Chab Sopharith, Banteay Meanchey provincial deputy police chief, said the operation was carried out on National Road 59, in the province’s Malai commune. A driver was arrested but later released when it was ascertained that he was not involved in the case.

“We have one suspect, but investigations are ongoing so we cannot comment further,” Sopharith said.

Sin Oeu Nabot, a deputy at Banteay Meanchey Provincial Forestry Administration, said he had received 618 tortoises, of which 19 had died, while 50 of the 70 seized water monitor lizards survived. He said the animals would be released with permission from the Banteay Meanchey provincial governor.

“We lack suitable facilities as we were not established to impound wild animals. But we have no problems caring for them,” Oeu Nabot said.

Sopharith said he couldn’t comment on local media reports as the case was under investigation. He said that like the drugs trade, wildlife crimes were difficult to investigate. “Wildlife trafficking is hard to intercept as the criminals involved, like drug traffickers, are well organised,” he said.

Sopharith said that although the latest haul is the biggest for the year thus far, a larger shipment of tortoises was intercepted last year, also from Thailand. Sopharith said Phnom Penh was the Kingdom’s biggest market for wild animals as demand in the provinces is not as great.

Jurong Lake District is where the terminus for the high speed rail was to have been sited – into Singapore’s second central business district.

The report said the termination of the project could set back by several years the development of the Jurong Lake District as plans were based on the realisation of a high-speed rail terminus in the area.

The Straits Time said planning work had already began on Singapore’s end. For example, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority had called for tenders for the design and construction of tunnels and associated facilities for Singapore’s end of the HSR last month, with construction expected to start next year.

Additionally, the Urban Redevelopment Authority had last year unveiled plans to turn the Jurong Lake District into Singapore’s second Central Business District.

“There are other development plans for the area, but the HSR Terminus would have been the jewel in the crown of the area,” said National University of Singapore transport lecturer Lee Der Horng was quoted as saying by the Straits Times.

The absence of the rail connection will make the district less attractive to businesses as the development of the area was dependent on the fruition of the HSR, said International Property Advisor chief executive Ku Swee Yong said.

The Singapore government has also invested a fair bit in planning and early projections for the project such as engaging planners and civil engineers, said Azman Jaafar, deputy managing partner of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing and chairman of Asean Plus Group.

The Malaysian Government has confirmed that Malaysia would drop the project and would potentially have to pay RM500mil in compensation.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia would discuss the matter with Singapore soon with the aim of handling the project cancellation in a “least-cost manner”.

The 350-km HSR project with the Singapore portion covering 15 km — was scheduled to be completed by 2026.

“If the seat belt had been secured, the child would not have fallen out of the moving vehicle, even if the door was not closed properly or the door was flung open by the child,” he told Bernama on Tuesday.

The 12-second video went viral on Facebook since last night after it was shared by an account holder known as “Poh KF”.

According to Aidi, so far no one has lodged a police report on the incident.

The video, which has been posted on multiple Facebook groups, received thousands of comments from Malaysians urging drivers to be more aware of child safety.

Scandal-hit Barnaby Joyce, who was forced to quit in February and move to the backbench over his affair with his 33-year-old former media adviser, will reportedly be paid Aus$150,000 (US$113,000) for a tell-all television appearance by the pair on Sunday.

Malcolm Turnbull said he planned to raise the matter privately with the married Joyce, whose smaller National Party rules alongside the prime minister’s Liberals.

“It’s certainly not… a course of action that I would’ve encouraged him to take, I’ll put it that way,” he told broadcaster ABC.

“I think you can understand how I feel about it but I’ll just be circumspect, uncharacteristically circumspect, on this and leave it for a private discussion.”

News that Joyce, 50, had left his wife of 24 years for Vikki Campion gripped Australia earlier this year, sparking debate about workplace culture amid the global #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.

The saga took another twist when Joyce questioned the paternity of the baby boy, who has since been born.

Best known outside Australia for threatening to euthanise Hollywood star Johnny Depp’s two dogs when they were brought into the country illegally, Joyce claimed Tuesday that it was Campion’s decision to accept payment for the interview.

He said the couple had tried to ride out the attention, but the paparazzi would not leave them alone.

“Remember there are other people in this interview being Vikki and (baby son) Seb, so if it was just an interview with me as a politician, sure, I am not going to charge for that,” he told The Australian newspaper.

“But that is not what they wanted, they wanted an interview obviously to get Vikki’s side of the story.

“Like most mothers, she said: ‘Seeing as I am being screwed over and there are drones and everything over my house in the last fortnight, paparazzi waiting for me, if everybody else is making money then (I am) going to make money out of it.'”

But the decision to accept payment has prompted accusations of hypocrisy — Joyce had previously made a formal complaint to the Australian Press Council over the media’s coverage of the affair.

Nationals minister Darren Chester said serving politicians should be banned from giving paid interviews.

“I think the public is asking the question, is it appropriate for sitting members of parliament to receive money to do media interviews. I think we should have the conversation in the parliament. I’m hoping for that conversation to occur,” he said.

Liberals minister Kelly O’Dwyer warned it could backfire for Joyce.

“Ultimately, it’s a matter for him and his judgement. I personally wouldn’t do it, I don’t think it’s right, and I think most Australians are pretty disgusted by it,” she said.

General Kim Yong Chol landed at Beijing airport on Tuesday and will journey on to New York the following day after talks with Chinese officials, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, which cited diplomatic sources.

The trip is part of a flurry of diplomacy as preparations gather pace for the on-again, off-again summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12.

US negotiators, headed by Washington’s current ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, met with North Korean counterparts in the truce village of Panmunjom that divides the two Koreas on Sunday.

The State Department said a separate team of White House officials has also headed to Singapore to sort out logistics for the historic meeting.

Chung Sung-yoon, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Kim Yong Chol would be the most senior North Korean official to step onto US soil since Vice Marshall Jo Myong Rok met President Bill Clinton in 2000.

The general has long been a right hand man to North Korea’s leader, playing a front-seat role during recent rounds of diplomacy aimed at ending the nuclear stalemate on the Korean peninsula.

He sat next to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who is also a White House aide, during the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in the South Korean resort of Pyeongchang which was a turning point in the nuclear crisis.

He also accompanied Kim Jong Un on both of his recent trips to China to meet President Xi Jinping and held talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he travelled to Pyongyang.

“Kim’s official counterpart is Pompeo but he may also push for meetings with (National Security Advisor John) Bolton and even Trump if possible,” Chung told AFP.

General Kim, whose official title is vice-chairman of the central committee of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, has a background in military and civilian intelligence agencies and is a deeply controversial figure in South Korea.

Seoul blames him for masterminding the 2010 sinking of the South Korean navy corvette the Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors, an attack North Korea denies playing any role in.

Relatives of those who died protested his presence at the Winter Olympics earlier this year.

From 2009 to 2016 he was also director of North Korea’s General Reconnaissance Bureau, the unit tasked with cyber warfare and intelligence gathering.

During that period North Korea ramped up its hacking programmes, including a hugely costly penetration of Sony Pictures that was seen as an attempt to stop the release of an American comedy film poking fun at the Kim Jong Un regime.

As a Vajrayana Buddhist state, the main influences on human development in Bhutan has come from two sources – governance and leaders, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said in his address to the 15th UN Day of Vesak Celebration at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (MCU), Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, Thailand on May 25.

The prime minister delivered the keynote address on Buddhist contribution for Human Development. Lyonchhen said that the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha all happened in the second month of the Buddhist calendar, which is known in Sanskrit as Vaisakha.

“Buddhism have influenced critically both the governance and its leadership in our country, and through these two institutions affected human development,” he said.

Lyonchhen said that Buddhist values towards environment and sentient beings have shaped GNH’s high emphasis on ecological integrity in Bhutan. “In the case of Bhutan, Buddhism has moulded our citizens’ attitude to the environment and animals. Bhutan is one of the world’s smallest countries, but it has undertaken one of the world’s heaviest commitments to conservation. Bhutan is a biological hotspot.”

Among his countless teachings, lyonchhen said that Lord Buddha’s teachings on ethics have been of direct relevance to human development.

“According to Vajrayana Buddhism followed in Bhutan, human beings’ experiences of themselves occur through three gateways of experiences: through their body, mind and speech,” he said. “Lord Buddha’s teachings about behavioural, verbal and mental actions that would lead to happiness and wellbeing are the main basis of human development in Vajrayana Buddhism. Human development depends on advancement in these three dimensions of experiences.”

He stated that Bhutan is a Vajrayana Buddhist Kingdom and that both private and state Buddhist institutions are still vibrant and influential. “The support of lay people and the state is very strong for monks and priests,” he said.

Citing a national survey on time use in 2015, he said people in Bhutan spent 36 minutes on average every day on mantra, prayers and meditation and this daily average increased to two hours 25 minutes a day for those over 60 years of age. “People spend more time on spiritual activities such as mantra and prayers as they grow older.”

During the visit, Lyonchhen also called on his Thai counterpart Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Government House. Lyonchhen conveyed the warm greetings of His Majesty The King and thanked the Royal Thai Government for the warmth in which Their Majesties and HRH the Gyalsey were received in Thailand for the Royal Cremation Ceremony of His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The two prime ministers exchanged views on strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation.

With only four days left for a family in Khasadrapchu to send their nine-year-old son, who lost his right leg in an accident about six years ago, to Bangkok in Thailand for prosthesis, the parents are worried.

However, the boy, Tshering Penjor, is excited.

“He thinks the operation would be easy,” the mother said. “We are worried how it would go.”

Tshering lost his right leg after a truck ran over him when he was four years old. The accident occurred in Jigmeling, Sarpang, when returning home with his father.

Since then his parents had to shift to Thimphu, as he was hospitalised in Gidakom hospital, Thimphu. “After he was discharged from the hospital, we stayed nearby,” the mother said.

A year ago, a 56-year-old ground staff of KLM Airlines in the Netherlands, Ronald Stok, got in touch with Tshering’s family and proposed Tshering gets prosthesis.

Ronald Stok had already helped two Bhutanese avail prostheses in Bangkok by then.

His beneficiary, Rinchen Dorji, from a remote village in Zhemgang district had talked to Tshering and his family about Ronald Stok.

Ronald Stok said he met Rinchen through Facebook and when he visited Bhutan in 2016, he asked Rinchen to join him to visit Taktsang monastery in Paro.

“Rinchen said he cannot come because of his disability,” he said. “When I visited him, I found out he needed a prosthesis.”

He said he then looked for sponsors in Belgium and a catering crew, The Himalaya Club, owned by Didier Delanote sponsored Rinchen’s travel to Bangkok.

The Prostheses Foundation in Chiang Mai Thailand installed lightweight prosthesis on Rinchen in February 2016.

Today, Ronald Stok helps Rinchen and his family financially.

Rinchen Dorji, who studies in class X in Khasadrapchu Middle Secondary School, said the prosthesis has helped him a lot. “But I have been on a wheelchair since the beginning of this academic session,” he said. “My friends carry me when I have to go to the laboratories.”

A seven-year-old girl, Chimi, was also a beneficiary of Ronald Stok.

Ronald Stok said he is also trying to help a 22-year-old man from Gelephu who approached him for help. “He needs an urgent operation because of heart valve problem. I am trying to crowd fund.”

Meanwhile, he said Tshering Penjor would not travel alone on June 1. “There is a 29-year-old woman, Tshering Pemo, who also need prosthesis.”

By June 4, they will start their treatment and they are expected to be home by June 9. “We arranged wheelchairs for them,” Ronald Stok said. “Tshering Penjor will have a walking rack.”

The US and Japanese leaders will meet ahead of a much anticipated summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un back on schedule for June 12 in Singapore just days after Trump announced he was canceling it.

The American president said the summit could go ahead as planned following a more appeasing statement from Pyongyang and productive talks with North Korean officials.

Japan, which has by far the hardest line compared to neighbors China and South Korea, has been left uneasy by the pace of events, and by what it sees as an unwarranted softening toward an untrustworthy Pyongyang.

Abe and Trump spoke by telephone a day after American and North Korean officials met at a border truce village to prepare for the summit.

During a telephone call, the pair “discussed recent developments in North Korea and confirmed they would meet again to continue close coordination in advance of the expected meeting between the United States and North Korea,” a White House statement read.

“The president and prime minister affirmed the shared imperative of achieving the complete and permanent dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile programs.”

Washington wants North Korea to quickly give up all its nuclear weapons in a verifiable way in return for sanctions and economic relief.

Pyongyang has a different view of denuclearization and remains deeply worried that abandoning its deterrent would leave the country — and its leader — vulnerable, especially while the United States maintains a robust military presence in South Korea.

A certain Jen Manilay from General Santos City took to Facebook yesterday, May 27, to sharethe video of Pacquiao with the ice cream vendor who is known as Manong Marciano.

According to Manilay, Pacquiao was waiting inside his car when she called Manong Marciano so she can buy ice cream to battle the sweltering heat. Manilay recognized Manong Marciano as her suki from whom she always buys ice cream whenever he passes by her office building. Manilay also appears to be one of the companions of the senator.

“I bought 10pcs of ice cream and gave 1 to MP (Manny Pacquiao). And MP suddenly said ‘Tawagin mo si manong.’ Nagulat si manong ng sinabi kong may papakilala ako sa kanya at isang Manny Pacquiao ang kanyang nakita.” (Call him, said MP. The vendor was surprised when I told him I’ll introduce him to someone, and it’s Manny Pacquiao he saw.)

Manilay said that Pacquiao first gave Manong Marciano P3,000, but upon discovering he recently had a stroke and has three children who haven’t enrolled yet for school, Pacquiao gave him another P30,000.

“And MP suddenly said… ‘Nagrerenta ka? Next week bibigyan kita ng bahay at lupa,'” recalled Manilay. (Do you rent? Next week I will give you a house and lot.)

Meanwhile, Manong Marciano looked shellshocked and teary-eyed upon realizing what was happening. Manilay added that Manong Marciano now has money to buy his medicine, as well as a new job waiting for him.

“Hindi narin mahihirapan magtinda ng ice cream in a very sunny afternoon dahil binigyan narin namin si manong ng trabaho sa Goldenstate,” continued Manilay, possibly pertaining to the Goldenstate College in General Santos, South Cotabato. It was not mentioned, however, what job Manong Marciano was given.

(He would also no longer have difficulty selling ice cream in a very sunny afternoon because we also already gave him a job in Goldenstate.)

“See you again next week Manong Marciano… at sa bago mong bahay at lupa (and [with] your new house and lot),” she added.

In Manilay’s video below, Pacquiao can be seen eating ice cream with his companions while they spoke to Manong Marciano on the street.

The Prime Minister said that the Government had to talk to Singapore about it and the compensation that needed to be paid.

“It’s not beneficial, it’s going to cost us a huge sum of money. We will make no money at all from the operation. It is just a short track,” he told reporters after the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia supreme council meeting here on Monday (May 28).

When questioned about the compensation that needed to be paid, he said he “supposed” it would be RM500mil.

Earlier, he told the Financial Times that there was a need to do away with some of the unnecessary projects.

He cited the example of the high-speed rail.

“We need to do away with some of the unnecessary projects, for example the high-speed rail, which is going to cost us RM110bil and will not earn us a single cent. That will be dropped.

“We have an agreement with Singapore. We have to talk with Singapore about dropping that project,” he said.

When Pakatan Harapan swept to power in the 14th General Elections on May 9, it announced that it would review mega projects initiated by the previous administration to save the country billions of ringgit.

These may include the HSR, Bandar Malaysia, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and the Pan-Borneo Highway.

The HSR is a 350-km railway scheme linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and is expected to start operations from 2026.