Dozens dead, missing in Japan as heavy rain causes floods, mudslides
Dozens dead, missing in Japan as heavy rain causes floods, mudslidesRescuers are searching for 14 people missing after floods hit the Kumamoto region on Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu. TOKYO: About 34 people are either confirmed or feared dead -- including 14 at a nursing home -- after torrential rain in Japan triggered massive floods and mudslides, authorities said Sunday. Fourteen of those feared dead were at a nursing home inundated when local rivers broke their banks. The manager of a tour bus company in Hitoyoshi feared that the rain had destroyed all 23 of his buses. A young man trying to clean a mud-covered restaurant in Hitoyoshi told JNN: "After corona, we have this.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 11:37 UTC
Construction of Vientiane station for Laos-China rail link begins
Construction of Vientiane station for Laos-China rail link beginsVisitors take photos at the Patuxai (Victory Gate) in Vientiane. Construction has begun on a new railway station for a high-speed train link with China. (Photo by Dusida Worrachaddejchai)Laos has started building a railway station in Vientiane to service rail links with China slated to being operating next year. It will also serve as a rail link with Thailand, as the country is constructing a high-speed rail line in its own joint project with China. The 414 kilometre-long rail construction project was established with a US$6 billion budget in 2016.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 10:41 UTC
Philippines, Indonesia set grim Covid-19 records
Philippines, Indonesia set grim Covid-19 recordsPassengers wearing masks for protection against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) are seated in between plastic barriers to maintain social distancing in a jeepney, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Friday. (Reuters photo)Two of Thailand's regional neighbours set unwanted records in their Covid-19 tallies on Sunday. The Philippines reported its biggest single-day jump in new coronavirus cases, adding 2,434 confirmed infections and taking the total count to 44,254, the health ministry said. The Philippines also recorded seven new deaths, the ministry said, bringing total fatalities to 1,297. Meanwhile, Indonesia reported 82 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday in its highest daily tally, Health Ministry official Achmad Yurianto said, taking the toll to 3,171.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 09:00 UTC
Faked Philippine records left false trail for Wirecard exec
Faked Philippine records left false trail for Wirecard execThe logo of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions, is pictured at its headquarters in Aschheim near Munich, Germany, July 1, 2020. (Reuters file photo)Faked immigration records in the Philippines were used to throw off authorities seeking a former executive at Wirecard AG, who went missing after the German firm was implicated in an accounting scandal. Immigration records seemed to indicate that Wirecard’s former second-in-command Jan Marsalek passed through the Philippines late last month. “The investigation has now turned to the persons who made the false entries in the database, their motives, and their cohorts,” Guevarra said. The Financial Times first reported the fraudulent immigration records.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 09:00 UTC
Taweesak elected ACT party leader
Taweesak elected ACT party leaderTaweesak Na Takuathung is the new leader of the Action Coalition of Thailand after M.R. Mr Taweesak, the acting ACT leader and secretary-general, was elected new ACT leader. Also elected at the meeting were Duangrit Benjathikul as new party secretary-general, Ms Juthathat as party treasurer and Thanthornthep Yaem-uthai as party registrar. Informed sources in the ACT said Mr Anek, a co-founder of the party, was earlier tipped to be new party leader. Chatu Mongol if there is a cabinet shakeup, Mr Taweesak was instead nomimated for the party leader post.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 09:00 UTC
Australian cities extend protests supporting BLM, indigenous peoples
Australian cities extend protests supporting BLM, indigenous peoplesDemonstrators take part in a Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney on Sunday, to call for an end to Aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia. (AFP photo)Several hundred people gathered in Sydney on Sunday as part of weekend-long protests in Australia's large cities in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and increased focus of the mistreatment of indigenous peoples. Masks and hand sanitiser were given out and organisers pleaded with people to maintain social distance at the Sydney protest. On Saturday, protests took place in Brisbane, Darwin and Perth, also attracting smaller crowds. According to latest government data, the indigenous population represents just over 3% of Australia's total population of about 25 million.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 07:41 UTC
Dreams of Myanmar's 'unwashed' jade miners buried by disaster
Dreams of Myanmar's 'unwashed' jade miners buried by disasterThousands of people flock to the Myanmar jade mines in the hoping of finding an overlooked rock that could transform their lives. But only three would return, the others victims of Myanmar's worst-ever mine disaster after a landslide in heavy rains entombed at least 174 people, with scores more feared missing. "One day, if I get quality stone I will be a Lawpan (a boss of the jade miners)... Dozens of the unidentified were buried on Saturday in mass graves gouged into the red earth -- an anonymous end far from home. Than Niang's wife had to check 60 battered bodies before finding her husband, a grim catalogue of those at the end of the jade chain.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 06:56 UTC
5 more Covid quarantine cases Sunday
5 more Covid quarantine cases SundayMonks receive food offerings from devotees to mark Asalha Bucha Day in the southern province of Narathiwat on Sunday, amid restrictions due to the Covid-19 coronavirus. (AFP photo)The government reported five new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, all of them in quarantine. That raises the total in Thailand to 3,190 since January. The death toll remains 58, and 3,071 have recovered, including five over the past 24 hours. -- More to follow -Screenshot from https://covid19.ddc.moph.go.th/enScreenshot from https://covid19.ddc.moph.go.th/en
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 05:26 UTC
Concern about Covid-19 persists: Poll
Concern about Covid-19 persists: PollA majority of people are still worried about the spread of Covid-19, although there have been no new infections in the country for over 30 consecutive days, according to an opinion survey by the Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll. The poll was conducted online on 1,109 people throughout the country on July 1-4 to compile their opinions on the Covid-19 situation now that the government has loosened restrictions, allowing people to travel to their home provinces during the July 4-7 long holiday. Asked whether they are still worried about the coronavirus spread now that the country had recorded no domestic infections for over 30 days, 52.93% said they still worried about it but to a lesser degree; 29.94% said they worried about it as much as before; 12.44% no longer worried about it; and 4.69% said they worried more about it. The highest number of respondents, 39.40%, expected the Covid-19 situation in Thailand to return to normal by the end of 2020; 27.95% in mid-2021; 23.90% by the end of 2021; and 8.75% said it was hard to guess, adding the situation might improve if a vaccine becomes available. Asked what they want the government to do after the situation has improved, 77.55% said it should remain strictly vigilant against the virus; 71.78% want it to introduce more remedial measures; 69.43% want the government to concentrate on creating jobs; 65.64% want it to help people who have been laid off; and 57.26% want it to promote domestic tourism.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 05:15 UTC
'Smoke that thunders': first 'made-in-Zimbabwe' luxury cigars
In May, Mafundikwa launched Mosi Oa Tunya Cigars -- the local Lozi name for the Victoria Falls, which translates to "the smoke that thunders". - 'Ready' for export -Mosi Oa Tunya cigars come in different sizes, prices and flavours that send wafts of cherry and vanilla across the factory. He was enthusiastic about Mosi Oa Tunya and said he plans to stock the brand once his restaurant -- shuttered by coronavirus -- reopens. Gun shop owner Preemesh Mohan Doolabh considers Zimbabwean cigars to be of similar quality to Cuban brands. Mosi Oa Tunya also has African brands to compete against: Morocco's Habanos, which is seeking to expand to the US, and another new southern African manufacturer -- Mozambique's Bongani luxury cigars.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 03:45 UTC
Big Oil confronts possibility of terminal demand decline
Big Oil confronts possibility of terminal demand declineIs this the sunset of the oil industry? The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that average daily oil demand will drop by eight million barrels per day this year, a decline of around eight percent from last year. "Could it be peak oil? "Many people have said, including some CEOs of some major companies, with the lifestyle changes now to teleworking and others we may well see oil demand has peaked, and oil demand will go down," IEA executive director Fatih Birol said recently. Moez Ajmi at consulting and auditing firm E&Y dismissed as "science fiction" the idea that a definitive drop in oil demand could suddenly emerge.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 03:33 UTC
Philippines to open another air terminal to international flights
Philippines to open another air terminal to international flightsJeepney drivers wearing masks for protection against the coronavirus disease install plastic barriers inside a jeepney for maintaining social distancing in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Friday. (Reuters photo)MANILA: The Philippines will reopen one more terminal at its main airport in the capital for international travel, expanding service operations to airliners from Japan and other countries beginning next week. Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila said on Saturday it will restart international flight operations at Terminal 3 beginning Wednesday. Arrival and departure flights of All Nippon Airways, along with seven other airline carriers, will be allowed to resume at the terminal, airport authorities said. The Philippines has recorded 40,336 cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, as of yesterday, and 1,280 deaths.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 03:22 UTC
Touch The Sky: Kanye West announces 2020 presidential run
Touch The Sky: Kanye West announces 2020 presidential runDonald Trump and Kanye West stand together in the lobby at Trump Tower, December 13, 2016 in New York City, after Trump's election victory -- but West apparently now wants to deny him a second term by running himselfWASHINGTON - Kanye West, the entertainment mogul who urges listeners in one song to "reach for the stars, so if you fall, you land on a cloud," announced Saturday he is challenging Donald Trump for the US presidency in 2020. "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! West long ago broke ranks with most of the left-leaning entertainment industry to loudly voice his support for Trump. That year, West also delivered a lengthy soliloquy to a president who many deem racist, telling him he loved him -- to the dismay of many Democrats and fellow artists.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 03:22 UTC
Majority want cabinet reshuffle: Poll
Majority want cabinet reshuffle: PollPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha holds a media briefing on Tuesday on the decision to open up the country to ease economic pain. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)A majority of people think it is now time for a cabinet reshuffle, with some saying the reshuffle should involve the entire cabinet while others say only some ministers should be replaced, according to an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll. The poll - via telephone interviews - was conducted on 1,251 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country from June 29-30. A majority of the respondents - 82.98% - said it is now time for the cabinet be reshuffled. The three ministers were recently removed as members of the executive committee of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), reportedly to make way for a cabinet shakeup.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 02:54 UTC
Majority for cabinet reshuffle: Nida Poll
Majority for cabinet reshuffle: Nida PollA majority of people think it is now time for a cabinet reshuffle, with some say the reshuffle should involve the entire cabinet while others say only some ministers should be replaced, according to an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll. The poll - via telephone interviews - was conducted on 1,251 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country from June 29-30 to compile their opinions on the matter. A majority of the respondents - 82.98% - said it is now time for the cabinet be reshuffled. The respondents were then asked about the three ministers who reports said might be left out of the cabinet should there be a reshuffle - Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana, Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong and Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Minister Suvit Maesincee. The three ministers were recently removed as members of the executive committee of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), reportedly to make way for a cabinet shakeup.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 05, 2020 02:48 UTC