Uni students win big at Hong Leong Bankâs generative AI hackathon
‘Can You Hack It’ saw solutions to improve customer & workplace experience
Alignment with HLB brand values which strongly promote a culture of innovation
Hong Leong Bank (HLB) organized Malaysia’s first Generative AI-themed hackathon in Dec, with its sixth annual ‘HLB Can You Hack It’ hackathon. With 90 teams of students, fresh graduates,…Continue Reading
Taiwan election: China warns voters then condemns US ‘brazen chattering’
ReutersChina has warned voters in Taiwan to make the “right choice”, two days before presidential elections on the self-ruled island which Beijing claims.
A win for the ruling party candidate William Lai would pose a danger to relations, China said.
It also criticised “brazen chattering” by the US after Washington warned Beijing not to stoke tensions ahead of Saturday’s vote.
Who wins the poll could push the island further towards, or away from, Beijing.
Taiwan is a key flashpoint in the tussle between China and the US for supremacy in Asia.
China’s Taiwan Affairs office said Mr Lai would further promote separatist activities if he were elected.
“[He] would continue to follow the evil path of provoking ‘independence’ and… take Taiwan ever further away from peace and prosperity, and ever closer to war and decline,” it said in a statement.
Mr Lai, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has called for voters to “choose the right path” to maintain Taiwan’s sovereignty. His main opponent, Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT), has called Mr Lai a danger to relations with China.
Many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation – although most are in favour of maintaining the status quo where Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.
The island sees itself as distinct from the mainland – but China’s government says it is a breakaway province that will, eventually, be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.
Mr Lai had been narrowly in front in the presidential race before polling stopped on 2 January. Parliamentary elections are also being held.
China’s message to voters came as it told the US to stop commenting on the election.
The foreign ministry in Beijing issued a sharp rebuke to Washington after the US said it would send an unofficial delegation to Taiwan after the vote.
The US government must “refrain from intervening in the elections… so as to avoid causing serious damage to US-China relations”, a spokesperson said.
China “expresses… resolute opposition to the American side’s brazen chattering about the elections in the Taiwan region”.
Beijing has said Taiwan’s voters face a choice between peace and war in the elections.
On Thursday’s Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu criticised China for its “repeated interference” in Saturday’s vote.
“Frankly, Beijing should stop messing with other countries’ elections & hold their own,” Mr Wu posted on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.
-
-
2 days ago
-
-
-
3 days ago
-
-
-
6 October 2021
-
Vietnam’s top leader misses meetings amid health concerns
The head of Vietnam’s Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong is expected to miss on Friday (Jan 12) the second state visit of a foreign leader to Hanoi in less than a week amid concerns about his health. Trong, 79, who has been at the helm of the party since 2011,Continue Reading
Germany’s Scholz slams ‘fanatics’ after far-right deportation row
BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged democrats to stand against far-right “fanatics” after reports emerged of Alternative for Germany party members attending a meeting where expelling citizens with foreign ethnic backgrounds was discussed. The AfD did not deny that two of its senior politicians attended the November meeting in aContinue Reading
Former ministers face bribery charges over labour exports
DSI says total of B36 million paid out to secure work in Finland for Thai berry pickers
PUBLISHED : 11 Jan 2024 at 18:14
UPDATED : 11 Jan 2024 at 18:35
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) says it will file charges against two former ministers and two high-level officials at the Ministry of Labour for allegedly demanding 36 million baht in exchange for approving the export of Thai workers to Finland.
The DSI said on Thursday that it has evidence to back the bribery allegations against the four individuals, with some of the evidence coming from authorities in Finland.
The statement did not name the politicians or officials.
According to the DSI, a group of politicians, civil servants and civilians demanded that a Thai job broker pay an average of 3,000 baht for each worker destined to work harvesting wild berries in the Scandinavian country.
The broker in turn passed the special requirement on to about 12,000 Thai workers exported from 2020 to 2023. They had to pay altogether about 36 million baht in addition to other expenses.
The DSI said that both it and public prosecutors had agreed to press the charges with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
From 2020 to 2023 the labour minister was Suchart Chomklin, now a list MP and deputy leader of United Thai Nation, one of the parties in the governing coalition.
The veteran Chon Buri politician said on Thursday that he was innocent and would defend himself in the justice system.
“I did nothing wrong and I have no worries,” he said. “I have never been summoned for questioning and neither have any government officials.”
Suchart Chomklin, who served as labour minister from 2020-23, chats with Thai workers during a visit to a berry picking site in Finland in 2022. He has denied any involvement in the bribery alleged by the DSI. (Photo: Ministry of Labour)
Bukit Merah hawkers say business worse than during COVID-19 pandemic after reports of tuberculosis cases
“VERY BAD” BUSINESS
Mr Yong, a hawker who sells soup at ABC Brickworks, closed his stall due to the drop in business.
The 69-year-old, who declined to give his full name, had gone for his mandatory screening on Thursday but decided to head home after.
“When the newspaper announced the screening, there was a 50 per cent drop in business,” he said in Mandarin.
“Since there is such a drop in business, I might as well take a break and don’t waste my time. If you cannot earn money you might as well rest. The ingredients I use to make my soup are not cheap,” he said.
Another hawker whose stall sells satay and chicken wings described the situation as “very, very bad”.
“Not only me, every store (is bad). I think it will be like this for a few weeks. Hopefully it will be better soon,” said Mr Lim, who also cited having 50 per cent fewer customers than before.
Personally, Mr Lim is not worried about his health as he has read about how tuberculosis is spread.
According to MOH, transmission of the tuberculosis bacteria from active cases usually requires prolonged exposure – days to weeks of exposure rather than minutes to hours. It also said a person cannot get tuberculosis from sharing cups, utensils or food.
Tuberculosis is also not spread through shaking hands, kissing or touching bed linens or toilet seats.
Referring to this information, a regular patron who gave his name as Mr Loh, said: “Life has to go on. You just have to take precautions.”
Mr Loh, who was seen seated at the food centre, said he was in the area about four to five times a week to visit a relative.
The 54-year-old, who works in the technology industry, intends to go for voluntary screening but notes that the disease is not as serious as COVID-19.
“COVID is more serious, because it’s more infections and it spreads very fast and the impact can be felt within days. So this one probably we just have to be more cautious, so wear masks when necessary.”
Expressing the same sentiments, Mr Chua told the media: “TB is quite unlike COVID. It does not spread as easily.”
“There’s plenty of good hawker food here at this market,” he added.
“And I’m sure that we will all like to continue supporting our favourite hawkers so that their livelihoods are not too adversely impacted.”
Highly transmissible but mild Covid strain now dominant
Virologist expects JN.1 cases to soar for a few weeks before dropping again
PUBLISHED : 11 Jan 2024 at 18:01
The JN.1 strain of Covid-19, which is highly transmissible but with mild symptoms, is now dominant in the country, says the well-known virologist Yong Poovorawan.
The strain was first detected in the United States and is expected to replace all other strains of Covid-19 because it spreads so easily, he wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
“Those infected with the JN.1 strain will not have severe symptoms. Some people only have a cold and sore throat, like ordinary respiratory illnesses,” said Prof Yong, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University.
“It is highly transmissible and repeated infection is possible. So, cases will soar, especially after New Year. Their number will start to drop in February and plunge in March.”
Later infections will subside until the next spread season starts in June, he wrote.
Dr Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said Covid-19 still needs to be monitored closely because it mutates continuously.
Although most people have immunity and their symptoms are mild, vulnerable people should take precautions, especially elderly people, pregnant women and those with hypertension, chronic kidney failure, obesity and cancer, he warned.
Last year there were 652,868 Covid-19 cases, with 848 deaths linked to the disease. Dr Thongchai expects there will be 649,520 Covid-19 cases this year.
Penang’s startup ecosystem receives recognition with Georgetown as 8th ranked city in Southeast AsiaÂ
Georgetown is 2nd highest-ranked city in Malaysia with KL at 4th spot
Supporting startup ecosystem part of plan to attract high-tech industries
In a statement, Digital Penang marked a significant milestone for Penang’s technology startup ecosystem as it received the “Outstanding Ecosystem among Medium-Sized Population Cities in Southeast Asia 2023” award from StartupBlink, a leading startup…Continue Reading
CNA Explains: Why some Singapore commuters are upset about transitioning to SimplyGo
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) announcement that bus and train payment cards must be upgraded has roused online discussions about whether such a move was necessary.
What’s going to change, and why?
From Jun 1, adult EZ-Link cards and NETS FlashPay cards can no longer be used on buses and trains, LTA announced on Tuesday (Jan 9).
Commuters who are using these payment methods will have to upgrade their cards to SimplyGo EZ-Link cards or exchange them for NETS Prepaid Cards.
Concession card users will not be affected. Those who are using contactless bank cards and mobile wallets on phones or smartwatches are already on the SimplyGo platform, which was introduced in 2019, and also will not be affected.
Around two-thirds of adult public transport fares are currently paid through SimplyGo EZ-Link cards or bank cards.
“With the growing adoption of SimplyGo payment methods, and the legacy card-based ticketing system for adult commuters nearing the end of its operational lifespan, we are therefore transitioning all adult commuters to the SimplyGo platform,” said LTA.
The authority also highlighted the benefits of SimplyGo, such as topping up multiple EZ-Link cards using its mobile app; blocking transactions if a card is misplaced; and receiving notifications on fares and card balances.
Last March, the LTA announced that the EZ-Link and TransitLink SimplyGo mobile apps would be merged into a single platform. At the time, the authority said there would be no change to how commuters paid their fares. There was also no indication that older EZ-Link cards would be phased out.
China coast guard enters disputed waters in the East China Sea
BEIJING/TOKYO: The Chinese coast guard said it patrolled the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands on Thursday (Jan 11) to conduct “right protection” cruises. The East China Sea islets are claimed by both China and Japan, which calls them the Senkaku Islands, and have long been a sticking point inContinue Reading