CelcomDigi launches MY5G series to accelerate 5G adoption across businesses
Kicked off with MY5G CEO Roundtable bringing together diverse industry leaders
Collaboration with global partners for insights on effective transformation with 5G
CelcomDigi Bhd, on 3rd July, kicked off the first of a three-part CelcomDigi MY5G CEO Roundtable 2023, as part of the CelcomDigi MY5G Series, aimed at helping businesses realise the…Continue Reading
Hong Kong police arrest four men accused of aiding overseas activists
HONG KONG: Hong Kong national security police on Wednesday (Jul 5) arrested four men it accused of supporting overseas dissidents and of advocating for independence from China, two days after issuing warrants and bounties against several foreign-based activists. The four men “were suspected of receiving funds from operating companies, socialContinue Reading
Four Thai hotels among âworldâs top 10â
PM hails performance as sign of a strong tourism sector
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has welcomed the news that four hotels in Thailand have received top-10 scores by La Liste, an authoritative French hotel and restaurant rating guide, a government spokesman says.
The hotels are Capella Bangkok, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Amanpuri in Phuket and Six Senses Yao Noi in Phangnga.
La Liste uses a proprietary algorithm to assign scores out of 100 to hotels around the world. Cipriani in Venice topped the table with a score of 99.75. Scores were then ranked in descending order — 99.5, 99, 98.5, and so on. A total of 200 hotels received “top 10” scores of 95.5 or better, with multiple ties.
Capella Bangkok received a fifth-ranked score of 98, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok received a sixth-ranked score of 97.5, Amanpuri in Phuket scored 96 in ninth place, and Six Senses Yao Noi in Phangnga scored 95.5 in 10th place.
A total of 1,000 hotels worldwide were included in the ranking, including another 20 in Thailand, which all received scores of 90 or more, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said on Wednesday.
The prime minister congratulated all 24 hotels for their good work and promised them full support from the government in terms of tourism promotion, Mr Anucha said.
The other 20 hotels are The Sukhothai Bangkok, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, Rosewood Phuket, Anantara Siam Bangkok, The Standard Hua Hin, The Peninsula Bangkok, Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok, The Okura Prestige Bangkok, Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, The Siam Hotel, Park Hyatt Bangkok, Six Senses Koh Samui, Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, Anantara Chiang Mai Resort, Shangri-La Bangkok, Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, Chakrabongse Villas, The St Regis Bangkok, 137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok and Sri Panwa Phuket.
The latest Hotel Business Operator Sentiment Index, jointly prepared by the Thai Hotels Association and the Bank of Thailand, shows that more than 47% of hotels in Thailand, especially five-star hotels in the South, reported that guests stayed longer on average in May than they did in the same period during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Mr Anucha.
Yellen’s China visit aims at ‘new normal’ with Beijing
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION Yellen is expected to focus on economic issues, but she will remind Chinese counterparts that any move to supply lethal aid to Russia – in violation of sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine – could trigger sanctions on Chinese entities, one senior administration official said. “WeContinue Reading
GPO signs vaccine pact with Korean biotech giant
SK bioscience to lend expertise to help improve regional vaccine security
The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) has bolstered its partnership with SK bioscience of South Korea to enhance regional vaccine security, starting with the production of influenza vaccines scheduled for availability next year.
The cooperation is outlined in a memorandum of understanding signed on Tuesday by GPO representatives, led by director Dr Mingkhwan Suphanpong, and SK bioscience under the leadership of president and CEO Ahn Jae-yong.
Dr Mingkhwan said the GPO will receive technology insights from the Korean pharmaceutical giant pertaining to an influenza vaccine production method involving cell-based inactivated influenza for both three- and four-strain viruses.
She said the Korean company would contribute its expertise and technical know-how to augment Thailand’s manufacturing standards, with the goal of attaining World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification.
It was also a great opportunity to enhance the country’s manufacturing practices throughout the region, Dr Mingkhwan said.
“We expect to finish the first phase of vaccine production by next year. It is a bulk-refilling process,” she said. “And within the next two years, we will be able to produce the entire vaccine from start to finish.”
Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, the GPO chairman and permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Health, said Thailand and Korea maintain a robust partnership in fostering regional health security.
Last year the public health ministries of both countries signed the “Thailand-IVI Ratification Ceremony” in Seoul to increase collaboration through strengthening digital health, health promotion and further cooperation on vaccine research and development.
Meanwhile, Mr Yong praised Thailand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which included robust governmental technology strategies for vaccine security.
He added that these efforts aligned with SK bioscience’s strategy to foster partnerships with promising sectors across various regions, aiming for readiness against future pandemics.
“We have seen strong potential from the GPO and the Thai government for working together on regionalising the vaccine manufacturing method,” he said. “Our close cooperation on vaccine research and manufacturing will finally help strengthen vaccine security in Southeast Asia.”
SK bioscience showed outstanding ability to produce its own Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic. The company is planning to expand its vaccine production operations to many parts of the world, including in Asean markets.
IAEA head Grossi vouches for safety of water release at wrecked Fukushima plant
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Wednesday criticised the move towards discharging the water and threatened action if the plan should move ahead. “The relevant Chinese government departments will strengthen the monitoring of the ocean environment and inspection of marine products import, so as to ensure the health andContinue Reading
DBS digital banking disruption in May due to ‘human error’, preliminary probe finds
SINGAPORE: The disruption to DBS’ digital banking services on May 5, 2023 was caused by human error, according to preliminary investigations by Singapore’s largest lender.
The bank found that “human error in coding the programme that was used for system maintenance” affected access to its online and automated teller machine (ATM) services for over six hours, said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Wednesday (Jul 5).
“The error led to a significant reduction in system capacity, which in turn affected the system’s ability to process internet and mobile banking, electronic payment and ATM transactions,” said Mr Tharman in a written answer to a parliamentary question.
DBS initially said on May 5 that the disruption was caused by a “systems issue”, unrelated to an earlier day-long disruption in March.
According to the bank, the March disruption was caused by “inherent software bugs”, Mr Tharman noted on Wednesday.
CNA has reached out to DBS for more information.
Mr Tharman was responding to Member of Parliament Tan Wu Meng (People’s Action Party-Jurong), who had also asked what was being done to strengthen the reliability and resilience of retail banks’ digital services in Singapore.
Mr Tharman noted the creation of a special committee to investigate the earlier March outage. This committee has been ordered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to extend its review to cover the latest incident, and to use qualified independent third parties.
In May, DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said the committee review would be completed “as a matter of utmost priority” and that DBS would “implement all recommendations expeditiously”.
Jharkhand: Ten sent to jail in India for lynching Muslim man
BBC HindiA court in India has given 10-year jail terms to 10 men for beating a Muslim man to death four years ago.
Tabrez Ansari, 24, died days after being attacked by people who accused him of stealing a motorcycle in the eastern state of Jharkhand.
A video showing Ansari being forced to say chants praising Hindu gods while pleading for his life had gone viral and led to a huge outrage in India.
His family alleged that police denied him treatment despite his injuries.
The state police denied any wrongdoing.
The video footage from the night of 19 June 2019 showed a terrified Ansari tied to an electricity pole and being assaulted by the mob, with blood and tears streaming down his face.
His attackers forced him to repeatedly chant “Jai Shri Ram”, which translates from Hindi to “hail Lord Ram” or “victory to Lord Ram”.
Ansari did as told, but the mob kept assaulting him through the night. He was handed over to police the next day who then arrested him for theft. His family had alleged that they were not allowed to see him.
On 22 June, Ansari complained of nausea, vomiting and chest pain and was transferred to a hospital but he died from injuries sustained during the attack.
Last week, trial court Judge Amit Shekhar convicted the 10 men “guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder”.
The police had been criticised initially for not invoking the more stringent murder charge. Later on they did invoke murder charges against all the accused in a supplementary charge sheet.
However, the judge said there was not enough evidence to convict the accused of murder.
Ansari’s lynching by a Hindu mob was not an isolated incident – there have been several similar incidents reported in India in recent years where Muslims have been attacked by so-called “cow vigilantes” over rumours that they had eaten beef, or that they were trying to smuggle cows – an animal many Hindus consider holy – for slaughter. Cow slaughter is illegal in many Indian states.
The attacks on the minority community have been condemned by opposition politicians. Senior Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi had described Ansari’s lynching as a “blot on humanity”.
Critics say anti-Muslim violence has risen since 2014 under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They say the prime minister has not condemned such attacks quickly or strongly enough.
The government denies this and points out that days after Ansari’s killing, Mr Modi said he was “pained” by the assault.
Earlier too he had said that “killing people in the name of cow was “unacceptable“.
BBC News India is now on YouTube .Click here to subscribe and watch our documentaries, explainers and features.
Read more India stories from the BBC:
- ‘Dozens of Indian men have rejected me over dowry’
- Putin says sanctions making Russia stronger
- The tortured Indian labourers who were kept as slaves
- The daring women standing up to troops in India
- The India show on colliding worlds of crime and media
- When Miss World in India threatened ‘cultural apocalypse’
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22 Zika cases in Singapore in the first half of 2023: Grace Fu
Mr Yong had filed a Parliamentary question asking for an update on the Zika situation in Singapore, and if Project Wolbachia could be used to combat Zika alongside dengue.
Under Project Wolbachia, male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the Wolbachia bacteria are released in an urban environment. They mate with the female Aedes aegypti so that the resulting eggs do not hatch due to incompatible matching.
This will reduce the urban Aedes aegypti mosquito population over time and decrease the potential spread of diseases such as dengue.
The Zika virus is transmitted primarily by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito, so Project Wolbachia has the potential to reduce the risk of Zika outbreaks as well, Ms Fu said in response to Mr Yong’s query.
However she stressed that Project Wolbachia is meant to complement and not replace good housekeeping and basic preventive actions that prevent mosquito breeding.
“We are currently in the midst of the dengue season. I urge all residents to ensure that their homes and surroundings are free of stagnant water, and to take precautions if residing in dengue cluster areas, such as spraying insecticides in dark corners, applying insect repellent and wearing long-sleeves and pants,” Ms Fu said.
PSP asked to apologise and take down ‘sia suay’ video on Ridout Road parliament debate
SINGAPORE: The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) was on Wednesday (Jul 5) asked to apologise and take down from Facebook a video on the Ridout Road debate in parliament. Late on Tuesday night, PSP posted on its Facebook page a clip of its secretary-general as well as Non-Constituency Member of ParliamentContinue Reading