Senegal's old capital on the frontline against rising sea
When work is finished, a black sea wall will stretch for kilometres along the coastline of the West African country's former capital, famed for its colonial-era architecture. Saint-Louis has "already been wiped off the map," said Boubou Aldiouma Sy, a geography professor at the city's Gaston Berger University. It served as the capital of the French colony of Senegal until the capital moved to Dakar shortly before Senegal’s independence in 1960. But experts point out that while it can protect against freak surges, it cannot stop the rising sea. He isn't convinced that his city has met its end, however, highlighting Senegal's nascent oil and gas sector and all its potential.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 04, 2021 02:37 UTC
Fires, floods, flying insects: 10 recent climate-fuelled disasters
Fires, floods, flying insects: 10 recent climate-fuelled disastersGreece's worst heatwave in decades fanned deadly wildfires that burned nearly 100,000 hectares. Scientists say the Mediterranean rim is a climate change "hot spot" with worse to come. The extreme heat was "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change, the World Weather Attribution (WWA) science consortium said. Scientists have warned Australia can expect more frequent and more extreme weather events as a result of climate change. The WWA's analysis said climate change made the historic cold snap -- which devastated most of France's wine regions -- about 70% more likely.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 04, 2021 02:37 UTC
Trading in property giant China Evergrande's shares suspended
Trading in property giant China Evergrande's shares suspendedChina Evergrande is struggling under a mountain of debt worth more than $300 billion. HONG KONG: Embattled property giant China Evergrande on Monday suspended trading in its shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange without giving a reason. "Trading in the shares of China Evergrande Group will be halted," it said in a statement to the exchange. "Accordingly, all structured products relating to the Company will also be halted from trading at the same time." Shares in its electric vehicle company, which last week scrapped a proposed Shanghai listing, were not suspended, though they fell six percent in early trade.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 04, 2021 02:15 UTC
Facebook whistleblower reveals identity, says firm chooses 'profit over safety'
Facebook whistleblower reveals identity, says firm chooses 'profit over safety'Facebook, the world's largest social media platform, faces accusations it is harming teen girls' self image and fueling America's deepening political polarizationWASHINGTON - The whistleblower who shared a trove of Facebook documents alleging the social media giant knew its products were fueling hate and harming children's mental health revealed her identity Sunday in a televised interview, and accused the company of choosing "profit over safety." "Facebook over and over again has shown it chooses profit over safety. It is subsidizing, it is paying for its profits with our safety," Haugen said. But he acknowledged that people with pre-existing issues may not benefit from social media use. "I don't think it's intuitively surprising if you're not feeling great about yourself already, that then going on to social media can actually make you feel a bit worse," he told CNN.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 04, 2021 01:07 UTC
9,930 new Covid cases, 97 deaths Monday
9,930 new Covid cases, 97 deaths MondayThailand logged 9,930 new Covid-19 cases and 97 more fatalities during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Monday morning. On Sunday, 12,336 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovering from the coronavirus. Since April 1, when the third wave of Covid-19 began, Thailand has treated 1,618,499 Covid-19 patients, 1,493,077 of whom have recovered to date. Since the pandemic started early last year, there have been 1,647,362 Covid-19 cases, with 1,520,503 complete recoveries so far. The death toll stood at 17,017 during the third wave and 17,111 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 04, 2021 01:07 UTC
California authorities rush to mitigate impact of major oil spill
California authorities rush to mitigate impact of major oil spillOil washed up on the shore of Huntington Beach, California on October 3, 2021, after a pipeline breach connected to an oil rig off shore started leaking oil, according to an Orange County SupervisorNEWPORT BEACH (UNITED STATES) - Authorities in California's beachfront Orange County cities scrambled Sunday to mitigate the fallout from a major oil spill off the coast that caused "substantial ecological impacts." "The spill has significantly affected Huntington Beach, with substantial ecological impacts occurring at the beach and at the Huntington Beach Wetlands," the statement said. The spill started around 9:00 am (1600 GMT) on Saturday, the Coast Guard said. "The leak has not been completely stopped, preliminary patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site," the city statement said. It was not immediately clear what caused the spill from what Foley said was a pipeline breach connected to an oil rig offshore.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 04, 2021 00:00 UTC
How can we win World War C?
I recently watched World War Z, starring Brad Pitt as former United Nations employee Gerry Lane, who is tasked to investigate a worldwide outbreak of people turning into vicious zombies 12 seconds after being bitten. Released in 2013, the action and horror film and its take-home message resonates with the Covid-19 pandemic we've been fighting for almost two years. The Spanish Flu is mentioned in World War Z by young virologist Andrew Fassbach, played by Elyes Gabel. A pathogen-derived vaccine is then developed to act like a camouflage against the lethal viral infection in World War Z, which is based on a bestselling novel by American author Max Brooks. Published in 2006, World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War chronicles personal accounts of survivors from around the world while portraying people's fear and horror as well as the spirit of resistance through the apocalyptic years.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 22:52 UTC
China's Power Shortfalls Begin to Ripple Around the World
BloombergChina is struggling with widespread power shortfalls, dealing a blow to the recovery of the second-largest economy and risking disruption to global supply chains and heightened inflationary pressure around the world. Coal prices have surged because of a shortage of domestic coal supplies, made worse by import cuts from Australia and Mongolia. The China power crunch also risks heaping further pressure on global supply chains by pushing up prices for raw materials and essential components. "The shortage in coal supply, especially coking coal supply, cannot be alleviated in a short period of time." In addition, lower-than-usual supply of renewable energy has exacerbated the power supply issue in some provinces.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 22:52 UTC
Central Pattana celebrates vegetarian lifestyle with a 10-day food festival
The festival will feature traditional and international vegetarian food at all 33 Central shopping centres. Central PattanaCentral Pattana is holding the "Thailand J Food Festival", featuring more than 5,000 vegetarian dishes at all 33 Central shopping centres across the country from tomorrow until Oct 14. Exclusively at CentralWorld, this is the first opportunity to try international vegetarian dishes prepared by world-famous restaurants such as Din Tai Fung and Hai Di Lao. Foodies will also discover original vegetarian dishes at well-known and legendary street food restaurants including Talalask, See Fah, Zheng Dou, and Lee Café while the "Healthiful Zone" of Central Food Hall on the 7th floor will gather plant-based foods and convenient food items. Besides special promotions that are different at each branch, the Central Food Park at all branches will offer a selection of herbal vegetarian dishes with prices starting at 19 baht.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 22:52 UTC
What’s next for management?
However, how much did management approaches change in the same period? We may need to develop new products and services and innovations, but the systems (including our management approaches) have not always changed to make this happen. But the entrenched management culture paradoxically becomes a barrier to improvement when the managers do not change what they need to be doing. I think that as we return to work, companies must be careful not to lose the flexible management lessons the crisis taught us. The way forward is not following a new management model but advancing a new idea of what management now means.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 22:18 UTC
UK vows new pandemic support for workers
UK vows new pandemic support for workersBritain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi SunakMANCHESTER (UNITED KINGDOM) - Britain's government was set Monday to announce new support for pandemic-hit workers after coming under attack for ending a furlough scheme that kept millions in jobs. Finance minister Rishi Sunak will announce a pound sterling500 million ($680 million, 580 million euro) package of retraining aimed at older workers coming off furlough and at younger Britons, the ruling Conservative party said. But Sunak ended the furlough scheme on Thursday, and is also scrapping a weekly boost to benefits for the lowest-paid workers. Businesses blame the driver shortage on the government's hardline approach to Brexit, which stopped a flow of workers from eastern Europe, but ministers say the pandemic is to blame. "If I can possibly avoid it, I do not want to raise taxes again, of course not, nor does Rishi Sunak," Johnson told the BBC.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 22:07 UTC
Liverpool and Man City share spoils in thriller as Nuno's Spurs win
Liverpool and Man City share spoils in thriller as Nuno's Spurs winManchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (centre) celebrates his equaliser against Liverpool at Anfield. The result between the two teams who have dominated English football over the past four years leaves the Premier League title race tantalisingly poised. "It was never planned that we played like this and we needed half-time and we used half-time and played a really good second half." "Good, good, good," Nuno said. Leicester travelled to Selhurst Park without a Premier League win since August.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 19:52 UTC
Ancient Ayutthaya temple flooded
Ancient Ayutthaya temple floodedSoldiers build a temporary bridge for monks and worshippers visiting Wat Chula Manee after the temple in Bang Ban district of Ayutthaya province was flooded. (Photo: Sunthong Pongpao)AYUTTHAYA: A Buddhist temple built in 1750 during the Ayutthaya period has been flooded after a flood prevention wall collapsed on Sunday morning. A section of the wall on the southern side of Wat Chula Manee in Bang Ban district collapsed at about 5.30am after the Chao Phraya river overflowed, inundating communities around the temple. The grounds of the ancient temple were left 2 metres under water, damaging about 20 pagodas containing ashes of local residents' ancestors. That water runs into the Pa Sak river running through Tha Rua, Nakhon Luang and Phra Nakho Si Ayutthaya districts, and many riverside communities were flooded.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 05:37 UTC
Timeline: Philippine President Duterte's tumultuous term
Timeline: Philippine President Duterte's tumultuous termFILE PHOTO: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he delivers his 6th State of the Nation Address (SONA), at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 26, 2021. (Reuters)MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has announced he will retire from politics, opening the way for his daughter to run for president in next year's election. July 2017: Under the government's "Build, Build, Build" initiative, Duterte pledges to usher in a golden age of infrastructure through a six-year, $180 billion spending spree to modernise and build airports, roads, railways and ports. February 2018: The International Criminal Court (ICC) opens a preliminary investigation into the thousands of deaths that occurred during Duterte's war on drugs. Oct 2, 2021: Duterte announces he will not run for vice president but will retire from politics.
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 05:37 UTC
Duterte rival Philippines VP to decide soon on presidential bid
Duterte rival Philippines VP to decide soon on presidential bidLeni Robredo is yet to decide on accepting an opposition coalition's nomination to run for president in the Philippine elections. Duterte, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term, had declared in August he would run for the vice presidency. Duterte made a similar announcement in September 2015, saying he "will retire from public life for good" only to declare his presidential bid two months later. Most of the top candidates have supported Duterte's controversial drug war, and political analysts say VP Robredo could struggle to compete if she decides to run. "(VP Robredo is) too good, she's too nice."
Source:Bangkok Post
October 03, 2021 04:52 UTC