The cabinet made the announcement shortly after its two-day extraordinary meeting ended yesterday.

Chaired by Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, the meeting heard of the progress made in dealing with the aftermath of the disaster in Sanamxay district.

The meeting agreed to carry out inspections into all dams, both those that are complete and whose construction is underway.

The Ministry of Energy and Mines will work with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Science and Technology and international experts in carrying out the inspections.

Any irregularities found in the design or construction standard of a dam must be reported to the government on a case by case basis, so that improvements can be made.

The government has also decided to suspend the consideration of new investments in hydropower projects in order to review its hydropower development strategy and plans. The reviewed strategy and plans will be used as a reference for future direction.

The meeting, attended by cabinet members, agreed to establish a taskforce committee to lead the investigation into the reason for the collapse of saddle dam D, one of five auxiliary dams at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project.

The failure of the dam on July 23 flooded 13 villages in Sanamxay district, killing 34 people as of August 6 while 100 villagers are still missing. Thousands have been left homeless.

The investigation committee is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Government Inspection Authority, Dr Bounthong Chitmany.

The committee welcomes the help of international experts in carrying out the investigation and verifying the cause of the dam fracture. The committee will also invite representatives of the governments of the Republic of Korea and Thailand, whose companies were stakeholders in the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower project, to provide consultation and observe the investigation process.

This will ensure the thoroughness and transparency of the investigation so that the findings are recognised and accepted internationally.

Once the findings are made known, the government will proceed with the next steps.

The meeting also agreed to establish a high-level committee, supervised by Dr Bounthong, to investigate the responsibility of state authorities for the dam failure, as well as those in charge of issuing warnings ahead of the disaster.

The cabinet called for all relevant sectors with assistance from friendly countries to do their utmost to locate the remaining missing people.

Authorities in charge were told to speed up work to build temporary houses for displaced villagers who are currently living in temporary shelters and camps.

The meeting told relevant officials to provide sufficient relief supplies including food, drinking water and other basic essentials, as well as offer good healthcare to prevent the outbreak of disease.

The meeting called for proper management and the most effective use of relief supplies and cash donations in a transparent manner that could be inspected.

The National Ad Hoc Committee in charge of dealing with the aftermath of the Sanamxay flood was told to collect comprehensive information on the losses and damage caused by the disaster.

The Ad Hoc Committee was also entrusted to draw up short-term and longer term plans to recover the damage and losses and report to the government so that investment in the recovery could be prioritised.

The cabinet expressed heartfelt gratitude to all Lao people, all sectors, friendly countries and international organisations for extending invaluable assistance and support for the relief, search and rescue mission.

This heartfelt gratitude was also extended to soldiers, police officers, Lao and foreign volunteers and rescue teams contributing to the relief, search and rescue effort.

Weeks of nonstop sunshine and near-record temperatures have caused droughts and seen tinder-dry forests consumed by wildfires from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle, in what many fear could be the region’s new normal in an era of climate change.

The devastating effects of the heatwave were visible from space, according to images of swathes of arid landscape taken by the German astronaut Alexander Gerst from the International Space Station.

“After several weeks of night flying, I was able to take the first day pictures of central Europe and Germany. The sight is shocking. Everything that should be green is parched and brown,” Gerst said on Twitter.

– Resorts threatened –

Spain and Portugal approached record temperatures at the weekend, with the mercury hitting 46.6 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) at El Granado in Spain and 46.4 C in Alvega, Portugal, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

While the deadly hot spell is expected to ease in parts of western Europe in the coming days, firefighters in Spain and Portugal struggled to contain wildfires that have swept southern areas.

In the southern Portuguese holiday region, residents and tourists have been evacuated from around an Algarve resort town as fire crews struggled to extinguish wildfires that have raged for days leaving 30 people injured, one seriously.

Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers used helicopters and planes, as well as several hundred vehicles, to douse the blaze around the mountain town of Monchique as strong winds fanned the flames, with meteorologists warning of “significant” gusts to come.

In the Valencia region of neighbouring Spain some 2,500 people were driven from their homes overnight to escape flames that have already swept across around 1,000 hectares, as fire crews struggled to bring the fires under control.

A spokesman for the regional health department in the southwestern region of Extremadura, near Portugal, said a 66-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman who died in recent days had both succumbed to heat stroke.

This brings to nine the number of people to have died as a direct consequence of the heatwave.

Heat moving east

While parts of Western Europe are forecast to have a reprieve in the coming days, the sweltering temperatures are expected to travel eastwards across the region.

“The same circulation pattern persists which brings hot air from North Africa over Europe, but this whole system is now moving slowly to the east so the western parts of the continent will get cooler air from the Atlantic,” said WMO spokeswoman Sylvie Castonguay.

“This will relieve the situation in most countries in southwestern Europe, while the hot weather conditions will spread further to Eastern Europe.”

In France, violent thunderstorms brought an end to the heatwave there but led to rail cancellations with trees toppled and powerlines down in some parts of the country.

Gusts exceeded 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in the Somme and Pas de Calais regions according to meteorologists.

‘Tropical’ Arctic

Wildfires have sparked in parts of northern Europe, with blazes still burning up to the Arctic Circle in Sweden, which sizzled in record temperatures in July that also caused mountain top glaciers to melt, according to the WMO.

The Arctic regions of Finland and Norway have been so hot that they have experienced 12 “tropical” nights so far this year, with temperatures topping 20 C.

Dying wildlife

Roughly a thousand kilogrammes (a tonne) of dead fish have been scooped from rivers and lakes in Switzerland in recent days, as the heat raised water temperatures.

“We have been watching dead fish for several days floating down the Rhine,” Andreas Vogeli, an official with the hunting and fisheries department in northern Schaffhausen canton, told the public broadcaster RTS.

The most severely affected area is the stretch of the Rhine river that runs from Lake Constance to the Rhine Falls.

The cold-loving grayling, a member of the salmon family, can struggle when water temperatures exceed 20 C, but certain areas of the Rhine have recorded temperatures above 27 C in recent days.

In Britain, the sustained heat has seen a spike in cases of avian botulism reported among wild waterbirds like swans and geese.

Botulism, a naturally occurring neurotoxin activated in warm weather by bacteria in silt, is passed along to waterbirds through infected bugs, causing paralysis. It is not contagious to humans.

“Many drown because they can not lift their heads out of the water,” Melanie Nelson, a trustee at the Swan Sanctuary in southeast England, told AFP.

“Whole lakes are affected at a time meaning entire waterbird communities become sick and die.”

Temperatures in southeast England were expected to climb to 30 C on Tuesday before easing off for the rest of the week.

“The Negotiators Cook Book” will be published by Sinn Fein in the coming months, and include recipes used during the talks that led to the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland.

“The British never fed us. They never had any food. But as intrepid republicans and being blessed by one or two great cooks these are the recipes that sustained the Irish negotiating team,” Adams told an event in Belfast on Monday night.

“It contains some of the best-kept secrets of the Irish peace process,” he said, in comments reported by the Irish Times newspaper.

Adams tweeted a picture of what appeared to be the front page of the book, saying: “Not 2 Long 2 Christmas. A Wee Taste of a Great Stocking Filler.”

A Sinn Fein spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that the book was genuine.

“I can confirm that he is publishing it. It’s called the Negotiators Cookbook and it’s set to be published by the party in the next few months,” she said.

Adams stepped down as leader of Sinn Fein earlier this year after almost 35 years, during which he went from being the political voice of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to an instrumental peacemaker.

During the bloodiest years of the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland he would defend the actions of paramilitaries and his voice was banned from British airwaves.

But he became a key figure in the peace process and is credited with eventually convincing the IRA to give up their armed campaign for uniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, and use purely political means.

Adams has written numerous books and in recent years cultivated a more kindly image with a series of whimsical Twitter comments, including about his dog.

American businessman Kroenke currently owns 67 per cent of the Gunners through his company Kroenke Sports and Entertainment and has offered to purchase the 30 percent held by Usmanov’s Red and White Securities firm, valuing the Premier League club at £1.8billion.

Usmanov confirmed in a statement released to Britain’s Press Association that he had accepted the offer but did not give a reason as to why he has now opted to cash in.

Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL, said having a single owner would benefit the club but fans said it was a “dreadful” day.

Despite cup successes in recent years, Arsenal have slipped behind their rivals in the Premier League and have consistently failed to reach the latter stages of the Champions League.

They have not won the title since 2004 and last season finished sixth, 37 points behind champions Manchester City.

Arsenal, who play City in their season opener on Sunday, are also adjusting to life after Arsene Wenger, who left the club in May after 22 years at the helm, replaced by former Paris Saint-Germain boss Emery.

“We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100 percent ownership of the club,” Kroenke said in a statement published on the London Stock Exchange.

“We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents.”

Later on Tuesday, Red and White Holdings released their own short statement to confirm the deal.

“I have decided to sell my shares in Arsenal Football Club which could be the best football club in the world,” said Usmanov.

“I wish all the best and great success to this wonderful football club and to all those whose lives and careers are entwined in it.”

– Battle for Arsenal –

The deal brings to an end a battle between billionaires Kroenke and Usmanov for control of the club.

In October last year, KSE offered around £525 million to buy the 18,695 shares held by Usmanov, the Russian businessman who himself attempted to buy out Kroenke in May 2017.

“The successful implementation of the offer will result in the opening of a new chapter in the history of the club in bringing 100 per cent private ownership by KSE,” the statement said.

“KSE believes moving to private ownership will bring the benefits of a single owner better able to move quickly in furtherance of the club’s strategy and ambitions. KSE is a committed, long-term owner of the club.”

Kroenke has been a part-owner of Arsenal since 2007, gradually increasing his stake.

Under Stock Exchange rules, Kroenke will have to make an offer for the remaining minority shares in Arsenal, most of which are small numbers held largely by supporters of the club.

It is not currently mandatory for those shareholders to accept but if Kroenke purchases Usmanov’s percentage, he can then push through a compulsory acquisition.

This would see KSE take those final shares to complete a 100 percent takeover of the club.

The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust issued a strongly worded statement opposing the move.

“Stan Kroenke taking the club private will see the end of supporters owning shares in Arsenal and their role upholding custodianship values,” it said in a statement.

“The AST is also extremely concerned to note that this purchase is being funded by a loan,” it added.

“The most dreadful part of this announcement is the news that Kroenke plans to forcibly purchase the shares held by Arsenal fans. Many of these fans are AST members and hold their shares not for value but as custodians who care for the future of the club.”

Within two hours of the announcement ‘#KroenkeOut’ was trending on Twitter in Britain.

Arsenal great Ian Wright tweeted: “Incredibly sad day for so many of our fan shareholders that no longer own a part of this club.”

The anti-graft agency said in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 7) that the former prime minister had returned to assist their investigations into SRC International Sdn Bhd.

“He will be charged under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Amla) 2001,” said the MACC.

He arrived to the MACC academy yesterday at 4.58pm with a small a small escort in tow. He left after 45 minutes once he had completed recording his statement.

Earlier Tuesday, photos of Najib’s car leaving his Langgak Duta residence escorted went viral, resulting in heated speculation online.

On July 4, Najib was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust and one count of using his position for gratification as part of a probe into money missing from 1MDB. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The charges are related to the RM42mil that allegedly went from SRC International into Najib’s personal bank accounts.

The pledge was made during a two-day meeting on the “National Coordination of Animal Welfare” in Jakarta earlier this month, which was attended by government representatives from the Agriculture Ministry and NGOs.

“All national participants agreed to issue a ban on the trade of dog meat in Indonesia and to prohibit the issuance of health certifications for dog meat for human consumption,” the Dog Meat-Free Indonesia coalition said in a statement to The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The coalition comprises local and international pro-animal welfare groups such as the Jakarta Animan Aid Network (JAAN), Animal Friends Jogja (AFJ), Change for Animal Foundation (CFAF), London-based Humane Society International (HSI) and Four Paws (FP). They have long campaigned against dog meat consumption and the cruelty behind the trade.

The results of the meeting, initiated by the ministry’s directorate of veterinary public health, will be used as a recommendation to formulate a ministerial regulation regarding the ban on the dog and cat meat trade as well as other exotic animals in Indonesia. No further details were available as to when the regulation will be issued.

The statement cited the ministry’s director of veterinary public health, Syamsul Ma’arif, who was reported as saying that the trade posed a risk to Indonesia’s international reputation.

“Foreign countries find a low standard of animal welfare and cruelty unacceptable and will stop visiting Indonesia, which is bad for tourism,” he said as quoted by the statement, adding that the trade in dog meat and animals that were not registered as farm animals were illegal.

The coalition commended the move, saying that the regulation would be a victory for animal welfare that it would make Indonesia dog-meat free.

HSI president Kitty Block said the organization applauded the Indonesian government’s pledge to end the brutal dog meat trade.

“We hope that this bold step will send a strong message to other countries across Asia, such as China, South Korea, India and Vietnam where 30 million dogs and 10 million cats suffer unimaginable cruelty for the meat trade, many of them stolen pets,” Block added.

Several regions in the country such as Central Java, Yogyakarta, Bali, North Sumatra and North Sulawesi are known to have dishes made of dog meat that are sold at street food stalls and restaurants. In Surakarta, Central Java, an estimated 1,200 dogs are slaughtered and eaten daily by dog-meat connoisseurs in the city.

Jumpei Yasuda, a 44-year-old freelancer, was kidnapped in the war-torn country in June 2015, and appeared in a rare video that emerged last week warning that he was in a bad situation.

“There are a lot of people in Japan — his family, relatives, friends — waiting for my husband,” his wife Myu told a news conference in Tokyo.

“Please return my husband safe as soon as possible,” she said tearfully. “As his wife, as his family, I want him… to set foot back on Japanese soil.”

Last week Yasuda and captured Italian national Alessandro Sandrini appeared in two separate videos that were similar in their staging.

Both men were wearing orange outfits similar to those of captives in jihadist hostage videos, with armed men whose faces were covered standing behind them.

Myu, wife of Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda who went missing in Syria in 2015, speaks during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on August 7, 2018. The wife of a Japanese journalist held captive in Syria for more than three years made an emotional plea for his release on August 7 after he sought immediate help in videos. / AFP PHOTO

The videos did not identify which group was holding the men or include specific demands.

Myu, who married Yasuda in 2008, said she had previously avoided speaking publicly about his abduction for fear she could affect negotiations for his release.

But she said when she watched the video, she felt her husband’s situation was “not optimistic but urgent” and decided to publicly seek his release.

The video also prompted some of the journalist’s friends and family to form a group to free him, campaigning to boost public awareness of the abduction.

Yasuda is thought to have been seized by the group previously known as the Al-Nusra Front, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, in northern Syria.

But with the shifting territory of Syria’s complicated conflict, it is unclear whether he is still being held by his original abductors or has been transferred to other captors.

In the latest video, he identified himself as Korean and gave a different name, but spoke in Japanese.

He gave the recording date as July 25, saying he was in a bad situation and asking for help.

His wife said she had no idea why Yasuda had identified himself as Korean in the video, but confirmed that it showed him and that he is Japanese.

She said Japanese government officials were in frequent contact with her but she was not aware if a ransom had been demanded.

In 2015 militants from the Islamic State group beheaded Japanese war correspondent Kenji Goto and his friend Haruna Yukawa in Syria.

The Japanese government was criticised for what detractors saw as its flat-footed response to the crisis at the time, including apparently missed opportunities to free both men.

Collectively dubbed the Mendocino Complex, the wildfires have burned through 283,800 acres (114,850 hectares) — an area nearly the size of the sprawling city of Los Angeles — and are just 30 percent contained, according to state fire authority CalFire.

Two people have died in the inferno, taking to 11 the number of people killed by major fires that broke out last month and are still ongoing.

“Today a higher pressure system brought warmer weather, drying, and strong winds to the region,” CalFire said in an update.

“Tonight fire crews will try to … increase suppression and hold current containment lines.”

It was the second fire to break records in the fire-prone, most populous US state in as many years, following the Thomas Fire in December 2017, which destroyed 281,893 acres.

Further north in the state, the deadly Carr Fire has burned through more than 164,400 acres since July 23, and killed another seven people along the way.

Its intensity was so great at one point, that it generated a tornado-like fire storm — as well as its own weather system.

Authorities say it was triggered by the “mechanical failure of a vehicle” that caused sparks to fly in tinderbox-dry conditions.

The fire has razed more than 1,600 buildings, including some 1,000 homes, state officials say.

Fires ‘extremely dangerous’

More than 14,000 firefighters were battling the blazes across the state.

Several thousand people have been evacuated, although some have been given permission in recent days to return to their homes.

The wildfires are “extremely fast, extremely aggressive, extremely dangerous,” said Scott McLean, a deputy chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“Look how big it got, just in a matter of days… Look how fast this Mendocino Complex went up in ranking. That doesn’t happen. That just doesn’t happen.”

Evacuations will continue

Firefighters were battling the Mendocino Complex blaze supported by helicopters and airplanes — including two gigantic DC-10s and a 747 jumbo jet — that doused the flames with water.

The objective of the firefighters is to protect surrounding communities, which have been evacuated. Some 9,300 structures are threatened by fire, while 75 homes have already been destroyed.

“Evacuations are going to continue until is safe” Sheriff Brian Martin said Sunday, without specifying the number of people who had left their homes.

Another major fire, Ferguson, has left two dead and forced the closure of part of the Yosemite national park, and is currently only 38 percent contained.

The weather forecast for the week ahead is not encouraging: very hot and very dry, the perfect conditions for the fires to expand.

The Pentagon announced on Monday it would send 200 soldiers to help firefighters to fight the fires, many of which reached federal lands.

Trump tweet raises eyebrows

President Donald Trump raised eyebrows by tweeting about the wildfires inaccurately, claiming there was not enough water to fight them and appearing to place the blame on environmental laws, not climate change.

“California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amounts of readily available water to be properly utilized,” Trump said.

“It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire from spreading!”

“We have plenty of water to fight these wildfires, but let’s be clear: It’s our changing climate that is leading to more severe and destructive fires,” Daniel Berlant, CalFire assistant deputy director, told The New York Times.

The American sports mogul, who already owns 67 per cent of Arsenal through his company KSE, has reached a deal with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for the sale of his 30 per cent stake, according to a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

“KSE believes moving to private ownership will bring the benefits of a single owner better able to move quickly in furtherance of the club’s strategy and ambitions,” it said in the statement.

“KSE is a committed, long-term owner of the club”.

Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams American football team, has been a part-owner of Arsenal since 2007, gradually increasing his stake in the club since.

Uzbekistan-born Usmanov, who made his fortune in the steel industry, had reportedly made previous bids to take control of the club but was repeatedly rebuffed.

He was critical of Kroenke’s passive ownership style, which has been increasingly echoed by Arsenal fans unhappy with what they see as the board’s willingness to settle for on-field mediocrity so long as commercial stability was maintained.

Under takeover rules, if Usmanov accepts the offer it would trigger the sale of the remaining minority shareholders’ shares, many of whom have preserved a small holding for decades, and place the club under the private control of Kroenke.

“We at KSE are moving forward with this offer leading to 100 per cent ownership of the club,” Kroenke said in the LSE statement.

“We appreciate Mr Usmanov’s dedication to the Arsenal Football Club and the storied ethos and history the club represents.”

Further detail of the all-cash offer will be published by KSE later on Tuesday, it said.

    The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake killed at least 98 people and destroyed thousands of buildings in Lombok on Sunday, just days after another deadly tremor surged through the holiday island and killed 17.

Rescuers on Tuesday resumed the search for survivors, and to recover the bodies of victims in the rubble of houses, mosques and schools destroyed in the latest disaster.

More than 20,000 people are believed to have been made homeless on Lombok, with 236 severely injured, and authorities have appealed for more medical personnel and basic supplies.

Emergency crews were Tuesday working through the wreckage of a collapsed mosque in the northern village of Lading-Lading, where authorities fear a number of people are trapped.

At least one body has been recovered from the rubble of the mosque, which was reduced to a pile of concrete and metal bars, with its towering green dome folded in on itself.

Some 4,600 tourists have been evacuated from the Gili Islands, three tiny, coral-fringed tropical islands that lie off the northwest coast of Lombok and are popular with backpackers and divers.

Hundreds crowded onto its powder-white beaches on Monday, desperately awaiting transport off the normally paradise destination. Seven Indonesian holidaymakers died on the largest of the three, Gili Trawangan.

– ‘It was terrible’ –

Margret Helgadottir, a holidaymaker from Iceland, described people screaming as the roof of her hotel on one of the islands collapsed.

“We just froze: thankfully we were outside,” she told AFP tearfully from a harbour in Lombok to where she had been evacuated. “Everything went black, it was terrible.”

Hundreds of weary tourists continued to arrive with their baggage at Bangsal harbour, the main link between Lombok and the Gilis, on Tuesday.

Some said they felt stranded and complained about a lack of coordination and affordable transport to the tourist hub of Senggigi or Lombok’s airport, where dozens slept on the floor overnight awaiting flights out.

“There’s a massive rush of people wanting to get out of Lombok because of unfounded rumours, such as of a tsunami,” Muhammad Faozal, the head of the tourism agency in West Nusa Tenggara province, told AFP.

“We can help tourists to get to the airport but of course we can’t buy them tickets for free,” he said, adding that authorities were providing free accommodation, food and transport to those in need.

Lombok airport’s general manager said airlines had been laying on extra flights since Monday and that his staff had been providing stranded passengers with blankets and snacks.

“We have been doing our best to manage the tourists flocking the airport,” he told AFP. “We are doing our best so we can fly out as many as possible.”

Immigration authorities said that seven foreigners — from Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, South Korea and the United States — were injured in the quake and are being treated in hospital.

– Survivors cut off –

Sunday’s shallow tremor sent thousands of residents and tourists scrambling outdoors in Lombok, where many spent the night as strong aftershocks including one of 5.3-magnitude rattled the island.

The quake knocked out power in many areas and parts of the island and remained without electricity on Tuesday.

A lack of heavy equipment and shattered roads have hampered efforts to reach survivors in the mountainous north and east of the island, which had been hardest hit.

Najmul Akhyar, the head of North Lombok district, estimated that 80 percent of that region was damaged by the quake.

Hundreds of bloodied and bandaged victims have been treated outside damaged hospitals in the main city of Mataram and other badly affected areas.

Patients lay on beds under wards set up in tents, surrounded by drip stands and monitors, as doctors in blue scrubs attended to them.

“What we really need now are paramedics, we are short-staffed. We also need medications,” Supriadi, a spokesman for Mataram general hospital, told AFP on Monday.

Indonesia, one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations, straddles the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide and many of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

In 2014, a devastating tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.