Huawei announces royalty rates for its patent license programs
To date, Huawei has entered into almost 200 bi-lateral patent licenses
Promotes IP protection and balance between innovation and adoption
One of the world’s largest patent holders, Huawei, announced royalty rates for its handsets, Wi-Fi, and IoT patent license programs. “Huawei is willing to share cutting-edge innovations in the form of patents with the…Continue Reading
Rocket explodes during Japan space agency test
A rocket engine exploded during a test in Japan, the latest in a series of failed experiments in the country’s space programme.
The footage shows the rocket in flames out the side of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency test facility in Noshiro city in Akita Prefecture. The building was then covered in flames before the roof blew off.
No injuries were reported.
Singapore Transport Minister S Iswaran was arrested and released on bail as part of CPIB probe
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Transport Minister S Iswaran was arrested on Tuesday (Jul 11) and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said on Friday. The anti-graft agency had announced on Wednesday that Mr Iswaran was assisting with a case it uncovered, although it did not reveal the nature of theContinue Reading
Heralded teacher accused of accommodation scam
Sacked for poor performance as gambling habit took hold, suspect preyed on other teachers and students
A former award-winning teacher has been arrested on charges of duping more than 100 teachers through a Facebook scam advertising bookings for accommodations that he did not have.
A team of Metropolitan Police Bureau investigators and police Cyber Task Force Unit 5 arrested Wiwat Wongsa, 36, at a house in Bangkok on Thursday, said Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thammasuthee, the MPB commander.
Mr Wiwat was a former Thai language teacher at a well-known school in Bangkok. He graduated from a famous university with first-class honours and won the Outstanding Thai Language Teacher Award in 2017.
However, in 2020 he was sacked from the school after his performance dropped and he did not show up for work for several days due to his addiction to online gambling, police said.
Without a job and money, he used his wits to turn to scamming, said investigators.
Mr Wiwat reportedly told police that he saw an opportunity when many teachers and students wanted to find accommodations when they travelled upcountry. He also posted a picture of himself in his civil servant uniform and used his high profile as an acclaimed teacher to establish credibility.
The most recent victims were a group of students and teachers who had booked accommodation in Nan for the 70th Student Arts and Crafts Competition from Feb 3-5.
The police said at least 100 teachers had been duped during the past year or so, causing damages of hundreds of thousands of baht.
In addition, investigators said, Mr Wiwat ran a sensual massage scam targeting LGBTQ customers. He had been on the run for years and changed his whereabouts every two weeks.
An undercover investigator posed as a customer and eventually tracked Mr Wiwat to a place in the Ram Intra area. Police arrested him on Thursday as he was preparing to move again.
Police said Mr Wiwat was wanted on four other arrest warrants for fraud in Nakhon Sawan and Samut Sakhon and in Bang Yi Rua and Wang Thonglang districts in Bangkok.
Mr Wiwat admitted all wrongdoings, also apologised to everyone and asked for a second chance as a volunteer teacher, police said.
Five cases of new Covid subvariant found
EG.5.1 is known to spread quickly but has mild symptoms, say health officials
Thailand has detected five cases of a new coronavirus XBB subvariant called EG.5.1 which is known to spread quickly but has mild symptoms, according to the Department of Medical Sciences.
The department found one person infected with the EG.5.1 subvariant in April, three cases in May and another in June. The patients did not have severe symptoms, said Dr Supakit Sirilak, the department chief.
Dr Supakit explained that EG.5.1 or XBB.1.9.2.5.1 belongs to Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.9.2, ,which has a mutation in spike proteins S:F456L and S:Q52H that accelerates its speed of transmission by 45% more than XBB.1.16.
In Asia, he said, the new subvariant has been found in 11 countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel, Laos, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and India.
The Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) has reported 1,385 cases of EG.5.1 in Europe, 203 in Oceania, 35 in North America, four in Central America and one case in South America.
In Asia between June 4 and July 4, the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 was still the dominant strain, followed by XBB.1.9.1 and EG.5.1.
Currently, the World Health Organization has focused on eight Omicron subvariants, including two variants of interest which are XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16. Six variants classified as under monitoring are BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2 and XBB.2.3.
Delhi river reaches record high in monsoon floods
NEW DELHI: The river running through India’s capital New Delhi has reached a record high due to monsoon floods, authorities said on Friday (Jul 14) as army engineers were deployed to try to contain the waters. The Yamuna River was flowing in an “#EXTREME FLOOD SITUATION”, India’s central water commissionContinue Reading
Volatility in the Malaysian ringgit to remain, policy tweaks could smoothen ride
Currency dealers said that Bank Negara was already present in the market in recent weeks to lessen volatility in the local market, which directly resulted in the drop in the country’s international reserves. The central bank’s international reserves stayed in a downtrend for three straight months and declined by US$1.3Continue Reading
Move Forward Party leader Pita’s prime minister bid defeat ‘a blow to the Thai electorate’: Analysts
But it may be an uphill task for Mr Pita to get more senators to vote for him, and over a short few days. All senators were appointed under the junta-drafted constitution.
“I don’t think it’s a given that he can convince enough of them. He needs another 51 votes,” said Dr Ockey, whose research interests include comparative politics and Southeast Asia.
“It may be that he can win over a few votes from opposition parties, but he won’t get enough (votes) there. So he has to win more senators.”
Move Forward’s main ally Pheu Thai Party is expected to stick with Mr Pita for the second ballot for a new prime minister next week, said observers.
“If they’re seen as quickly flipping sides and moving to work with the caretaker government parties, then it could be politically damaging,” said Mr Jay Harriman, senior director at BowerGroupAsia.
“The easiest route for Pheu Thai is probably to give Pita one more chance before deciding on alternative options.”
Dr Montesano noted that if Pheu Thai teamed up with parties associated with a previous military-backed government, many voters would be very upset, and that could be one trigger for unrest.
“If Pheu Thai worked out a compromise and continued to work with Move Forward and Move Forward remained in the coalition, voters might be less upset,” he said.
Economists gloomy on Singaporeâs outlook despite dodging technical recession
IS A TECHNICAL RECESSION OUT OF THE PICTURE? Singapore’s economy grew 0.7 per cent year-on-year for the April to June period, according to advanced GDP estimates released by MTI on Friday. On-quarter, the economy recovered to positive territory at 0.3 per cent, from a 0.4 per cent contraction in theContinue Reading
Thailand’s next PM: If not Pita, then who?
BANGKOK: The Thai parliament’s rejection of reformist democrat Pita Limjaroenrat’s bid for prime minister has sparked a flurry of behind-the-scenes jostling ahead of a fresh vote by lawmakers to elect the country’s leader next week. Pita’s Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in the May elections but itsContinue Reading