Deputy District Governor of Pakxe district, Champassak province,  Khonesavanh Vannivongkham told Vientiane Times yesterday that currently 37 families in Phonsa-art village are living at the school because the village is still flooded.

Tropical Storm Sonca brought thunderstorms and heavy rains to the district from July 25, with 808 families in 22 villages of Pakxe district affected.

The authorities have moved 53 families to schools in the district and some families have moved to live with their relatives but currently the level of water has already decreased and many families have already to return to their houses.

“On this occasion, some 80.5 hectares of the rice fields were affected by flooding. However, the authorities are assessing the damage and surveying the affecting areas,” Khonesavanh said.

Pakxe district authorities are continuing mobilising essential materials, including food, rice, and clothing to help the affected residents. During the flooding, many government sectors and members of the private sector from Champassak and other provinces have provided essential materials, including food, rice, and water.

Meanwhile, 99 families in Nong and Thongdaeng villages of Kaenthao district, Xayboury province were affected by flash floods which damaged 60 houses and caused the deaths of two people.

The damage to property was estimated at 15 billion kip, according to an official in-charge in Kaenthao district. Over 122 hectares of farmland was also damaged by the floods and many roads around district were also damaged.

Recent floods caused by heavy rains in Khamkeuth district of Borikhamxay province also killed a 16-year-old boy and affected 900 families in 43 villages.

The damage to property was estimated at four billion kip, according to an official in-charge of the Natural Resources Office in Khamkeuth district.

The flooded areas included 100 hectares of rice fields, 230 hectares of cassava crops, 114 hectares of maize, 12 hectares of chilli and 103 hectares of peanuts.

In Savannakhet province, some 245 families in eight villages of Xayphouthong district and more than 520 hectares of rice fields were affected by floods and 220 hectares of rice fields were damaged, according to district authorities.

In Saravan province, 30 villages of Vapy district were affected by flash floods and 1,511 hectares of rice field were affected by floods according to provincial authorities.

Also in Khammuan province, over 600 families in 15 villages in Xebangfay district were affected by flooding, according to a local official. Some 1,151 hectares of rice fields were flooded. Many provinces affected by flooding are still assessing damage and surveying flood-affected areas.

In the current bill, which is being discussed by the government, e-commerce transactions must be reported so that the government can calculate the amount of tax that should be paid from the transactions.

However, Center for Indonesia Taxation Analysis (CITA) executive director Yustinus Prastowo said on Thursday the government could not collect taxes based on the transactions that had been made because not all transactions ended with payment.

“We should apply the Korean system, where the authority collects the taxes in the payment gateway because e-commerce transactions are paid through online systems,” Yustinus said at a seminar on taxation in Jakarta on Thursday.

Under Director General of Taxation Regulation No. SE-62/PJ/2013, the government collects income tax and value added tax (VAT) from four kinds of e-commerce: online marketplace, classified ads, daily deals and online retail.

According to the regulation, the taxes for online marketplaces and daily deals are collected from the places sellers sell their goods and from the transactions between buyers and sellers. Meanwhile, for classified ads, the taxes are collected from the places producers promote their products and for online retail the taxes are collected per the transaction between buyer and seller.

Over the past six months, 51 companies have registered to invest in the SEZs with a total recorded capital of US$54.7 million, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Of these companies, 29 are from China, which has emerged the largest foreign investor in the SEZs over the past six months.

China was followed by Thailand and Laos (five companies each), Malaysia (three companies) and Japan (two companies).

Of the total of 51 companies, 18 invested in Boten Specific Economic Zone in Luang Namtha province, followed by Savan-Seno special economic zone in Savannakhet province (13 companies) and Saysettha Development Zone (eight companies).

The services and trade sectors represented the largest proportion of these investment, accounting for 44 per cent and 42 per cent respectively.

The industrial sector made up only 14 per cent of the total investment in the zones.

Though more companies were interested in investing in the SEZs, their registered capital was lower than the target set by the government.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment planned to attract private investments worth US$148.5 million for the zones in 2017, but was able to source only US$54.7 million in the past six months.

Economists have said much more needs to be done if Laos wants to entice more investors to its special and specific economic zones.

Given that Asean economic integration has led to freer markets and higher competition, Laos’ neighbours, including Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, also offer similar incentives to attract foreign investment.

Economists said Laos needs to work harder to review its investment promotion policies to attract foreign investment.

Over the past few years, the government has restructured the management of SEZs and developed human resources to better facilitate foreign investment in Laos.

The management authorities of SEZs have also worked with Lao embassies in foreign countries, particularly in China, Japan and European nations, to help attract investment.

Currently, there are 12 special and specific economic zones across the country. About 352 companies from Laos and overseas have invested, with a total registered capital of US$8 billion, of which US$1.6 million has been spent.

SEZs have generated revenues of US$17 million for the government’s budget and 18,000 jobs for local residents and foreign workers.

The government has attached great importance to the development of SEZs, aiming to attract investment from the private sector in Laos and overseas, as well as to create diverse investments in Laos, generate more jobs for Lao people and boost socio-economic development.

Ali AhKao dan Muthu was uploaded on Name­wee’s YouTube channel on Saturday; it is now trending at No. 3 on YouTube Malay­sia and has garnered close to 800,000 views to date.

With Malaysia celebrating its 60th year of independence, the homegrown musician said he is glad that his patriotic National Day theme is helping to foster muhibbah.

“Ali, Ah Kao and Muthu are familiar names that we keep seeing in our textbooks during our schooldays. So, I decided to cast these characters to tell a story of how they lived together in harmony,” the 34-year-old singer, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, said in an exclusive interview yesterday.

To record the song, Namewee roped in 67-year-old Alleycats vocalist Datuk David Arumugam and 11-year-old singer Aniq, the champion of ceria popstar 2016, to represent three generations of three different races living together in unity.

The six-minute video shows the three main characters – Ali, Ah Kao and Muthu – growing up together as good friends and contains footages of Malaysia’s historical moments.

The music video has received comments from fans around the world.

Spurred by the response to his music video, Namewee announced an Ali AhKao dan Muthu singing competition.

“The performers must be from three different races. The song must have a music video and must be Ali AhKao dan Muthu,” he said when asked about the rules of the competition.

“They can rearrange and change anything as long as it is creative.”

The deadline for submission of entries is Aug 19. The winners will be announced on Aug 26.

There will be cash prizes totalling RM20,000 up for grabs. To find out more, fans may tune into his latest Namewee Tokok talk show on Youtube, uploaded last night.

Dozens of firefighters scrambled to battle the blaze at Tsukiji’s outer market, which is crowded with small shops and restaurants, but local media said there were no immediate reports of injuries.

The fire broke out at a three-story building around 4:50 pm (0750 GMT), burning around 200 square metres (2,150 square feet) of the area, public broadcaster NHK said.

A total of 43 fire engines were deployed to extinguish the fire, NHK said.

“I could tell immediately that it’s a fire,” said Kiyoshi Kimura, the head of the Sushizanmai restaurant chain, who was at his office in the area when the fire broke out.

“So I called managers and had everyone evacuated from our restaurants,” Kimura told AFP.

The fire comes after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said in June that the fish market will be moved to a new location.

Plans to uproot the decades-old market have been in the works for years, with advocates citing the need for upgraded technology as they pointed to Tsukiji’s antiquated refrigeration systems.

Koike said last summer that the current site would eventually be redeveloped to capitalise on Tsukiji’s globally recognised brand.

Another journalist in Bangladesh has been sued under section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act for giving a status on Facebook.

A person in Brahmanbaria’s Nabinagar upazila (sub-district) filed the case with Nabinagar Police Station on Tuesday night against Shimanto Khokon, the district correspondent of the English daily Observer, for “defaming and creating confusion among public by giving baseless information on Facebook”.

The filing of the case comes hard on the heels of the arrest of a reporter of a Khulna based daily newspaper, also under Section 57, for a Facebook post.

According to Tuesday night’s case statement, the plaintiff’s’s wife and daughter had an altercation with his elder brother and sister-in-law over a trifle matter on July 24. His wife and daughter were injured.

The next day, Shimanto on his Facebook status said the plaintiff’s elder brother “raped his own niece and confined both the victim and her mother in their house.”

Shimanto, on his Facebook status, added that he informed the matter to the local police, but they covered up the incident instead of taking any measures.

The status was baseless and provocative and it humiliated the family, reads the case statement.

Contacted, the accused journalist said he informed police after receiving information from a relative of the alleged “rape victim”. The case was filed intentionally.

Officer-in-charge of Nabinagar Police Station Aslam Shikdar confirmed the filing of the case.

The plaintiff could not be reached for his comment despite repeated attempts.

With the latest incident, 25 journalists have so far been accused under the section since March 1 and most of them had been sued for their reports.

Journalist leaders and rights activists have been demanding repeal of the section saying it had vague wording, allowing it to be used for silencing newspersons and social media users.

Amid widespread criticism, Law Minister Anisul Huq on several occasions said section 57 would be removed. The minister on July 9 said the government would decide on the matter while finalising the draft of “Digital Security Act” this month.

But cases filed under the section are piling on. According to a source at the Cyber Tribunal in Dhaka, around 700 cases have so far been filed under section 57 since 2013 when the act was amended with a provision for stringent punishment.

But Haizi started showing interest in courtship this spring, resulting in a blind date with a male panda suitor and — four months later — twin cubs that have made her the world’s oldest panda mom, China’s Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center announced Thursday.

A 23-year-old giant panda is equivalent in age to an 80-year-old human.

According to the centre, Haizi gave birth to a 175-gram (6 ounces) female and a 123.1-gram male on July 30 at southwest Sichuan province’s Wolong National Nature Reserve, where 21 panda cubs have been born this year.

Haizi last delivered a pair of panda twins when she was 19 years old.

In Chinese culture, a set of boy-girl twins are called “dragon-phoenix babies.”

“Generally, the maximum breeding age for giant pandas is 20 years old, and pandas older than that are not encouraged to participate in breeding,” Li Desheng, a giant panda expert at the breeding centre, said in a statement.

“But Haizi’s success demonstrates the advanced degree of care offered at our centre — it is a breakthrough in panda breeding.”

A powerful typhoon moving up from the waters south of Jeju Island, is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to southern parts of South Korea over the weekend, Korea’s weather agency said Thursday.

Typhoon Noru, packing gusts of up to 176 kilometers per hour, is not projected to make landfall on the peninsula, instead heading east to Japan.

As of Thursday, the typhoon was moving toward Seogwipo on Jeju Island from 730 kilometers east of Japan’s Okinawa Island, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Jeju and Busan will see indirect impacts of wind gusts and at least 300-400 millimeters of rain from Saturday night.

Wind gusts, storm surges and torrential downpours will expand across the rest of the peninsula late Sunday night into Monday evening, with the highest risk expected in cities near East Sea.

Formed on July 20, Noru has recently reached super typhoon status, becoming the strongest developed so far this year. To become a super typhoon, a storm’s peak winds must exceed 240 kilometers per hour.

Large swells caused by Noru have already been seen affecting parts of the Japanese coast and East Sea.

The Jeju Emergency Management Agency on Thursday activated emergency measures and issued advisories for high winds and waves on the sea near the southern island.

The Busan Metropolitan City also held an emergency meeting for preventive measures against possible landslides and stream flooding. It discussed ways to remove beach umbrellas and water sports activities structures.

Other municipalities said they are considering canceling summer festivities such as a beach festival slated for the weekend.

On Thursday, Seoul and most cities across the country saw blistering temperatures, with highs hovering in the mid-30s in metropolitan areas.

Daytime highs soared to 34 degrees Celsius in Seoul and Gwangju and on Jeju, while Jeonju saw its high get up to 35 degrees.

A heat wave warning was issued in Seoul, Incheon, Gwangju, Jeju and parts of South Gyeongsang, South Chungcheong, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.

Dr Krissanapong shared updates on the First Princess Maha Chakri Award Forum held in Bangkok from April 25-29, and the Second Princess Maha Chakri Award Presentation Ceremony to run from October 11-12 in Bangkok.

Deputy Permanent Secretary (Core Education) Nadia Lee Siew Hoon binti Abdullah was also in attendance.

The delegation was updated on significant educational developments in Brunei Darussalam by the Acting Director-General of Education, Director of Curriculum Development, Acting Director of Examinations, Director of the Institute of Brunei Technical Education and heads of units at the Ministry of Education.

The visit concluded with the exchange of souvenirs between the permanent secretary and the chairman.

The Princess Maha Chakri Award (PMCA)is an international award for dedicated teachers whose outstanding achievements have brought tremendous contributions to education and human development.

Once every two years, one teacher from each Southeast Asian country is selected by the PMCAF Committee to receive the prestigious award from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

The First Awarding Ceremony took place in October 2015. Hajah Ratnawati binti Haji Mohammad, a Special Education Needs Assistance (SENA) teacher from Sekolah Rendah Keriam received the Princess Maha Chakri Award 2015 for Brunei Darussalam.