#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001786

[Pakistan] At least 51 killed, 100 injured as passenger trains collide in Sindhs Ghotki district

---

At least 51 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured on Monday after two passenger trains collided near Daharki, a city located in the Ghotki district of upper Sindh, according to officials.

The death toll rose after the recovery of 11 more bodies, Ghotki SSP Umer Tufail said.

He shared the list of 34 deceased passengers, including men, women and children, who have been identified. “I still fear the toll can still rise as we are tracing a few policemen of the train who are missing,” he said.

According to a spokesperson for Pakistan Railways (PR), the accident took place at around 03:30am after a Millat Express train — headed from Karachi to Sargodha — derailed and fell across the “down track”. Due to this, it collided with a Sir Syed Express train coming from Rawalpindi, he said, adding that the incident took place near the Raiti railway station.

“The Millat Express train left Daharki station at 03:28am. Information was received at 03:43am that the train had derailed at 03:38am. Meanwhile, the Sir Syed Express train passed through Raiti at 03:38am. As the coaches of the derailed train were infringing the down track, the driver tried to apply emergency brakes but the locomotive hit the infringing coaches at 03:38am,” a PR statement said.

As a result of this accident, six coaches of Millat Express were derailed and five coaches overturned, while two coaches of the Sir Syed Express train were derailed and three overturned, it added, stating that 31 people had been killed while more than 100 had been injured.

The PR spokesperson said a relief train had been dispatched from Rohri while officials, along with police and the local administration, were carrying out rescue efforts. He said that helpline centres have been set up for passengers in Karachi, Sukkur, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi.

He further said that some of the passengers from the Sir Syed Express train have been taken to the Sadiqabad railway station. “Railway traffic would be restored when tracks are cleared,” he added.

Both the up- and down-country tracks remained closed throughout the day after the accident. Sukkur division PR superintendent Mian Tariq Latif hoped one of the tracks would be opened by midnight.

SSP Tufail had earlier said: “Thirty eight bodies have been shifted to hospitals and two bodies are being retrieved.”

He said that a list is being compiled of the deceased, adding that 25 injured were in critical condition.

In a statement, the Pakistan Railways Directorate said 32 people had died and more than 80 were injured, that a relief train from Sukkur had reached the site. “Pakistan Army troops, police, the district administration and rescue workers took part in the rescue operation,” the statement said.

The process of shifting the injured and the deceased to hospitals has been completed, it said, adding that giving medical attention to the injured was of the utmost priority.

Restoring railway traffic is also a priority, it said, adding that officials had reached the scene to investigate the incident. Federal Railways Minister Azam Khan Swati will personally oversee the completion of an initial inquiry, it said.

Earlier today, the minister had visited the site of the incident.

According to reports, the incident has paralysed railway traffic across the country. An information desk has been set up at the Hyderabad railway station for passengers. Railway traffic remains suspended since 2pm on both up- and down-country tracks.

Earlier, Ghotki SSP Umar Tufail said between 15 to 20 passengers were still trapped in the wreckage of the Millat Express train and authorities are trying to arrange heavy machinery to rescue those people who are crying for help.

He said that the death toll is likely to rise as one of the bogies is still stuck in the wreckage. “The Pakistan Railways relief train has not yet reached the spot from Rohri,” he said. He feared once this bogie is cleared the number of dead could rise as it is the main bogie in the entire train, adding that 31 bodies had been retrieved from the wreckage.

Ghotki Deputy Commissioner Usman Abdullah said at least 30 people had been killed while 50 others had been injured in the incident. However, officials were facing difficulty in rescuing citizens as the bogies had overturned, he said, adding that the death toll could increase.

Speaking to Geo News, the deputy commissioner said that 13 to 14 bogies had derailed in the incident while six to eight were “completely destroyed”. He said that citizens that were still trapped were a “challenge” for rescue officials.

He said that a relief train had departed from Rohri, adding that the local administration and rescue teams were present on the site of the accident. However, the official refused to give a timeframe for the rescue operation.

“This is a challenging task. It will take time to use heavy machinery to free citizens [still trapped],” he said. He said that an emergency had been declared in the district and all doctors and paramedical staff had been put on call.

“We are also establishing a medical camp to provide medical aid to citizens,” he said.

‘Horrific accident’

Speaking to Dawn.com, an official from chief controller in Karachi said: “It’s a tragedy. We can’t do anything. The time difference between the departures of the two trains is hardly 10 minutes or so.”

The spot where the tragedy occurred is around 6km to 7km short of Punjab province inside Sindh region.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has taken notice of the incident and expressed grief over the lives lost. Speaking to the Sukkur Commissioner over the phone, he directed him to mobilise the district administration. “Machinery should be arranged to rescue passengers that are still stuck,” he said.

Arrangements should also be made at nearby hospitals to treat those that have been injured, he said. He also directed the official to arrange temporary accommodation and food for the passengers. “An information system should be set up so that citizens can get accurate information,” he said.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said he was “shocked by the horrific train accident”.

“Have asked the railways minister to reach the site and ensure medical assistance to injured and support for families of the dead. Ordering comprehensive investigation into railway safety faultlines,” he said.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that relief and rescue efforts were under way at the site of the collision.

Pakistan Army and Rangers troops have reached the site and are carrying out relief and rescue operation, the military’s media affairs wing said. Military doctors and paramedics, along with ambulances moved from Pannu Aqil, have also reached incident site, it added.

“Engineer resources moved to carry out necessary relief and rescue work. Army special Engineer Team Urban Search and Rescue being heli-lifted from Rawalpindi to incident site to speed up relief and rescue efforts,” the ISPR said.

Two helicopters are being flown from Multan to evacuate casualties and speedy relief measures, the statement said. “Relief goods [are] being prepared and will be dispatched shortly,” the ISPR said.

PR also announced special telephone numbers to facilitate the families of the passengers, Radio Pakistan reported. The telephone numbers are 041-9200488, 051-9270834, 071-5813433 and 071-9310087.

‘Inquiry will determine cause of incident’

PR Chief Executive Officer Nisar Memon said an inquiry into tragedy would determine the cause of the incident. He conceded that the railway tracks in Sukkur division were weak, adding that PR had applied speed restrictions in such spots to ensure passenger safety.

“But this patch of the track is not weak and safety is never compromised,” he told Dawn over the phone. He said that when restrictions are applied, the train driver maintains the speed at 40km/h, 60km/h and 80km/h.

He hoped that one of the tracks would be opened for traffic by 6pm as rescue and relief work was underway.

Major train accidents

In July 2020, at least 20 people were killed when the Shah Hussain Express train rammed into a coaster near Sheikhupura in Punjab.

Around 30 people were travelling on the coaster from Nankana Sahib to Peshawar, out of whom 13 males and seven females died in the accident. The deceased had included 19 Sikh pilgrims and the driver of the vehicle.

This incident came four months after a bus crossing an unmanned railway crossing near Rohri in Sindh was crushed by the Lahore-bound Pakistan Express train coming from Karachi on February 28, 2020, killing at least 19 people and leaving more than 30 injured.

The year 2019, meanwhile, proved to be one of the worst years for Pakistan Railways and its huge number of passengers as a number of accidents, including the horrible Tezgam fire tragedy in October, exposed wrong decision-making and incompetence allegedly on the part of the management while dealing with the department’s operations.

In a rare and one of the most horrifying tragedies in PR’s history, 74 passengers were killed, with 90 per cent of them burnt alive, and over 40 injured when three coaches of the Rawalpindi-bound Tezgam Express caught fire near Rahim Yar Khan on October 31, 2019.

The Tezgam incident followed after another accident on July 11, 2019, when the Quetta-bound Akbar Express crashed into the back of a goods train at Walhar railway station’s loop line, near Sadiqabad, leaving 21 passengers dead and 85 injured.

Additional input from AP and Naveed Siddiqui

Published : June 08, 2021

By : Ubaidullah Shaikh/Mohammad Hussain Khan/Dawn/ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001746

[Vietnam] Avoid excessive COVID-19 measures that disrupt business and production: Gov’t

---

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính on Saturday issued a dispatch to ministries and local authorities on avoiding excessive COVID-19 measures that cause negative impacts on business and production activities.

The dispatch states that a number of localities have implemented social distancing measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, others have carried out measures to manage people returning or arriving from outbreak-hit regions, however, some have “imposed rigid, even extreme measures” that heavily affect business and production, and threaten to cause disruptions to the supply chain on a large scale.

The move came nearly a day after the southern province of Đồng Nai early Friday issued an urgent dispatch requiring all people returning or arriving from HCM City – which is under two-week city-wide social distancing order to contain a large COVID-19 outbreak – to be either quarantined at home or at centralised facilities (fees borne by the quarantined person) starting Saturday.

The sudden requirement caused a significant backlash among the businesses in HCM City and Đồng Nai as there are a large number of labourers and experts travelling between the two neighbouring localities on a daily basis. Đồng Nai on early Saturday issued a revision, dropping the mandatory quarantine for workers, experts and employees who resided in HCM City but worked in Đồng Nai or vice versa.

However, these cases must observe basic COVID-19 prevention and control measures, and the employing companies must register the licence plate of the bus transporting their employees between the two localities to Đồng Nai police, and submit health declaration forms at the checkpoints.

In the cable, the Government leader asked that heads of ministries, State agencies, and local authorities to follow instructions of the Party Secretariat on carrying out the dual goals of both outbreak containment and economic development.

Localities must discuss with each other before implementing any travel restrictions, it stated.

The Ministry of Transport is supposed to coordinate with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in reviewing the organisation of transport activities to and from outbreak-hit places to balance between outbreak containment and ensuring uninterrupted business and production, to promptly correct the application of excessive measures that cause congestion. — VNS

Published : June 07, 2021

By : Viet Nam News/ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001745

[Myanmar] Ban imposed on soap, soap powder and toothpaste from Thailand

---

A temporary ban on soap, soap powder and toothpaste has been imposed starting June 4 by the OSS Customs of the Myawady Trading Zone at Myawaddy, at the Myanmar-Thai Border.

According to the commerce ministry’s directive, the ban was aimed at using less foreign currency and give some protection to local products from the competitive market.

Myanmar has also imposed a ban on the products from other countries, including Thailand through the border areas such as soft drinks, coffee and tea mixes, sweetened condensed milk and so on. They will only be allowed through maritime trade.

Border traders had reported that due to such bans, they had suffered losses as well as raising prices on such banned consumer goods and harming the market.

Published : June 07, 2021

By : Eleven Media/ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001744

Over 7,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine wasted in Japan

---

More than 7,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been wasted amid the nationwide rollout of inoculations, due to errors involving such elements as the storage and dilution of vaccines, a Yomiuri Shimbun survey has found.

The Yomiuri Shimbun compiled the data based on interviews with Tokyo’s 23 wards and the 46 prefectural capitals, as well from cases announced by local governments.

According to the Yomiuri’s findings, the National Hospital Organization Omuta National Hospital in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, and vaccination venues in Kobe wasted more than 2,000 doses of vaccine produced by U.S. maker Pfizer Inc. due to incorrect handling of the drug. In one case, vaccine that needed to be stored in extremely cold conditions was left at room temperature.

■ Storage temperatures

“We didn’t fully understand the facilities at the venues and the inoculation manual, so we ended up making a series of mistakes,” Hiroyuki Saito said in an interview Thursday. Saito, formerly head of the city’s environment preservation department, was recently appointed as the Kobe city government’s vaccination control supervisor.

Pfizer’s vaccine is widely used for the inoculation of medical workers and elderly people. The frozen vials are thawed in a refrigerator and diluted with saline before administration. If they are thawed at room temperature, they need to be diluted within two hours.

On May 11, vaccine delivered to three venues in Kobe was taken out of cold storage containers and handed over to workers commissioned by the city government as venue staff. However, city officials with the keys to the freezers were not present, so the vaccines were left at room temperature for about two hours, resulting in a total of 960 doses becoming unusable.

To prevent a recurrence of such mistakes, the local government set up the post of vaccination control supervisor to strengthen the system. However, another mishap occurred on May 23. On that day, a total of 215 doses had to be thrown away after the cold storage unit at a vaccination venue was found to have been unplugged, causing the unit’s temperature to rise to 21 C.

In Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, 1,044 doses of the vaccines were wasted at the National Hospital Organization Omuta National Hospital on May 28 because a box containing 175 vials was taken out of the freezer and left at room temperature for about three hours after only one vial was used for administration.

“Compared to other vaccines commonly used, the Pfizer one is particularly difficult to handle, because it must be stored at extremely low temperatures under strict control,” said an official in charge. “We want to make sure that we confirm the work procedures thoroughly with the check sheets.”

In Tokyo, a total of 12 doses were wasted at a vaccination site in Minato Ward, Tokyo, on May 17 and 19 due to an error in which the vaccine was diluted to twice the prescribed level. A staff member mistakenly added saline to doses that had been already diluted by another staffer.

“The medical workers and other staff in charge at vaccination sites change daily. Once again, we want to make sure we communicate more to check the procedures,” said an official in charge at the Minato Ward Office.

■ Cancellations

In many cases, vaccine had to be thrown away due to people not showing up for their scheduled reservations.

In Shizuoka, about 30 doses planned to be used for senior citizens were left over on May 26 and 27 due to such reasons as sudden cancellations. The Shizuoka city government decided to administer the shots to health center employees at short notice but had to throw away 19 doses because it could not find people who wanted to be vaccinated.

In an effort to reduce such waste, the Setagaya Ward Office in Tokyo asked kindergartens, nursery schools and elementary and junior high schools near vaccination venues to make a list of people who can come to the sites within 10 minutes after receiving a call in the event of a sudden cancellation.

Inoculation venues in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward thaw and dilute a smaller amount of vials than are expected to be needed, to minimize leftover doses due to cancellations.

Vaccinations in Japan began on Feb. 17 for front-line medical workers. Senior citizens and others became eligible on April 12.

As of Thursday, a total of about 8.09 million doses had been administered to mainly medical workers and about 7.51 million doses to the elderly.

Published : June 07, 2021

By : The Japan News/ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001743

[South Korea] Military to begin vaccination campaign for troops under 30

---

The military was to begin administering Pfizers coronavirus vaccine to soldiers under 30 years old Monday, the defense ministry said.

Of the around 414,000 eligible service members, about 86.5 percent applied for the inoculation, and the vaccine will be given at 91 military clinics across the nation through July 16, according to the ministry.

Soldiers aged 30 and older were already given AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, with about 88 percent, or 116,900 members, of the age group agreeing to take their first shots, the ministry said.

South Korea is also scheduled to administer Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine to reservists and civilians affiliated with the defense and foreign affairs Thursday. Around 1.01 million doses were provided by the United States, and they arrived here Saturday.

Janssen vaccines will only be administered to those in their 30s and older due to concerns over blood clotting among younger generations.

“Once this inoculation campaign is completed, about 87 percent of the country’s 550,000 troops are expected to be vaccinated, which meets the military’s target of 80 percent,” Defense Minister Suh Wook said according to a release.

As of 2 p.m. Sunday, the military had reported 982 COVID-19 cases among its population.

Nationwide, South Korea reported 556 more COVID-19 cases, including 541 local infections, raising the total caseload to 144,152, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. (Yonhap)

Published : June 07, 2021

By : The Korea Herald/ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001742

China to boost world vaccine supplies

---

China has provided more than 350 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines overseas and is stepping up domestic production to further increase the foreign supply, especially to developing countries, a senior health official said on Sunday.

“The No 1 priority for the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is to expand and accelerate mass vaccination, which rests on boosting vaccine production and promoting equitable access,” said Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the National Health Commission.

“The country is now scaling up production to ensure smooth progress of its inoculation campaigns, while also exhausting all means to offer assistance to the international community, particularly those in the developing world,” he said.

China has issued conditional market approval to four COVID-19 vaccines and granted authorization for emergency use to three candidates. As of Saturday, about 763 million doses had been administered in the country, according to the commission.

“It is clear from data that China has been striving to balance domestic vaccine rollouts and global supplies,” Zeng said, adding that the stable epidemic situation has created favorable conditions for the country to achieve the balance.

More importantly, Zeng said, China is deeply committed to upholding the vision of “a community with a shared future for mankind,” and honoring its promise made in May last year that all vaccines it develops will be for the public good.

“The pandemic has again underlined the significance of and the wisdom embedded in the vision,” he said. “No country can conquer the virus or stay safe on its own. Global unity and coordination must be promoted.

“That’s why we have been acting with a global mindset and in an altruistic manner, while rejecting narrow-minded nationalism and unfounded suspicion,” he added.

In order to ramp up global vaccine coverage, strong vaccine production and sufficient supplies are a prerequisite. “In China, the speed and scale of capacity expansion have both exceeded our expectations thanks to concerted efforts from manufacturers and governments,” Zeng said.

China’s COVID-19 vaccines are gaining increasing recognition around the globe, according to Zeng.

Two domestic vaccines, developed separately by Sinopharm’s Beijing Institute of Biological Products and Sinovac Biotech, recently gained emergency-use approval by the World Health Organization, which attested to their safety and efficacy, Zeng said. The approval allows the two vaccines to be included in COVAX, a major global vaccine-sharing platform.

Data from real-world use of Chinese vaccines has added to growing evidence of their effectiveness in reducing infections and death rates, he said.

In a town in Brazil with a population of 46,000, about 90 percent of residents age 18 or above were inoculated with doses donated by Sinovac Biotech. Compared with neighboring towns that had enforced the same disease control measures, but had not inoculated a large proportion of the population, the town reported a 95 percent reduction in the mortality rate and an 80 percent drop in symptomatic infections.

“The case in Brazil has showcased strong protection from Sinovac vaccines and has injected confidence into the global fight against the virus,” Zeng said.

With growing confidence in the vaccines’ role in curbing the spread of the disease, Zeng said it is worthwhile for the WHO to consider adjusting requirements on submitting data on third and late stage clinical trials when reviewing experimental vaccines for emergency use.

“Many enterprises around the world are confronted with difficulties in launching phase three clinical trials after completing all preclinical tests and earlier stages of trials, as well as passing manufacturing facility examinations as requested,” he said.

“Since we have accumulated a sufficient amount of data to prove that vaccination is an effective way to prevent COVID-19 infections, it is suggested that the WHO consider waiving third-stage trial results for emergency-use evaluations.”

Zeng said the proposal, if implemented, has the potential to sharply increase global vaccine supplies, reduce costs and speed up the global vaccination process.

He added that public health measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing, should be deployed together with mass inoculations.

Published : June 07, 2021

By : WANG XIAOYU/China Daily/ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001720

Na Hong-jin’s Thai-Korean film ‘The Medium’ coming to theaters in July

---

Na Hong-jin, who has directed multiple South Korean thrillers and met with both commercial and critical success, is coming out with a new Thai movie in July, according to local distributor Show Box on Thursday.

In September last year, the Korean film distributor announced that Na had teamed up with popular Thai filmmaker Banjong Pisanthanakun to make “The Medium,” a horror film set in rural Thailand.

“The Medium” shows three months in the life of a family that has inherited special spiritual powers.

While Na wrote the script and produced the film — his first time in the producer role — Pisanthanakun was in charge of directing.

Na’s previous films include “The Chaser” (2008) and “The Yellow Sea” (2010). His most recent work, “The Wailing,” drew 6.87 million moviegoers in Korea when it was released in 2016 and was named the best film that year by an association of Korean film critics.

Pisanthanakun achieved stardom in 2013 with rom-com thriller “Pee Mak,” the first movie in Thailand to attract more than 10 million viewers. He has also directed several other hit horror films, such as “Shutter” (2004) and “Alone” (2007).

 

The new Thai-Korean film is highly anticipated by global audiences. French distributor The Jokers Films, which also distributed acclaimed Korean films such as “Parasite” (2019) and “The Handmaiden” (2016), has already decided to distribute Na’s film in France.

“The Medium” will be released globally after hitting local theaters in July.

Published : June 06, 2021

By : The Korea Herald / ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001717

PM calls on developed world to support countries vulnerable to climate change

---

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday called on the developed world to support those countries vulnerable to climate change and highlighted Pakistans contributions towards tackling global warming.

The premier was addressing a ceremony in Islamabad to mark World Environment Day. This year, Pakistan is hosting World Environment Day in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme.

“Pakistan’s contribution to global warming and climate change is minimal. Rich countries, which contribute significantly more, have a greater responsibility to provide funds to ones like ours so that we can fight climate change,” he said.

The premier said that Pakistan was left with very little money to address climate issues, highlighting the difference in resources between the developed and developing world.

Comparing the aid given by the government to the people in Pakistan and in the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said: “The countries which contribute the most towards pollution and have the resources should support those trying to combat climate change.”

PM Imran also paid tribute to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for reiterating the message that the developed world has to take responsibility and help countries which do not have the resources when it comes to fighting global warming.

He said that Pakistan has pledged to shift to producing 60pc clean energy by 2030. “People must now pay attention to planting trees and cleaning rivers in order to reduce pollution.

“This is the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration. This is the decade the world fights back to restore the ecosystem.”

‘World did not pay attention to climate change’

The premier began by stating that it was an honour for Pakistan to be hosting the event marking World Environment Day. “The world has realised that Pakistan is one of the few countries that is worried about coming generations.”

He lamented the fact that in the past, the world did not pay attention to climate change. “Some countries did, but most did not and Pakistan was among them.”

He said that the the country’s jungles and forests were destroyed, as more and more people took over the land while rivers became polluted. “Lahore was once the city of gardens. Now pollution levels have surpassed danger levels.”

The premier stated that the world had now been given the chance to correct its course, adding that this was the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration. “This is our chance. In these ten years, the world has to correct its course.”

The prime minister said that humanity will have to suffer the consequences of ignoring the effects of climate change.

Highlighting Pakistan’s contributions towards combatting climate change, PM Imran said that the country was responsible for less than one per cent of global carbon emissions. “Despite this, we decided to do whatever we can to fight global warming which has negative consequences.”

He said that 80pc of Pakistan’s rivers are supplied from glaciers which are being affected by global warming.

“Twenty years ago, people used to make fun of those talking about climate change. But now the world is slowly realising its impact.”

Commenting on the government’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, he lauded officials for planting one billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and paid tribute to the forest guards.

“The timber mafia had slowly destroyed the trees and forests. They were so powerful that no politician was ready to say anything [but] we confronted them for the first time in KP,” he said, lauding the sacrifices made by the forest guards.

Calls on nation to participate

The prime minister said that the campaign will not be successful until the whole nation participates and comes to the realisation that this is for the children of the country.

“The teachers of Pakistan have a big responsibility. You need to start teaching children about the importance of planting trees.

“If we are successful in our goal of planting 10 billion trees, it will have a major impact on the people, the country and the economy,” he said, adding that it will also combat pollution and water scarcity. “The whole country needs to participate.”

He said that the country’s youth was its biggest advantage and could pay a role in protecting the environment.

He said that in addition to the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme, the government was also focusing on trying to “recharge” the country’s wetlands. “Floodwater is wasted and can be used to recharge wetlands and lakes,” he said, adding that work was also being carried out on preserving and regenerating mangroves.

“We have to try and involve locals in this. But those who don’t have enough to eat will never care about the environment. Therefore, green jobs are necessary as it will give them a stake in this.”

We have made 15 new national parks and these require special guards, he said. The biggest benefit for locals from this will be ecotourism and they will become stakeholders, he said.

Published : June 06, 2021

By : Dawn / ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001716

Asean envoys meet with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing

---

According to the the militarys True News Information Team, Chairman of the State Administration Council Senior General Min Aung Hlaing met with Asean Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and Erywan Yusof, the second minister for foreign affairs for Brunei, Asean’s chair on the morning of June 4.

They discussed matters regarding the results of the Asean Summit on April 24, efforts in building the Asean community, carrying out matters based on Asean suggestions, Covid-19 vaccination efforts by Asean, Myanmar-Brunei bilateral relationships, violence carried out by CRPH and NUG other terror organisations, voter fraud in 2020 general election and results from investigations into it, maintaining stability and peace in the country as well as matters regarding humanitarian aid.

The meeting was also attended by others union ministers such as U Wanna Maung Lwni, U Ko Ko Hlaing and more. Deputy Asean Secretary-General Garry Ramtee Bin Haji Ibrahim and others also accompanied the Asean envoy team.

On April 24, a special Asean Summit was held at Jakarta, Indonesia in regards to the political turmoil in Myanmar. A meeting which the Senior General attended.

As follow up tot he meeting, the two envoys had come to Myanmar since June 3.

International media had reported of widespread criticism by observers that despite Asean’s efforts at diplomatic intervention, Asean’s diplomatic influence has never been a defining trait of Asean, calling into question its effectiveness. 

It had also reported that in parallel to the EU and US increasing sanctions and restrictions on leaders of the Myanmar’s Tatmadaw (military), Asean is struggling to solve Myanmar’s problems.

Published : June 06, 2021

By : Eleven Media / ANN

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40001715

Over 1m doses of J&J vaccine from US arrive in S. Korea

---

More than 1 million doses of Johnson & Johnsons Janssen COVID-19 vaccine arrived in South Korea from the United States on Saturday in what Seoul and Washington officials touted as a sign of the two countries robust alliance.

The KC-330 military aircraft carrying the vaccine for 1.01 million people arrived at 12:40 a.m. at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, after it departed from an air base on the US west coast Thursday (US time), officials said.

The shipment came after US President Joe Biden pledged during last month’s summit with President Moon Jae-in that his administration will offer vaccinations for South Korea’s 550,000 active service members, who work closely with US troops here.

Washington later nearly doubled the shipment volume.

Seoul plans to use them to inoculate reserve forces, civil defense members and others in charge of defense and foreign affairs.

Officials from the Seoul government and the US Embassy, including Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min and Rob Rapson, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Seoul, welcomed the arrival of the vaccine on the tarmac.

“The arrival of the Janssen vaccine served as an opportunity to once again realize the solid bond of the South Korea-US alliance and its crucial value,” Park said. “I thank the Korean and US military for its operations to safely transport the vaccine doses.”

In a tweet, Rapson pointed out, “This is what allies do; this is what makes our Alliance and Partnership so strong!” 

Touching on the vaccine supply, Ned Price, spokesman of the US State Department, said, “The friendship between our two countries runs deep, especially in times of great need.”

“One million J&J vaccines are headed to our partners in the Republic of Korea. With these doses we’re ensuring the safety and readiness of ROK and US forces,” he tweeted.

 

Escorted by police, two trucks transported the US-provided vaccines into warehouses in Icheon, 80 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, for use later this month. (Yonhap)

Published : June 06, 2021

By : The Korea Herald / ANN