Gay couples in India ask Supreme Court to legalise same-sex marriage
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2023
Uday Raj Anand and Parth Mehrotra are among four gay couples who have asked India’s Supreme Court to recognise same-sex marriages, setting the stage for a legal face-off with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government which has in the past refused to legalize such marriages.
In a historic verdict in 2018, India’s top court decriminalized homosexuality by scrapping a colonial-era ban on gay sex.
Despite the 2018 ruling, members of India’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community complain about a lack of acceptance and discrimination against gay people in Indian society.
Mehrotra, the chief editor of a digital bookpublishing house ‘Juggernaut Books’ and his partner Anand, a Delhi-based businessman, have been together for 17 years and have since started a family with two children.
“It’s a natural next step for us to want to get married. And so, our plea to the court is ‘give us that right to get married’,” said Mehrotra, adding that “marriage is an institution that pervades every aspect of living.”
LGBT activists say that while 2018 ruling affirmed their constitutional rights, they are still deprived of legal backing for same-sex marriages, a basic right enjoyed by heterosexual married couples.
In the Supreme Court filings seen by Reuters, the four couples say that they are denied rights such as those linked to medical consent, pensions, adoption, or even simpler things like club memberships for couples.
Last month, a federal lawmaker from Modi’s ruling party, Sushil Modi, appealed to colleagues in the upper house of parliament to oppose legal recognition of marriage between same-sex couples.
“Same-sex marriage would cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country… two judges cannot decide on such social issues,” he told lawmakers.
The law ministry has opposed same-sex marriages in the past and said courts should stay away from the law-making process that falls under parliament’s purview.
The Indian Supreme Court cases, which follow many lawsuits filed in lower courts where no decision was reached, will be a key test for Modi’s Hindu nationalist government and his allies.
The Supreme Court has given the government until Friday (January 6) to submit its responses.
Police across Laos cracked down on drug traffickers in 2022 and seized hundreds of kilograms of different types of narcotics. Given below are details of 10 major drug busts throughout the year.
No.10: On June 21, police officers of Khammuan province, together with the local authorities, surrounded and arrested Adsomvang, 30, and his wife, Yengyang, 18, of Homyen village in Pakkading district of Borikamxay province. They were allegedly carrying 24 bags of cannabis weighing 939 kg to be sent to neighbouring countries.
No.9: On September 6, Borikhamxay provincial police officers found a truck carrying 90 bags of compressed dry cannabis weighing 1,600 kg mixed with incense. Four men were detained in Phonchaleun village of Pakkading district in Borikhamxay province for prosecution in the case according to the law.
No.8: On December 21, police officers from Khamkeuth district in Borikhamxay Province, in cooperation with Khounkham District Police from Khammuan province, intercepted a car carrying cannabis that was driving through a checkpoint. The driver managed to escape. After inspecting the truck, police found 44 bags of cannabis weighing 1.669 kg.
No.7: On June 8, police arrested Vattana, 29, and Mekthala, 30, in Xokyai village of Xaysettha district with 100,000 amphetamine pills weighing 10.8 kg, a phone, three modified guns and 21 bullets.
No.6: On September 26, a Vigo car was moving from Vientiane at high speed when it hit a motorcycle. The driver tried to escape but was arrested by authorities. The occupants of the car were identified as Buapha, 26, a resident of Viengkham village in Pakkading district, and Soutchai, 18, from Huayhoy village in Viengthong district. A search of the car revealed 866 packets of coffee mixed with drugs.
No.5: On January 30, police officers of Oudomxay province arrested Chueyiwa at Kiewhear village in Xay district of Oudomxay province with 72 bundles of amphetamine containing 144,000 pills. Further searches at three other locations led to the arrest of 30-year-old Chengwa, from Phousavan village in Xay district, with 97,000 pills, a bag of powder mixed with pills, a total of 241,464 pills, and other related materials.
No.4: On October 15, police officers from Tonpheung district on Bokeo province found a Vigo vehicle parked on the side of the road. They found middleware hidden in the driver’s compartment and the trunk of the car had 14 bags containing 350 packs of 3,500,000 amphetamine pills weighing 385 kg. The persons transporting the drugs escaped.
No.3: On August 6, police officers in Bokeo province arrested 45-year-old Phon and 43-year-old Mon at Sibonheuang village in Tonpheung district. They were involved in drug trafficking. A subsequent inspection of a house revealed 6,608,000 amphetamine pills weighing 733 kg, one kilogram of crystal meth, and three cars. In addition, 80,000,000 kip, 4,109,000 baht and 10,000 yuan were seized.
No.2: On June 4, police in Bokeo province solved a major drug case and arrested Toumong, 30, from Xay Oudom village in Pha- Oudom district, and Phomma, 29, from Nateuy village in Luang Namtha province. More than 12,000,000 amphetamine pills were seized from them.
No.1: On September 23, the police in Bokeo province solved a major drug case and arrested four persons with 33,500,000 amphetamine pills and 500 kg of crystal meth.
Pakistan to shut malls, markets early in energy saving plan
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2023
Pakistan’s government has ordered all malls and markets to close by 8:30 p.m. among other measures in a new energy conservation plan, the defence minister said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with an economic crisis.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves barely cover a month’s worth of imports, most of which are accounted for by energy purchases from abroad, with funds expected under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme having been delayed.
Khawaja Asif told journalists the cabinet-approved measures to shut markets, including restaurants, aimed to save the cash-strapped country about 62 billion Pakistani rupees ($273 million).
He said additional immediate measures included shutting wedding halls by 10 p.m. daily. He added that some market representatives had pushed for longer hours, but the government decided that earlier closure was needed.
However, traders refused compliance saying their businesses would be ruined, and the shops were open in the capital in Islamabad till 10:30 p.m.
In Lahore, the capital of Punjab province and Karachi, the capital of Sindh province the markets were open till late at night.
Asif also said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered all government departments to reduce electricity consumption by 30%.
The move comes as Pakistan struggles to quell default fears in domestic and international markets, with a $1.1 billion IMF bailout tranche stuck due to differences over the ninth programme review, which should have been completed in November.
Other critical multilateral and bilateral financing avenues are also linked to the IMF programme, which means the South Asian nation of 220 million people is hard-pressed to meet external financing needs of over $30 billion up until June 2023, including debt repayments and energy imports.
Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $11.7 billion – $5.8 billion with the central bank – as of late last month, having fallen 50% in 2022.
Asif said the energy conservation plan also included banning the production of energy-inefficient bulbs and fans from February and July respectively.
He added Pakistan’s peak summer electricity usage was 29,000 megawatts (MW) compared with 12,000 MW in the winter, mainly due to the use of fans in hotter months.
Half of the street lights across the country will remain switched off as a “symbolic” gesture, the minister said.
Most of Pakistan’s electricity is produced using imported fossil fuels, including liquefied natural gas, prices of which have sky-rocketed over recent months.
The government has tried to stabilise the economy by containing imports and decades-high inflation. A fast-depreciating currency has made imports more expensive while consumer prices saw a 25% year-on-year rise in the first half of the current fiscal year.
Republican McCarthy loses third US House speaker vote
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2023
Hardline Republicans in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday repeatedly blocked fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become the chamber’s powerful speaker, leaving the chamber leaderless and plunging their new majority into turmoil.
In the first day of what could prove to be a brutal showdown between about 20 hardliners and the other 202 members of the Republican caucus, McCarthy failed in three ballots to achieve the 218 votes needed to become speaker, a role second in line to the Oval Office after the vice president.
It was a disconcerting start for the new Republican majority and highlights the challenges the party could face over the next two years, heading into the 2024 presidential election. Their slim 222-212 majority gives greater clout to a small group of hardliners, who want to focus on dealing a defeat to Democrats and pushing investigations of President Joe Biden’s administration and family.
Louisiana representative Steve Scalise nominated McCarthy to stand in the third round of voting, making an impassioned speech for action on issues important to working Americans.
“We’ve attempted to bring bills on this floor to address inflation, to lower the cost of goods,” Scalise said. “Those bills were rejected by the previous majority. And I use that term for a reason. The previous majority, because we won a majority talking about fixing those problems. But we can’t start fixing those problems until we elect Kevin McCarthy as our next speaker.”
McCarthy, 57, from California, knew he faced an uphill climb heading into Tuesday’s vote and had vowed to continue to force votes, but the chamber on Tuesday evening voted to adjourn until noon ET (1700 GMT) on Wednesday (January 04), a move that would give Republicans time to discuss other candidates.
Popular conservative Representative Jim Jordan, 58, from Ohio, won 20 votes in the last ballot of the day, far from the 218 thresholds to become speaker but enough to stop McCarthy.
A protracted speaker election could undermine House Republicans’ hopes of moving forward quickly on investigations and legislative priorities that include the economy, US energy independence and border security.
The chamber’s top Democrat, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, bested McCarthy in all three votes. In the day’s final tally, Jeffries led McCarthy 212 to 202 votes. A majority of those voting, not a plurality, is needed to determine a speaker.
A standoff would leave the House largely paralyzed and could force lawmakers to consider another Republican candidate. In addition to Jordan, incoming Majority Leader Scalise, 57, was seen as a possibility.
The last time the House failed to elect a speaker on the first ballot was 1923.
No additional Covid rules for arrivals from China: Hun Sen
TUESDAY, JANUARY 03, 2023
Cambodia will not follow in other countries’ footsteps in imposing any additional restrictions towards arrivals from China, amid concerns that soaring Covid-19 cases there could drive the emergence of new and potentially more dangerous variants of the novel coronavirus.
This comes as China moves to reopen to inbound and outbound tourism on January 8, while the Kingdom plans to capture pent-up travel demand, welcoming an estimated two million mainland Chinese visitors this year, according to the premier.
This would come near the all-time annual record of almost 2.362 million tallied in 2019, which was up 16.67 % from the 2.024 million logged a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
Hun Sen was speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for a Mekong River bridge and connecting road in Kratie province that are due to be built in part with a concessional loan from the Chinese government.
“We’ve all seen the unfortunate but frightening propaganda about the Covid-19 epidemic in China. Those who will be strict when it comes to China, let them do so since that’d just benefit Cambodia,” he said.
“Let’s say that [a Chinese traveller] wants to go to some country, but it requires Chinese people to do this or that.
Cambodia won’t have such requirements,” the premier explained, issuing an invitation for mainlanders to “come to travel [to the Kingdom] as per normal”.
“If any country wants to do anything [in terms of additional Covid restrictions for arrivals from mainland China, they have the right to do so. But Cambodia will instead invite the Chinese over,” he stressed.
He suggested that Thailand and Singapore would also hold back from imposing Covid restrictions on travellers from mainland China, “benefiting a lot” from doing so, and remaining “more attractive and convenient destinations” for them.
Although remarking that the agricultural, industrial and non-tourism service sectors have shown steady growth despite global economic pressures, Hun Sen underscored that greater numbers of Chinese tourists would spur near-term and longer-term growth in the Cambodian economy.
Painting a broader picture, the premier opined that “four-to-five million” international arrivals in 2023 could translate to a meaningful all-round boost for the economy, estimating the 2022 figure at about 2.2 million, echoing an earlier prediction made by the tourism ministry.
At any rate, he called on Cambodians to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as instructed by the Ministry of Health.
In an interview with The Post on January 2, Cambodia Chinese Tour Guide Association president Tea Kileng expressed delight at Beijing’s reopening to tourism and the local government’s decision not to impose Covid restrictions on arriving mainlanders.
Before Covid hit, Chinese tourism created tonnes of jobs and income for the local industry, and greatly raised the profile of the Kingdom’s ancient temples and other historical tourist sites on the international scene, he claimed.
“Despite the news that the Covid-19 pandemic is re-emerging in China, we’re still elated for them to visit Cambodia, taking into account that all members of our association have been vaccinated against Covid-19,” he said.
Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia Chapter chairman Thourn Sinan described Chinese travellers collectively as a key recovery engine for the local industry and reasoned that Hun Sen’s announcement could catalyse additional tourism and investment inflows from the mainland.
“Chinese tourists can be considered strategic visitors, with their numbers a dominant promoter of tourism in Cambodia, as well as many other countries,” he said.
Cambodia welcomed more than 1.914 million international visitors in the first 11 months of 2022, down 67.55 % compared to the same period of record-breaking 2019, according to the tourism ministry. Mainland China accounted for 90,648, down 95.84 % from the same time in 2019.
Singapore explores underground space to protect nation against rising sea levels
TUESDAY, JANUARY 03, 2023
National water agency PUB will explore the use of underground space to defend Singapore against rising sea levels amid climate change and more intense rainfall.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the agency said last Thursday that a study to assess the feasibility of using an underground drainage and reservoir system to combat inland and coastal flooding will start in 2023.
By the end of this century, the average sea level surrounding Singapore could rise by up to 5m due to the combined effects of climate change and other factors such as storm surges and tidal activity.
This means about 30 % of Singapore will be vulnerable to going underwater.
Findings from the study will complement ongoing and planned studies looking at how different segments of Singapore’s coastline can be better protected from going underwater.
These could support future coastal pumping stations, PUB said. Such stations pump flood waters accumulated in low-lying areas into the sea.
The study, which relies on available geological and engineering data, will be completed in 2025, the agency said, noting that no fieldwork is expected to take place.
PUB did not give details on where the integrated underground reservoir system will be located.
The ambition to build the underground system to expand the island’s water storage capacity and free up surface space was announced in 2015.
Such subterranean facilities, advocated by experts to combat the effects of climate change, will enhance Singapore’s resilience during droughts by storing excess water and releasing it when needed.
Cecilia Tortajada, an adjunct senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy’s Institute of Water Policy, said the initiative is similar to other such underground projects already in place in other countries to mitigate the threat of climate change and flooding.
Tokyo, for example, has massive underground structures to store excess flood waters and release them once the danger of flooding has passed, she said.
Tortajada added that for Singapore to build such massive underground water retention structures, it would need to ensure that the quality of water stored can be preserved over long periods to avoid contamination.
PUB’s proposed integrated system will likely have three key components: tunnels to channel stormwater, underground reservoir caverns for water storage, and a hydropower system that will run on clean energy to pump water back to the surface when needed. This power will come from potential energy harnessed from the flow of surface water to the caverns.
Currently, there is an underground tank at the Singapore Botanic Gardens that can contain stormwater equivalent in volume to 15 Olympic-size pools from drains in Holland Road during heavy downpours.
PUB expects the completion of a similar tank in Jalan Besar in 2025.
Thai hotels see positive growth as tourists start returning
TUESDAY, JANUARY 03, 2023
Nongluck Ajanapanya
Hotels in Thailand expect occupancy rates to start picking up in the second half of this year, especially since travel has become easier and China will lift restrictions from Sunday.
The Hotel Business Operator Sentiment Study, conducted by the Thai Hotel Association and the Bank of Thailand last month, shows that most hotels expect their revenue to rise by 10-30%.
The study, which covered 95 hotels, showed that most operators expect to welcome more guests this year.
This forecast is feasible because the average occupancy rate in December was 63%, up from 59% in November. Thailand expects arrivals to continue rising during the high season, which runs from November to March.
Though most hotels expect their occupancy rates to rise, hotels in the South expect to do far better with the arrival of European and American tourists.
The occupancy rate forecast for this month is about 60%.
However, despite the optimism, many hotels say they still face challenges like rising costs, global recession and labour shortage. They all hope the government will step in and lend a helping hand.
The survey showed that almost all hotel operators, especially small and medium-sized ones, want the government to help cut costs, provide low-interest loans, extend repayment periods and launch more subsidies like the “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) scheme. They also called on the government to ease regulations for migrant workers.
Tourism and hotel operators also want the government to provide training and upskill the workforce in a bid to propel forward the tourism and hotel industries.
Meanwhile, all hotel operators have pledged to help prevent a new Covid-19 wave by prioritising hygiene standards. They said they will ensure strict adherence to public health regulations, so the industry can drive the country’s economy and instil confidence in tourists.
The survey results were released shortly after the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced that Thailand had seen 11.81 million foreign arrivals last year. Most visitors were from Malaysia, followed by India, Laos, Cambodia and Singapore.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the agency’s goal this year is to attract at least 25 million foreigners and generate 2.38 trillion baht in tourism revenue.
South Korea, Thailand launch mutual tourism campaign for 2023-2024
TUESDAY, JANUARY 03, 2023
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and its South Korean counterpart, the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to boost tourism in both countries.
The campaign, “2023-2024 Korea-Thailand Mutual Visit Years”, was officially launched on Monday.
Kim Jang-sil, KTO’s chief executive officer, said South Korea’s biggest visitors were Thais, with more than 570,000 visiting the country in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic brought tourism to a halt.
Thailand is also very popular with South Koreans, with as many as 1.89 million visiting the Kingdom in 2019. This put South Korea in the 4th position as Thailand’s biggest tourism market.
“Thailand and South Korea have been each other’s important tourism partners since before Covid-19, which affected the tourism industry globally,” he said.
Kim added that the outbreak situation was gradually improving, and KTO will focus on expanding its target for 2023 to also cover business travellers.
“Though the number of travellers in the MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions] group in Thailand is still small, they have high potential due to their tendency to seek quality tourism and high spending power,” Kim said.
He added that KTO will coordinate with TAT to make boost mutual travel by launching promotional campaigns.
“We will also introduce more flights to different cities to promote local and cultural tourism, bringing Thai travellers closer to the authentic Korean experience,” he added.
“During the Covid-19 shutdown, we prepared several aspects of tourism to welcome Thai travellers, including exchanging information with the TAT about changing consumer trends,” Kim added. “We believe long-standing bilateral ties and close cooperation, Thailand and South Korea will be able to bring the tourism industry back to pre-Covid levels.”
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