Geologists from China and Myanmar have found new seismic evidence to explain how the Indian subcontinent drifted northward anomalously fast and collided with Asia to form the Himalayas in ancient times.
The study, published on Saturday in the journal Science Advances, reveals that closure of the ancient Neo-Tethys Ocean in the Mesozoic Era and the subsequent formation of the Tibetan Plateau were likely caused by double subduction. Double subduction happens when not one, but two oceanic plates simultaneously subduct (force their way under) a third plate.
The new evidence comes from high-resolution investigation of the Earth’s upper mantle (crust) beneath Myanmar. The research was conducted by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Myanmar Geoscience Society, Yangon University and Dagon University.
The Myanmar region occupies the eastern end of the Indian-Asian collisional system. Due to lower impact from the continental collision, it is an ideal place to probe possible slab remnants of double subduction, according to the study.
The research reveals, for the first time, two subparallel subducted slabs preserved intact in the present upper mantle beneath the Neo-Tethyan tectonic regime, supporting the double subduction model of the Neo-Tethys Ocean.
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Several districts in India’s northeast state of Assam were hit with another internet blackout on Sunday as thousands of candidates appeared for the second phase of an ongoing large-scale recruitment drive in the state government.
The second phase of the drive will see candidates who have applied for Class-III positions taking a test. The third and last phase is scheduled for September 11. The first phase was held on August 21.
The state government is far stricter this time as the fortunes of some 140,000 candidates against some 30,000 vacancies will be decided through this recruitment drive, which is by far the largest.
The state government has also put in place tight security measures at all examination centres.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with various stakeholders to ensure the exams continue smoothly.
“We are committed to conducting this ongoing massive recruitment drive for Grade III & IV posts in the most transparent manner … Best wishes to all the candidates!” Sarma tweeted.
He earlier asked the police chiefs to be ready with their men and materials to thwart unscrupulous elements from disrupting the examination process.
There will be one nodal officer in each of the 25 districts where examinations are going to be held and government-gazetted officers will also be put into action for each examination centre as observers to ensure that the SOPs are properly and satisfactorily executed.
Moreover, one sub-inspector level police officer will be deployed in each examination centre who will be assisted by other police personnel.
The candidates along with the invigilators will be barred from carrying mobile phones or any other electronic gadgets into the examination centres.
The centre-in-charge in each examination centre will engage two videographers to video graph all relevant happenings in the examination.
Hyundai Motor Group’s Hyundai, Kia and Genesis received top scores in a major product satisfaction survey, beating out global competitors, according to the US consumer research firm JD Power on Friday.
According to the JD Power’s US Tech Experience Index (TEI), Hyundai Motor Group’s luxury brand Genesis scored 643 points, outpacing Cadillac (584), Mercedes-Benz (539) and Volvo (526), topping the luxury brand list. Genesis has topped the list for two consecutive years.
In the standard model category, Hyundai topped the rankings with 534 points, marking its third year at number one. Hyundai was fourth in the overall ranking, beating brands like Volvo and BMW.
Kia followed Hyundai with a total of 495 points.
The survey, which was conducted from February to May, asked 80,000 consumers who owned the new models launched this year, over the course of more than three months.
The index evaluates each brand’s new driving technology and user experience, based on various aspects such as comfort, automation technology, energy and sustainability, infotainment and connectivity. Each car received points from consumer satisfaction in a total of four categories and 35 technologies, out of a possible score of 1,000 points.
“We are putting our best into product development and talent education to offer customers sophisticated technology. With that technology, we will continue to put effort into allowing customers to easily and comfortably use our products,” said Ricky Rao, who is in charge of Hyundai Motor’s product strategy in US.
The Japan-led Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8), is being held in Tunisia to discuss Africa’s development challenges, one of its main themes.
The two-day conference started Saturday. There is a high expectation for Japan, which has decarbonization and other technologies, to play a role in avoiding a worst-case scenario in Africa.
CHINGUETTI, Mauritania — Having survived as a trading centre for more than 1,000 years, this ancient city registered as a World Heritage site is being steadily engulfed by the Sahara Desert.
“The city may soon disappear,” said Salem Youma, 49, who was mending the wall of his house on the outskirts of the old city. Beside him, a young relative was shovelling away a sand pile more than 2 meters high.
Chinguetti, including the surrounding areas, is home to about 5,000 people these days, having lost more than half of its population in about 10 years. The expansion of the desert is the prime factor for its population loss.
There had been no rain here for 11 years until June this year.
Measures such as planting date palms and other means have not been successful in halting desertification. Residents have been abandoning their homes and leaving the city one after another.
The Sahara Desert in northern Africa has expanded by 10% in the last 100 years.
Besides the over-cutting of trees, climate change is considered one of the factors contributing to the expansion of the desert.
The sand gains momentum year after year, also in Chinguetti.
“It is my birthplace, so I want to continue living here. But I wonder if I can win the battle against the sand,” Youma said anxiously.
Great Green Wall
On the outskirts of Rosso in southern Mauritania, saplings of trees that are resistant to drought and can grow in sandy soil are being planted over an area of 10 hectares.
“The sandy soil was coming closer and closer to our village. I hope more trees will be planted so that we will be able to feel safe soon,” said farmer Bekaye Mohamad, 45.
Eleven countries, including Mauritania, began a project in 2007 to build a Great Green Wall of trees stretching about 8,000 kilometres as part of efforts to stop the expansion of the Sahara. The project aims to restore vegetation to an area of 100 million hectares by 2030.
Carbon dioxide emissions in Africa account for only about 4% of the global total. Yet the effects of droughts and floods are enormous, with Asia, Europe and the United States passing the burden on to Africa.
More than 216 million people could be forced to move within their countries by 2050 due to climate change, according to a 2021 report by the World Bank. Given that Africa accounts for almost half of the total at 105 million people, there is concern that this could increase the number of refugees and trigger new conflicts.
Abnormal weather has also caused widespread damage. Although there is no known cause-and-effect relationship with climate change, record flooding has occurred in South Sudan, and Angola is in a severe drought, with more than 1.5 million people facing a food crisis.
Progress on the Great Green Wall project, which is considered to be one of the main measures, has only reached about 20%, due to financial difficulties and inadequate management.
Mauritania needs more support from the international community, said Alioin Fall, coordinator in charge of climate change at Mauritania’s Environment Ministry.
Rising sea levels
A threat is also coming from the sea.
Egypt, which will host the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November, is striving hard to combat erosion that is becoming stronger every year.
According to Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry, the sea level rose by an average of 1.8 millimetres per year in the early 1990s on the Mediterranean side, but in the past decade, it has risen by 3.2 millimetres per year.
It is predicted that an area of about 2,660 square kilometres, slightly larger than Kanagawa Prefecture, will be inundated in 2100, causing damage to 5.7 million people.
In northern Egypt’s Alexandria, there have been reports of stores along the seafront being inundated, and the construction of barriers is underway in areas such as around the Qaitbay Fort, a famous tourist attraction.
Abbas Sharaqqy, a professor at Cairo University and an expert on climate change issues, said it is important that the world’s major powers take the lead in reducing the use of fossil fuels and stopping global warming.
SEJONG — South Korea will push for the abolishment of law provisions, which stipulate criminal punishment on businesses despite meager rule-violations, as part of effort to promote wider scale corporate activities and vitalize foreign investments.
Before seeking criminal punishment, the government will issue administrative sanctions in the first stage, the Finance Ministry and the Justice Ministry said during a meeting for revamping regulations in Daegu on Friday.
According to the two ministries, the targets are 32 provisions on criminal punishment in 17 laws, which are specified by 10 relevant ministries, including the Industry Ministry, the Environment Ministry, the Land Ministry and the Fair Trade Commission.
There is an urgent need to revise the 32 provisions, which have little relevance to people’s lives and safety, officials said.
Of the 32 targets, one is a provision on logistics facilities stipulates that businesses conducting construction of a logistics terminal without attaining endorsement will be subject to a one-year jail term or fines up to 10 million won ($7,500).
The two ministries said they would seek business suspensions instead of the jail term or fines.
These kind of provisions on criminal punishment “have been regarded as a factor, which hamper competitiveness of local businesses and burden foreign businesses operating here,” said First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Bang Ki-sun.
The policy will be pushed via law revisions at the National Assembly or enforcement orders.
By Kim Yon-se
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A parliamentary panel on Friday questioned social media giant Twitter on a range of issues including privacy of user data, possibility of breaches and allegations of irregularities levelled by a former employee named Zatko.
The tech company’s team of officials is believed to have told the Standing Committee for Information and Technology led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor that it follows strict data safety norms and that most of its employees do not have access to user data. There is some access to user data at the headquarters but purely for technical purposes, the company is learnt to have told the panel.
To questions about Zatko’s allegations that the Indian government had forced Twitter to appoint one of its agents in the company, the tech giant clarified that the Indian government had made no such demand.
Sources present in the committee told ANI that members wanted to find out from the Twitter team if there was any leakage of data. The Twitter team present is learnt to have told the members that there has been no data leak by the social media giant.
Members further asked the Twitter team if data of the users was available to anyone in particular or to some of them. The Twitter informed that no employee in India had access to user data. There is some access to data of the users in the headquarters and it is purely for technical purposes, company functionaries are learnt to have told the panel.
Members asked Twitter if they have any mechanism to control any breach of data to which Twitter representatives replied that there was “no” breach of data.
According to sources, questions were asked if there were instances where users had confidentially contacted Twitter’s Data Protection Officer. Panel members also sought details on how many employees were working for Twitter in India and how many were specifically in the IT section and in the security team for managing data?
To some of these the Twitter functionaries could not come up “satisfactory” replies, said the source quoted above. To some of the questions, Twitter will now reply in writing. After a discussion of over 50 minutes and “inability” to give concrete information, the panel has asked for the written replies to be sent to it within a week, said the source.
Officials from Twitter who were present before the committee included Shagufta Kamran, Twitter’s, Director, Public Policy & Government, along with other functionaries.
Members of the panel also asked pointed questions to the microblogging site about alleged data leakage by their platform. Members sought comments on the recent developments reported in the media about the revelations made by whistleblower Zatko.
During his time at the company, Zatko claimed he came across a number of vulnerabilities “waiting to be discovered”. According to media reports, he alleged that he discovered that half of the company’s 500,000 data center servers run on outdated software that does not support basic security features, such as encryption for stored data, or no longer received regular security updates from their vendors.
According to media reports, Zatko had also alleged that the Indian government “forced Twitter to hire one of its agents”. Sources say that in the reply Twitter said that they had also read the media reports but did not have any concrete details to share on it. They also said that the Government of India never approached them for appointing any agent on their rolls.
The (whose complaint?? or is it Zatko’s allegation) complaint alleges Twitter does not reliably delete users’ data — including direct messages — after they cancel their accounts, in some cases because the company has lost track of the information, and that it has misled regulators about whether it deletes the data as it is required to do.
After a discussion of over 50 minutes and a failure to give concrete information, the panel has asked for the written replies to be sent to it within a week’s time.
The meeting was held in the presence of chairman Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, CPIM MP John Brittas, BJP MP and former information and broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore among others.
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It has been 10 years since Rakuten Group Inc. made English its official internal language. While the company has expanded its business by hiring employees who are fluent in English and training its employees to become fluent, it still faces some challenges. This article will explore the meaning of Japanese companies using English as their official internal language.
Asense of unity
“I have a question about the project,” a Japanese employee said in English during a regular meeting of the company’s personnel information system department in early July. The meeting, at Rakuten’s headquarters in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, was attended by employees from five countries including the United States, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Rakuten uses English for all documents and all meetings including those attended only by Japanese employees. Employees use Japanese almost only for chatting. The company gradually started to use English internally in 2010 and completed the transition period to make English its official internal language in 2012.
There were many advantages. This initiative helped Rakuten hire not only Japanese people hoping to make use of their English skills but also talented foreigners. It became easier to communicate with overseas branch offices while a sense of unity was easily created among employees including foreigners.
Foreigners make up about 20% of the company’s total employees in Japan. A 36-year-old Italian who was hired in 2014 for her English language ability feels that employees with different cultures, experiences and ideas help increase the company’s problem-solving abilities.
Morning study, afternoon work
Things were not so easy at first.
There were not many Japanese employees fluent in English and some even left because their English skills did not improve. It wasn’t rare for employees to complain, “My hard work will not be rewarded unless I am fluent in English.”
Takashi Katsuragi, 50, deputy director of the media business department who promoted the internal use of English at that time, said, “The company started to offer full support to employees to learn English, which was a big turning point.” At first, the company appreciated employees’ voluntary efforts to learn English but later changed that stance and had them study English as part of their “assignments.”
The company prepared a large room where 400 employees could study at one time and had them concentrate on studying in the morning and working in the afternoon. Also, the company introduced to employees the study methods used by peers who had improved their TOEIC scores.
But there were some negative side effects. Shinji Kuroda, 45, Rakuten’s executive officer responsible for human resources, said with a wry smile, “Talented employees with excellent English skills are sometimes headhunted by other companies.” Some employees have changed jobs to work for U.S. information technology giants, major Japanese or international companies or startups.
Many Japanese people feel that they are bad at English. Rakuten believes that some people do not apply to the company due to the English ability requirement even though they have high skills. While employees of different nationalities can communicate in English, achieving deep understanding between them is sometimes more difficult than between Japanese employees. For that, the company has been implementing training lately to help employees understand diversity and different cultures as a phase following the use of English as an official internal language.
Competing with IT giants
Money Forward Inc., a financial IT company, will make English an official language for its engineering division by the end of 2024, with an aim to attract digitally skilled talent. The company started to hire foreign nationals several years ago. Takuya Nakade, director, executive officer and chief technology officer of the company, said, “Hiring top-class foreign IT engineers is more than 10 times easier than hiring their Japanese counterparts.”
However, to acquire skilled workers, the company must compete with IT giants such as Google, which often have a significant edge in terms of salaries. In addition to the internal use of English, the company needs to make its businesses attractive to skilled workers and create an employee-friendly working environment.
Other companies, such as Uniqlo clothing store operator Fast Retailing Co. and cosmetics maker Shiseido Co., are currently making English their official internal language. Sharp Corp. announced in June that it too had plans to do so.
Prof. Yoko Okabe of Kyoto Sangyo University said, “More than for manufacturers that can deliver value by making quality products such as automobiles, English is important for IT companies, trading companies and service sector companies to globalize themselves. Japanese companies should take a top-down approach and think about the economic value brought about by English.”
By Daisuke Ichikawa
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ISLAMABAD: Calling the incessant monsoon rains a “climate-inducted humanitarian crisis of epic proportions”, the Pakistan government on Thursday officially declared a ‘national emergency’ in light of the rain-induced floods which have so far killed 937 people, including 343 children, and left at least 30 million without shelter.
As per the latest data compiled by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Sindh reported the highest number of deaths as 306 people lost their lives due to floods and rain-related incidents from June 14 to date.
Balochistan reported 234 deaths whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab recorded 185 and 165 deaths, respectively. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 37 people were killed while nine deaths were reported in the Gilgit-Baltistan region during the current monsoon rains. In the same period Islamabad reported one death.
According to the NDMA, Pakistan received 166.8mm of rain in August, as opposed to the average of 48mm — an increase of 241 per cent. Sindh and Balochistan — the worst-hit regions — witnessed a 784pc and 496pc increase in the monsoon deluge, respectively, it added.
Consequently, the abnormal increase in rainfall generated flash floods across the country, particularly in the southern part of Pakistan, which remains inundated at the moment with 23 districts of Sindh being declared “calamity-hit”.
Monstrous monsoon
Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said a “war room” has been established by the prime minister at NDMA, which would spearhead relief operations across the country. She admitted that the incessant “monstrous” rainfall had “made it hard to carry out relief operations, especially helicopter sorties”.
“Pakistan is going through its 8th cycle of monsoon; normally the country has only three to four cycles of [monsoon] rain,” the minister said during a press conference in Islamabad.
“Pakistan is under an unprecedented monsoon spell and data suggests the possibility of re-emergence of another cycle in September.”
Senator Rehman, who compared the current situation with the devastating 2010 floods earlier this week, said the current situation was worse than that. “The water is not only flowing from the north as in 2010, but it is equally or more devastating in its sweep and destructive power,” she added.
According to the senator, flash floods caused by heavy rains had swept away bridges and communication infrastructure in various areas of the country. “Almost 30 million people are without shelter, thousands of them displaced and have no food,” she told reporters.
Stressing the need for relief from international donors, the minister said that the need for shelter and relief was dire as per what the provinces had conveyed. “It is still an evolving situation and every day the needs assessments were changing as the rains did not stop and the water kept coming,” she said, adding that the number of homeless was growing.
Sindh has asked for one million tents and Balochistan has demanded 100,000 tents, she said, adding that all tent manufacturers had been mobilised and external donors were also approached for tents.
Initial needs assessment report
As per the government’s preliminary rapid needs assessment report, at least Rs72.36 billion is required to provide immediate relief to the flood-hit people. In terms of food and instant cash relief, the government requires Rs7.33 billion, for non-food items (NFIs) it needs Rs8.713bn, whereas Rs1.627bn are required for health-related expenses.
The government also requires Rs9.024bn to compensate the loss of cattle as a result of rain-induced floods while the machinery and related equipment required for the relief efforts would cost Rs4.646bn, as per the initial assessment. Meanwhile, in order to rebuild at least 82,000 houses damaged in the deluge would cost Rs41 billion i.e. Rs50,000 per house.
‘Appeal to Pakistanis’
Meanwhile, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb evoked the “national spirit” and urged the nation, including overseas Pakistan, to come forward and help their compatriots at this critical juncture.
“The entire nation, especially the overseas Pakistanis, should donate generously to help the flood victims as a huge amount of money would be required for their rehabilitation in the wake of large-scale disaster, she said in a statement.
Ms Aurangzeb added that the federal government, along with the provinces, was making tireless efforts and all the resources were being mobilised. The minister said that owing to heavy rains and severe flooding, there were difficulties in relief operations and that public contributions were needed to ramp up rescue efforts.
She added that the details and process for depositing donations in the Prime Minister Flood Relief Account 2022 had already been made public.
By Zaki Abbas
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Regulators from China and the United States signed a cooperative supervision agreement on Friday, taking a substantial step toward resolving the auditing dispute surrounding US-listed Chinese companies, officials and experts said.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board signed an audit oversight cooperation agreement on Friday and will advance relevant cooperation in the near future, the CSRC said in a statement.
The agreement establishes a cooperation framework in line with the authorities’ respective laws and regulatory mandates and sets out specific arrangements for conducting inspections and investigations by both sides over relevant audit firms within the jurisdiction of both sides, the statement said.
“The signing of the agreement is an important step forward by regulators in China and the US towards resolving the audit oversight issue that concerns mutual interests and lays the foundation for proactive, professional and pragmatic cooperation in the next stage,” the statement said.
According to the agreement, Chinese and US regulators will both assist with the inspections and investigations of relevant audit firms conducted by the other side, unnamed CSRC officials said in a separate statement.
Audit work papers that the US regulator needs access to will be obtained by and transferred through the Chinese side, providing a feasible path for protecting information security while strengthening audit supervision cooperation, the officials said.
The US stock market has responded positively. E-retailer Pinduoduo rose 7 percent in pre-market trading hours on Friday, while new energy vehicle maker Nio was up 4 percent and financial services provider Futu Holdings rose 6 percent.
Experts said that, by establishing a long-awaited comprehensive audit oversight solution acceptable to the two sides, the agreement marks a significant breakthrough in resolving the audit dispute regarding US-listed Chinese companies that has exposed many of them to delisting risks.
Peng Wensheng, chief economist at China International Capital Corp, said the agreement is not only good news for investors and public companies, but is also a win-win scenario for the two countries.
For US-listed Chinese companies, the agreement will reduce the possibility of forced delistings and help them to get more financing from the capital market, Peng said.
For other Chinese companies with the intention of listing overseas, the option of going public on US bourses is now more attractive, Peng said.
Nevertheless, officials and experts noted that the ultimate elimination of the delisting risks of US-listed Chinese companies still awaits the effective implementation of the agreement.
“If the upcoming cooperation concludes to the satisfaction of both sides’ regulatory mandates, it is hopeful that the audit oversight issue of the US-listed Chinese companies will be resolved and delisting can be avoided,” the CSRC officials said.
By ZHOU LANXU in Beijing and SHI JING in Shanghai
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The Malaysian government will take a stand on the use of cannabis for medical purposes before the end of the year, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.
Khairy, who concluded a bilateral working visit to Bangkok on Thursday, said Thailand had shared a lot of views and experiences during his visit on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes and its cultivation.
“I am confident that we will be able to study Thailand’s experience to adapt it to the Malaysian context later when we will decide whether or not to allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes.
“If approved, we will determine in what framework and how it will be used.
“I want to move fast… I am confident that we will be able to take a stand this year. The main decision of Yes or No will be made this year with the policy likely being implemented next year. That is my target,” he said.
Khairy’s visit was at the invitation of Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to explore the potential health benefits of cannabis. Thailand is the first Southeast Asian country to legalise the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
During the visit, Khairy and the delegation also visited the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) where he was briefed on Thailand’s cannabis policy including practices, cultivation methods, research and the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
He also held meetings with the main players of the cannabis industry in Thailand besides visiting Siam Cannabis Land in Pattaya where he was briefed and visited greenhouses and plantations of various types of cannabis.
Khairy explained that the use of cannabis for medical purposes was not new in Malaysia because, in 2014, Sativex containing cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was approved for use in Malaysia to treat muscle spasms.
However, the product was not well received in the local market, so it was deregistered.
“The existing laws and framework allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes,” he said.
Khairy added that the use of cannabis for medical purposes was becoming more widespread internationally including for palliative care, chronic pain management, insomnia and patients undergoing chemotherapy.
“Malaysia does not want to be left behind. So, we want to see and study the effectiveness and safety of using cannabis for medical purposes,” he said.
Khairy added that for a start, Malaysia only sees the use of cannabis products for medicinal purposes and not its cultivation.
“If there is a high demand to make it an industry, we will study in terms of [cannabis] cultivation. We will take one step at a time,” he said.
Last month, Khairy said a framework regarding the registration of certain CBD products would be announced.
Earlier on Thursday, Khairy visited Thailand’s first psychiatric hospital – Somdet Chaopraya Institute of Psychiatry – where he was briefed by the director-general of the Department of Mental Health Dr Amporn Benjaponpitak about mental health services in the country.
During the visit, he was shown various innovations that can help improve mental health.
Khairy also attended the 12th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) High-Level Meeting on Health and Economy themed “Open to Partnership. Connect with the World. Balance Health and the Economy”.
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