The first version of the phone called ALO! M5, which runs on Android 6.0 over a quad-core CPU at 4G connectivity, was introduced last year with a 13-megapixel camera and one gigabyte storage, dual SIM, a five-inch touchscreen display and most other features that current smartphones have, including GPS.

Company Chairman and CEO Thanousone Phonamat told Vientiane Times at a press conference to introduce the ALO! M5 Plus last week that his company planned to produce the smartphone for customers in the field of education in particular, because more education applications are available.

“It’s not so easy to seek a market share amongst other world-leading smartphone brands but we look at the possibility of serving customers through direct online sales rather than through displays at shops,” he said, adding that they anticipated a 5 percent market share next year.

Thanousone said 20 distributors in Vientiane and four provinces have expressed their intention to order the new ALO M5 Plus to sell.

“We have to take a little bit more time to hear about feedback. If it comes out with a positive reaction it will be distributed around the country,” he added.

Some 5,000 of the ALO smartphones have been produced, a significant increase on the 1,000 mobiles that were made available when the first version was marketed.

With the rise of extremists in Malaysia, a new insidious form of smuggling has emerged – sneaking in guns for militants.

Malaysian police have increased raids against local terror cells in recent years, but the inflow of arms has not been eradicated due to the many Malaysia-Thai cross-border smuggling routes, officials say.

Asked whether firearms were among the smuggled goods commonly seized, Malaysian Border Security Agency director-general Mohamad Ismail told The Straits Times: “It’s pretty rare as it’s not easy to detect a person attempting to sneak in weapons, unless there’s intelligence, and security scanner machines are in place”.

One of these smugglers is a 49-year-old who calls himself Mat and claims he used to bring in firecrackers. He told ST that he switched to smuggling weapons and ammunition in the last few years as it is more profitable.

While the guns often end up in the hands of gangsters, Mat did not discount the possibility that he had brought in weapons for militants linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group.

“Based on my own experience in handling these requests, I suspect one or two of my clients might be ISIS members,” he said by phone.

At times, he said he could tell who his clients were by the weapons they chose. He believes that assault rifles and semi-automatic guns, for example, are favoured by his alleged militant clients.

“Another giveaway is the way they carry themselves, the way they speak to each other and the nicknames they use among their peers,” he added.

As his gun smuggling work paid well, Mat said he did not ask what his clients were planning to do with the arms and ammunition that he brought in.

The weapons were often dismantled and hidden in secret compartments in his vehicle as he crossed into Malaysia from Thailand. “These weapons are usually priced between RM3,000 (S$977) and RM15,000, depending on the model,” Mat said.

The activities of border smugglers like him are raising security concerns following the arrest of three men in northern Kelantan state between March and May for their role in bringing in arms for ISIS. One of them was a cow farmer.

Malaysia’s counter-terrorism authorities had then arrested six people who were part of the same militant cell.

Police have said that they foiled several plots to carry out attacks in Malaysia.

In facing up to the growing fear of local militants joining hands with arms smuggling syndicates, Malaysian police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun – formerly chief of the Special Branch – said police are taking proactive measures. But he declined to elaborate.

“It’s safe to say that we know and are aware of what we’re dealing with,” he told ST. “Rest assured that we are closely monitoring such activities.”

Indeed, a terrorist strike in Malaysia is not just a theory. Two young men who pledged allegiance to ISIS lobbed a grenade into a nightspot in Puchong, Selangor, in June last year in the country’s sole terror attack.

Eight people were injured. The men who carried out the attack have each been sentenced to 25 years’ jail.

Police sources told ST that after the ISIS-linked cow farmer and his gang were nabbed, smuggling rings have been keeping a low profile for fear of being busted.

Mat, who lives in a small town in a northern state, said he now spends his days growing vegetables to keep himself off the security radar.

There has been no contact with the ARA San Juan, a German-built diesel-electric sub, since early Wednesday. An air and sea search is under way with help from countries including Brazil, Britain, Chile, the United States and Uruguay.

Hopes of finding survivors were revived when the navy said Saturday that its bases had received seven satellite calls attributed to the submersible.

The signals were received at 10:52 am (1352 GMT) and 3:42 pm (1842 GMT), but they did not lock in, thus preventing a full connection.

However, the navy was unable to confirm that those calls originated from the submarine.

“The communications are so short and the signal so low,” Argentine navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said, later adding the military has yet to have contact with or detect radar from the sub.

Seven-meter waves

The calls revived hopes that the submarine has surfaced, but a powerful storm that has whipped up waves reaching seven meters (23 feet) in height has made geolocation difficult, officials said.

Balbi said weather conditions were not expected to improve before Tuesday.

Despite the bad weather, “10 aircraft, both domestic and foreign, are in a search rotation 24 hours a day, each in a different area,” he said.

There is a feeling of “cautious enthusiasm,” naval expert Fernando Morales told C5N television.

He said the attempt to use a satellite phone indicates that “the submarine had to emerge to a depth that allowed the call.”

The last regular communication with the San Juan was early Wednesday, when the submarine was 430 kilometers (270 miles) off Argentina’s coast in the Gulf of San Jorge.

Rescuers are focusing on an ocean patch about 300 kilometers in diameter, radiating from the last point of contact.

US Southern Command has deployed a Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance plane with a crew of 21, along with a NASA P-3 research aircraft, and other equipment and personnel.

The US Navy has deployed two unmanned underwater vehicles that use a sonar system to create an image of large sections of the sea floor.

Britain’s Royal Navy said it had sent the HMS Protector, an Antarctic patrol ship.

Balbi said it was following the northward course the submarine would have taken toward Mar del Plata.

Relatives of crew members unfurled a flag at the naval base that read: “Be strong Argentina, We trust in God, We wait for you.”

‘Got to be afloat’

“We will do what is necessary to find the submarine as soon as possible,” Argentine President Mauricio Macri wrote on Twitter.

All land communications bases along the coast were ordered to scan for any follow-up signals, as family members of the missing waited nervously in the coastal city of Mar del Plata.

Claudio Rodriguez, whose brother Hernan is aboard the submarine, was hopeful, saying the satellite signals suggested the vessel was still afloat and would be found.

“They’ve got to be afloat. Thank God,” he said.

Among those on board is Argentina’s first female submarine officer, 35-year-old weapons officer Eliana Krawczyk.

The navy has not ruled out any hypothesis. A spokesman said the most likely scenario given is that an electrical problem may have unexpectedly cut off the vessel’s communications.

Prayers from the pope

The TR-1700 class submarine had been returning from a routine mission to Ushuaia, near the southernmost tip of South America, to its base at Mar del Plata, about 400 kilometers south of Buenos Aires.

It is one of three submarines in the Argentine fleet.

Sixty-five meters long and seven meters wide, it was built by Germany’s Thyssen Nordseewerke and launched in 1983.

It underwent a refit between 2007 and 2014 to extend its use by about 30 years.

At the Vatican, Argentine-born Pope Francis said he offered “his fervent prayer” for the safety of the submarine sailors.//AFP

“Playing Maura Pfefferman on ‘Transparent’ has been one of the greatest privileges and creative experiences of my life,” Tambor told Deadline Hollywood magazine about the transgender role.

“What has become clear over the past weeks, however, is that this is no longer the job I signed up for four years ago.”

Deadline said the show had already been considering writing off the character played by the US actor, who has also won a Golden Globe for the role, after allegations first emerged against him earlier this month.

“I’ve already made clear my deep regret if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted by anyone as being aggressive, but the idea that I would deliberately harass anyone is simply and utterly untrue,” Tambor said.

“Given the politicized atmosphere that seems to have afflicted our set, I don’t see how I can return to Transparent.”

Tambor has won critical acclaim for his portrayal of a transgender woman whose family is coming to terms with the transition.

The claims against him have been brought by his former assistant, transgender actress Van Barnes, and another transgender actress featured on the show, Trace Lysette.

Barnes said her former boss had propositioned her on several occasions, made lewd comments, groped her and threatened to sue her if she made the behavior known.

Lysette said Tambor had made lewd remarks of a sexual nature to her repeatedly, and had been “physical” with her at least once.

After those claims were made public, Tambor insisted that “I have never been a predator — ever.”

The accusations against Tambor come amid a surge of claims of sexual harassment leveled at senior male figures in the entertainment, media and political establishments, including Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey.

Actress Lena Dunham, the creator of HBO series “Girls,” apologized to fans after she backed one of her show’s male writers, who has been accused of sexual assault, and cast doubt on the claims.

Dunham — who faced serious backlash over the comments — said it was the “wrong time” to make such a statement, adding: “Every woman who comes forward deserves to be heard, fully and completely.”//AFP

Germany, Sweden and the European Union yesterday extended their strong support to Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue.

They also highly appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her great humanitarian gesture of sheltering tens of thousands of forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh, reports BSS.

The support and appreciation came when German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom and European Union High Representative and Vice-President Federica Mogherin separately called on her at the Gono Bhaban yesterday evening.

After the meetings, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told reporters that Hasina discussed with them various aspects of the Rohingya crisis and said it would be difficult for Bangladesh to keep them for a long time.

The press secretary said the three expressed their grave concern over the atrocities on the Rohingyas in Myanmar.

“We admire your [Hasina] wisdom and humanitarian action on the Rohingya issue,” the press secretary quoted the EU representative as saying.

Mogherin said she would discuss with the Myanmar leadership at different levels on Rohingya repatriation in the ASEM meeting to be held in Myanmar today.

Wallstrom said that international solidarity was needed on the repatriation of Rohingyas.

She said people across the globe expected Aung San Suu Kyi to be “proactive” in resolving the Rohingya crisis.

Wallstrom said she would visit Myanmar and encourage the government there to initiate repatriation of the Rohingyas.

The Swedish foreign minister agreed with the prime minister that the refugees should be rehabilitated in Myanmar by ensuring safety, security and dignity under the UN supervision.

Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has offered his country’s help to repatriate the Rohingya population from Bangladesh.

EU Ambassador in Dhaka Rensje Teerink in a Facebook post said, “We had an excellent meeting with PM Sheikh Hasina to discuss the Rohingya crisis.”

Hasina said the Rohingya issue is a huge challenge for Bangladesh and that her government has ensured safe drinking water and sanitation for them.

The biggest problem is now child birth among the Rohingyas, she said.

Hasina also renewed her call for immediate implementation of the Kofi Annan Commission’s recommendations to resolve the Rohingya crisis. “They’ve [Myanmar] to agree and take back their nationals.”

The European Union and Germany would give a “strong signal” for solving the Rohingya refugee crisis during the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) beginning in the Myanmar capital today.

“That’s the reason we are here … to determine our role ahead of the summit with other colleagues from Japan, Sweden and the European Union. We are going to have discussions about the situation in Bangladesh in the ASEM summit,” said Gabriel after visiting a Rohingya camp at Kutupalong of Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar earlier in the day.

“It’s unbelievable what is happening here,” said Gabriel at the refugee camp where the Rohingyas are living in squalid and tiny camps, reports our Chittagong staff correspondent from Cox’s Bazar.

The atrocities in Myanmar’s Rakhine State forced over 620,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh since August 25. The UN termed it ethnic cleansing, while rights groups defined the violence as crimes against humanity and genocide and accused Myanmar security forces of burning Rohingya houses, killing hundreds of men and raping women.

UN member-states on November 16 urged the Myanmar authorities to end the military campaign against the Rohingyas in a resolution adopted despite opposition from China and Russia.

Sigmar Gabriel, German foreign minister talks to refugees. Photo: AFP

Gabriel said Germany is determined to be more engaged in providing more aid for the refugees and local communities in Cox’s Bazar.

“But it’s necessary that there will be strong signal from the ASEM summit, together with European Union, that we have to find a solution for the refugees to go back to their homes and to rebuild their lives,” he said.

Lauding the generosity of Bangladesh and her people, Gabriel said, “Thank God there is no turbulence between the people hosting and the refugees.”

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, who accompanied the foreign delegates, said they would put more pressure on Myanmar to take back the refugees in the upcoming ASEM summit, a political forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between European and Asian countries.

He said the foreign delegates, along with the two countries, would look for a long-term solution to the crisis.

They would also ask countries to fulfil the pledges they made for emergency life-saving supplies for the Rohingya, Shahriar said.

Wallström, Kono and Mogherini also visited the refugee camps.

JAPAN EXPLAINS ITS STANCE

Japan abstained from voting on the UN resolution but it still supports Bangladesh and stands by it in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs and continuing dialogue with Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis.

Abstention in voting does not mean Japan is opposing Bangladesh, Deputy Press Secretary Toshihide Ando of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan told a small group of reporters in Dhaka yesterday.

He said Japan shared its view that “further fact-finding would be needed in the Rakhine State. We think such fact-finding would not be effective unless it is undertaken in the manner acceptable to the government of Myanmar.”

He also said Japan’s comments on the draft resolution were not reflected in the final resolution that was adopted, which was the reason behind it abstaining from voting, reports our diplomatic correspondent.

Japanese Foreign Minister Tarō Kōno visited Rohingya camps and called on Hasina and Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday before departing for Myanmar, said Ando.

He said Kono conveyed to Mahmood that Japan supports Bangladesh’s efforts for lasting solution, including the repatriation of displaced Rohingyas.

CANADIAN MINISTER TO VISIT

Canadian Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau will travel in Bangladesh tomorrow to witness the impact of the Rohingya refugee crisis and assess best ways for Canada to assist them.

During her visit, Bibeau will visit refugee settlements and host communities and meet humanitarian agencies and civil society groups to gain a deeper understanding of the needs on the ground, reports our diplomatic correspondent.

The US Border Patrol opened the gate at Playas de Tijuana, known as the Door of Hope, for one hour on Saturday, allowing quick meetings for friends and relatives from both sides.

In the crowd on the Mexican side was Evelia Reyes, who arrived wearing a white wedding dress, a long flowing train and a white veil.

She was accompanied by three children from her previous marriage, including a young daughter also dressed in white. “For a relationship this wall does not exist, for love there are no borders,” Reyes gushed.

At the gate a Mexican judge promptly married her to her groom, Brian Houston, who approached from the US side dressed in a smart grey suit. The wife of the mayor of Tijuana and the local Mexican Human Rights commissioner served as witnesses.

Reyes, a native of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, said she met Houston in Tijuana three years ago. Lacking immigration documents she could not travel to the United States — a problem likely to be solved with the marriage. The San Diego Tribune newspaper said that Houston, a US resident, could not visit Tijuana for reasons he would not elaborate.

The crowd gathered at the gate under the watchful eye of US Border Patrol agents. The Door of Hope event was organized by the Border Angels, an immigrant rights advocacy group.

Its director Enrique Morones said there was just enough time at the event for 12 families to reunite. “These families can be together only for five minutes, it’s the saddest thing to see,” he said. Most of the 3,200-kilometer (2,000-mile) US-Mexico border has some type of barrier.

But President Donald Trump has promised to build a wall along the entire frontier, straining relations between the United States and Mexico.//AFP