Heavy traffic expected at land checkpoints for Hari Raja Haji holiday
SINGAPORE: Motorists planning to cross into Malaysia for the Hari Raya Haji holiday are advised to factor in additional waiting time for immigration clearance, as heavy traffic is expected at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints from Wednesday (Jun 28) to next Monday.
“Travellers departing by car should expect waiting times of close to three hours for peak periods over long weekends, similar to pre-COVID days,” the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in an advisory issued on Tuesday.
The land checkpoints saw continuous heavy traffic during the June school holidays and peaked at about 430,000 crossings on Jun 16, exceeding pre-COVID levels.
More than 1.2 million travellers – averaging about 406,000 crossings a day – used the land checkpoints between Jun 16 and 18, ICA said.
“During that weekend, ICA noted that there were long queues of cars waiting to clear departure coupled with continuous tailbacks from Malaysia,” it added. “Despite the start of school on Jun 26, more than 1.1 million travellers cleared through immigration at the land checkpoints in the last weekend (Jun 24 to 26).”
Motorists are advised to check the traffic situation at the land checkpoints through the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s One Motoring website, or via the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System installed along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).
Updates are also available through ICA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as from local radio broadcasts.
Heavy traffic expected at land checkpoints for Hari Raya Haji holiday
SINGAPORE: Motorists planning to cross into Malaysia for the Hari Raya Haji holiday are advised to factor in additional waiting time for immigration clearance, as heavy traffic is expected at both Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints from Wednesday (Jun 28) to next Monday.
“Travellers departing by car should expect waiting times of close to three hours for peak periods over long weekends, similar to pre-COVID days,” the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in an advisory issued on Tuesday.
The land checkpoints saw continuous heavy traffic during the June school holidays and peaked at about 430,000 crossings on Jun 16, exceeding pre-COVID levels.
More than 1.2 million travellers – averaging about 406,000 crossings a day – used the land checkpoints between Jun 16 and 18, ICA said.
“During that weekend, ICA noted that there were long queues of cars waiting to clear departure coupled with continuous tailbacks from Malaysia,” it added. “Despite the start of school on Jun 26, more than 1.1 million travellers cleared through immigration at the land checkpoints in the last weekend (Jun 24 to 26).”
Motorists are advised to check the traffic situation at the land checkpoints through the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s One Motoring website, or via the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System installed along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).
Updates are also available through ICA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as from local radio broadcasts.
Pita: Senators should not abuse lese majeste law issue
They risk pitting the monarchy against the people, he says
Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat has warned senators not to use his party’s intention to amend the lese majeste law as an excuse to block his election as prime minister, because that would pit the institution against the people.
Mr Pita said at the parliament on Tuesday that any attempt to use MFP’s plan to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code to prevent his becoming prime minister was an issue of concern.
“That is tantamount to letting the people’s voice clash directly with the institution. It is inappropriate and dangerous,” Mr Pita said while leading his party’s new MPs to report to the House secretariat.
Section 112 protects the royal institution from being offended.
“Section 112 has been used as a political tool against people with different opinions, and that does no good for any institution,” he said.
The leader of the election-winning party confirmed that he would maintain the system of constitutional monarchy in Thailand.
“Many parties still misunderstand. Amendment is not revocation. There have been talks with senators and they are starting to understand that to maintain the constitutional monarchy there must be suitable changes at a time when Thailand is in a period of transition,” Mr Pita said.
Asked to comment on senators who announced they would not vote for him as prime minister, Mr Pita said he hoped they would adhere to the principle of not going against the people’s voice. His party won 151 House seats, more than any other party.
The constitution allows senators to join House representatives in voting for a prime minister at a joint sitting. The parliament consists of 500 elected representatives and 250 appointed senators.
To become prime minister, Mr Pita needs the support of a majority of the 750 members of the joint parliament – at least 376 votes.
Mr Pita claimed on Tuesday that he did have enough support in the Senate to ensure his election as prime minister.
House now has only 499 MPs
Move Forward list-MP disqualified
The House of Representatives now has 499 members, one short of the full complement of 500, following Moe Forward list-MP Nateepat Kulsetthasitha’s formal conviction and sentencing for drunk driving two days after the general election.
On May 16, MP-elect Ms Nateepat, 27th on the Move Forward party list, announced her resignation after she was arrested earlier that day by police for driving while over the limit for alcohol.
That same day, she was sentenced by the Min Buri Criminal Court to two months in jail and fined 4,000 baht. She was order to undertake 12 hours of community services and banned from driving for six months. The prison sentence was then suspended for two years and she was placed on probation for one year.
The Election Commission on June 19 endorsed all 500 MPs-elect including Ms Nateepat, who confirmed her intention to resign but said she had been told she must first complete election procedures.
House of Representatives secretary-general Pornpit Phetcharoen said that on Monday her office received a letter from the Min Buri Criminal Court saying the case was finalised. Therefore, Ms Nateepat had lost her MP status under Section 101 (13) of the law on the election of MPs. The Move Forward Party had been informed of this.
The next candidate on Move Forward’s party list would replace her after the House speaker was selected, Mrs Pornpit said.
His Majesty the King will open the new parliament on July 3. The House speaker will be selected at a joint sitting of parliament on July 4.
China calls West’s economic de-risking a ‘false proposition’
This week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum in the port city of Tianjin – known colloquially as the Summer Davos – is the first of its kind after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will last until Thursday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in January described the EU’s approach to China as “de-risking rather than decoupling” since the bloc still sought to work and trade with Beijing.
And President Joe Biden has kept former leader Donald Trump’s hard line on China, and in some areas gone further, including banning exports of high-end semiconductors to the rising power.
Responding to Beijing’s heated criticism of the move, Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing last week insisted that the United States was not seeking “economic containment” of China.
“But at the same time,” he said, “it’s not in our interest to provide technology to China that could be used against us.”
5% GROWTH TARGET
China is on course to achieve its five per cent target for economic growth in 2023 set by Beijing earlier this year, Li also told the audience at the forum, which is being attended by leaders from New Zealand, Mongolia, Vietnam and Barbados, as well as a large delegation from Saudi Arabia.
“For the whole year, we are expected to achieve the target of about five per cent economic growth set at the beginning of this year,” Li said.
“We are fully confident and capable of pushing ahead the steady and long-term development of China’s economy on the track of high-quality development in the relative long term.”
China is grappling with a slowing post-COVID recovery, with a number of lacklustre indicators in recent weeks signalling the rebound is running out of steam.
Beijing’s central bank last week cut two key interest rates in a bid to counter the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
And reports this month have suggested Beijing is lining up a tranche of measures targeting multiple areas of the economy, particularly the real estate sector, which makes up a huge portion of gross domestic product.
Beijing set an economic growth target of “around five per cent” in March, one of its lowest in decades as it emerged from strict zero-Covid rules that hammered business activity.
Premier Li at the time said the target would be “no easy task”.
Why the Titanic disaster continues to enthrall
The question on many minds this week is why did some of the world’s richest men risk death to venture to the bottom of the sea in a cold and cramped “experimental” submersible for a chance to glimpse the wreck of the Titanic?
The “unsinkable” ship that sank on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg is arguably the world’s most well-known boat.
The Titanic is recognizable to more of the world’s population than, say, the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, Christopher Colombus’ fleet that launched the Spanish conquest of the Americas, or Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour, the tall ship that set in motion the British conquest of Australia. The Endeavour’s long-forgotten wreck was found scuttled off the coast of Rhode Island just last year.
The Titanic’s maiden voyage and calamitous end was one of the biggest news stories of 1912, and has continued to fascinate us ever since. The disaster inspired songs and multiple films in the 20th century, including James Cameron’s 1997 epic romance, which long reigned as the highest-grossing film of all time.
More recently, Titanic exhibitions that invite visitors to examine relics and explore the ship’s re-created rooms have attracted huge crowds in New York, Seville and Hong Kong.
Opulence and immigrants
There are two reasons we are so drawn to the Titanic, and why the super-rich are apparently willing to part with their money and even risk their lives to catch a glimpse of its broken hull.
The first is its opulence. The White Star Line that built the Titanic advertised the ship as the most luxurious ever to set sail. Wealthy passengers paid up to £870 for the privilege of occupying the Titanic’s most expensive and spacious first-class cabins. To put this 110-year-old money in perspective, when the First World War Broke out in 1914, infantry soldiers in the British Army were paid a basic salary of around £20 per year.
Titanic movies and exhibitions are popular because audiences enjoy the voyeurism of gazing on the ship’s beautiful furnishings, the stunning clothes worn by its rich and beautiful passengers, and their elaborate meals in fancy restaurants.
First-class passengers feasted on multi-course dinners with salmon, steak, and pâté de foie gras. Chefs around the globe occasionally re-create Titanic meals for curious clients.
Hundreds of poor immigrant passengers, represented by Jack (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) in Cameron’s movie, were also aboard the Titanic. They lived in crowded quarters and enjoyed less thrilling meals such as boiled beef and potatoes. If their ilk had been the only people on board the Titanic, the ship would arguably have faded quickly from memory.
The power of the sea
The fact that the Titanic was touted as unsinkable also adds to its allure. The ship, whose name evoked its massive size, was engineered to cheat the ocean. When it departed England it symbolized man’s domination over nature. At the bottom of the Atlantic, it serves as a visceral reminder of the indomitable sea’s awesome power.
The same two factors – the excess of the voyage and its defeat by the sea – are now driving the current global interest in the Titan submersible disaster. Few world events garner so much attention, including statements from Downing Street and the White House, and live news blogs from The New York Times and The Guardian.
The Titan, like the Titanic, commands our attention because of its obscenely rich passengers, who each reportedly paid US$250,000 (or between four and five times the average US salary) to visit the wreck of the famous ship that battled the sea and lost.
And then there is the intriguing mystery and power of the sea. News outlets are publishing helpful graphics that try to teach our terrestrial brains to comprehend just how deep the ocean is, and how far below the sea’s surface the Titanic and possibly the Titan lie.
The limits of human knowledge
Neal Argawal’s Deep Sea website is circulating on social media. The site allows viewers to scroll from the sea surface to the sea floor, diving down past images of various marine animals that inhabit different oceanic depths.
At 114 meters is an orca, and 332 meters marks the the deepest depth a human has ever reached using scuba gear. It takes a lot of scrolling to descend to the Titanic almost 4,000 meters below the waves.
Besides gross income inequality, reflecting on the Titan and the Titanic invites us to confront just how little we can “see” of the sea in this age of mass surveillance. Not even the powerful US Navy, assisted by the Canadian, UK and French governments, could muster the resources and technology required to locate, let alone rescue, the missing submersible.
As the sea seems to have swallowed yet another ship, we are reminded of limits of human knowledge and mastery over the ocean.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Imran Khan: Pakistan army sacks three officers over May protests
ReutersPakistan’s army has fired three senior officers for their conduct during protests following the May arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.
The rare public announcement did not name the officers, only saying that they failed to protect army properties.
Pakistan’s powerful military wields massive political influence and Mr Khan’s supporters blame it for his removal as prime minister.
Mr Khan was arrested on corruption charges, sparking nationwide unrest.
Thousands of Mr Khan’s supporters tore through military buildings across the country, setting them on fire, including the house of an army general. At least eight people died in the protests.
More than 5,000 people were arrested after the incident, although most were later released.
But more than 100 people – including civilians – are still on trial in military court following two inquiries led by major generals.
“We had to find out what had gone wrong,” said Major General Ahmad Sharif Chaudry at a press conference on Monday where the sackings were announced.
Fifteen other officials have been punished, he added.
He said that several relatives – including wives – of army officers are among those facing trials for allegedly aiding and abetting the violence.
He did not say how many of those on trial are civilian or military officials, only that they “have the right of access to civil lawyers” as well as the right of appeal.
Human rights groups have voiced concerns over the unfairness of trying civilians in military courts.
Amnesty International said that civilians who are tried in military courts in Pakistan experience a lack of due process, transparency, and are subject to coerced confessions in “grossly unfair trials“.
Three petitions against the trial have been filed in Pakistan’s Supreme Court, including by Mr Khan’s political party.
The army has accused the leaders of Mr Khan’s PTI party – of premeditated arson, naming the 70-year-old former prime minister in at least two criminal cases over the protest.
Mr Khan, who much of the public views as a political outsider untouched by corruption, was ousted from power last year in a vote of no confidence.
Since then, Mr Khan had repeatedly locked horns with the Pakistani military, accusing them of engineering his removal from office — accusations that the army denies.
For decades, the military – either directly or through civilian governments – has held a firm grip over how the country is run.
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Killed student’s kin get insurance money
Life insurance for fire-drill tragedy
The Education Ministry has distributed life insurance money and other financial assistance to the family members of a Mathayom Suksa 6 student who was killed when a fire extinguisher exploded during a fire drill at his Bangkok school on Friday.
Permanent secretary for education, Atthapol Sangkhawasi, met on Monday with the family of Khumthong “Benz” Premmanee, 18, who died in the incident at the Rajavinit Mathayom School in Nang Loeng area, Dusit district, to present them with the funds.
Niyom Phaisopha, director-general of Bangkok Secondary Educational Service Area Office 1, and Theprit Yodsai, the school director, also joined the visit.
The family received 200,000 baht in life insurance compensation through the school, with an additional 30,000 baht for the death from the Education Ministry and 5,000 for his family members from the permanent secretary’s office, Mr Atthapol said.
The Education Ministry has also given 5,000 baht to each family of those injured.
The ministry also planned to invite psychiatrists to the school when it reopens tomorrow.
Mr Atthapol said the ministry had ordered all schools to recheck their fire safety equipment.
The ministry has also ordered all schools through their provincial educational offices to take extra care when conducting fire drills or any activities that risk student safety, including checking equipment.
Meanwhile, Bunjong Sukritha, secretary-general of the Thailand Industrial Standards Institute (TISI), said the institute had approved Thai Industrial Standards (TSI) for three types of extinguishers: foam extinguishers, dry chemical compound extinguishers, and carbon dioxide extinguishers.
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