K2: Climbers deny walking by dying sherpa in bid to break record

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Picture of the area on K2Wilhelm Steindl
By Mattea Bubalo & Bethany Bell
BBC News

A well-known Norwegian mountaineer has denied accusations that her team climbed over an injured sherpa during a bid to break a world record.

The sherpa, named as Mohammed Hassan, had fallen off a ledge on Pakistan’s K2 – the world’s second-highest mountain.

Video posted by other climbers appears to show a group walking by Mr Hassan, who reportedly died a few hours later.

But Kristin Harila said she and her team tried everything to help him in dangerous conditions.

The Norwegian was heading for K2’s summit to secure a world record and become the fastest climber to scale all peaks above 8,000m (26,000ft).

But during the ascent on 27 July, Mr Hassan reportedly fell from an extremely narrow path known as a bottleneck.

Austrian climbers Wilhelm Steindl and Philip Flämig have posted pictures appearing to show people climbing over him.

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila(C) and Tenjen Sherpa(L) at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on 5th August, 2023

Getty Images

The pair were also on the mountain that day, but had cancelled their ascent because of dangerous weather conditions and an avalanche.

They had been filming for a documentary about Mr Steindl’s attempt to reach the summit.

As their camera display was small, they say they only saw the details of what their drone captured the next day.

“We saw a guy alive, lying in the traverse in the bottleneck. And people were stepping over him on the way to the summit. And there was no rescue mission

“I was really shocked. And I was really, I was really sad. I started to cry about the situation that people just passed him and there was no rescue mission,” Mr Steindl told the BBC.

Mr Hassan was being treated by one person “while everyone else” moved towards the summit in a “heated, competitive summit rush”, Mr Flämig told Austria’s Der Standard newspaper.

Ms Harila, however, has denied the accusations that Mr Hassan was left to die.

She said no-one was to blame for his death, adding that she had decided to make the statement to stop the spread of “misinformation and hatred”.

It is unclear what point of the incident the posted footage purports to show.

In an Instagram post describing what happened, the Norwegian climber says she had been walking when she saw the other team Mr Hassan was part of a few metres ahead before the “tragic accident” happened.

She said she did not see exactly what took place, but the next thing she knew, Mr Hassan “was hanging upside down” on a rope between two ice anchors, with his harness “all the way down around his knees. In addition, he was not wearing a down suit and his stomach was exposed to snow”.

Her team tried for an hour and a half to fasten a rope to the sherpa and give him oxygen and hot water, she recounted, until “an avalanche went off around the corner”.

Having established her team were safe, she said she understood more help was coming and decided to move forward to avoid overcrowding on the bottleneck. Her cameraman stayed behind to help until he himself ran low on oxygen.

“It was only when we came back down that we saw Hassan had passed and we were ourselves in no shape to carry his body down.”

She does not say if anyone was with the injured sherpa when her cameraman left, or when they passed his body upon their descent.

K2, along the Pakistan-China border, stands at 8,611m (28,251ft) and is regarded as one of the most challenging and dangerous mountains to climb.

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Two police officers charged with taking money from suspects they were investigating

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SINGAPORE: Two police officers were charged in court on Friday (Aug 11) with criminal breach of trust after taking money over several years from suspects they were investigating.  The alleged acts by the suspects, Mohamed Mohamed Jalil and Mohamad Danial Mohamad Nazali, came to light following “proactive regular case reviews and dueContinue Reading

B64m aid boost for fireworks blast victims

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Total of B107 million now available to help rebuild damaged community in Narathiwat

PUBLISHED : 11 Aug 2023 at 18:15

B64m aid boost for fireworks blast victims
An aerial view shows the buildings damaged by the fireworks explosion that killed 12 people and injured dozens in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat on July 29. (Photo: Border Patrol Police Unit 4414)

The prime minister has approved an additional allocation of 64 million baht to help victims of the fireworks warehouse explosion last month in Narathiwat, a spokesman said on Friday.

The latest grant brings the total awarded to the victims of the July 29 incident to 107 million baht, said Anucha Nakhasai, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office who chaired a meeting of disaster relief fund board.

The funds will be spent on rebuilding or repairing victims’ houses as well as on providing other necessary aid, he said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week visited the stricken community in Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat and assured residents that financial support was being expedited. He also asked his office to consider whether to grant additional funds.

The blast killed 12 people and injured 389, while three schools were destroyed and 682 houses damaged.

Sompong Nakul, 42, and his wife Piyanuch Puengwirawat, 42, the owners of the illegal warehouse, surrendered to police after returning from Malaysia last Saturday.

The couple were initially charged with negligence causing deaths, importing and/or selling fireworks without a permit and violating the Emergency Decree in the southern region.

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SINGAPORE: Public Transport Council (PTC) chief executive Tan Kim Hong will step down on Mar 1, 2024 after about seven years at the helm.

Deputy group director of policy and planning at the Land Transport Authority (LTA) Leow Yew Chin will be appointed as chief executive (designate) of PTC from Sep 1, before taking over from Mr Tan on Mar 1 next year, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said on Friday (Aug 11).

The PTC regulates public transport fares and ticket payment services, as well as advises the Minister for Transport on public transport matters.

Mr Tan was appointed chief executive of PTC on Jul 1, 2017. During his time, he oversaw six fare review exercises and a mid-term review on the Network Capacity Factor, where he sought to balance the need to ensure fare affordability and the financial sustainability of Singapore’s public transport system.

He also played an instrumental role in the recent review of the fare adjustment formula and mechanism.

“Mr Tan also led PTC to grow the Caring SG Commuters Movement and supported the Caring SG Commuters Committee to drive the transformation of Singapore’s public transport system into a more caring, welcoming and inclusive one,” MOT said.

Under his leadership, PTC further collaborated with the community and industry stakeholders to launch CARE Ride @ South West 2022 and CARE Bus with Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School.

“These initiatives aim to build greater empathy and willingness in commuters to help seniors and persons with disabilities in using the public transport system,” MOT said.

It thanked Mr Tan for his contributions as PTC chief executive.

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Private sector plays key role in Indonesia’s pursuit of sustainable agriculture, food security

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The produce the firm purchases from farmers is processed at its facilities in West Java, after which it is sold to clients within the country, as well as exported to Singapore, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The company has multiple greenhouses and several research farms.

RESEARCH A CRUCIAL FACTOR

Research and development (R&D) is crucial in determining agriculture productivity and affects food prices.

Muhammad Ifdhol Syawkoni, the hydroponic R&D manager at Beleaf Farms, told CNA that even details such as how many holes there are in each hydroponic system, have to be carefully researched.

“It can’t be, ‘Oh, there are a lot of holes on this, let’s use all’, because the standard is that this is the medium where the roots grow. If the medium is too small, it will be washed away by water in the production area. If it’s too big, we’ll incur too much cost,” he explained.

Beleaf Farms has secured nearly 40 partner farmers so far, but getting them on board in the first place is not always easy.

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Coroner returns suicide verdict over police NSF who shot himself

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SINGAPORE: A coroner’s court on Friday (Aug 11) ruled the death of a full-time police national serviceman a suicide.

Mr Finnegan Tan Yao Jie, 21, was found dead of a gunshot wound in a toilet at the Special Operations Command (SOC) base on Aug 30, 2021.

Based on the gunshot residue on his hand and face, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda concluded that Mr Tan had fired the service revolver, which he had drawn from the armoury that morning.

The coroner found that there was sufficient evidence in his internet searches and social media posts to conclude that Mr Tan had formed the intention to take his own life.

The day before the incident, Mr Tan had written a will distributing his cash and belongings to his relatives and friends.

He also lamented that he had “messed up his life”.

The coroner said the exact reasons that Mr Tan chose to take his own life may never be known, but it was clear that he was struggling with certain issues.

The loss of S$10,200 (US$7,557) in an e-commerce job scam was likely the tipping point that drove him to contemplate suicide, said the coroner.

Of this amount, Mr Tan had borrowed S$7,000 from his father. The job scam ran on the ruse that he would earn more dividends if he put in more money, and Mr Tan lodged a police report over it.

“Unfortunately except for a few hints to friends, colleagues and relatives, Mr Tan kept his suicidal thoughts very well-hidden,” the coroner said.

He conveyed his sincere condolences to Mr Tan’s family for their loss. 

Where to get help:

Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1767

Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222

Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019

You can also find a list of international helplines here. If someone you know is at immediate risk, call 24-hour emergency medical services.

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Pheu Thai to revive ‘digital wallet’

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Party sees 10,000-baht handout for millions as a key to economic upturn

PUBLISHED : 11 Aug 2023 at 17:04

Pheu Thai to revive ‘digital wallet’
Srettha Thavisin, a Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, announces the party’s 10,000-baht digital wallet policy at an election campaign rally in Nonthaburi on April 5. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The Pheu Thai Party intends to reintroduce its 10,000-baht digital wallet programme once the government it is forming takes office, says deputy secretary-general Paopoom Rojanasakul.

The party shelved the policy after finishing second in the May 14 election, as the social welfare policies of the election-winning Move Forward Party were given priority when the latter was attempting to put together a coalition government.

“Now the situation has changed and Pheu Thai is now the core (of a new coalition),” Mr Paopoom said on Friday. “Today, the party would like to officially declare that it will move ahead with the digital wallet policy, using blockchain technology.

The policy involves a 10,000-baht digital handout to every Thai aged 16 and over, delivered to a smartphone. The digital money can only be spent within a four-kilometre radius of recipients’ homes and is valid for six months.

“There would be no problems for those without access to this application as they could use their national ID card to get a personal code instead,” Mr Paopoom said.

Thailand would be among the very first countries to introduce this form of digital payment, he said.

Responding to criticism from some economists who believe the policy would cause inflation, Mr Paopoom said the Pheu Thai economic team had carefully evaluated the programme and believed there would be no negative effects on the country’s financial security. It would instead spur major economic growth, he said.

In parallel with the digital handout, a capital market and securities exchange commission for digital assets would be set up, he added.

“That is to say, we will go ahead with the digital wallet scheme and make it fully operational for the benefit of the country,” he said.

Srettha Thavisin, who is expected to be nominated as the party’s prime ministerial candidate, declared during the election campaign that the 10,000-baht handout would unleash an “economic tsunami” of consumption, delivering benefits to many sectors of the economy.

He defended the cost of the policy, which the party has put at 560 billion baht, saying it was on par with the promises of other parties that were pledging to raise social welfare payments by other means.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce has predicted a GDP boost of 2.5% or more from the fund infusion. It suggested that the digital wallet rollout should start with low-income earners. It could then be expanded to entrepreneurs and small business operators on condition that they are registered in the tax system.

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