China to lend another pair of giant pandas to Thailand
PUBLISHED : 30 Oct 2024 at 11:32
Preparations are being made for the arrival of another pair of giant pandas on loan from China to mark the 50th anniversary of Sino-Thai relations next year.
Jatuporn Buruspat, permanent secretary for natural resources and environment, said representatives of the Zoological Park Organization, Chiang Mai Zoo, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Department of East Asian Affairs and the Budget Bureau met on Monday to discuss preparations for the expected arrival of the ever-popular animals from China.
Mr Jatuporn said China had this month confirmed it would lend two giant pandas to Thailand and the ministry was ready to accept them.
No dates were announced.
Chiang Mai Zoo previously hosted two giant pandas lent by China. They became immediate hits upon their arrival in 2003 as goodwill ambassadors. Xuang Xuang died in 2019, and his partner, Lin Hui, died last year.
Mr Jatuporn said the management of Chiang Mai Zoo returned the carcasses of Xuang Xuang and Lin Hui to China on Jan 30 this year. It also submitted its report on the life of the giant pandas in Thailand for evaluation by Chinese authorities.
The pair produced one offspring, a female given the name Lin Ping, during their stay at Chiang Mai Zoo. The Thai-born cub left for China in 2013.
No oil sightings following recent leak, bunkering incidents; seaward oil response assets to stand down: Authorities
SINGAPORE: No oil sightings have been detected at sea and ashore following clean-up and precautionary measures in response to two recent oil-related incidents, said the authorities in a joint statement on Wednesday (Oct 30). All seaward oil response assets deployed by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) for both incidentsContinue Reading
Police recover more than 40,000 stolen Bluey coins
Police in Australia say they have recovered around 40,000 limited-edition coins based on the hit children’s television show Bluey.
It was reported in July that 63,000 of the coins – produced by the Australian Mint – had been stolen from a warehouse in Western Sydney, about two months before they were due to enter circulation.
Authorities recovered 40,061 coins on Tuesday after a raid on a property about 6 miles (10km) from the storage facility.
Earlier that day, 27-year-old Christina Vale had been arrested and charged with breaking and entering and disposing of stolen property, police say. She was the third person arrested over the alleged theft.
The coins, which are worth A$1 ($0.65; 50p) a piece, were stolen two months before their planned release. New South Wales Police said they had previously been selling online for 10 times their face value.
Shortly after the theft was reported, NSW Police launched a special investigation into the incident codenamed Strike Force Bandit – after Bluey’s father.
In August, they arrested 44-year-old Steven Nielsen, who was an employee at the warehouse, and 44-year-old Nassar Kanj, who they say acted as his accomplice in the alleged heist.
Police will now argue in court that Ms Vale was the pair’s getaway driver.
The gold-coloured coins are known as Bluey dollarbucks – which is how money is referred to in the cartoon – and feature images of characters from the show.
The hit series, about the Heeler family of dogs, is made by Brisbane-based animation firm Ludo with BBC Studios and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Bluey has been a huge international success and is now broadcast in more than 60 countries including the UK, the US and China.
It was streamed for more than 20 billion minutes on Disney+ in the US last year, putting it in the country’s top 10 streaming programmes for minutes viewed.
There are more than 150 episodes of Bluey across three seasons, and a Bluey-themed “interactive experience” is opening in Brisbane next month.
The stolen coins are different from a collectable set of Bluey currency that caused a frenzy when it went on sale by the Royal Australian Mint in June this year.
Vietnam says Saudi Aramco wants to invest in oil refining, petrol distribution
HANOI: Oil giant Saudi Aramco wants to invest in the oil refinery sector and petroleum distribution in Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country’s government said late on Tuesday (Oct 29). The announcement came after a meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Saudi Aramco’s chief executive officer Amin Al-Nasser inContinue Reading
Starred-chef Jay Fai denies she’s retiring, closing her restaurant
PUBLISHED : 30 Oct 2024 at 10:33
Michelin-star chef Supinya “Jay Fai” Junsuta has denied reports she plans to close her celebrated restaurant in Bangkok next year, saying she may be old but remains very healthy and cooks up to 15 hours a day.
She told ThaiNews that the reports were wrong. A reporter had earlier asked her if she had any thoughts about retiring, pointing out she was already in her 80s.
“Then I said I had a project in mind. From that one answer, the stories grew,” Jay Fai said. “Not yet. Next year I will remain in business. I won’t quit.”
The seven-time Michelin star winner also said she had a long-term schedule to cook in many other countries and it was evident she would not retire in the near future.
Although 81-years-old, Jay Fai said, she was still fit and she stood and cooked for up to 15 hours a day when her restaurant was open. Her Michelin-star restaurant on Mahachai Road in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok opens four days a week, from Wednesday to Saturday.
The spurious reports of her planned retirement and the restaurant’s closure next year prompted Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to say she intended to dine there before it closed.
Jay Fai said she would be greatly honoured to welcome the prime minister to her small eatery.
Star-chef Jay Fai denies she’s retiring, closing her restaurant
PUBLISHED : 30 Oct 2024 at 10:33
Michelin-star chef Supinya “Jay Fai” Junsuta has denied reports she plans to close her celebrated restaurant in Bangkok next year, saying she may be old but remains very healthy and cooks up to 15 hours a day.
She told ThaiNews that the reports were wrong. A reporter had earlier asked her if she had any thoughts about retiring, pointing out she was already in her 80s.
“Then I said I had a project in mind. From that one answer, the stories grew,” Jay Fai said. “Not yet. Next year I will remain in business. I won’t quit.”
The seven-time Michelin star winner also said she had a long-term schedule to cook in many other countries and it was evident she would not retire in the near future.
Although 81-years-old, Jay Fai said, she was still fit and she stood and cooked for up to 15 hours a day when her restaurant was open. Her Michelin-star restaurant on Mahachai Road in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok opens four days a week, from Wednesday to Saturday.
The spurious reports of her planned retirement and the restaurant’s closure next year prompted Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to say she intended to dine there again before it closed.
Jay Fai said she would be greatly honoured to welcome the prime minister to her small eatery.
Clementi HDB murder: Family of accused assailant hires lawyers for him
SINGAPORE: A man accused of murdering a 41-year-old man at a Housing Board block in Clementi has hired a team of lawyers.
Toh Chee Hong, who faces a capital charge of killing Mr Khoo Chin Wah Winson on Oct 21 at Block 311B Clementi Avenue 4, appeared briefly in court on Wednesday (Oct 30).
Lawyers Josephus Tan, Cory Wong, Devlin Mohyong and Silas Siew from Invictus Law told the court that they had been recently engaged by Toh’s family to defend him.
The prosecution said investigations had been completed and asked for Toh to be remanded for psychiatric assessment, to see if he suffers from any abnormality of mind.
The defence did not object.
The case was adjourned to Nov 20 for further mention.
This development comes two days after the police took Toh back to the scene of the alleged crime on Monday morning.
Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists
The Canadian government alleged on Tuesday (Oct 29) that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind the plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. The Indian government has dismissed Canada’s prior accusations as baseless, denying any involvement.Continue Reading
‘It’s good to have nerves’: Pro gamer Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz on Counter-Strike tournament finals
To play the game, you must understand the way your teammates think and their behaviours. Are you as attuned to each other in real life?
Definitely a big part of building a solid team is getting to know each other, spending time outside the game.
I would say that even though we are a relatively new team playing together, we are quite close. A lot of the guys on the team have known each other for a long time.
It’s about getting to know each other outside the game, but also inside of the game. And it takes time to learn the thought process that’s going on in different situations.
How would you say your personality outside the game differs from – or is similar to – the way that you play the game?
Oh, that’s hard. I’d say it correlates quite well. At least inside of the game, I like to be vocal and take some of the important decisions.
Outside of the game, we don’t really do much other than play video games. So I don’t feel like I change character when I go into the game.
If you were not a professional gamer, though, what do you think you’d be doing?
Probably would have gone to law school. It’s just in the family. It’s a bloodline thing.
Indonesia Investment Authority and DB Investment Partners form $1bn partnership | FinanceAsia
The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) and investment firm DB Investment Partners (DBIP) have formed a partnership, through an Investment Framework Agreement (IFA), to help Indonesia’s economic development.
INA and DBIP will collaborate by leveraging each other’s market access and investment expertise to deploy at least $1 billion within the next five years.
This joint investment initiative is looking to address needs across capital structures and strategic sectors in Indonesia or with an Indonesian nexus, according to a statement.
INA and DBIP will also cooperate to support eligible projects in Indonesia through knowledge and network sharing initiatives to help Indonesia’s sustainable economic development. Both parties are seeking to invest “in innovative financial solutions within key sectors”, according to a media statement.
The investment framework has been developed to cater to the complex and evolving capital needs within the market.
Ridha Wirakusumah, chief executive of of INA, stated, “This partnership enables us to leverage DBIP’s premier platform while we bring our local knowledge to the table, enhancing our joint investment strategy. This allows us to tailor investments that are not only strategic but also diverse, reflecting the dynamic needs of Indonesia’s growing economy.”
Wirakusumah added: “Through this collaboration, we seek to harness DBIP’s proven capabilities to meet the dynamic needs of Indonesia’s growing economy, and each investment is carefully designed to create bespoke solutions that address needs across capital structures and strategic sectors in Indonesia.”
Raheman Meghji, chief investment officer of DBIP, said: “The Indonesian economy has tremendous growth potential and we look forward to playing our part in the story going forward.”
DB Investment Partners (DBIP) is a Deutsche Bank Group company and a global private capital investment firm, which is independently authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
FinanceAsiia has reached out for more information about the partnership.
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