THAILAND is one of 10 countries preparing for the new challenges to health that will inevitably be brought on by climate change.

The emerging health threats from climate change include surging mortality and morbidity from heat stress, injuries from extreme weather events, rising diarrhoea-related diseases, respiratory illness, malnutrition and the expansion of vector-borne diseases.

The issues were discussed at the 70th WHO Southeast Asia Regional Committee meeting in the Maldives which ran from Wednesday to Sunday.

All 11 members of the World Health Organisation’s Southeast Asia Regional Office signed a non-binding international agreement to raise readiness to respond to the new health risks from climate change.

The signatories are Maldives, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Timor-Leste and North Korea.

Dr Thaksaphon Thamarangsi, regional director for non-communicable diseases and environmental health, said it was the perfect time and place to talk about climate change and how to deal with it, as the Maldives is one of the most vulnerable countries.

“The impacts of climate change do not come only in the form of environmental problems such as rising seawater levels or more intense disasters, but also new health issues,” he said.

The hotter climate contributed to the spread of some tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, increasing mortality rates from heat stress, more frequent outbreaks of diarrhoea diseases, respiratory illness and malnutrition, and a greater chance of injuries from more frequent natural disasters, he said.

“Therefore, with the new corroboration on the [agreement], climate resilient health improvement will help boost the preparedness of our entire health system to manage the new health threats.

“The member countries can also share and learn from each other to overcome the challenges brought by climate change.

“The WHO Operational Framework for building climate resilient health systems is the main tool for supporting countries as they develop comprehensive health adaptation plans.

“The framework provides practical guidance on how the sector and its operational basis and health systems, can systematically and effectively address the challenges increasingly presented by climate change.

“Its objective is to guide health systems and public health programming to increase their capacity to protect health in an unstable and changing climate.”

Dr Thawat Suntrajarn, assistant for the public health minister and Thai representative at the meeting, said that even before inking the agreement, Thailand had already equipped itself with a climate change resilient plan for healthcare.

The country was more than ready to share information and help other members, he said.

“We have the national master plan for coping with climate change already, which is a plan to manage the changing climate in general.

“This plan is overseen by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry,” he said.

Four-year-old George, who is third in line to succeed Queen Elizabeth II after his father and grandfather Prince Charles, is attending Thomas’s Battersea, a private school in a leafy area of south London.

Father and son were met on arrival at the school gates by Helen Haslem, headteacher for the younger children, who then took them to Prince George’s new classroom.

George, whose formal title is Prince George of Cambridge, will be known as George Cambridge to his classmates at the #17,600-a-year (19,200-euro, $23,000) school.

Dressed in the school uniform of navy blue v-neck pullover, shorts and black shoes, George looked slightly intimidated as he approached the building, holding on tightly to his father’s hand.

He turned four on July 22 and will therefore be one of the youngest in his year as British children start their schooling in September after their fourth birthday.

His sister Princess Charlotte, aged two, stayed at home in Kensington Palace.

Prince George’s big day has caused a flurry of media interest in Britain, where every aspect of royal life is heavily scrutinised.

The Daily Telegraph even offered fashion tips for other mothers dropping off their children at the same school, instructing them to “wear nothing too challenging”.

“No one will want to feel as though they are out-dressing a duchess,” the paper said, adding that Kate would fit in well when she joins the school run with her “middle-class off-duty-dressing”.

But despite all the attention, Ben Thomas, the principal of the school, stressed that the little prince would not be given “any special treatment at all”.

“We are not going to try to mould him into any kind of particular person and we wouldn’t do that with any of our pupils,” Thomas said.

“I hope he will have the confidence to be himself with all his quirks and his idiosyncrasies and characteristics”.

‘Not much sleep’

Kensington Palace on Monday announced that William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were expecting their third child.

Kate has been forced to cancel two public engagements since then because of the same acute morning sickness she has suffered in her previous pregnancies.

William spoke about her illness during a visit to a mental health conference on Tuesday, saying: “There’s not much sleep going on at the moment.”

“We need Catherine to get over this first bit and then we can start celebrating. It’s always a bit anxious to start with, but she’s well,” he said.

Kate has not yet reached the 12-week stage when women normally make the news public but made the announcement after she had to cancel an engagement.

Hyperemesis gravidarum causes excessive nausea and vomiting and affects around one in every 100 pregnant women, according to the state-run National Health Service (NHS).

Some women report being sick up to 50 times a day, and while most common in early pregnancy, symptoms can continue throughout the nine months.

William and Kate moved back to London from their rural home in eastern England this summer as they take over more engagements from the ageing senior royals.

The 91-year-old queen has reduced her public events in recent years and Prince Philip, her 96-year-old husband, officially retired in August.

William gave up his job as an air ambulance pilot in July and relocated his family from Anmer Hall in Norfolk to their apartment at Kensington Palace.//AFP

Duterte came to power last year promising to wage a brutal and unprecedented war on drugs. Since then, police have killed around 3,800 suspects in anti-narcotics operations, while thousands of other people have been murdered in unexplained circumstances.

His son Paolo Duterte and son-in-law Manases Carpio appeared at a Senate inquiry Thursday to answer accusations that they helped facilitate the shipment of crystal methamphetamine worth 6.4 billion pesos ($125.4 million) into the Philippines from China in exchange for payment.

The allegations emerged last month when a customs broker told the Senate panel that he had heard the names of Duterte’s son and son-in-law mentioned while seeking to expedite the shipment.

The broker later issued a statement clearing the two men of involvement.

But opposition senator Antonio Trillanes at the inquiry accused Duterte’s son of belonging to a drug trafficking gang, saying the 42-year-old had a tattoo on his back, resembling a dragon, that was “proof… of his membership” in the gang.

Paolo Duterte, vice-mayor of the southern city of Davao, told the panel that he had a tattoo but said he could not answer allegations based on hearsay.

“The law of karma will operate especially to those with evil intent,” he added in an apparent swipe at Trillanes, an arch-critic of the president.

Carpio, who is married to Davao city mayor Sara Duterte, also rejected allegations against their family.

“I and my brother-in-law have been publicly crucified based on rumours and gossip,” said Carpio, a lawyer.

“I have no knowledge of or involvement in the illegal drugs shipment.”

The sensational allegations have captured the attention of Filipinos, many of whom back the president’s vow to pursue an unrelenting war against drug traffickers.

Duterte, 72, has said he would be “happy to slaughter” three million Filipino drug addicts, even as critics warn the deaths of thousands of people killed in the crackdown may amount to a crime against humanity.

Duterte has denied ever inciting police or vigilantes to commit mass murder.

In speeches, he had encouraged his son to attend the hearing but advised him to invoke his “right of silence”.

Detained opposition senator Leila De Lima last month accused the president of hypocrisy over his son’s case.

“Let us look at the issue involving the 6.4 billion pesos worth of (illegal drugs) in the Bureau of Customs where the presidential son Paolo Duterte is being implicated,” she said.

“(Rodrigo) Duterte has said a mouthful about killing the poor caught with small grams of shabu but his silence on the tonnes of illegal drugs that slipped past customs is deafening.”//AFP

“Alas, the island is not reachable at this point because of the huge damage to the airport and the harbour,” Rutte told reporters, though he added there were no reports of deaths on the Dutch side so far. French authorities say at least nine lives have been lost on the French side.

A handout grab image made from a video released on September 6, 2017 by RCI.fm shows flooded streets and damage on the French overseas island of Saint-Martin, filmed from a terrace of the Beach Plaza hotel after high winds from Hurricane Irma hit the island.// AFP PHOTO

An aerial photography taken and released by the Dutch department of Defense on September 6, 2017 shows the damage of Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, on the Dutch Caribbean island of Sint Maarten. // AFP PHOTO

This handout picture released on September 7, 2017, by RCI.fm shows damages on the French overseas island of Saint-Martin, after high winds from Hurricane Irma hit the island. // AFP PHOTO

Prayut led an entourage to visit Phnom Penh in a one-day visit to hold the third Cambodia-Thailand Joint Cabinet Retreat.

Prayut planned to emphasise strengthening cooperation in border development, labour, trade and investment, connectivity, and regional and international frameworks.

Prayut and his Cambodian counterpart also planned to witness the signing of two documents on a joint declaration regarding the meeting and the Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, according to a press statement.

The lawsuit comes a day after the same department asked immigration officials to prevent the now-closed English-language newspaper’s directors – Deborah Krisher-Steele and Douglas Steele – from leaving the country.

On August 4, the newspaper was slapped with a $6.3 million tax bill and given a month to pay the “exorbitant” amount. Unable to do so, the Daily published its last edition on Monday, its closure coming in the midst of a wide-ranging clampdown on independent media. More than 15 radio stations have also been shuttered, with the broadcasts Radio Free Asia, Voice of Democracy and Voice of America disproportionately affected.

The Tax Department’s criminal complaint was drafted on September 4 – the day of the deadline – and submitted to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday. The lawsuit levels the accusations at Krisher-Steele and Steele, as well as the newspaper’s founder, Bernard Krisher, alleging they showed “intention of evading tax with prior knowledge”.

Court spokesman Ly Sophanna would only confirm receipt of the complaint and that it was being reviewed yesterday.

The lawsuit accuses them of tax evasion under Article 135, which comes with a maximum fine of $4,800 and a prison sentence of up to five years. They are also accused under Article 136 for obstruction of the implementation of tax, which carries a fine of up to $2,400 and a one-year prison sentence.

In statements over the last few weeks, the Daily’s management had requested a “fair” audit of their financials in order to assess a reasonable tax liability.

Additionally, Krisher-Steele faces a “public defamation” charge for alleging that a confidential tax document was leaked by the department to government mouthpiece Fresh News, an allegation that was refuted by Tax Department head Kong Vibol, who instead accused Daily staffers of releasing it.

“The act that Deborah [Krisher-Steele] accused the officials at the General Department of Tax of was a serious defamation, which affects the honour [and] dignity of a state institution and a violation of the law on tax, which is not excusable,” the complaint reads.

Vann Puthipoll, Vibol’s deputy and tax representative on the complaint, hung up on a reporter when asked about the lawsuit.

The Daily’s Douglas Steele did not comment on the lawsuit but said the travel ban did not affect him because he had no intention of leaving the country. While Steele is in Cambodia, Krisher-Steele and Bernard Krisher, her father, reside in Japan.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said the lawsuit was clearly not about taxes, but an attempt to silence a media outlet, which would have a residual impact on others.

He added that if Prime Minister Hun Sen was serious about tax compliance, he wouldn’t have to go much farther than his own family to enforce it.

“If Hun Sen wanted to focus on unpaid taxes he could start by auditing his nieces and nephews, and the sons and daughters of his party leadership, who appear to have accumulated vast fortunes and created major conflicts of interest among senior government officials responsible for enforcing financial regulations,” he said.

Days after the Daily’s closure, tributes continued to pour in, with the local Overseas Press Club of Cambodia saying it was dismayed with the newspaper’s closure, which they said had curtailed the Kingdom’s press diversity.

The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malay­sia deputy president said the op­pression of the Rohingya under the Myanmar government cannot be ignored.

“Malaysians love peace. But the unrestricted tyranny taking place under Aung San Suu Kyi’s regime cannot be allowed.

“Our humanity cannot be upheld if mass murder takes place without any response.

“I urge Malaysia to deploy the Navy to the Bay of Bengal. That is the only language that Myanmar will understand,” he said in a series of tweets yesterday.

Asean is no longer able to handle the issue of the Rohingya persecution in Myanmar, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

He said Asean had failed to address the issue efficiently so Malaysia will instead continue to raise the issue at the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“Within Asean, I have given up hope. We had seven meetings, and Malaysia expressed our concerns to Myanmar and they (Myanmar) promised to address the concern.

“Until today, nothing has been done. Therefore, Malaysia may raise it at other levels, like the United Nations and OIC,” he said after meeting with Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Aloysio Nunes at Wisma Putra yesterday. Nunes is on a three-day working visit to Malaysia.

On Tuesday, Wisma Putra summoned Myanmar Ambassador to Malaysia, U Sein Oo, to express Malaysia’s displeasure over the latest violence in Rakhine state.

In Melaka, World Assembly of Youth’s (WAY) president Datuk Seri Idris Haron slammed Myan­mar’s de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the violence, saying she could no longer be seen as the “Mahatma Gandhi of the Millennia”.

Idris said the Nobel laureate had let the world down in defending the rights of the minority Rohingya as the community is subjected to inhumane treatment and suffering.

“She was an inspiration to us all at one point but is no longer seen as a champion of human rights,” he told a press conference.

Idris, who is also Melaka Chief Minister, said Suu Kyi had refused to sympathise with the suffering of the Rohingya.

“The Rohingya are treated cruelly and are isolated but why is a Nobel laureate not restraining the atrocities? No man should be subjected to genocide, physical attacks and bullying by the majority,” he said.

Tensions have been escalating in the Korean peninsula after North Korea claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb and an intercontinental ballistic missile that could go as far as to the east coast of the US. With the war of words between the US and North Korea escalating, focus has turned to North Korea’s missile programme.

North Korea has been working towards developing nuclear capabilities right after the World War II. While the intentions were there as early as in the 1950s, the country missile programme began with Scuds missile, with its first batch reportedly coming via Egypt in 1976. In next few years it built its own versions called Hwasongs. Under the regime of the first communist leader Kim II-Sung, North Korea conducted the first missile test in 1984.

After the death of Kim II-Sung, it was his son Kim Jong-il who ramped up both nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. When Kim Jong-il passed away, it was Kim Jong-un who took the reins of the nuclear programme and has been what many would term as unstoppable in the face of world condemnation and strict sanctions against his country.

In mid 1980s and 1990s, North Korea continued to work on building variations of Scud; Rodong 1 (1,300 km), Taepodong-1 (2,500km), Musudan-1 (3,000km), Taepodong-2 (6,700km)

After criticism for its nuclear programme was voiced, North Korea signed the Nuclear Non proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1985. However it denied access to the inspectors of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1993 who wanted unfettered access to its waste storage sites.

Meanwhile it test fires a medium-range Rodong ballistic missile in the same year. The following year, it enters an agreement with the US and pledges to freeze its nuclear reactors in exchange of aid from the US.

In 1998, in violation of the treaty it test fires the first long range missile with a range of 1,300kms. Taking cognizance of the defiant act the Bush administration labels North Korea part of the “axis of evil”. North Korea withdraws from the NPT in 2003. In the October of the same year NK declares it has nuclear weapons.

In 2006, North Korea conducts first nuclear test, firing seven ballistic missiles. The UN Security Council passes a resolution demanding that the country put an immediate end to its nuclear programme.

Paying little attention to the council resolution the country claims to have successfully tested its first nuclear weapon. The consequences of the brazen declaration result in wide ranging sanctions on the country.

After the break down of the six-party talks in Beijing in December 2008, North Korea conducts its second nuclear test in 2009 launching a long range rocket. Following the test, UN Security council imposes more stringent sanctions.

In 2012 the US state department announces that North Korea had agreed to put a moratorium on its nuclear activity in exchange for food aid from the US. However in the same year, North Korea launches a long range rocket albeit it falls apart shortly after lift-off.

In February 2013, the country conducts third nuclear test, the first under Kim Jong-un. United Nations imposes more sanctions to register strong protest.  In 2014, ahead of Chinese president’s visit to Seoul, North Korea conducts series of missile tests. Tensions escalate between North and South Korea resulting in firing of shells across the border.

In December, 2015 North Korea announces that it has added hydrogen bomb to its arsenal. In January 2016, the country conducts fourth nuclear test and in September of the same year, conducts one more test.

In April, 2016 North Korea test-fires a submarine launched ballistic missile. In the same year, for the first time it fires a ballistic missile into Japan’s maritime economic zone. In September, 2016 North Korea conducts its fifth nuclear test.

In July, 2017 North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile and declares it to be a ‘landmark’ test of Hwasong-14 ICBM. It test-fires a series of ballistic missiles with a theoretical range of 10,000 kms, that could go as far as to the US.

Last week North Korea claimed that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb designed to be mounted on its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile, producing a greater yield than any of its previous nuclear tests.

Nam Seong-wook, professor of Korean Unification, Diplomacy and Security at Korea University, presented his findings on Kim’s personality at the Liberty Korea Party general meeting Wednesday.

Nam, during his former job at the Institute for National Security Strategy, carried out extensive research on the North Korean leader.

Following Kim’s ascent around 2008, INSS dispatched special task forces to Osaka and Bern in order to track down the heir-to-be and find out what kind of a person he is.

This picture shows a young Kim Jong-un at his school in Bern. (Yonhap)

Nam introduced an anecdote about the then 15-year-old Kim who was studying in Bern. “I was very shocked to find out how Kim swore at his girlfriend over the phone when she asked him to quit smoking,” he recalled. “This rough manner he displayed made me think things would get complicated once he becomes the ‘king’ of the nation.”

Nam claimed Kim’s uncontrollable temper has to do with the North’s recent provocations, warning that hostile acts will continue unless Kim is removed from his seat.