The train, which was carrying 78 passengers and five crew, was part of a newly expanded faster rail service along the route linking Seattle and Portland, Oregon — featuring new locomotives.

This image from State Trooper Brooke Bova via the official Twitter media page of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department obtained 18 December, 2017 shows the scene of an Amtrak high speed train after it derailled from an overpass on Interstate I-5 highway earlier in the day near the city of Takoma, Washington state. “Multiple” people were killed when the Amtrak passenger train derailed, sending cars flying off a bridge and onto a busy interstate, officials said.

It derailed during the morning rush hour at about 7:40 am (1540 GMT), about halfway between Tacoma and Olympia, the capital of Washington state.

“There’s multiple fatalities,” said Ed Troyer, spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

“It’s pretty horrific,” he said.

This CCTV image released on the Twitter account of the Washington State Department of Transport (@wsdot_tacoma) shows a high speed train after it derailled from an overpass on Interstate I-5 highway on December 18, 2017 in Pierce County, Washington state. An Amtrak passenger train derailed early Monday in Washington state near the city of Tacoma, with one car dropping down onto a busy interstate highway, officials and witnesses said. // AFP PHOTO

Troyer put no number on the fatalities, but local media said at least three people were killed. None of the people in vehicles travelling on the highway below the train were killed, according to Troyer.

Local news outlets reported that dozens of people were taken to area hospitals for treatment.

“When we got to the scene, it was obvious there were fatalities and injuries, and some people were able to get off the train,” Troyer said.

“No fatalities on the roadway. As you can see by the large response, we have taken them out and people that were able to walk are under the tents being cared for by multiple groups,” he said.

Photographs posted online from the scene showed multiple cars having derailed from the train. At least two dropped onto the roadway below, a busy highway that connects Olympia to the busy Seattle metro area just to the north.

A worker walks the tracks at the scene of a Amtrak train derailment on December 18, 2017 in DuPont, Washington. // AFP PHOTO

The accident snarled morning rush hour traffic and officials warned the highway, Interstate 5, would be blocked in that area for a long period of time.

“We had just passed the city of DuPont and it seemed like we were going around a curve,” passenger Chris Karnes told local CBS News affiliate KIRO-TV.

“All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill,” said Karnes, adding that several cars had gone off the tracks and passengers kicked out the windows to escape.

“The next thing we know, we’re being slammed into the front of our seats, windows are breaking, we stop, and there’s water gushing out of the train. People were screaming.”

Karnes said the tracks were supposed to have been upgraded to accommodate higher speeds.

“I’m not sure what happened,” he said.

Isabelle, a Grade 12 student at Ateneo de Davao, is the first granddaughter of President Duterte. She is the vice mayor’s first child with his ex-wife Lovelie Sangkola Sumera.

Photos posted by members of her style team on Instagram showed a stunning Isabelle posing inside the Palace and on its grounds in different gowns, including a voluminous, off-shoulder red one by Dubai-based designer Garimon Roferos.

One photo showed her in a pink gown posing before the seal of the President and beside the Philippine flag. In another photo, she was in a red gown at the carpeted hallway leading to Rizal Hall, the venue for many of the official events held at the Palace.

A third photo showed her in a floral dress before the fountain at the Palace’s grounds.

Isabelle captured the attention of some netizens for her princess-like beauty in what appeared to be her fairy-tale palace.

But she also earned the ire of other social media users who saw the Palace as an inappropriate venue for her predebut photo shoot.

Nonissue

According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, the pre-debut photo shoot of the President’s granddaughter in Malacañang is actually a non issue.

Roque said he did not think any law was violated.

“For me, there’s nothing wrong with the President’s granddaughter posing for birthday pictures in Malacañang,” he told reporters.

Roque said Duterte could have opted to live in the Palace and bring his entire family with him, but he did not. When he is in Manila, Duterte resides at Bahay Pagbabago, the former clubhouse of the Malacañang Golf Club.

“I think his relatives, including his own grandchildren, can have their pictures taken in Malacañang,” he said.

Party venue?

“I don’t think it should be an issue because they should be living in Malacañang but they chose not to do so. They’re like ordinary citizens who can have their pictures taken in Malacañang,” he said.

Roque also defended the birthday party of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco and the baptism reception for Robin Padilla’s daughter held at the Malacañang complex last month.

The Palace did not spend public funds for these events, as the expenses were shouldered by the celebrators, he said.

“But if they want to invite the President, it should be held at Malago because the President does not want to cause traffic gridlocks. I repeat, no government funds were spent for these parties,” he said.

The President would rather not go out for social events, he said.

“So if you want to be with the President, you would come here and bring your own caterer,” he said.

Asked if Malacañang was becoming a party venue, he replied: “There are people close to him who the President wants to spend some time with.”

Velasco’s party was held at the Malacañang Park, while the reception for Padilla’s daughter was at Malago Clubhouse last month. Duterte was a guest at both events.

Velasco and his friends had shared photos of his 40th birthday celebration on Instagram, during which he also took his oath as a Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan member.

Padilla’s wife, Mariel, also posted photos of the reception for daughter Isabella on social media.

“Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport sustained a power outage shortly after 1:00 pm today,” the airport said in a statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced that it had put a “ground stop” on flights inbound for Atlanta, meaning they are held at the airports from which they were to depart.

“The FAA Tower can operate normally, however, departures are delayed because airport equipment in the terminals is not working,” it said on Twitter.

About 11 hours after first reporting a power disruption, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said on its Twitter account that power has been restored on all concourse.

Giving an idea of how many people were affected, the airport added: “5,000+ meals are being delivered to passengers. Trains will be operational soon.”

Theories for what might have caused the outage circulating online included a power line cut by a construction crew and a fire near the intra-terminal train.

But the airport said that “the cause of the incident remains under investigation.”

Flightview.com, which tracks air travel data, listed hundreds of flights as being delayed or canceled, and a bar graph on the site showed more than 80 percent of departing flights at the airport and 80 percent of arriving flights as being late.

Another aircraft tracking site, flightstats.com, also reported widespread Atlanta delays.

Photos and video posted on social media showed people walking through darkened corridors at the airport, with windows only partially cutting through the gloom.

Those stuck at the airport were predictably not amused.

“I haven’t eaten since 8AM central. I feel great. #AtlantaAirport,” one user tweeted.

Others said they were waiting on the tarmac: “Atlanta airport doesn’t have power. I’m trapped on the runway, I’m hungry, and slightly buzzed….. Send help!!!”

And some said people were not being permitted to leave the airport, including a mother who tweeted: “My kid is trapped with the others at the Atlanta airport. No one is allowed to leave. Isn’t this kidnapping?”//AFP

The panda named Xiang Xiang — derived from the Chinese character for “fragrance” —  has sparked a media frenzy since its birth on June 12 at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo.

Broadcasters aired live footage of the cub nimbly climbing a tree and chomping on bamboo in a special cage.

Along with local schoolchildren, selected media were permitted to watch and film the panda through a glass shield.

The public will get their first chance to see Xiang Xiang on Tuesday, the zoo’s first baby panda exhibition since 1988.

“Xiang Xiang has been thriving with the loving nurturing by mum Shin Shin,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said at a ceremony, describing the baby as “a new treasure of Tokyo”.

The panda cub weighs 12.3 kilos (27 pounds) and is the size of a medium-sized dog, zoo officials said, adding that it is in good health.

In order to reduce stress on the panda and avoid crowds, the zoo will limit the maximum number of visitors to 2,000 a day for a one- to the two-minute slot until the end of January.

The zoo received nearly 250,000 applications for a lottery to see Xiang Xiang.

For avid panda fans who miss out, the zoo will offer a live stream of Xiang Xiang’s daily life from Tuesday for a year.

Mum Shin Shin, which mated with Ri Ri in February, had previously given birth in 2012 — the zoo’s first panda delivery in 24 years — only for the cub to die from pneumonia six days later.

Zookeepers have since given the adult pandas some private space in a bid to create an environment for the bashful creatures to mate successfully — a notoriously difficult process.

Until recently considered an endangered species, it is estimated that around 2,000 giant pandas remain in the wild, in three provinces in central China.//AFP

Other favourite destinations are Singapore, Tokyo, Bali Island, Penang, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur. It said closed to half of Malaysians booked their air tickets and hotel one month before departure.

Where to countdown this year?

According to Expedia, a travel company that operate several travel websites and travel metasearch engines, Malaysians love to visit Langkawi Island, Taipei and Bangkok in end of 2016, this is based on its search data captured for 26 to 31 Dec 2016.

However, Langkawi, which was ranked top last year, dropped to third place this year based on search carried out online.

Apart from the three destinations, other favourite destinations for Malaysians to spend the last few days of the year according to order are Singapore, Tokyo, Bali Island, Penang, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur.

The 10 destinations which offer cheapest airfare are: Subang, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sandakan, Langkawi, Johor Bahru, Kuching, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and Krabi.

Expedia offered some strategies on purchasing cheap air tickets even at last minute.

One of the strategies is to purchase air tickets and hotel accommodation together, which helped to save 30 % of expenses, accommodation on Saturday help to save 57% in return air fare, domestic flights on Sunday and flights to destinations in Europe are able to save 11% and 16 % respectively.

According to survey carried out by Expedia from June to August, close of half of Malaysians only booked air tickets and hotel one month before the travelling date and 37% of them only finalised travelling plan two weeks before departure.

“Statistics of Expedia showed that Malaysians who buy air tickets seven to 13 days before departure date can have 15% cheaper in air fare. This means Malaysians are good at timing travelling period and making decision.”

Malaysians are able to save about 10% in air fare if the tickets are booked 21 to 30 days in advance.  Air tickets booked 91 days in advance are cheaper by 15% compared to summer air tickets during the same period.

However, air tickets bought three months in advance can be 12 % more expensive and air tickets bought a week before departure can save up to 14 %.

    Once officially sworn in next week, Kurz will be chancellor and his People’s Party (OeVP) will occupy the finance, economy and justice ministries, among others.

The head of the populist FPOe, Heinz-Christian Strache, will be vice-chancellor and his party has secured the interior, defence and foreign ministries.

Here are the main FPOe figures:

– The statesman –

Strache flirted with neo-Nazism in his youth but over the years has mellowed and now aged 48, besuited and with severe new glasses, portrays himself as a mature statesman rejecting extremism.

When he took over the FPOe in 2005 at 35, the party created by ex-Nazis was a mess. But gradually, with deft use of the internet, it has gone from strength to strength.

Remaining fiercely nationalist, he dubbed German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2016 “the most dangerous woman in Europe” and says Islam “has no place in Austria”.

Nicknamed “HC”, he forged a partnership with Russia’s ruling party, wants EU sanctions on Moscow lifted, closer ties with the eastern European Visegrad group and the Austrian embassy moved to Jerusalem.

– The brains –

Herbert Kickl, 49, the FPOe’s diminutive and sharp-tongued general secretary since 2005, has long been seen as the eminence grise and the brains behind the party’s rise.

Kickl used to write speeches for Strache’s controversial predecessor Joerg Haider and has been responsible for some of the party’s borderline racist slogans like “More courage for our Vienna blood”.

He is credited with masterminding the shift to more subtle messages and winning over voters alienated by globalisation and fed up with the cosy centrist establishment that has run Austria for decades.

At the same time Kickl appears not really at home at the party’s smokey, flag-waving, beer-swilling meetings — where Strache is king — and will now turn his brainpower to the interior ministry.

– The nearly-president –

The FPOe came very close in 2016 to winning the largely ceremonial Austrian presidency when its candidate Norbert Hofer surprised many — including some in his own party — by proving a hit with voters.

In his polished campaign, based around the slogan “Unspoilt, honest, good”, the softly-spoken aircraft engineer with a disarming smile presented himself as the FPOe’s friendly and moderate face.

But behind the grin lurks a steely, true-blue ideologue — his mask slipped a bit in the final stages of the election — and his success was such that he has been touted as a possible successor to Strache.

Hofer, who walks with a cane after a paragliding accident and who takes a keen interest in disability issues, will now be infrastructure minister — and remain a potential future leader.

– ‘The female Kreisky’ –

Hofer had been rumoured to be in line for the foreign ministry but in the end Karin Kneissl, 52, a respected and multi-talented career diplomat who speaks Arabic, Hebrew and Hungarian, was tapped.

While not a member of the FPOe, Kneissl shares many of its views, talking tough on immigration and the European Union.

After the Brexit vote in 2016 she dubbed European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “boorish” and “arrogant”.

Strache has said she could become “the female Kreisky” when it comes to “promoting Austria abroad”, referring to Bruno Kreisky, chancellor from 1970-83 and the towering figure of postwar politics.

But perhaps to soothe any worries in Brussels, particularly given the FPOe’s ambivalence about the EU and with Austria holding the EU presidency in the second half of 2018, Kurz’s right-hand-man is set to retain responsiblity for European affairs.//AFP

The 59-year-old naturalised Australian citizen of Korean descent, named in local media as Chan Han Choi, was attempting to broker illicit deals that could have generated “tens of millions of dollars” for North Korea, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.

Choi was involved in discussions to set up a ballistic missile production facility and the supply of missile construction plans in addition to components, software and the transfer of technical expertise from Pyongyang, police alleged.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters the case was “like nothing we have ever seen on Australian soil”, alleging that the man was in contact with high-ranking North Korean officials.

“This man is a loyal agent of North Korea, believing he was acting to serve some higher patriotic purpose.”

The alleged agent’s plans did not involve other governments or officials, police said. Authorities did not reveal which individuals or entities the man was allegedly trying to trade with.

North Korea is under tough United Nations sanctions aimed at choking off revenue to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes.

“This is a very important arrest, the charges laid are of the greatest nature,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.

“North Korea is a dangerous, reckless, criminal regime threatening the peace of the region. It supports itself by breaching UN sanctions.

“It is vitally important that all nations … enforce those sanctions because the more economic pressure that can be brought on North Korea, the sooner that regime will be brought to its senses.”

Choi, who has lived in Australia for three decades, allegedly used encrypted communication services to facilitate the attempted trades, which included the transfer of coal from North Korea to entities in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Choi was refused bail on Sunday after being arrested in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood on Saturday. He faces a total of six charges, with maximum penalties of up to 10 years in jail.

Police starting looking into his activities earlier this year after a tip-off from a “foreign law enforcement partner”, Gaughan said without giving further details.

Police would not rule out further charges, and were probing other attempted commodity trades involving oil and gemstones, as well as investigating Choi’s activities as far back as 2008.

This is the first time charges have been laid for breaches under Canberra’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and for violating UN sanctions against North Korea in Australia.

Global anxiety about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s authoritarian government has steadily risen this year, with Washington calling on other UN members to cut ties with Pyongyang in order to squeeze the secretive regime.//AFP

But at Projek Nasi Lemak Box at the Esplanade, the crustaceans are paired with Malaysian’s favourite dish – nasi lemak. The cheese-baked lobster is served with fragrant rice cooked with coconut milk and dyed blue with butterfly pea flower.

It is served on a rattan tray, on a banana leaf, to go with anchovies, pickled cucumber, peanuts, egg and sambal.

Malaysian favourite: Chor showing the lobster nasi lemak at Project Nasi Lemak Box in Esplanade, Penang.

“The idea is to make eating lobsters affordable. We cut down on the marketing cost when we spread the news through Facebook,” he said yesterday, adding that the first 30 customers who order the lobster nasi lemak need only to pay RM39, instead of the usual RM69, during the promotion today.

Besides lobster, the nasi lemak can also be served with chicken, fish, prawns or squid.

Since its opening on Friday, holidaymakers have made a beeline to the stall located next to Fort Cornwallis behind the food court.

Nazian Zainal, 39, from Sepang, came for lunch with her family yesterday.

“We have never tried lobster nasi lemak before. We decided to give it a try since we are in Penang for the weekend and it turned out to be quite nice.

“My family enjoyed it, especially the pickles and sambal. We will definitely be back again here in future,” she said.

Co-founder Nigel Law said the idea was to create an enjoyable ambience of eating lobster nasi lemak in a shady park while enjoying the sea breeze.

As for “haha”, it is seen as a perfunctory response where the user is not really interested – it’s as good as telling the other party to get lost.

“I don’t find ‘haha’ offensive, but I usually won’t use it. I will try to use as many ‘ha’ as possible to show I’m genuinely laughing,” said Mr Li.

Refrain from responding with a single word

Replying using a single “En” (meaning okay) or “Orh” (meaning noted) is extremely unfriendly and indicates that you want to end the conversation. Always use “En, en” or “Orh, orh” if you want to carry on chatting with the other party.

Not all smileys are created equal Youngsters also generally avoid using the smiley emoji, which they describe as “strange” and “vague”. To truly express one’s happiness, different people have different preferences. Some prefer the shy smiley, others the wide-grin smiley.

Ms Huang Yonglin said the smiley face with a waving hand emoji is one that she swears against. “It means farewell, I won’t see you again, and our friendship will end here,” she said. “The older folks in my family like my grandparents will send it to me, to genuinely mean goodbye or good night.

“My teacher will sometimes use it too. I feel upset just looking at it. I understand they don’t know the underlying meaning to it. But I’d still feel uncomfortable receiving it in text messages.”

Ways to end a conversation tactfully

When the other party tells you he or she is going to eat or shower, it is usually a polite way of ending the conversation. Please do not ask why is he or she having a meal at 3pm. When you receive several Internet memes in quick succession, it also means the other party would like to end the conversation.

Messages such as text, emojis and Internet memes are always preferred over voice messages

Visual aids such as emojis and memes can relieve the nervousness or sense of unfamiliarity of people who are chatting virtually. It helps contextualise the meaning of the text in a more vivid way as the parties chatting cannot see one another’s expressions and body language.

Youngsters tend to avoid sending voice messages, especially with people they don’t know well. “It’s an intrusion… They can’t see the messages and got to go listen,” said Li.

    The 34-year-old sailor crossed a virtual finish line drawn between the island of Ushant off France’s northwest tip and Lizard Point in southwest England at 0145 GMT, comfortably beating the previous record set by compatriot Thomas Coville last year by six days and 10 hours.

The race time was announced by an observer from the World Sailing Speed Council but will be subject to checks of the boat’s black box and its GPS data before final confirmation.

Father-of-two Gabart becomes just the fourth title-holder for a world record of sailing the globe solo without stopping.

Since the record was first set in 2004, nearly 30 days have been shaved off.

The debut record holder was Frenchman Francis Joyon who completed the odyssey in 72 days and 22 hours.

British female sailor Ellen MacArthur took to the seas a year later, racing against the clock to break that record by just a day and a half (71 days, 14 hours).

She remained undefeated until 2016 when Coville set a new record of 49 days and three hours which many predicted would be difficult to topple.

Gabart’s 30 metre (98 foot) long new generation maxi-trimaran was helped by good weather throughout much of the voyage, particularly during the long and arduous Pacific section.

He set a number of new solo race records along the way, including the fastest navigation of the Pacific (7 days, 15 hours, 15 minutes) and the longest distance covered in 24 hours (851 miles or 1,576 kilometres).//AFP