North Korea says it carried out new test of solid-fuel ICBM
SEOUL: North Korea said on Thursday (Jul 13) it had successfully tested its new intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported, as Pyongyang vented its fury after threatening to down US spy planes it said had violated its airspace. The report from state-run KCNA news agency said the Hwasong-18 – aContinue Reading
Unsold greens a persistent issue for Singapore’s vegetable farms; businesses urge support for local produce
The business usually donates leftover vegetables to nursing homes or needy families but as a last resort, some greens have to be thrown away.
“We spend a lot of time and effort growing these plants and we don’t want our vegetables to go to waste,” said Ms Goh.
“But sometimes it’s more difficult for us to donate because we need to arrange logistics, etc., and it is easier for us to throw them away but it is such a waste.”
At ComCrop, a rooftop urban farm along Woodlands Loop, about 30 per cent of its produce is donated to charities.
Still, the volume of unsold vegetables is an improvement from last year, when about half its harvest had to be given away.
“The leftovers are decreasing, but it’s still a problem. We still have wastage that we are having to donate on a daily basis,” said the company’s chief executive officer Peter Barber.
The farm said poor product placement at stores is among the challenges faced.
“The biggest feedback we have had from Singaporeans is that they can’t find our produce,” said Mr Barber. “So, we have been working closely with (supermarkets) to get better shelf positioning.”
ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
Both farms said low consumer awareness and a lack of support for local produce are major issues. SG Veg Farms, which is located atop a multi-storey carpark along Admiralty Drive, said that even residents in the neighbourhood are unaware of its presence.
Hundreds evacuated in Delhi as water levels rise
ReutersHundreds of residents have been evacuated in the Indian capital Delhi as the water level of the Yamuna river continues to rise.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said it had reached a 45-year high, already rising above the “danger mark”.
Some near Delhi have seen record rainfall so far this monsoon season, which began in June, officials say.
At least 88 people have died in Himachal Pradesh since rains began late last month, local media reported.
On Wednesday in Delhi, people living in makeshift houses next to the river moved to some of the 2,500 relief camps set up in the city, Reuters reports.
“The water level is continuing to rise and there is a flood-like situation,” Mr Kejriwal told reporters, adding that water levels were “likely to rise further”.
Seasonal monsoon rains are a lifeline for India but also typically cause deaths and destruction to property every year.
India has experienced increasingly extreme weather in recent years – the unrelenting rains come just weeks after an extreme heat wave gripped most of north India.
Many factors contribute to flooding, but experts say climate change caused by global warming makes extreme rainfall more likely.
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Pita Limjaroenrat: Thailand’s reformist leader faces uncertain PM vote
EPAThe reformist winner of Thailand’s elections in May faces an uncertain vote as he runs for prime minister at the opening of parliament.
Pita Limjaroenrat swept to victory as voters’ rejected conservative military rule that had been in place since a coup in 2014.
But he needs the support of lawmakers appointed by the same military leaders to secure a majority.
Mr Pita also faces last-minute legal challenges which could disqualify him.
His alliance has 312 votes, which is 64 short of the 376 votes required to be elected prime minister.
Apart from the votes he would need, Mr Pita appeared to face another blow to his ambitions on Wednesday when Thailand’s notoriously conservative Constitutional Court accepted a recommendation from the Election Commission that he be disqualified.
The court says it is now assessing two complaints against the Move Forward leader; one that he holds shares in a media company – although that company has not functioned for 15 years.
The other that Move Forward’s proposal to amend the draconian royal defamation law, which has jailed hundreds of critics of the monarchy, amounts to an attempt to overthrow Thailand’s entire political order.
It is unclear when the Constitutional Court will deliberate on the case, but technically, under Thailand’s laws, Mr Pita can still become prime minister even if he is removed from parliament.
The 42-year-old Harvard graduate and former tech executive has led throngs of orange-clad supporters in big rallies across the country ahead of Thursday’s parliamentary vote.
“I don’t know how long we will have to wait before the golden chance of 13 July will come again,” Mr Pita said at a Sunday rally outside one the biggest shopping malls in the capital, Bangkok.
Ahead of Thursday’s parliament session, outgoing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced his retirement from politics after leading the South East Asian nation for nine years.
Mr Prayuth was the army chief who carried out the 2014 coup to oust the country’s civilian leaders who were accused of massive corruption. It was Thailand’s second military uprising since 2006 and in both instances, a member of the powerful Shinawatra political dynasty was removed from power.
In fact, one of the largest blocs in Mr Pita’s coalition is led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of exiled former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
The decades-old lese majeste laws, which can land people in jail for speaking against the monarchy, were strictly enforced under Mr Prayuth’s leadership and critics said this was used to crush free speech.
During his term, people have been jailed for selling calendars with satirical images of ducks and dressing up like the country’s queen.
Mr Pita described Mr Prayuth’s term as Thailand’s “lost decade” and has promised to end the country’s cycle of corruption and military uprisings. He pledged reforms that would “demilitarise, demonopolise and decentralise” the country.
One of his most contentious campaign promises is to amend the lese majeste laws, which will prove difficult as the monarchy is highly regarded by Thais.
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This online marketplace helps new mothers find a confinement nanny after they give birth
To shortlist a confinement nanny, download the NannyStreet app (available at Google Play Store or App Store ), and indicate your estimated due date. Specify your criteria, including whether you prefer her to stay with you or have alternative accommodation, her cooking experience and other factors.
You can then interview potential candidates through the app via text, phone, or video call, and discuss their responsibilities, fees and your requests.
After both parties agree on the terms, you’ll submit a deposit for the confinement nanny’s services via credit card to secure the arrangement.
NannyStreet also offers services such as pre- and post-natal massages, long-term babysitting, and administrative support for the paperwork involved in hiring a confinement nanny.
Fang Rong plays a young Joanne Peh in Last Madame prequel, was frequently told she looks like the actress
In the course of her career as a child actress, she’s played younger versions of many actresses’ characters, including Rebecca Lim and Zoe Tay, she shared. Of course, Sisters Of The Night marks the first time it’s been more than a few flashback scenes.
It’s also the first time she’s working with Gini Chang and Zhang Ze Tong of Star Search 2019 fame – two actors she’s long wanted to collaborate with.
“When I watched Gini’s performance in the Star Search finals, I was mesmerised by her acting and knew that I really wanted to work with her,” Fang Rong said. “The chemistry between us was amazing on set as sisters of the night!”
And, “I was also super excited to work with Ze Tong as a love interest for the first time because whenever we bumped into each other, we’d say, ‘One day, we need to work together’. We finally got the chance. And, actually, on a random note, I dreamt of filming with Ze Tong a week before I found out he had been cast. I somewhat predicted it in a way, in my dreams, or manifested it in some sense!”
Joint maritime law in focus
The ninth edition of the Southeast Asia Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative (SEAMLEI) Commander’s Forum kicked off on Tuesday with the aim of channelling discussion on the application of joint maritime law in Southeast Asia.
This year’s forum was co-hosted by the US Coast Guard and the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (ThaiMECC). It wraps up tomorrow.
Representatives from Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines attended. Cambodia’s marine force announced its absence earlier.
SEAMLEI forums, divided into the Commanders’ Forum and the Working Group Forum, are held annually with member nations and the Coast Guard, one of the main hosts, in attendance.
The Commander’s Forum is held with the aim of strengthening cooperation regarding the application of maritime law in the Southeast Asian region and discussing the main challenges there, such as the law regarding illegal, unreported, and unregulated Fishing (IUU fishing), maritime domain awareness (MDA), and other topics.
For this year’s Commanders’ Forum, talks at the four-day meeting were expected to focus on illegal trading, climate change — and its effect on the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) — and the management of sea pollution.
It also included a revision of the initiative’s standard operating procedure (SOP), which could lead to a mutual agreement among the SEAMLEI members.
House mulls action on road collapse
The House of Representatives yesterday met to discuss an urgent motion filed in response to the deadly collapse of an elevated road under construction on Luang Phaeng Road on Monday evening.
Theerarat Samrejvanich, Pheu Thai Party MP for Bangkok, filed another urgent motion in the meeting, chaired by House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, asking for cooperation from related agencies to brainstorm ideas to find the cause and ways of preventing similar tragedies from recurring following the collapsed road in Lat Krabang district.
Ms Theerarat urged related agencies to provide appropriate compensation to all affected people as the 3,500 baht the companies gave the accident victims to cover their monthly house rent was deemed insufficient.
She urged those parties responsible for building the road to boost the confidence of motorists.
Move Forward Party (MFP) list-MP Surachet Praweewongwut said concerned agencies should collect more data and evidence in order to learn from the incident.
A joint consortium comprising two construction companies must also face a review to see if they are still considered fit to undertake such work.
Mr Surachet said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) should explain why it allowed the contractors to directly use precast concrete components from a factory in lieu of on-site moulding as stipulated by the contract. They should also explain how closely they supervised the project, he added.
Also yesterday, Surajit Pongsingwittaya, a Pheu Thai councillor for Lat Krabang district, proposed an urgent motion to the Bangkok Metropolitan Council to form an extraordinary committee to monitor other large infrastructure projects under the BMA.
Most of the Bangkok councillors reportedly agreed with the proposal.
However, it was opposed by Napapon Chirakul, the Democrat councillor for Bangkok Noi district, who claimed the formation of such a committee would interfere with the work of the BMA’s Committee on Public Works and Utilities, which is in charge of regulating large-scale projects in Bangkok.
“Based on this incident, I agree with forming a committee to only inspect the collapsed elevated road in Lat Krabang district,” he said.
“However, I am against the move to inspect all the other projects in Bangkok as that would get in the way of the work of the Committee on Public Works and Utilities,” added Mr Napapon who chairs the committee.
Chinese fugitives under watch
Thai and Chinese police have agreed to step up cooperation in cases involving Chinese criminal suspects fleeing to Thailand from China to avoid arrest.
Immigration Bureau (IB) officials, led by Pol Lt Gen Pakpoompipat Sajjapan, recently visited China to discuss international crimes involving Chinese citizens.
Pol Lt Gen Pakpoompipat, who received the order from national police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas, travelled to Kunming for discussions with China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Yunan province’s Public Security Department, and related agencies from Saturday till yesterday.
The IB’s deputy chief, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nutchanart said talks with Chinese authorities follow numerous reports of Chinese criminals fleeing to Thailand and Chinese committing crimes in Thailand.
The IB exchanged reports with the Chinese authorities about Chinese criminals to improve cooperation between the two countries and to try and prevent criminal elements from fleeing and settling in Thailand to commit additional crimes.
Pol Maj Gen Phanthana said the discussion panels agreed to exchange information regarding the arrest warrants of Chinese suspects who would flee to Thailand or have some relationship with the country.
The Chinese authorities also promised to send a list of their most wanted suspects to the Thailand IB to follow up on their whereabouts and to import that information into the IB’s notification system for future action.
The panel will also gather reports on international fugitives for future discussions, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana said.
Templeâs bid to save old cannons fails
NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Contractors are proceeding with dismantling century-old cannons at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan in this southern province despite the temple’s order to halt the process until the Fine Arts Department (FAD) has conducted an inspection.
Reports said the temple will be nominated as a Unesco World Heritage site. The contractors were hired to renovate the temple grounds and building before the nomination process begins.
However, last month the contractors dismantled old cannons that used to be exhibited on the temple grounds without an official order from the FAD.
It was reported yesterday that the contractors have proceeded with the dismantling again despite effort by the temple authorities to halt the process.
Phra Dhamma Vajirakorn, the abbot of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, said he is expecting the FAD and the contractors to discuss the matter before any artefacts are permanently destroyed.
Temple spokeman Chalerm Jitramat said the contractors are obliged under the contract to complete the renovation process.
However, the work should be supervised by the FAD. He said the department has not sent anyone to inspect the renovation work so far.
He added the renovation plan covers five prayer halls.
However, it is still lacking clear instructions about detailed construction work or the required budget, he noted.
Phanombootra Chandrajoti, director-general of the FAD, addressed Nakhon Si Thammarat governor Apinan Phuakphong and the staff assigned to prepare for the Unesco nomination bid earlier, saying the renovation work does not require any documentation.