US bombers and fighter escorts flew off the coast of North Korea on Saturday and US President Donald Trump took to Twitter with verbal threats as the brinkmanship with Pyongyang intensified.

“Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!”, Trump wrote.

The bellicose rhetoric comes as international alarm mounts over Pyongyang’s weapons ambitions — including a suggestion last week that the country is considering detonating an H-bomb over the Pacific.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cautioned that a softer touch was needed to defuse the crisis.

Only “caresses, suggestion and persuasion” will work, Lavrov told Russia’s NTV television in an interview that aired Sunday.

If the US does not ease up, he said, “we could drop into a very unpredictable nosedive and tens if not hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens of South Korea but also North Korea, of course, and Japan will suffer — and Russia and China are nearby.”

Despite the heated exchanges, Lavrov said the United States would not take military action against North Korea because “they know for sure that it has nuclear bombs.”

“I’m not defending North Korea. I’m just saying that almost everyone agrees with such an analysis,” he said.

Insult for insult

Matching insult for insult, Trump and Korean leader Kim Jong-un have taken the standoff into bitter personal territory.

Trump used his maiden speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to warn that Washington would “totally destroy” the North if America or its allies were threatened.

Pyongyang, which says it needs nuclear weapons to protect itself against the threat of a US invasion, responded on Friday with a rare personal rebuke from Kim, who called Trump “mentally deranged” and threatened the “highest level of hardline countermeasure in history.”

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho took things further. He, too, dismissed Trump as deranged, and said the US president’s threats had increased the chances of military confrontation.

Ri told the UN General Assembly in New York that Trump’s vow to destroy his country had made “our rockets’ visit to the entire US mainland all the more inevitable.”

On the fringes of the UN meeting last week, Ri upped the tensions further, telling reporters Pyongyang might now consider detonating a hydrogen bomb outside its territory.

Monitoring groups estimate that a nuclear test conducted in North Korea earlier this month had a yield of 250 kilotons, which is 16 times the size of the US bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945.

Show of force

In a show of force, US B-1 bombers took off from the Pacific territory of Guam and flew over international waters off the east coast of North Korea, accompanied by F-15C fighters based in Okinawa, Japan.

US bombers have carried out similar flights before, but the Pentagon stressed this was the furthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas that any US fighter or bomber has flown off North Korea’s coast in this century.

“This mission is a demonstration of US resolve and a clear message that the president has many military options to defeat any threat,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.

“We are prepared to use the full range of military capabilities to defend the US homeland and our allies.”

Washington announced tougher restrictions Friday aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, building on tough new UN sanctions aimed at choking Pyongyang of cash.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the executive order “gives the Treasury more authorities than we’ve ever had before.”

“The president is very committed to blocking economic transactions and that’s what this is all about,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union” show.

Thousands of Hindus have fled villages where they once lived alongside Muslims, alleging that they were targeted by militants whose August 25 raids plunged Rakhine into communal violence.

The announcement could not be independently verified in an region where access has been tightly controlled by Myanmar’s army.

“Security members found and dug up 28 dead bodies of Hindus who were cruelly and violently killed by ARSA extremist Bengali terrorists in Rakhine State,” a statement posted on the army chief’s website said.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) is the group whose attacks on police posts triggered an army backlash so brutal that the UN believes it amounts to ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority.

More than 430,000 Rohingya have fled the region to Bangladesh in under a month, telling stories of Myanmar soldiers teaming up with vigilante mobs to slaughter civilians and burn entire villages to the ground.

Around 30,000 Hindus and Buddhists based in the area have also been displaced by the violence.

Both communities have told AFP they were terrorised by Rohingya militants.

Corpses in rows

The army said that security officers found a total of 20 dead women and eight men in two graves, including six boys under the age of ten.

A strong smell led security officers to the burial site outside of Ye Baw Kya village, the army said.

Unverifiable photos published by the government’s Information Committee showed corpses laid out in rows on grass near two mud pits where they were found.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay confirmed the grim discovery to AFP, as did a senior police officer in Rakhine who requested anonymity.

The village where the bodies were found, Ye Baw Kya, lies near a cluster of Hindu and Muslim communities in northern Rakhine called Kha Maung Seik.

Last week Hindus from the area told AFP that militants swept into their villages on August 25 with sticks and knives, attacking people who stood in their way, killing many and taking others into the forest.

Hindu women are believed to have been abducted by the militants.

The grim discovery of the graves will further fuel already white-hot hatred between ethnic groups in Myanmar.

The epicentre of the unrest, in northern Rakhine, is dominated by Rohingya Muslims who are a minority elsewhere and have been the target of decades of state-backed persecution and discrimination.

Around half of their estimated 1.1 million population has fled over the last year.

Northern Rakhine is also home to ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, Hindus and a myriad of other groups.

Religious tensions have simmered for years, erupting into sporadic bouts of violence.

But the scale of the latest unrest is the worst to hit the region in years.

While the wretched lines of Rohingya streaming into Bangladesh have shocked and alarmed the world, there is scant sympathy for the Muslim group inside Myanmar.

Many in the Buddhist majority view the group as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite their long-established roots in the country.

Singapore has built up its reputation as a bustling international maritime hub over the past decades, but it now has a new detailed road map to chart the next phase of growth.

The aim, as laid out by the International Maritime Centre (IMC) 2030 Advisory Committee in its report, is for Singapore to become the global maritime hub for connectivity, innovation and talent.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) had set up the advisory committee in August last year to chart the direction of Singapore as a maritime hub.

The committee said Singapore should further widen and deepen its IMC cluster by harnessing both physical and nonphysical trade flows.

Singapore will need to strengthen inter-linkages within the Singapore IMC cluster by further entrenching maritime players here and broadening the depth and range of activities, including possible co-location of existing and new maritime-related ones.

It will also have to strengthen links with adjacent industries such as commodity trading, logistics and e-commerce, as well as with other complementary international maritime clusters, through stronger business ties, collaborations on research and development, training and education, and development of new international standards and regulations. Innovation should also remain a key focus of Singapore’s IMC, said the committee.

Future capabilities

This will enable the development of future capabilities and solutions that build on emerging technologies, such as autonomous systems, robotics, data analytics and artificial intelligence.

At the same time, talent remains a critical success factor, and the sector, known collectively as Maritime Singapore, will need to continue building a future-ready workforce with relevant skills and a global mindset that anticipates the future needs of the industry, it said.

These recommendations were unveiled yesterday at the Singapore Shipping Association’s 32nd anniversary gala dinner at Marina Bay Sands.

Committee chairman Andreas Sohmen Pao told a briefing earlier this week that it was timely to review Maritime Singapore’s growth strategy to stay relevant amid changing global trends.

This is especially important as the industry continues to face significant headwinds, such as slowing growth and changing trade patฌterns, accelerating technological change and disruption, as well as growing competition from other maritime centres.

He acknowledged that there is only so much Singapore can do in terms of “hardware” or infrastructure, which is why it must continue to build on its “software”.

“There is a lot of capital, a lot of infrastructure development in the region, and how do we stay ahead? It is by capturing some of these softฌer aspects like innovation, talent and connectivity,” he said.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min, who was at the event, noted that the report is a call for Maritime Singapore to take bold steps to embrace technology and innovation, invest in developฌing people, and seek new ventures in a more connected world.

Dr Lam also said that the Government would study the recommendations and work with industry to implement them.

Minister slams F&B firms objecting to sugar auction

Indonesia’s trade minister, Enggartiasto “Enggar” Lukita, has lashed out at food and beverage (F&B) firms that have objected to the ministry’s plan to introduce a new way of purchasing sugar through commodity auctions.

The Trade Ministry plans to introduce an alternative B2B sales and purchase of sugar by auction, but many big firms have raised their objections, asking that the government stick to the old, direct B2B transactions between F&B producers and sugar refineries.

The government initially planned to start the auction in October, but has delayed it due to rising objections. The delay means companies can opt for the old B2B format, but they still have to report their sugar purchase volume and value to the ministry.

“Those who don’t want the auction and resist reporting their sugar purchase [don’t want the tax office] to know their production size and the actual amount of tax they should pay,” Enggar told reporters on Thursday.

“If they intend to play hankypanky with the tax body, they will apparently be resistant, and for those who are resistant, it’s time for us to check their tax compliance,” he added. – The Jakarta Post

Rice exports profit to rise in Myanmar as demand soars

Rice export prices are likely to increase this year as foreign demand rises, according to Myanmar rice exporters.

“The price is expected to increase by about 50,000 kyats (Bt1,216 baht) per basket this year,” said rice trader Sai Kyaw from Mandalay. “The farmers should not sell their paddy in a hurry. If they have to sell, they should sell what they need. In my view, traders will compete to buy rice.”

He added the price rises would apply to the kinds of rice that were exported.

Myanmar exported over 1 million tonnes of rice in the first five month of 201718 and was expecting to export 2 million tonnes of rice this fiscal year – and it might overtake the estimate, said Vice Chairman Dr Soe Tun of the Myanmar Rice Federation.

Myanmar signed an agreement to sell 300,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh on September 7.

“We shipped 3,000 tonnes of rice from Pathein to Bangladesh under the previous government. In the mean time, private exporters sent a few tonnes of rice to Bangladesh. It is the first agreement under the [National League for Democracy] government. We have no agreement with other countries yet,” he said. – Myanmar Eleven

Indonesia agrees to lower tariff on Australian raw sugar

The Indonesian government has agreed to lower the tariff on Australian raw sugar to 5 per cent from 8 to 13 per cent when the Industry Ministry issues a related regulation in the next two weeks.

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said there would not be an increase in the raw sugar import quota this year but the policy would provide options for importers to buy more from Australia, in addition to Thailand, the biggest sugar exporter to Indonesia.

“The raw sugar tariff [for Australia] will be 5 per cent, the same rate we apply to Thailand, so [Australian sugar] can be more competitive. It is important because we don’t depend only on one country,” Lukita said at a press conference.

Indonesia depends on raw sugar imports, mostly from Thailand, to fulfill its household and industrial needs. This year, the ministry estimates that the country will import 3.5 million tons of sugar out of the national demand of 6.2 million tons.

To lessen its dependence on imported sugar, Indonesia will introduce various incentives for local sugar industry players and planters. – The Jakarta Post

‘Ecommerce will drive growth’ of micro, SMEs in global market

Malaysia’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) should take advantage of ecommerce and be innovative to become strong competitors in the global arena, said Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan.

In a globalised world interconnected through information and communications technology, ecommerce plays a key role not only in domestic and crossborder trade, but also in facilitating foreign investment through the supply of intermediary services, the International Trade and Industry Minister said.

Ong added that ecommerce is particularly beneficial for MSMEs as it significantly lowered barriers to entry and operating cost for businesses.

He said this at his opening remarks while chairing the second Plenary Session of The 7th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) Economic Ministers Meeting (EMM7) held in Seoul on Saturday.

During the session themed “Strengthening Economic Connectivity”, economic and trade ministers from 21 Asian countries and 30 European countries agreed on the importance of enhancing multilateral work on ecommerce.

Ong said the ministers also reaffirmed the leading role of MSMEs in job creation, economic growth, and prosperity in both developed and developing countries.

“The ministers expressed strong support to internationalise MSMEs by fostering their participation in regional and global value chains,” he said.

“This could be achieved by providing better access to information, improving their access to local digital infrastructure and enabling them to reap the benefits of freetrade agreement networks,” he added. – The Star

PH, Japan to firm up financing for P315B infra projects

The Duterte administration’s economic managers and the Japanese government will firm up next week financing commitments for P315.4 billion in bigticket infrastructure projects, the Philippines Department of Finance said Friday.

In a statement, the DOF said the PhilippinesJapan HighLevel Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation will meet in Tokyo today, their third after the meetings held also in Tokyo in March and in Manila in July.

Finance Secretary Carlos G Dominguez III, who cochairs the Philippine side with Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M Pernia, said the upcoming latest round of meeting would focus on ways to speed up the processing and implementation of timelines of the flagship infrastructure projects being eyed for possible Japanese financing.

Pernia had said that eight projects would be pitched for financing by the Japanese government.

“We want to discuss with them how we can fasttrack the process of implementing the projects,” Dominguez said. – Philippine Daily Inquirer

Hightech agriculture is key sector for HCM City future

Ho Chi Minh City has identified hightech agriculture as a key sector and is striving to become a hub for the development and supply of crop and animal strains in the southern region of Vietnam.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the city enjoys great advantages in this regard.

For instance, it annually supplies 20,00024,000 head of dairy cattle to the city and other provinces, mainly HolsteinFriesian hybrids, earning about 500 billion dong (Bt728 million) in the process.

Beef is also a strength since the industry has imported more than 1,000 brahman and droughmaster breeds of cattle for crossing and creating new breeds with weights of 450550kg and carcass weights of 5254 per cent.

The department’s director, Nguyen Phuoc Trung, said the city targets having 90,000 dairy cows and supplying 22,000 dairy cows a year by 2020.

It also aims to supply 10,000 tonnes of beef on the hoof and 7,000 head of cow breeds a year by then, he said.

The city also hopes to supply to the market more than one million breeding pigs per year.

It has 47 enterprises engaged in growing and trading plants, the highest number in the country. Since 2010 they have supplied to the market more than 81,000 tonnes of seeds, including 12,109 tonnes of vegetable seeds.

They have also produced 267 new plant strains.

Besides, the city has 35 tissue culture labs, which are capable of producing 16 million seedlings a year, mainly of orchids.

It has many agriculture and biotechnology universities and research institutes.

It has been carrying out programmes to develop highquality animal and plant strains since 2005.

The deputy director of the Crop Production Department, Tran Xuโn Dinh said the biggest challenge for the farm sector is t

The Filipino conglomerate wants to diversify and invest in new businesses like power and infrastructure.

San Miguel Corporation plans to spend some 281 billion pesos (Bt184 billion) to expand traditional and new businesses in two to three years, mostly in the Philippines.

In an investor briefing for SMC’s bond offering of up to 20 billion pesos earlier this year, Chief Financial Officer Ferdinand Constantino said the capital outlays would be made from the fourth quarter of last year to 201819.

“We want to enhance established businesses and continue to grow beverage, food and, even to a certain extent, the packaging businesses,” he said.

SMC also wants to diversify and invest in its new businesses like power and fuel, and infrastructure, he said.

SMC is among the leading Philippine giants that made inroads in the region, diversifying their revenue base and improving their supply chain, long before Asean formalised the creation of the Asean Economic Community.

San Miguel group, which controls 90 per cent of the beer market in the Philippines, has brewery and sales operations in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

The group also exports beer products to more than 40 countries.

It will pour as much as 75 billion pesos into its traditional food business lines, due mainly to demand from increasingly affluent consumers.

President Ramon Ang said in an interview that the new investments would include new processing plants for its Pure Foods meat products and new bottling lines for its beer business.

“We are going to produce Spam now to export to Asean countries,” he said, referring to a partnership with US-based Hormel Foods, which produces the processed meat popular with Filipinos.

No one was injured but aviation authorities will send safety inspectors to the western city of Osaka to investigate, said national broadcaster NHK.

The piece fell on the vehicle shortly after the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777 with 321 passengers on board took off from Kansai International Airport bound for Amsterdam on Saturday.

The panel damaged the car’s roof and broke its rear window, NHK said.

The panel, 0.6 metres (two feet) long and one metre wide, is made of composite materials and fell from the base of the right wing, Kyodo News said.

It is believed to have fallen at an altitude of 2,400 metres or higher.

KLM said the aircraft landed safely at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport Saturday afternoon.

“KLM regrets this incident and has immediately launched an investigation into the causes,” it said in a statement, adding that it is in close contact with Japanese aviation authorities and Boeing.

Dogs, big and small, and some in tandem braved the large swell that greeted them during the iconic event at Surf City, USA.

 A man surfs with his dog as the Surf City Surf Dog competition takes place in Huntington Beach, California, USA, 23 September 2017. Dogs compete in six different categories including in tandem with other dogs and with a human being. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Surf dog Joey rides a wave in the Small Dog event during the 9th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California on September 23, 2017.  // AFP PHOTO

Surf dog Cherie rides a wave in her heat of the Medium Dog event during the 9th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California on September 23, 2017. // AFP PHOTO

Surf dog Brandy the Pug rides a wave in the first heat of the Medium Dog event during the 9th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California on September 23, 2017.  // AFP PHOTO

Surf dog Skyler competes in the tandem event during the 8th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California on September 23, 2017.  // AFP PHOTO

Surf dog Jojo the Corgi rides a wave in her heat of the Medium Dog event during the 9th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California on September 23, 2017. // AFP PHOTO

Two dogs in the Shredder category close in on each other during the Surf City Surf Dog competition in Huntington Beach, California, USA, 23 September 2017. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Surf dog Jojo the Corgi rides a wave in her heat of the Medium Dog event during the 9th annual Surf City Surf Dog event at Huntington Beach, California on September 23, 2017. // AFP PHOTO

 A man surfs with his dog as the Surf City Surf Dog competition takes place in Huntington Beach, California, USA, 23 September 2017. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

According to the catalogue, the vase, which is 60 centimetres (23 inches) tall and depicts three blue dragons on a yellow background, is from the 20th century but it bears an unverified mark from the 18th century Qianlong era.

There was a bidding battle at the auction on Thursday by two people who believed the vase was in fact from the 18th century.

The auctioneer at the Geneve-Encheres auction house said the age of the vase was difficult to evaluate accurately and that they tended to be conservative in their estimates.

“This is the hammer price so with the commission added it is a total of 6.08 million Swiss francs ($6.1 million, 5.1 million euros),” auctioneer Olivier Fichot told AFP.

The final price was 10,000 times more than the catalogue estimate.

The buyer, an amateur from Asia, was in the room for the auction, while his competitor bid by telephone.

Fichot said that it was the highest bid ever made in Geneva outside of jewellery and watches.

The auction house’s previous record was a bronze Buddha statue that sold for 550,000 Swiss francs.