Meetings between US Treasury and Chinese financial officials in Beijing this week concluded with both sides agreeing to continue to meet regularly, the Treasury Department said on Friday (Jan 19). US officials also indicated that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen looked forward to a return visit to China at an “appropriateContinue Reading
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday (Jan 19) it regretted Argentina’s decision not to join the BRICS bloc of nations and hoped that Buenos Aires would reconsider. Argentina’s incoming Foreign Minister Diana Mondino said in November that his country would not join the BRICS grouping of developing nations despite beingContinue Reading
Among the waning crafts is the construction of longboats.
A traditional longboat seats 55 rowers and stretches about 50m in length, as long as an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and takes two months to build.
The environment in longboat factories are typically dusty, dirty and hot.
Mr Athipat Saisoong, 36, started Sam Ya Sung Lui Racing Longboat Construction Factory about 10 years ago.
Back then, he had developed an interest in wanting to keep the longboat tradition and craft alive, and decided to join the sector.
TOKYO: Japan’s “Moon Sniper” was set to touch down early on Saturday (Jan 20) on the lunar surface, one of myriad new missions on the back of renewed interest in Earth’s natural satellite. If its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission succeeds, Japan will be the fifth nation toContinue Reading
Iran and Pakistan traded strikes on each other’s territories this week, raising fears of greater turmoil in a region already grappling with instability and conflict.
Analysts said the escalation of hostilities between the neighbours is unprecedented, given the relatively cordial ties between Tehran and Islamabad.
However, the two nations share a history of tensions along their nearly 1,000km long volatile border, where they both face separatist threats.
On Tuesday (Jan 16), Iran launched missile and drone raids on Pakistan’s western Balochistan province, killing two children.
On Wednesday, nuclear-armed Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran’s envoy.
Islamabad called the attacks “a blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty” and “a violation of international law”.
On Thursday, Pakistan retaliated with military strikes in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, with Tehran reporting a death toll of nine civilians.
Iran said its Tuesday strike was aimed at the headquarters of Jaish al-Adl, an ethnic Baluch Sunni militant group which Tehran labels a terrorist outfit.
The group wants independence for Sistan-Baluchestan, and often targets Iranian security forces near the Pakistani border.
Pakistan said its Thursday raids targeted the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), a militant group which has been fighting the government for decades for a separate Balochistan state.
Despite being Pakistan’s biggest province with rich gas and mineral resources, Balochistan has the smallest population and is the least economically developed.
Ethnic Baloch militants accuse Islamabad of neglect and exploitation, and heavy-handed treatment of those in the region.
The border insurgencies have been a long-running source of tension between the neighbours, who accuse each other of harbouring separatists.
Iran has blamed Pakistan of allowing Jaish al-Adl militants to operate freely in Balochistan and using the area to launch attacks on Iranian forces.
However, observers said it is unusual for either side to carry out such attacks on each other’s soil.
“Both countries have in the past cooperated and shared intelligence to rein in attacks by such groups,” said Mr Ali Vaez, project director of Iran at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank that focuses on conflict reduction research.
“So, it’s quite unprecedented to see these kinds of cross-border strikes and tensions that have now escalated so quickly.”
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun visited Spirit’s production facilities in Wichita on Wednesday for an employee town hall alongside Spirit’s CEO, Pat Shanahan.
Speaking to about 270 factory workers, engineers and other employees, Shanahan said Spirit would “make changes and improvements” and “will restore confidence”.
Calhoun said, according to Boeing: “We’re going to get better, not because the two of us are talking, but because (of) the engineers at Boeing, the mechanics at Boeing, the inspectors at Boeing, the engineers at Spirit, the mechanics at Spirit, the inspectors at Spirit.”
The two executives answered several questions from employees, ranging from how lessons from the incident could influence future airplane designs, and whether Spirit and Boeing were united on a path forward, said a source in the room.
Boeing on Tuesday named retired US Navy Admiral Kirkland H Donald to advise the planemaker’s CEO on improving quality control.
MANILA: The Philippines and Canada signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation on Friday (Jan 19), a move which Manila’s defence minister said could later lead to a troop pact between the two countries. “I’m glad to hear that there is a strong intention on both sides to deepenContinue Reading
BANGKOK: A Thai court on Friday (Jan 19) ordered the government to come up with an urgent plan to curb air pollution within 90 days, as the kingdom braces for its annual peak of noxious haze. Air quality plummets in Thailand in the early months of the year as smokeContinue Reading
An Islamabad security official said the Chief of Army Staff and head of the intelligence services will attend the mid-afternoon meeting. Pakistan’s leader Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar cut short his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland following the strikes. His caretaker government is leading Pakistan into general elections justContinue Reading
BEIJING: China’s commerce ministry has said it is closely following developments in the Red Sea, state media reported, after attacks by Houthi rebels on ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. “It is hoped that the relevant parties will proceed from the overall interests of regional security and stability asContinue Reading