Asian Pride Alliance to boost LGBTQIA2S+ rights
PUBLISHED: 8 Jun 2024 at 08: 27
In Phuket, a group known as the Asian Pride Alliance ( APA ) initiative has been established to advance LGBTQIA2S rights and gender equality.
” Eastern Pride Alliance will serve as a secure place for the LGBTQIA2S community across the region, fostering equality and gaining respect for one’s rights in all sizes”, said Michelle Meow, manufacturer and APA advisory committee, who identifies as men.
The program and its accompanying events are a major pioneering program and the first of its kind at a local level in Asia, according to Mr. Meow, who was also a founding member of InterPride.
He said Phuket’s hosting and support of the event has created collaboration within the LGBTQIA2S community both regionally and globally.
Mr. Meow claimed that the LGBTQIA2S community’s celebrations have a strong foundation in the fight against prejudice and human rights violations.
He praised the alliance’s establishment as a powerful tool for bolstering regional allies, making a positive impact on the LGBTQIA2S community, and taking pride in being a part of an effort to advance equality and justice, according to him.
Plaifah Kyoka Shodladd, an APA co- founder, indicated the effort to bridge borders, fostering support and cooperation within the Pride Community in Thailand and across Asia.
” This marks a historic moment for the pride community”, Ms Plaifah said.
The group’s formation will have a significant impact on the visibility and advocacy for the LGBTQIA2S community in Asia and other areas.
The alliance will be able to drive forward in creating cooperation and strengthening the unity of the LGBTQIA2S community, she said.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, director of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau ( Tceb), said the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding ( MoU) on the alliance is the result of the cooperation, with participants from many countries, including the US, Turkey and Japan.
The signing of the MoU aims to encourage the growth of a network that fights for freedom of expression and human rights, which is Phuket’s first collaborative network.
The pride organizations in Phuket and more than ten southern provinces have collaborated.
” Thailand’s cultural values, including openness and respect, have enabled the LGBTQIA2S community to grow and coexist. As a government agency, we fully support the pride community in driving towards an equal society”, said Mr Chiruit. We think the establishment of the alliance will carry on Thailand’s commitment to regional cooperation and make it possible to host upcoming world pride events.
Sajeev Digital Studio: Meet the quirky photographer in Little India taking equally offbeat portraits
Although Sajeev could n’t quite explain why photography makes him happy (” I just like”, he smiled and shrugged ), he knew he loved taking photos from the time he was a teenager. He had spent more than ten years traveling to India as a child and spent time with his ill family before making his return to Singapore only in day for National Service and to discover his interest in photography.
Eventually, the young artist enrolled in a program at SAFRA to learn more about movie photography, including how to operate in a darkroom and create negatives.
His first camera was a” modest, small lens, smaller than 35mm”,  , because it was all he could manage. Finally, he saved enough money through working to get the Nikon F4, which was at the moment” about S$ 2, 000″ and” the best camera”, he said.
Over time, Sajeev noticed more folks picking up the ship with digital cameras, which allow photographers to “take and see quickly” and redo the photograph as many times as they wish, he reasoned.
” ( Film ) roll is not easy, nobody can take 100 per cent. You do n’t know the aperture, shutter, then take already no use, later blackout. Only school students (use ) for learning. Other than that, do n’t have, people do n’t want”.
Sajeev’s passion for the old college was not squelched by the digital revolution, and it also perplexed him that others were losing interest in film. If he was behind the glass, toying with the options he liked, he was glad. He consistently chooses manual mode over engine mode when using a digital camera today.
” Because next time, I follow like that. ( Manual ) makes the photo better. If you use car, if you grow the picture, it’s pixelated, no good. If guide, you close the orifice, it get better content”, he explained.
Things I would tell my younger self: Irene Ang, actress and Fly Entertainment founder
Irene has always been honest about her history. She has also been open about her past life as a party animal, not least because she came from a “broken home with a gang father and a medication abuser mother.”  ,
She claimed that despite making numerous friends during her” Zouk time,” those friends did not endure.
You will start losing friends as you get older because you discover that your values and goals do n’t align. You’ll start to take up more and more of your day, and you’ll only want to concentrate on the things that subject, she said.
Then, Irene’s social group includes friends from her childhood, as well as those she made while working, including clients, editors and those working in public relationships.  ,
And it seems like balancing her personal and professional lives has advantages. After all, she frequently experiences people attention.  ,
She explained, adding that they are aware of how to ease her whenever she encounters any reaction.” Whatever you see, hear, or learn about yourself on social media becomes not as disconcerting because you have a support team who understands the advertising,” she said.
” On the reverse, if you do something wrong, they will be the ones also to text you,’ Eh you cannot say like that now, you will get cancelled’… then you ( can ) quickly go and edit your posts”, she quipped.
Selection panel to decide on Gripen or F-16 offers
PUBLISHED: 8 Jun 2024 at 06: 11
This month, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF ) will convene a selection panel to decide whether to purchase Sweden’s Gripen fighter jets or F-16 aircraft.
Air pressure chief ACM Phanphakdee Phatthanakul updated the 19 billion baht plan to purchase four new fighter jets, saying the details are nearly finished, but the RTAF is also open to new ideas to ensure the best offer.
ACM Phanphakdee and the RTAF’s running board traveled to Sweden and the US previous month to meet with British manufacturer Lockheed Martin and Swedish dealer SAAB.
” We’ll maintain our choices open until the committee’s establishment to find the aircraft model,” he said. ” The collection process may look over all official papers.” The outcomes of the conference may not be used. We must get complete and reasonable”.
He assured that the purchasing plan will comply with the air force’s stated requirements for federal capability development, including the government’s offset plan. Countries that provide fresh military equipment to Thailand must comply with the offset policy by offering the same financial evaluations in diplomatic trade.
ACM Phanphakdee stated that the Office of the RTAF’s Comptroller and the Air Force’s Chief of Staff are prepared to support the purchasing program while the House committee is reviewing the saving plan for the 2025 fiscal year.
The RTAF is likely to find Job E/F fighter jets, according to a cause close to the investigation because the Swedish provider is said to have made a better plan regarding the offset plan.
The Swedish company’s offer is said to contain funding for maintenance and military training as well as replacing the Erieye detector system that was installed in its Saab 340, a Swedish flying early warning plane. In 2013, the air pressure acquired a ship of 12 Job soldiers based at Wing 7 in Surat Thani, but the aircraft lost one in a collision four years later.
The weather force’s white document outlining its growth goals includes the plane procurement scheme. The white papers includes a strategy to start the next fiscal year off with a new fleet of fighter jets and create a number of all-discipline development projects starting on October 1.
Pheu Thai wavers over amnesty bill
Govt. apprehensive fresh draft does favor Thaksin
PUBLISHED: 8 Jun 2024 at 05: 10
The Pheu Thai Party reversed a previous statement that it would add Section 112, or the der qualifications law, to the asylum bill.
The issue is complicated and needs a common discussion, according to Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister, on Friday, to prevent further chaos.
The group has not yet decided whether to support a request to include Section 112 in the bill, according to Mr. Phumtham, Pheu Thai’s deputy leader.
Somkid Chueakong, a spokesman of the House committee that examines amnesty for political detainees and deputy secretary-general for political interests to the prime minister Srettha Thavisin, reported this week that some council members concurred with the plan to cover Part 112 offences under the act. He resisted the assertion that Pheu Thai always blasted the idea of including Part 112 crimes in the asylum bill.
Mr Phumtham said on Friday  , that the group may talk to the needs of the people. Things would be simpler and the group would move in that direction if every anxious group consented to grant asylum to those who violated 111.
Mr. Phumtham disregarded the criticism when asked about the criticism that the article might gain former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has just been charged with a stability major offense, saying he did not pay attention to for a state.
” Now, we do not subject to or claim the plan. I think community is aware that this issue has both political and social effects. He claimed that the government is” trying to choose the best course of action” to avoid conflict.
In an interview he gave to a paper in Seoul on February 21, 2015, the attorney general announced Thaksin’s prosecution on May 29 regarding this and other computer violence transgressions.
He has been given an appearance at the Office of the Attorney General on June 18 after being delayed due to a May 29 Covid illness.
Although he was spotted visiting a spa store in the Phloenchit neighborhood of Pathumwan region on Wednesday, Thaksin has never appeared in front of the media since that day.
Nanthiwat Samart, a former deputy chairman of the National Intelligence Agency, also posted a warning on Instagram about how the move resembled the May 2014 coup d’etat.
In 2013, the Yingluck management attempted to pass a blanket social amnesty bill in order to cover up Thaksin, who was then in self-imposed exile. The act ignited big protests led by the Women’s Democratic Reform Committee, which culminated in the resignation of the Pheu Thai- led management, said Mr Nanthiwat.
Distracted walking: A habit that can affect your body, brain
For instance, questions regarding the amount of telephone use deemed confusing, and which exemptions may be permitted, does happen.
Also, such a law may need” a lot of manpower” to maintain, with several pedestrians now accustomed to walking while using their phones.
WHAT ACTIONS CAN SINGAPORE USE?
Putting aside the law, attempts to stop distracted running have been explored in the past.
In 2017, LED pieces were installed on roads at four commuter bridges along Orchard Road, Victoria Street, St Andrew’s Road and Bencoolen Road.
These colored light pieces, synchronised with the traffic signs, were aimed at helping pedestrians, especially those looking at their phones, cross the road safely. This action did not yield substantial findings, nevertheless, and concluded once the test period was over.
IN FOCUS: Singapore’s airline industry appears to be in full flight, but dark clouds lie ahead
SINGAPORE:  , The greatest obstacle in its life. In a team letter released in early 2020, Singapore Airlines ‘ CEO Goh Choon Phong described the COVID- 19 pandemic in that language.
That season, the regional carrier, along with other airlines global, was forced into grounding flights, enforcing massive pay cuts and as a last resort, furloughing employees as the sector was ravaged by a when- in- a- generation event.  ,  ,
However, it would seem that this significant issue has been handled with ease more than four years later.
With SIA, Low-Cost Airlines, Scoot, and Jetstar Asia making up Singapore’s airport industry, the demand for air travel is booming again with a vengeance.
From experiencing its first full- year loss in history during the pandemic, SIA in May reported a record profit of S$ 2.68 billion ( US$ 1.99 billion ) for the fiscal year ended March 2024. The praise? A benefit of about eight months ‘ salary , for personnel.
For Scoot, evidence of progress were noticeable when it received the first two of nine Embraer aircraft in April, with CEO , Leslie Thng noting that this , “reflects our trust in the demand for air travel”.  ,
Jetstar Asia, nevertheless, expects traveler capacity to reach pre- COVID amounts by the end of 2024. A spokesperson for the flight stated to CNA that the flight will continue to concentrate on expanding its network of routes, increasing its fleet, and hiring more staff.  ,
” We’re excited about what lies ahead”, the spokesperson said.  ,
But it’s not all apparent stars.
In May’s financial statement from SIA Group, some hints were provided that suggested increased competition from other airlines might have resulted in lower profits.
The team, which includes SIA and Scoot, further warned that” the airline industry continues to face problems including rising geopolitical tensions, an uncertain economic climate, provide network constraints, and higher inflation in some parts of the world.”  ,
Some of these came to bear next month when Scoot cancelled some flights , citing a “variety of administrative reasons”, which included” supply chain issues”.  ,
Authorities added that the pandemic’s lack of skilled workers may have contributed as well.
SIA even experienced problems of its own when airlines to three Chinese towns were suspended in April, which analysts attributed to regulatory problems stemming from Beijing’s prioritizing the restoration of its regional airlines.
And thus while signs of progress paint an positive image of the industry,  , they are also a consequence of constrained supply- of flights and seats- leading to airlines charging higher prices amid increased demand, said , Mr Alan Lim, director of Alton Aviation Consultancy.
As other authorities warned of a potential decline in profit, he continued,” We anticipate that there will be a return to the long-term mean in terms of monetary achievement.”
Commentary: Singapore risks mediocrity at the top if too few high-calibre people join politics
It is a triple whammy.
Is paying higher pay the truth?
Mr. Lee understood that attracting people to politics would become more difficult, and he thought paying officials more might make some decisions easier.
In a highly contentious walk, he then introduced the ministerial pay method, which pegs pay scales for the highest workers in six different private field professions in 1994.
Since then, the government has become a popular political topic, and it was forced to change the formula in 2012, with lower wages for all, including the President and Prime Minister.
There has n’t been a revision in the last 12 years because of the delayed increases in ministerial salaries required by the revised formula.
Given the public mood, it does n’t seem likely there is much room to move on the pay front.
Fresh Tale NEEDED
What next?
Mr. Lee’s strategy worked during his day because he was a powerful and inspiring number who could draw people to his company.
They backed the assertion that a fragile Singapore needed the best help or it would suffer.
He and his team were so powerful, they made the tale incomplete.
A prone Singapore? It might still be, given that it is still a very little land dependent on the outside world, but the citizens, including leaders, no longer hold on to the plan as clearly.  ,
Given that it is one of the richest nations in the world and first in this and that, according to the ratings that are frequently covered in the media, how resilient can it be?
Commentary: Time to rethink Singapore’s ’30 by 30′ food resilience, amid local farm setbacks
SINGAPORE FROM DREAM SHOULD NOT DISTRACT SINGAPORE.
If Singapore strive to be more self-sufficient in terms of meals and more stable in terms of food security? The no- brainer answer is yes, but that does n’t mean it is straightforward.
As a small area, Singapore will always be centered on food imports, also if 30 by 30 is achieved. Therefore, this should be a play that emphasizes foods endurance rather than security.
This detail shifts the thinking and tale: What does it mean to be adaptable? How to safe this endurance? And interestingly, where else do we need to spend and obtain buy- in within a larger program beyond Singapore?
Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing stressed the value of supply chain communication partnerships, which maintain the circulation of partner countries ‘ foods and other essential items, in the early stages of COVID-19. During the epidemic, Malaysian food exports did not experience significant problems.
The value of developing relationships was also demonstrated in August 2023 when Singapore was exempt from India’s grain export restrictions as a result of a “very close proper relationship.”
Therefore, the larger whole-of-system technique that considers different ways to ensure food resilience needs to be included in 30 by 30. What will need more work in the future of Singapore’s meal system.
But in the end, even if 30 by 30 is a vision, it is a dream for pursuing.
Paul Teng is a professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore’s Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies ( RSIS ).
Tour boat crash set to be probed
PUBLISHED: 8 Jun 2024 at 04: 45
The Transport Ministry has ordered a probe into a boat crash late on Thursday evening near Tha Tien Pier, in which four Chinese visitors were hurt.
A long-tailed excursion ship collided with a Royal Thai Navy (RTN) bridge at around 4pm, according to assistant transport secretary Manaporn Charoensri, who said the Marine Department had been informed.
The trip boat’s four Chinese passengers, one man and three female, were the cause of the collision and fell into the river.
The customers were saved, but they had some minor injuries.
They were taken for treatment to Hua Chiew Hospital in the Pomprap Sattruphai city.
The journey boat sank after the crash, while the RTN boat was significantly damaged. At the time of the affair, two naval commanders were on the boat.
The journey boat’s landlord agreed to pay full price for the damage.
Ms. Manaporn claimed that the Marine Department had been given the order to contact the tour boat owner to offer support and maintenance for the four people.
Additionally, the company has been given the task of looking into the incident to determine its origin.
If the motion is found to had occurred due to the tour boat manager’s crime or inexperience, their operating licence may be suspended, said Ms Manaporn.
In addition, many companies have been ordered to create measures to ensure safety and comfort for boat passengers, she said.
The Marine Department has determined that the visit ship’s license was set to expire on February 8 of next year, according to Ms. Manaporn.
However, the skipper of the vessel, Techasit Jakkarinsukjaroen, has a license for a subsequent- school helmsman of power- driven river vessels. That document will disappear on March 19, 2028.