More than 280,000 visitors are expected to attend the event, with over 166 enterprises from China and abroad displaying their latest achievements, application products and solutions in the field of robotics, according to the event’s official website.

In the exhibition area covering 52,000 square metres, various kinds of robots, including those for industry, service, special purpose and intelligent logistics, are on display.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said yesterday that the Cabinet and unanimously agreed to allow the app-based service, which is similar to summoning a private car.

“We are sincere in ensuring that the ‘mat motor’ group has tens of thousands of job opportunities.

“At the same time, we want our uncles and aunties running warung (kiosks or stalls) businesses to be able to sell their products using these services. Our young entrepreneurs, too, will be able to sell their stuff,” said Syed Saddiq, who added that allowing motorcycles to bridge that “last mile” would also encourage more Malaysians to use trains and buses.

“We will continue to work hard to ensure a bright future for our young people,” he said in a video posted on his Twitter account.

Earlier, Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof said this week’s Cabinet meeting discussed the matter at length and agreed “in principle” for motorcycle e-hailing to be made available in the country.

“The Cabinet has instructed both the Transport Ministry and the Youth and Sports Ministry to study this matter in detail, particularly the legislation aspect.

“We want to ensure that whatever programmes we implement to develop our youth’s economic opportunities will be done legally and not violate existing laws,” Mohd Redzuan told reporters after launching the Tekun Mart Mobile programme at his ministry.

He said it might take “one or two months” for the two ministries to come up with a way to allow motorcycle e-hailing to be legalised, after which the motion will be tabled for Cabinet approval.

“It would not be difficult to implement, with the existing laws that we have. We need to look at safety aspects, for example, such as not allowing this service on expressways,” he added.

The idea to bring bike-hailing services to Malaysia was recently brought up by Syed Saddiq after a meeting between Gojek founder Nadiem Makarim and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Monday.

He later clarified that the move was not merely to bring in Gojek but all other e-hailing companies that include the Johor-based Dego Ride.

Previously, Pacific countries of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) had “strongly encouraged” Indonesia to finalize the timing of a visit by the United Nations high commissioner for human rights to investigate alleged human rights abuses and allow the commissioner to create an “evidence-based, informed report” on the situation in Papua.

ULMWP chairman Benny Wenda said that the “extreme racism” experienced by Papuan students studying in regions outside Papua showed the urgency of a UN visit.

“In February this year, the UN condemned the ‘deeply entrenched discrimination and racism’ Papuans suffer at the hands of Indonesia. The UN must now follow this up,” Benny said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet must be allowed to visit West Papua. I reiterate the call of the Pacific Islands for Indonesia to stop blocking the high commissioner from seeing the reality in our country.”

Since February last year, Indonesia had “in principle” agreed to grant access to Papua to the high commissioner’s office, but the two sides still needed further talks on the arrangements.

In June last year, Indonesia reprimanded staff members of the UN agency’s regional office in Bangkok for “unilaterally setting the dates and areas to visit in Papua and West Papua, while demanding immediate access.”

Benny ended the statement by saying that the people of West Papua should be “given the choice to determine their own destiny.” (kmt)

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo issued a written statement on Wednesday saying that “the situation in Fakfak is gradually getting calm. Generally the security situation in Jayapura, Manokwari and Sorong has also been calm”.

Protesters earlier set fire to kiosks and stalls in the Fakfak traditional market, laying waste to public facilities along the road into the market.

Siswanto Tigtignaweria, who participated in the rally in Fakfak, said rioting broke out in the regency with local people setting fire to tires on the streets and conflicts erupted between a local mass organization and some protesters.

The conflicts began after some protesters allegedly hoisted the Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag – a symbol usually used by the Papuan Independence Movement – on the local customary building in the regency.

Police personnel were seen shooting tear gas and firecrackers toward the clashing mobs, he said. “Amid such a chaotic situation, suddenly the customary council’s building was set on fire.”

Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Adj. Comr. Mathias Krey said the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) had dispatched personnel to diffuse the situation.

“The National Police’s Mobile Brigade [Brimob] has scheduled to deploy its personnel to help secure the region,” he said on Wednesday as quoted by Antara news agency.

The incident in Fakfak is the latest in a growing string of protests that included riots in the neighboring Manokwari and Sorong regencies.

In an effort to curb the spread of misinformation amid the unrest, the Communications and Information Ministry has throttled back internet access in Fakfak since 9 a.m. The ministry plans to restore normal connection speed in the region at 6 p.m.

“The throttling was only implemented in Fakfak; [internet access] in other regions has returned to normal since yesterday,” said the ministry’s acting spokesman Ferdinandus Setu as quoted by kompas.com.

Furthermore, he said the ministry had also tracked down and subsequently deactivated social media accounts found to share provocative content amid the chaos in Papua.

“We investigated 50 accounts in the first couple of days. Today we’ve managed to shut down 12 accounts,” Ferdinandus said.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 residents of Timika in Mimika regency, Papua also took to the streets in an anti-racism strike.

Patricio Wetipo, a human rights activist from Timika, said that thousands of protesters had gathered in the yard of the Timika Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) since Wednesday morning, awaiting the arrival of Mimika Regent Eltinus Omaleng.

The protesters could be seen holding up signs adorned with anti-racism messages, such as ones that read: “We Papuans Love Peace.”

The leader of the rally called on fellow protesters to practice restraint and refrain from committing acts of vandalism.

The regent, however, had yet to show up by 2 p.m. local time and the crowd of protesters were forced to disperse by the authorities who shot tear gas toward them, creating a chaotic situation, Patricio said.

“People who were hurt by the tear gas walked outside the yard to the streets and threw [stones] toward the police and the police cars,” he said.

A Mimika Police officer, Sr. Adj. Comr. Agung Marlianto, instructed protesters to maintain public order and safety.

“I called on locals to maintain order when voicing their aspirations. Chaos will benefit no one,” Agung told the press. (rfa)

The decor uses architectural elements from the Forbidden City, such as the caisson on the ceiling, golden yellow glazed tiles, gold door handles, and a dragon throne. The combination of classic and modern styles is visually stunning.

This McDonald’s dessert station is called the “imperial kitchen”, and visitors can enjoy desserts by choosing their favourite ingredients.

Robust domestic demand and increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) are expected to continue fuelling Vietnam’s economic growth this year, the report released on Tuesday, said.

The country’s economy expanded 7.1 per cent in 2018, the fastest growth in 11 years. All major sectors recorded growth, including manufacturing, construction, and wholesale and retail, which rose 13 per cent, 9.2 per cent and 8.5 per cent respectively.

In the first half of this year, the economy grew 6.8 per cent, driven by significant growth of exports and industrial production which were buoyed by increasing foreign investment in labour-intensive, export-oriented manufacturing and processing industries.

“We are projecting Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 6.7 per cent and inflation of around 3.4 per cent for 2019. This will rank Vietnam as one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” the report said.

The US-China trade tensions, which show little signs of abating, have been affecting global supply chains. The threat of high tariffs on Chinese imports has forced manufacturers to consider shifting their production to alternative locations in order to mitigate the impact from the trade tariffs.

According to the report, Asean countries, particularly Vietnam and Malaysia, will be the most favoured destination of investment relocation of multinational enterprises.

Data showed that FDI inflows in Vietnam surged since the onset of US-China trade tensions in the third quarter of 2018. Ending 2018, FDI into Vietnam increased 9.1 per cent year on year, reaching a record high of US$19 billion.

The number could exceed $20 billion this year with more new projects launched, the report forecast, showing in the first seven months the number of new FDI projects in Vietnam increased 25 per cent over the same period of last year to 2,064 projects.

Strategic location, competitive wages, young population and excellent network of trade agreements are strengths of Vietnam as an export production base, which make it attractive for production relocation of foreign enterprises.

In terms of monetary policy, the report expected the State Bank of Vietnam to maintain its stable policy with the refinancing rate of 6.25 per cent throughout the year.

“The preservation of policy is significant given external uncertainties, especially the ongoing US-China trade dispute,” it said, adding that strong economic growth also eased pressure on the central bank to introduce more stimuli to achieve growth target.

It forecast the Vietnamese dong to be at 23,400 to the US dollar in the third quarter and 23,600 in the last quarter this year.

However, in the mid- to long-term the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) may undermine Vietnam’s current advantages such as low labour and land costs as it will face challenges from other cheaper locations and advancing technologies.

Vietnam’s leaders are keenly aware of the challenges and benefits of Industry 4.0, and are taking steps towards its implementation, the report said. Economic reforms along with Industry 4.0 could potentially increase the size of Vietnam’s economy by between $28.5 billion and $62.1 billion, equivalent to an economic growth rate of 7-16 per cent annually by 2030.

As of 7 pm on Tuesday, rain-triggered disasters had affected 17 townships in the prefecture, injuring six people, three severely, according to the prefectural emergency management bureau.

Aba has had about 25 days of rainfall since July 1, greatly increasing saturation of the soil, creating a situation prone to geological disasters like landslides and mudslides, according to Weather China, the weather forecast website of China Meteorological Administration.

West China Hospital based in Chengdu has sent a helicopter to the prefecture and taken those seriously injured to hospital.

By Tuesday night, more than 34,000 tourists had evacuated Wenchuan county, which was hit by multiple mudslides following heavy rainfall. Efforts to help roughly 13,000 tourists evacuate the area are underway.

Local authorities are also making efforts to help more than 12,000 trapped tourists evacuate the Wolong special administrative zone in Wenchuan.

About 280 firefighters are clearing highways across the prefecture. Villagers have also joined them. By about 2 pm on Wednesday, the highway between Wenchuan and Maoxian county had reopened, local authorities said.

Four other roads are only accessible to rescue vehicles: Lixian county to Wenchuan; Sanjiang county to Chengdu; Gengda to Chengdu; and Maoxian county to Beichuan county.

Local authorities did not know when other roads would reopen. Water and power supplies remained disrupted in the affected counties, and firefighters are transporting fresh water to Lixian county and other places in need. Mobile companies are providing signals using satellite vans in areas like Wenchuan and Yingxiu.

The China Meteorological Administration said that rainfall will subside in western and northern areas of Sichuan, where most of the mudslides occurred.

However, experts with the administration said that the middle part of the province is more likely to have heavy rain in the next few days that could trigger mountain torrents, and governments and residents there should be prepared to control and prevent disasters.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has once again professed his aversion to the rhino—no, not the animal, but the word ‘rhino’.

On Monday, addressing 400 delegates from over 43 countries at the 56th Director Generals of Civil Aviation conference in the Capital, Oli went off script, imploring the audience to use the Nepali word for the armour-plated one-horned beast found in the jungles of the plains, instead of its English name.

“In the past ten years, we’ve doubled tigers. We have similarly doubled ‘gaidas’,” Oli said. “Do you know what…gaida [is]? You people know gaida as rhino. But rhinos are not rhinos, they are gaida. I request you to remember this word—gaida. I am surprised sometimes because even in places without any gaida, people use the name rhino because they are comfortable with the term.”

“But gaida are gaida,” Oli concluded, “which are protected very well in the southern part of our country.”

Oli’s distaste for the English name of the pachyderm dates back to at least 2015, when, during a press meet with his CPN-UML comrades, Oli gave an impromptu monologue that has come to be known as the “Gaida Puran”, spawning several memes across social media.

“Where did this term rhino come from? How did rhino come in the English language? How can there be [the word] ‘rhino’ in a country that has none?” he asked in a series of rhetorical questions.

Oli then went on to make a wild assertion: “Gaida is born neither in America nor in Europe. Nor Australia. One has to come here to see a gaida. If one doesn’t see a gaida once in a lifetime—even if they might be from a developed country, or whoever they are, however rich they are—are they even human? Half of their life is wasted.”

The word rhinoceros is derived from the Greek word ‘rhinokeros’, meaning nose-horned. The word is often abbreviated to rhino, used broadly for all variants in the family of Rhinocerotidae. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines rhinoceros as “a large heavy animal with very thick skin and either one or two horns on its nose, that lives in Africa and Asia.”

In 2015, Oli had gone on to say that anyone who wanted to see a rhino—or rather, a gaida—had to come to Nepal, which, of course, is inaccurate. Rhinos are native to all of South Asia and parts of Africa, where the native population refers to the animals by their local names. They can also be found across the world, in zoos and enclosures.

But the prime minister is prone to hyperbole. On Tuesday, Oli also said that Nepal is home to all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres. That’s also untrue—only eight of them are in Nepal; the rest are in Pakistan and China.

Oli also insisted that Mount Everest be called by its Nepali name—Sagarmatha—when the far older name for the world’s highest peak is Chomolungma, as the Sherpas and Tibetans called it for decades before it was named Mount Everest or Sagarmatha. The historian Baburam Acharya is credited with coining the Nepali name as late as 1956. If Oli demands that the mountain be called by its indigenous name, Chomolungma would have been a better bet.

But back to gaidas. The rhino is an endangered species, currently found in parts of Africa and South Asia, including Nepal. In Swahili, the rhinoceros is called a kifaru; in Zulu, the word is imikhombe. In Hindi, like in Nepali, it is called ‘gaida’. The Chitwan National Park might be popular for its one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) but these same species are majorly found in India, with Kaziranga National Park hosting over 2,400 individuals, compared to roughly 645 in all of Nepal.

Among the five major species of rhinos, “White rhinos and black rhinos live in the grasslands and floodplains of eastern and southern Africa. Greater one-horned rhinos can be found in the swamps and rainforests of northern India and southern Nepal,” according to a 2018 article published by Live Science. “Sumatran and Javan rhinos are found only in small areas of Malaysian and Indonesian swamps and rainforests.”

The conservation of rhinos and their rarity often makes news, which is perhaps where Oli’s obsession with the species stems from.

Following the prime minister’s comment on Monday, one Twitter user wryly commented on his affinity for Nepali nomenclature as opposed to English ones.

In just the first half of this year, Singapore has attracted $8.1 billion in investment commitments in manufacturing and services.

This is comfortably higher than the $5.3 billion worth of investment commitments it had drawn for the same period last year.

In fact, the figures in the Economic Survey of Singapore out last week have already surpassed the lower bound of the Economic Development Board’s estimates made for all of 2019 in February.

The EDB forecast that Singapore would attract between $8 billion and $10 billion in fixed-asset investment commitments in 2019, in line with previous years.

Last year, the country drew $10.9 billion in investment commitments – a number that looks well within reach.

CIMB economist Song Seng Wun said on Tuesday (Aug 20): “These are encouraging signs, especially in the technology and chemicals sectors.”

He noted that near-term growth concerns, higher operating costs here and manpower issues should not deter companies with deep pockets.

That the top foreign investors continue to be the United States and Europe is not surprising, said Mr Song: “Technology, chemicals and data services are still dominated by American companies, followed by European ones.”

Technology firm Micron, social media giant Facebook and British home appliance manufacturer Dyson are just a few of the prominent companies that have set up shop here.

Maybank economist Chua Hak Bin warned that while firms may state intended investment commitments, actual spending could come in much lower.

New fixed-asset investment comes at a crucial time given Singapore needs a capital expenditure boost to cushion the export downturn.

“We hope that these commitments materialise into actual capex spending and job creation, as there have been episodes in the past where the two have not been correlated,” said Mr Chua.

He added that it is not clear Singapore is benefiting from shifts in supply chains due to the US-China trade war: “Singapore appears to be gaining more US investments than from China.”

While manufacturing remains a key pillar of the Singapore economy, Mr Song thinks the services cluster could attract more fixed-asset investments than manufacturing by the end of this year.

“The need for data, scientists and research and development will create jobs,” he said.

“This is why the Government has been so fixated on the knowledge economy, and the skill sets needed to participate in it.”

What is also important is translating investment commitments into actual jobs. “It’s the bread and butter issues which Singaporeans will be concerned about, in terms of the labour market and hiring,” he said.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the steady rise in total FDI stock showed the continuing attractiveness of Malaysia as an international investment destination amid rising trade tensions across the world.

“Sustained economic growth is one of the reasons behind rising FDI stock, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

The 4.9% GDP quarterly growth was better than market expectations of 4.7% as compiled by Bloomberg.According to Lim, the International Investment Position and the Balance of Payments defined FDI as lasting investment made by foreign parties into domestic companies giving the former lasting controlling stake and this adhered to the definition provided by the International Monetary Fund.

Last week, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority announced that approved FDI across all sectors rose 97.2% to RM49.5bil in the first half of 2019, from RM25.1bil in the same period last year.Lim said approved manufacturing FDI rose by 74.2% to RM33.1bil during the first half of 2019, from RM19bil a year ago.

Of the investment, RM11.7bil came from the United States, making it the biggest source of approved manufacturing FDI during the period, followed by China (RM4.8bil), Singapore (RM3.1bil) and Japan (RM2.1bil). — Bernama