “. With Aberdeen currently sitting second in the league, Dons shirts are becoming increasingly popular across the Granite City, which is reflected in their limited availability. For example, the home and away shirts are only available in sizes extra small and triple extra large, while the third kit is completely sold out. Although Aberdeen have yet to wear the “Granite Kit” on the pitch this season, it is expected to make its debut when they face Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday afternoon. ‘Sorry for this inconvenience and any disappointment caused’ In an email to fans today, a spokesman for the retail side of the club told fans: “We were working with Adidas to get replenishment stock of our third jersey in before Christmas. “Unfortunately we have just received conformation this afternoon that we will not get them in before Christmas. “I am sorry for this inconvenience and any disappointment caused.” AFC women’s jerseys – which has as the sponsor rather than Texo – are suggested as an alternative for disappointed fans, as are goalkeeper and training jerseys.'Genetic time machine' reveals complex chimpanzee cultures