President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to form an interim government with a new prime minister and cabinet of ministers, former president Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday (29).
Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which recently quit the government, had a discussion with Rajapaksa on Friday about the way forward.
“The talks were successful. The president agreed to form an interim government under a new prime minister with a new cabinet.
“They will send invitations to all parties in the coming days. The new cabinet must be small, with just 15 to 20 ministers,” said Sirisena.
The president has also agreed to appoint a National Council as proposed by the SLFP, he said at a press conference Friday afternoon.
However, reports had emerged earlier that the president had, in fact, decided not to go for an interim all party government and that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa would continue in his role.
Meanwhile, main opposition the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) MP Harsha de Silva said Thursday (28) night that his party will support an interim all-party government only if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa steps down.
President Rajapaksa was scheduled to meet party leaders Friday morning but reports said the meeting was postponed at the last minute. However, a meeting with the SLFP parliamentary group went ahead as scheduled.
Sri Lanka’s worsening economic crisis has triggered an unprecedented political crisis amid rising public anger.
Asia News Network: The Nation (Thailand), The Korea Herald, The Straits Times (Singapore), China Daily, Jakarta Post, The Star and Sin Chew Daily (Malaysia), The Statesman (India), Philippine Daily Inquirer, Yomiuri Shimbun and The Japan News, Gogo Mongolia, Dawn (Pakistan), The Island (Sri Lanka), Kuensel (Bhutan), Kathmandu Post (Nepal), Daily Star (Bangladesh), Eleven Media (Myanmar), the Phnom Penh Post and Rasmei Kampuchea (Cambodia), The Borneo Bulletin (Brunei), Vietnam News, and Vientiane Times (Laos).
Traffic congestion that stretched to 150km was reported at 1 pm on North-South Expressway (PLUS) from Rawang northwards to Gopeng due to an increase in the volume of vehicles as more people returned to their villages and hometowns to celebrate Aidilfitri.
Aspokesman of The PLUS Expressways Berhad said that the traffic from Slim River to Sungkai was among the most affected routes and road users are advised to plan their journey well.
In the south, traffic congestion was also reported for 12km from Bandar Ainsdale to Seremban and Putra Mahkota to Nilai (8km).
“Traffic in other areas heading south is still smooth and under control except from Skudai to Senai Utara which is moving slowly,” the spokesman told Bernama.
Meanwhile, traffic flow from Kuantan to Kuala Terengganu was reported to be generally smooth and only 1.3-km congestion was reported before the Kuala Terengganu Toll Plaza exit towards the city centre.
Traffic is also smooth from Karak Toll Plaza to Kuantan in both directions.
The public can obtain the latest traffic information from the toll-free Plusline at 1800-88-0000 and Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/plustrafik or the Malaysia Highway Authority toll-free line at 1-800-88-7752 and Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/LLMinfotrafik.- Bernama
A growing number of Japanese universities are offering support to Ukrainian students whose education was cut short by Russia’s invasion of their country.
As yet, the two-month-old conflict has no end in sight, and the resident status of displaced students is emerging as an additional concern.
Tearful appeal
Irina Shepelskaya, a Japanese-language teacher at Kyiv National Linguistic University, made a tearful plea during an online press conference at the International Christian University in Tokyo on April 1, saying: “When students are learning, they can forget about the war a little — it’s like a ‘mental balm.’ I hope you’ll give Ukrainian students a chance to study. Cities are under constant attack and students [in Ukraine] can’t study as they’re unable to leave their shelters.”
The ICU will provide free dormitory accommodation, in addition to travel and living expenses. ICU President Shoichiro Iwakiri said, “We’ll provide opportunities for learning in a peaceful and secure environment and encourage [Ukrainian students] to feel the joy of living.”
Additional students
Some universities have begun accepting more Ukrainian students.
At the Japan University of Economics in Fukuoka Prefecture, 68 Ukrainian students — 65 who fled their country and three exchange students — are studying their majors, such as business administration and Japanese culture. The university has employed a Ukrainian woman who can speak both Ukrainian and Japanese to act as an interpreter and help support the displaced students.
The university provides living expenses and other types of support, but some students are keen to earn money by working part-time, a university official said.
As of April 21, the University of Tokyo had accepted two women researchers and provided them with free accommodations. Kyoto University is planning to accept about 30 Ukrainian students, while Toyo University in Tokyo will offer free tuition to an as-yet-unknown number of learners. Four students from Kyiv have already applied for Japanese visas.
Website donations
Other pressing issues include the securing of financial resources and renewing students’ resident status.
The University of Tokyo has set up an emergency humanitarian aid fund to cover travel costs and living expenses for Ukrainian students. It is calling for donations on its website, and as of April 29, had received about ¥10.4 million.
According to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, foreign students usually come to Japan on a “Student” visa — a resident status that allows them to stay for a relatively long time. But Ukrainian evacuees enter Japan on a “Temporary Visitor” visa — which precludes working. However, as the Japanese government is willing to provide support, it is expected that such evacuees will be able to switch their status to “Designated Activities,” allowing them to seek employment.
As an emergency measure, many universities are accepting Ukrainian students temporarily, according to Hiroaki Ishii, director of Pathways Japan, which has helped educational institutions accept refugee foreign students from Syria and Afghanistan.
“Assuming that [Ukrainian students] won’t be able to return home soon, it’s necessary to consider how best to help them get involved [in Japanese life],” Ishii said, citing specific support measures such as Japanese language education, finding a part-time job while studying and looking for full-time work.
Online language classes
Educational support for Ukrainian students is expanding in Japan. For example, a Japanese university has uploaded videos to YouTube that teach mathematics in Ukrainian. Volunteers from the Kyoto University of Education asked Ukrainian students that had been living in Japan before the Russian invasion to translate materials, then made 40 about 3-minute-long videos aimed at elementary to high school students covering such topics as division and simultaneous equation.
Prof. Yasufumi Kuroda of the university, who leads the volunteer group’s activities, said, “The basics of mathematics are essential knowledge for everyday life.” Kuroda stressed that Ukrainian students need support that will enable them to continue learning, even if their stay in Japan is prolonged.
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, meanwhile, offers online Ukrainian-language courses for local governments and company officials nationwide. “We want to leverage the internet to help people overcome language barriers,” an official of the university said.
Pakistan will thwart any attempt to undermine its relations with China, Pakistani President Arif Alvi said here on Saturday, after a terrorist attack killed three Chinese nationals in Karachi earlier this week.
Ashuttle passenger van of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi was attacked on Tuesday, which left three Chinese teachers killed.
During his visit to the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, the president expressed condolences to the Chinese side over the deaths of the teachers, and strongly condemned the attack, saying that Pakistan will spare no effort to fight against terrorism and ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in the country.
The victims were friendly ambassadors who promoted people-to-people exchanges between Pakistan and China, he said, adding that the terrorists aimed at damaging the Pakistan-China friendship and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Pakistan’s development and corridor construction cannot be achieved without the support of China, an “iron brother” of Pakistan, the president stressed.
Pang Chunxue, charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, thanked Alvi for his visit and said that China strongly condemns the terrorist attack and has asked the Pakistani side to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.
China will join hands with Pakistan to ensure the safety of the Chinese citizens, projects and institutions in Pakistan, combat terrorism and promote regional peace and stability, she added.
Voters do not have to present their vaccination cards or wear face shields at polling stations on May 9, Election Day, contrary to instructions shown in an old explainer video that is circulating on social media, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Sought for clarification regarding the TikTok video, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia on Saturday said there was “no need for vaccine card” and “no face shield required.”
Comelec rules, however, require that everyone wears a face mask at all polling centres.
The video was an excerpt from an episode of TV5’s “Frontline Tonight” shown in January. It suddenly went viral on the Chinese video-sharing app on Saturday.
It told viewers that they must wear face shields at voting centres and present a negative RT-PCR test if they are not vaccinated.
In February, the poll body issued a “new normal” manual which said that face shields are voluntary in areas under alert level 3 or lower. An earlier Comelec resolution required voters to wear face shields to be able to cast their votes. This resolution has not been amended as of Saturday.
Metro Manila and 88 other areas nationwide were placed until May 15 under alert level 1, the least restrictive quarantine classification.
In a letter to the Comelec on Saturday, veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal asked poll officials to take immediate action on the viral video, which he said: “would confuse the voters.”
The video had “suddenly resurfaced [and] is now going viral online via TikTok with very misleading information or wrong advisory regarding the requirements for voters in the May 9, 2022 elections,” wrote Macalintal, a legal counsel for the Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo.
He said that the Comelec should urgently advise TikTok Philippines to take down the video and request clarification and an advisory from the management of TV5 to inform the public that the video was not updated.
The video had over 700,000 views as of Saturday night. It was posted by TikTok user @rowrow.nov.03bbm2022. The post had the caption, “sana lahat ng uniteam supporters na botante ay na vaccine na” (hoping that all Uniteam supporters who are voters have been vaccinated).
Macalintal indicated that the distribution of the misleading video could be an election offence.
He cited a provision in the Omnibus Election Code, which said that an election law violator may be “any person who, to confuse the voters, propagates false and alarming reports or information regarding any matter relating to … the general conduct of the elections.”
A day earlier, Garcia tagged as “fake news” a message which was also circulating that said that deactivated voters may ask for reactivation through the Comelec’s IT department with only a few days left to vote.
As of April 28, the Comelec has distributed about 42 million voter information sheets or 64 per cent of the 65.7 million registered voters in the country.
Each information sheet has the voter’s name, address, polling precinct, place where he or she is registered as a voter, and simplified instructions on how to cast the ballot. It also includes the names of all the national and local candidates.
Other measures
In addition to wearing masks, other COVID-19 mitigating measures are to be implemented at all polling stations, including physical distancing of at least 1 meter inside a voting centre.
The Inquirer is listing these other rules and procedures to be followed by voters and election officers on Election Day which are based on various Comelec directives:
• Body temperature check: if your temperature is 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher, you will be examined by a health worker.
• If it is determined that you have a fever or if you show COVID-19 symptoms, you will be led to an isolation polling place where you can cast your vote away from other voters. Otherwise, you can proceed to the assistance desk where you will get your precinct and your sequence numbers.
• Go to your assigned precinct. You will be given a pen, a “secrecy folder” and your ballot, which you will accomplish by fully shading the oval appearing before the name of the candidate of your choice.
• Do not overvote. Overvoting, or shading more than the allowed number of candidates for the post, will invalidate all your votes for that position.
For instance, you can only vote for a maximum of 12 senators. If you shade 13 or more names of candidates, not one of your votes for any of them will be counted.
But if you undervote, or select less than 12 senators, the vote-counting machine will still count all those votes.
• Do not make unnecessary marks on your ballot so the vote-counting machine could read it properly.
• After you fill up your ballot, insert it into the vote-counting machine and check your voter’s receipt before depositing it in the receptacle.
• Return the ballot secrecy folder and the marking pen to the election board.
• An election officer is required to make an indelible ink mark on one of your fingers, normally the forefinger, to indicate that you have cast your ballot.
• Persons with a disability, senior citizens, and people who are illiterate can be assisted in filling up their ballots by a relative or another person who belongs to the person’s household like a caregiver or personal assistant who should be of voting age.
Samsung Electronics is under fire for being “tone deaf” over women‘s safety, as the South Korean tech giant issued an apology Friday for an advertisement of a woman running down a street after midnight.
The advertisement was meant to promote health and wellness as part of its “Night Owls” campaign, as well as a multidevice experience using Samsung’s wearable devices such as wireless earbuds and a smartwatch. The advertisement, created by Ogilvy, had over 15 million views on YouTube for four weeks until Friday.
“The Night Owls campaign was designed with a positive message in mind: to celebrate individuality and freedom to exercise at all hours,“ Samsung said in a statement.
“It was never our intention to be insensitive to ongoing conversations around women’s safety. As a global company with a diverse workforce, we apologize for how this may have been received.”
The controversy started to swirl as the advertisement was seen as being far from representing women in the real world, who are often subject to violent attacks.
The latest such case involved a 23-year-old Ashling Murphy, who was fatally attacked in January while running along a canal in Dublin, Ireland.
The discrepancy between the reality and what the ad had portrayed triggered an online hashtag #shewasonarun.
Jamie Klinger, co-founder of United Kingdom-based campaign group Reclaim These Streets, told BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat Thursday that the ad was ”completely and utterly tone-deaf.“ Reclaim These Streets was founded in the wake of a murder of a 33-year-old Sarah Everard, who went missing at night while walking home alone in South London in 2021.
The controversy comes as Samsung Electronics is emphasizing its Galaxy Ecosystem, which allows users to move between devices, in a move to narrow its gap with US tech giant Apple.
Samsung in an earnings calls Thursday pledged a solid performance in its Mobile eXperience division over this year with wearable devices that work on what is equivalent to Apple‘s Continuity.
The Mobile eXperience division, dedicated to smartphones, tablets, electronics watches and other wearable devices, saw a 13 per cent decline in operating profit to 3.82 trillion won ($3 billion) in the first quarter, while its revenue jumped 12 per cent to 32.4 trillion won.
Laos and Vietnam have agreed to enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas during talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers held in Vientiane on Thursday.
Vietnam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bui Thanh Son, is paying an official visit to Laos from April 27-29 at the invitation of his Lao counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith, the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.
The two ministers co-chaired the 9th ministerial political consultative meeting and discussed ways to enhance the great relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two neighbours.
The ministers exchanged views on a wide range of areas and discussed future cooperation plans to elevate cooperation mechanisms between the two ministries, in a bid to fulfil the direction of cooperation advised by the leaders of the two countries.
The ministers agreed to work together to follow up and address any difficulties hindering bilateral relations and to cooperate in a timely and effective manner.
The two sides said they highly valued the friendly relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Laos and Vietnam and the two ministries.
Leaders of the two countries have maintained regular contact and exchanges of visits despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The visit to Laos is the first by Mr Bui Thanh Son as Vietnam’s foreign minister. It comes as the two countries celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 45th anniversary of the Laos-Vietnam Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.
The ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of politics, national defence and security, as well as foreign affairs, creating fundamental conditions for the continuation and enhancement of the special relations between the two nations.
They also agreed to work jointly to promote and facilitate cooperation in trade, investment and transportation, as well as reciprocal visits.
Two-way trade between Laos and Vietnam reached US$1.3 billion in 2021, an increase of nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year.
Vietnam is a leading foreign investor in Laos and has invested in 426 projects with a total value of more than US$4.3 billion.
The ministers agreed to promote cooperation in clean agriculture and commodities manufacturing, in accordance with the potential of the two countries.
The meeting also resulted in consensus on the need for joint efforts to realise unfinished cooperation projects.
Both sides agreed to continue to extend mutual support in bilateral and multilateral forums, especially within the United Nations and Asean, as well as Laos’ preparations to assume the Asean chair in 2024.
The ministers briefed each other on the progress of socio-economic development in their respective countries, and exchanged views on regional and international issues of common interest.
During his visit, minister Bui Thanh Son called on President Thongloun Sisoulith, President of the National Assembly Dr Xaysomphone Phomvihane, and Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh. Through the minister, the Lao leaders extended their greetings to their Vietnamese counterparts.
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Australia has been a major contributor to mine clearance in Cambodia over the past 28 years, saving a considerable proportion of Cambodians from the scourge of landmines and elevating the Kingdom’s demining operations to top international acclaim, according to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA).
CMAA first vice-president Ly Thuch said that Australia was one of the key supporters of the peacebuilding process in Cambodia in the late 1980s and early 1990s, playing a leading role in UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) intervention, with retired Australian General John Sanderson leading UNTAC’s military component.
Since then, Australia has continued to support Cambodia “towards security and revitalisation” with substantial outpourings of humanitarian assistance, including in mine action, he said.
Thuch made the remark on April 28 at an exhibition held in the capital to mark the 30th anniversary of UNTAC and as part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Cambodia.
The exhibition is open from 7:00am to 9:00pm every day from April 29 to May 28.
Thuch said: “Since 1994, Australia has significantly contributed to mine action in Cambodia, saved many lives from the dangers of mines, and provided safety to rural communities to improve their livelihoods.
“This is a contribution that one should be proud of,” he said, in an apparent nod to Sanderson, who held the rank of lieutenant general during his tenure as UNTAC commander.
Thuch underscored that Cambodia had become a leader in mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance, as acknowledged by the international community as well as the UN.
He also pointed out that since 2006, Cambodia has deployed 7,899 troops on UN peacekeeping missions, who undertake operations such as mine clearance and engineering.
“This is an outstanding achievement that has led to the Cambodian national flag stand among the flags of other countries that contribute troops to these UN missions. Looking back 30 years ago, we were accepting UN forces for a peacekeeping mission on our land, which had been looming full of disputes and confrontation,” he said.
Thuch added that in their 70 years of diplomatic relations, ties between Cambodia and Australia have remained “good and close”, defined by reciprocal high-level visits and strong cooperation in a variety of fields such as trade, investment, agriculture, education, mine clearance, healthcare and people-to-people relationships.
By Ry Sochan
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BEIJING — Beijing will ban the use of non-degradable plastic packaging by express delivery outlets by year-end, amid China’s efforts to control plastic pollution, local authorities said Thursday.
To reduce the use of non-degradable plastic products from the source, the delivery outlets in the national capital will be also prohibited from using single-use plastic woven bags, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.
By the end of 2022, digital waybills, packaging tape narrower than 45 mm, and recyclable bags will basically cover the whole courier sector in the city.
Besides the courier sector, Beijing has launched measures to restrict or even ban the use of plastic products in other key industries involving catering, food delivery, wholesale and retail.
According to rough statistics, the offline stores of the city’s major supermarkets including Jingkelong, CSF Market, Walmart and Carrefour saw the sales of plastic shopping bags fall by 37 percent, or 23 million, in 2021 from the previous year.
Beijing has made headway in the treatment of plastic pollution, but it still faces multiple challenges and needs to make further efforts, said a spokesperson of the commission.
In 2020, China released a plan to ban or significantly reduce the production and use of environmentally unfriendly plastic products in the next five years to contain pollution.
By 2025, the country expects to effectively control plastic pollution, substantially reduce the amount of plastic waste in landfills of major cities, establish a complete plastics management system and make progress in the development of alternative products, according to the plan.
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HÀ NỘI – Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng emphasised the demand that China respect Việt Nam’s sovereignty while replying to reporters’ question about China’s three-month fishing ban in the East Sea, including the waters of Việt Nam, on April 29.
“Việt Nam’s stance on China’s fishing ban in the East Sea is consistent and has been asserted clearly over the past years,” she reiterated.
Accordingly, part of this ban’s scope has violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelago and the country’s sovereign right and jurisdiction identified in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the agreement on the delimitation of the Gulf of Tonkin signed by the two countries in 2000.
“Việt Nam demands China respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa archipelago, sovereign right, and jurisdiction over Việt Nam’s sea areas when implementing measures for conserving fisheries resources in the East Sea; not complicate the situation; and contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, and order in the East Sea,” Hằng said. VNA/VNS
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