The development came as the clock was ticking down on hopes of finding alive the 44 crew members now missing for a week despite a massive search of surface and seabed, amid fears their oxygen had run out.

The ARA San Juan would have had enough oxygen for its crew to survive underwater in the South Atlantic for seven days since its last contact, according to officials. At 0730 GMT Wednesday, that time had elapsed.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters a “hydro-acoustic anomaly” was detected in the ocean almost three hours after the last communication with the vessel on November 15, 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of its last known position.

Asked if the noise could have been an explosion, the spokesman declined to speculate, saying only: “It has to be corroborated and looked into.”

Balbi added: “We are in a very dangerous situation, and one that is getting worse.”

Information about the unusual noise became available Thursday after being relayed by the United States and “after all the information from all agencies reporting such hydroacoustic events was reviewed, Balbi explained.

“It would have been a very loud noise” and one that could have been an explosion, a former sub commander told AFP privately.

Poor weather

High seas and poor visibility in the South Atlantic have hampered the search since it began, around 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the Argentine coast. Waves have towered as high as six meters (20 feet).

The conditions have fed hopes that the vessel may be on the surface undetected.

Despite the mechanical problems it reported during its last contact last Wednesday, the crew could survive indefinitely if the sub retained the ability to rise to the surface to “snort” or replenish its air.

Conditions improved Tuesday, but the forecast for Thursday is once again poor.

The 34-year-old German-built diesel-electric submarine that was refitted between 2007 and 2014 had flagged a breakdown and said it was diverting to the navy base at Mar del Plata, where most of the crew members live.

It didn’t issue a distress call, however.

Jessica Gopar posted a moving letter to her husband, San Juan crewman Fernando Santilli, father of their one-year-old baby, on Facebook.

“Hi, Fernando. I don’t know if this finds you calm or desperate. Every day here becomes harder. There are moments of hope and great distress.”

“I am surrounded by family, your colleagues, acquaintances and friends, there is not moment that we do not pray for your rescue. Today has to be that day,” she wrote.

National apprehension

The sub’s disappearance has gripped the nation, and President Mauricio Macri visited the relatives — who have endured days of false hopes — and prayed with them.

US President Donald Trump offered his support Wednesday, tweeting: “May God be with them and the people of Argentina!”

Underwater sounds detected by two Argentine search ships were determined to originate from a sea creature, not the vessel.

Satellite signals were also determined to be false alarms.

“A light begins to shine, and then it goes out,” said Maria Morales, the mother of one of the missing sailors.

“There is a curtain of smoke, we don’t know anything,” said Elena Alfaro, whose brother is aboard the submarine.

“It doesn’t make sense that so much time has passed without anyone knowing anything,” she added.

“The hours go by. We’re hoping for a miracle. I don’t want to bury my brother, I want him with me. I feel he’ll come back, but I am aware of time passing.”

Argentina is leading an air-and-sea search with help from several countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Peru, the United States and Uruguay.

The defense ministry said the search area could be expanded sevenfold, though it was already large.

Pain, helplessness, hope

The incident has recalled recent submarine disasters, perhaps most prominently that of the Kursk, a Russian nuclear sub that caught fire and exploded underwater in 2000, killing all 118 on board — some instantly, others over several days.

An accident aboard a Chinese sub in 2003 killed 70 crew, apparently suffocated after what Beijing termed “mechanical problems.”

Among the ARA San Juan’s crew is Argentina’s first female navy submariner: Eliana Krawczyk, 35.

Cards, banners with slogans and placards have been strung up on the outside of the Mar del Plata base’s wire fence, expressing solidarity with the families tensely waiting for any news.

“There’s a mix of feelings: pain, helplessness, at times hope,” Morales said.

“The feeling is that they will come back, that we will tell ourselves today, ‘They are back.'”//AFP

For the report, titled Cambodia’s Rainbow Families, CCHR conducted interviews with 121 individuals either currently or formerly in an LGBTIQ couple, which it terms “rainbow couples”, in nine provinces and analysed the legal framework of their rights. Government and local authority representatives were also interviewed.

The report finds that although rainbow couples face many legal obstacles, there is growing acceptance in Cambodian society of LGBTIQ couples living together and starting a family.

“[Many] currently cohabiting rainbow couples across Cambodia already live as spouses, some conduct unofficial wedding ceremonies, and many … have received important legal recognition in the form of family books issued by Commune authorities,” the reports says.

Often, however, it is not only legal obstacles but also social barriers that prevent rainbow couples from getting married.

Transgender man Noy Sitha, 66, told The Post Wednesday that he and his partner have been in a relationship since 1975, survived the murderous Khmer Rouge regime and married in 1980 in a traditional ceremony in Phnom Penh with monks and elders giving them their blessings – despite it not being legally permissible. Still, he said, they faced discrimination because they were seen as a lesbian couple.

“When we first lived together our neighbours made fun of us saying, ‘How come women live together?’” he said. After getting to know them better, however, things changed. “After that they admired us. [They realised] that we are a husband and wife, and have a breadwinner.”

CCHR, however, found that in spite of a self-reported decline in discrimination, a third of respondents said they were still discriminated against today.

For example, 39year old garment worker Doung Sok An said in an interview yesterday that he would like to move in with and marry his partner, but is unable to do so because of stigma attached to him, as a transgender man, living with a woman.

His 42yearold partner, whom he has been dating for four years, has three children from a previous marriage, aged between 19 and 25 years, who oppose her new relationship.

“Her family side discriminates against us. We have not moved in together, because my partner’s children cannot accept it,” he said. “My partner wants us to get married, wants my side to come to the engagement, but my family thinks her family would reject us.”

More than 90 percent of those interviewed for the report said marriage was important to them, but there is no right to samesex marriage enshrined in Cambodian law. The report highlights that this is problematic, as marriage comes with numerous others rights, such as the right to adopt children, the right to joint ownership of property, have custody of children and receive inheritance.

Starting a family is exactly what matters to most rainbow couples. Almost 90 percent of respondents said that having a child was important to them.

One of them is Sitha who, together with his wife, has adopted three children. But the process wasn’t easy.

“When we adopted the children of other [people], our relatives criticised us, like, ‘What is the point of you raising other children as you can’t have children?’. But [with the children] we experience complete happiness,” he said.

And when his community saw that they could take good care of the children, their opinion changed. “They appreciate us having a complete family because we are able to take care of the children. I can give all of what my children need … and can afford my children to go to school,” he said.

But while Sitha and his wife were able to adopt children, Sok An is still waiting. “We want to adopt children when we move in together,” he said.

A striking 99.2 percent of those interviewed identified as transgender or gender nonconforming. One explanation the report gives for this is “the stereotypical and misogynistic gender norms which are deeply embedded in Cambodian society”.

And while the report highlights that this percentage is not representative of the whole LGBTIQ community, it argues that it proves the importance of a new gender recognition law. This law would entitle transgender people to change their gender on official documents.

As one-half of most couples interviewed self-identified as transgender, a gender recognition law could pave the way for trans couples to legally get married, which would not require an amendment of the constitution.

Both Sitha and Sok An could then get married – officially and inked on paper.

The two men could not for a moment imagine that their cake-shopping excursion would wind up before the US Supreme Court five years later and spark a national debate about fundamental rights.

“We sat down with the owner of Masterpiece, and he instantly asked us who the cake was for, and as soon as we told him it was for us, he informed us that would not make a cake for a same-sex wedding,” Mullins told AFP.

“What followed was this horrible pregnant pause where what was happening really sunk in and we were absolutely mortified and humiliated,” added the 33-year-old, a poet and musician in his spare time.

“Very quickly we got up and we left and, it’s embarrassing to say, but we got into the parking lot I cried, I broke down, I was very emotional.”

Baker Jack Phillips says he politely declined the request, and justified his refusal as stemming from his Christian faith.

The dispute would have ended there were it not for the international buzz triggered by a Facebook post from Mullins and Craig.

The two young lovers learned that a Colorado state law bars businesses open to the public from engaging in any form of discrimination.

They decided to file a lawsuit, the start of a lengthy battle that eventually led them to the highest court in the land, with a hearing set for December 5 in Washington.

“By filing a complaint, we realized that we were standing up for not just us, but everybody who had been affected by discrimination,” said Craig, a 37-year-old interior designer.

Religious freedom vs equality

The couple won their first court case and then the subsequent appeal, before the Supreme Court decided at the end of June to take up an appeal lodged by the baker. That was when a local struggle took on the dimensions of a national battle.

The appeal has become the most important case involving gay rights to reach the country’s top court since it approved same-sex marriage in June 2015. And legal experts argue it will cut to the quick on some of the most basic issues in US society.

The nine judges will have to rule on whether to come down on the side of religious freedom or sexual equality.

The lawyers pushing Phillips’ case have also decided to argue that the baker, as the artistic creator of cakes, is simply exercising his First Amendment right to freedom of expression in refusing the commission.

Now lawyers are massing in the US capital, ready to do battle on the side of either the cake-maker or the couple.

Some 20 states, dozens of members of Congress and scores of Christian lobbyist groups have thrown their weight behind the baker.

But he enjoys an even more powerful ally than those: the administration of President Donald Trump has also argued the line that Phillips’ cakes are a form of artistic expression and that he cannot be forced to use his talents against his own religious beliefs.

Trump and the baker

The case is raising concerns among civil rights groups. The Center for American Progress has warned that a decision in favor of the baker “could turn back the clock 50 years.”

Could a funeral home owner then refuse to accept the body of a gay person, if he argued that doing so could be interpreted as tacit approval for homosexuality? Could a florist refuse to make bouquets for certain people?

Mullins and Craig are represented by the Commission on Civil Rights in Colorado and by the powerful American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU.

“This isn’t about a cake,” said Louise Melling, the ACLU’s deputy legal director.

“This is a question about whether the Constitution protects the right to discriminate. It’s about whether the Constitution protects the right of a bakery to put up in its store window a sign that says ‘wedding cakes for heterosexuals only.'” she said.

“It’s a totally radical proposition and it’s made all the more radical as that it is supported by the United States Justice department, the body charged for enforcing the laws.”//AFP

Asri Yusoff, police chief in the northern Malaysian state of Kedah, said the fugitive was picked up near the border with Thailand’s Sadoa district, where the Thai immigration center is located.

“The detainee, in his 30s, entered Bukit Tangga near the Malaysia-Thai border on foot,” he told AFP by phone.

“He is in good condition and we are making arrangements to send him back to Thailand,” he added.

Local people tipped off police which led to the Uighur man’s arrest, Asri said, adding that police have stepped up border surveillance and are distributing posters of the escapees to the public.

A group of 25 Uighurs used blankets to climb out of their cells in a daring pre-dawn escape from their cell in southern Thailand on Monday.

Five of them were arrested in Thailand on the same day and one more was detained on Wednesday, according to the Thai police.

The arrest of one escapee in Malaysia indicates that some of the group may have crossed into the country.

The group were among hundreds of Uighurs, a Muslim minority that faces repression in western China, detained in 2014 in Thailand, sparking a tussle over their citizenship.

Uighurs intercepted in Thailand often say they are Turkish as Turkey shares ethnic links with them and accepts those who flee from China’s restive Xinjiang region.

Thailand does not grant asylum to refugees but has said Uighurs can remain in Thai custody until their citizenship is established, with some 61 currently in detention across the country.

In 2015 Thailand forcibly deported 100 Uighurs to China.

This is faster than the 2.9 per cent growth in the previous quarter and the best showing since the economy grew 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2013.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the economy expanded by a whopping 8.8 per cent, accelerating from 2.2 per cent in Q2.

The headline figure of 5.2 per cent was revised upwards from October’s advance GDP estimates of 4.6 per cent.

The upgraded forecast dovetails with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s remarks on Sunday that the Singapore economy could expand by more than 3 per cent in 2017.

With three consecutive quarters of growth now in the bag, some private-sector economists have also revised their estimates upwards.

This beat economist expectations of a 5 per cent expansion, according to a poll by Bloomberg.

In 2018, the economy is forecast to grow by 1.5-3.5 per cent. The MTI said the pace of growth is expected to moderate, compared with 2017, but “remain firm”.

The manufacturing sector is expected to continue to expand and provide support to overall GDP growth.

However, growth in several of Singapore’s key external demand markets such as China and the eurozone is projected to ease.

Global growth is expected to pick up marginally on the back of stronger economic growth in the US and some emerging markets and developing economies.

Externally oriented sectors are expected to benefit from this global economic recovery

In an almost universally condemned move, the Cambodia National Rescue Party – the nation’s largest opposition party – was dissolved by the Supreme Court last week for allegedly attempting to mount a purported “revolution” to topple the government.

Former party President Kem Sokha has been jailed on widely decried “treason” charges, and numerous opposition officials have fled the country fearing arrest. Meanwhile, NGOs have faced heightened scrutiny from the government, independent media outlets have been shuttered and plans to redistribute the CNRP’s 55 National Assembly seats will effectively disenfranchise nearly 3 million voters.

But in announcing the ceremony yesterday, the premier said it would prove that “everything is running normally”.

The event will take place at the famed temple site on December 2 and 3, and will involve giving alms to between 5,000 and 7,000 monks, with the general public invited to witness the event.

“This shows that Cambodia is not in anarchy or a country at war,” Hun Sen said in a speech yesterday. “It is a country with peace, independence and political stability, and everything is running normally.”

A similar announcement was made by the Apsara Authority, which runs the temple complex, with Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An and Culture Minister Phoeung Sakona observing the preparations on Tuesday.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan claimed the event had nothing to do with the CNRP’s dissolution, calling it an annual occurrence. But Siem Reap Deputy Governor Sang Riha said such ceremonies were only held on special occasions.

“Every year we pray only if there is an event, like the Ploughing Ceremony. This time we pray for happiness for some other reasons,” Riha said.

Using Angkor Wat – a ubiquitous symbol of national pride that adorns the Cambodian flag – as the stage for the ceremony was meant to hark back “to traditional culture to foster a sense of unity”, said Sebastian Strangio, author of Hun Sen’s Cambodia.

“The CPP has always used Cambodian culture and religion to bolster its rule, and Hun Sen’s pilgrimage to the symbolic heart of ancient Cambodia looks like a clear attempt to fortify the new status quo by asserting continuities to the past,” he said.

Former CNRP Deputy President Mu Sochua, who fled the country after being warned of her imminent arrest, said she supported Hun Sen’s praying as long as it meant a return to normalcy, complete with CNRP officials being allowed return to their jobs. “I will join him if he prays for that,” she said, noting that the situation was not at all normal. “If it was, I would not be in exile.”

Political observer Cham Bunthet declined to comment on the symbolism of the event, but said that trumpeting peace and economic growth missed the point. “Cambodia, politically, is not fine,” he said.

They will also work together to address issues of regional and international concern to make the Asean immigration community stronger.

This was decided during the 21st meeting of Asean Directors General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of Ministries of Foreign Affairs (DGICM) and related meetings held in Vientiane yesterday.

Speaking at the meeting, Director General of the Immigration Department under the Lao Ministry of Public Security, Police Lieutenant Colonel Saysaming Sivilay, said Asean is grappling with more difficult and complex issues and problems in the area of immigration as modern technology and devices are widely used by trans-national criminals.

He highlighted the major challenges and threats posed by terrorists to the security of Asean members, saying “This requires us to work closely together to address these challenges and threats.”

“As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, we have seen there is a lot more to learn and share within our sphere of tasks and responsibilities, and at the same time we know that criminal threats are also transcending national boundaries and it is crucial for the Asean DGICM to embrace innovation and deal with crime and security threats in our region.”

Lt Col Saysaming emphasised that, in the face of these challenges, Asean immigration forces have responded decisively with closer collaboration and joint initiatives to combat illegal migrants and other forms of trans-national crime.

“As we are strongly committed in our regional cooperation to work together, we now have more channels of communication and share our practical information on best practices in dealing with more common and new arising issues and matters related to immigration in the region,” he said.

To strengthen cooperation and friendship among Asean members and to keep the region safe and secure, officials from Asean immigration and consular agencies need to discuss and exchange information, intelligence and border management issues, Deputy Minister of Public Security, Major-General Kongthong Phongvichith, said.

“We gather here today with more common ground and expectation for new, practical and effective ways of working together in the frontline, as mentioned in our responsibilities to deal with and combat such issues as trans-national crimes, terrorism, people smuggling, and imposters, and to build capacity for immigration officers in some Asean member states,” he added.

Six years his junior, the sprightly 75-year-old nun has watched from abroad as her cousin transforms from the “shy” kid she grew up with in Buenos Aires to a global figurehead, unafraid to speak his mind and wade into treacherous political waters.

That boldness will be tested next week when the pontiff visits first Myanmar and then Bangladesh — countries reeling from a Rohingya refugee exodus sparked by ethnic and religious hatreds.

While the pontiff will not have time for a face-to-face reunion, Sister Ana Rosa will be closely watching her pen pal from her home in Thailand, where she first arrived as a Salesian missionary more than 50 years ago.

“He is coming for the Myanmar people, not for us,” the fluent Thai-speaker said from the schoolyard in Nakhon Pathom, where pupils buzz around her white robes and playfully grab onto her cross as she passes through the lunch area.

“It is the right time for him to come to Asia. These two places, Myanmar and Bangladesh, they are in conflict….he sees the need to encourage people, to build a bridge of peace.”

The cousins, whose grandfathers were brothers, have not seen each other in three years but exchange letters funnelled through the Vatican Embassy in Bangkok.

“I keep everything,” Sister Ana Rosa said as she pulled out an envelope of notes from the pontiff — written in tight, miniscule black script and signed with a simple “Francisco”.

As for the political sensitivities hanging over his Myanmar trip, the nun says her cousin is “not afraid at all”.

The Pope has been outspoken about his sympathy for the Muslim Rohingya — a stance that could trigger protests in mainly Buddhist Myanmar where the minority is vilified.

“He is not afraid of saying ‘you should look after these people’,” she told AFP, saying she expected him to talk tough with Myanmar’s government leaders over their treatment of the persecuted Muslim minority.

As for his interlocutors: “They cannot be the same after meeting him.”

‘Shy and reserved’

That wasn’t always the case.

She chuckles as she recalls Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as a younger priest who didn’t always have such a silver tongue.

“Listening to him I thought, he was so boring,” she said of a mass he gave back in the 1990s.

Sister Ana Rosa now turns to his sermons as a source of solace, tracking his every move across the world stage.

“His words are really profound, and practical.”

Francis’ trademark smile is also a new development, she explains.

“He was very shy person, reserved. He didn’t smile before. Now he smiles a lot. He likes to be with people.”

The other nuns at her school in Nakhon Pathom province often grab onto Sister Ana’s wrists, just to feel closer His Eminence.

But she says it is still strange to see Francis as anything other than her big cousin.

Their last chat in the Vatican several years ago was friendly and familiar, she said, spanning family affairs and their shared line of work.

“I thought to myself — I’m talking to the pope?” she said with a hearty laugh.

Japanese and American forces scrambled to reach the downed C2-A “Greyhound” aircraft in waters off the remote uninhabited Japanese reef of Okinotori.

The US Navy said the rescued personnel were transferred to USS Ronald Reagan for medical evaluation and were in good condition.

“Search and rescue efforts for three personnel continue with US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force ships and aircraft on scene,” the US Navy said in a statement, adding that the incident will be investigated.

US President Donald Trump tweeted: “The @USNavy is conducting search and rescue following aircraft crash. We are monitoring the situation. Prayers for all involved.”

The search was ongoing as of about 12 hours after the crash. US authorities told Japan that engine trouble was the suspected cause of the accident.

“The aircraft was conducting a routine transport flight carrying passengers and cargo from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to USS Ronald Reagan,” the statement said.

The C2-A is a re-supply workhorse for US aircraft carriers, routinely ferrying cargo, mail and people onto and off the globally deployed vessels.

With backward-facing seats, the planes are known for their short and jarring landings and fast, catapulted takeoffs aboard the huge ships.

The aircraft carrier was in the Philippine Sea as part of an exercise with Japanese forces.

In Tokyo, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said a joint operation had been launched to look for the missing three.

“Currently a search-and-rescue mission is being conducted in the area by the US side as well as the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force,” he told reporters.

“From the US military, we have received an initial report that engine trouble might be the cause,” he said.

US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said the rescued personnel were “safe and sound”.

– Previous incidents –

The US military has a heavy presence in the western Pacific, with tens of thousands of troops and billions of dollars’ worth of hardware stationed throughout Japan and South Korea.

But recent months have taken their toll on the Seventh Fleet, which is headquartered at Yokotsuka, near Tokyo, and US military vessels have been involved in a number of accidents.

The USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker off Singapore in August, killing 10 sailors and injuring five others.

Two months earlier in June, the USS Fitzgerald and a cargo ship smashed into each other off Japan, leaving seven sailors dead.

There were also two more, lesser-known incidents. In January USS Antietam ran aground near its base in Japan, and in May, USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel.

The nuclear-powered Reagan is one of 10 Nimitz class supercarriers, which the US Navy describes as the largest warships in the world. The Reagan has a crew of 4,225 and is 333 metres (1,092 feet) long.

Last week it was one of three American aircraft carriers that held rare joint drills in the region, joined separately by Japanese navy and South Korean warships over the weekend.

The drills come as tensions persist between Washington and North Korea over its missile and nuclear programme.