Terengganu Wildlife and National Parks Department officers captured the tiger found roaming in Kampung Besol Lama here.

Department director Dr Abdul Malik Mohd Yusof said the tiger was captured at Bukit Besi near Kampung Besol Lama here at 3.50pm.

“The male tiger is weighing about 130kg,’’ he said.

The tiger was shot with a tranquiliser dart after wildlife officers spotted it.

Dr Abdul Malik said the tiger would be sent to the National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Sungkai, Perak for observation and treatment.

The state department is still tracing another tiger and villagers are urged to contact the department if they spot the tiger.

The Kampung Besol Lama villagers were shocked to see tiger roaming in the village on Thursday morning. Many were fleeing the village. One of the old folks fell and injured. The tiger did not attack the villagers. The villagers later chased the tiger back to the forest.

Despite the stuffy weather, the participants, mostly dressed in light-colored clothes, were passionate and energetic, chanting slogans while waving signboards and banners along with the national flag and the Hong Kong SAR flag.

They were also heard humming to the tune of well-known songs glorifying the spirit of Hong Kong and values cherished by its people, such as Under the Lion Rock and Pearl of the Orient, when they were played.The rally was held six days after an anti-extradition bill protest broke into violent clashes with the police in the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin. Hundreds of radical protesters threw bricks, umbrellas and bottles at police officers who tried to disperse them.

In contrast, the atmosphere in Tamar Park on Saturday was decidedly peaceful, calm and rational.

The rally started at 5 pm when well-known politicians, academics, celebrities, and representatives of ethnic minority groups were invited on the stage, sharing their thoughts and airing their common wishes.

Tam Yiu-chung – the SAR’s sole deputy to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee – thanked the crowd for taking the time and bracing foul weather to show solidarity safeguarding the city they love so much.

“We must not tolerate any action that undermines Hong Kong and the principle of ‘one country, two systems’,” Tam said, drawing a loud cheer of approval from the listening crowd.

There was a roar of support from the crowd when professor of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Francis Lui Ting-ming said the police should arrest and prosecute those violent protesters who broke the law.

“They’re not ‘righteous’. They’re criminals,” said Lui.

Hong Kong entrepreneur Allan Zeman said that Saturday’s rally could send an important message to the world that Hong Kong people could leave their differences behind and “work together to solve problems,” Zeman said.

Wong Hei-yin from the trade sector said Hong Kong people who believe in the power of cooperation built on mutual respect and tolerance should make themselves heard loud and clear in a peaceful and rational way.

“We can’t let violent protesters hijack public opinions, protesters who attack the government and undermine the rule of law while hiding their identities behind face masks and helmets,” Wong said.

Towards the end of the rally, a group of youth representatives read out a declaration on the stage, appealing to the public to never resort to violence, to talk instead of to argue, and to unite instead of to fight.

The rally ended at around 7 pm as peaceful as it started.

Yam, 64, was speaking on stage as a guest at the event when a man suddenly charged towards him, according to videos of the incident circulating online.

From clips uploaded shortly after the incident, the man can be seen taking a weapon out of his pocket before aiming it towards Yam.

He then lashes out at Yam repeatedly as the actor frantically tries to move away while clutching his abdomen.

Many people in the audience can also be heard reacting in shock.

A photo shared online shows the attacker being subdued by security officers.

According to the Sina Entertainment portal, a spokesman for the actor said that he remained conscious after the incident. He was taken to hospital and his wound has also been treated.

As a major driver of the national economy, China saw retail sales of consumer goods jump 8.4 per cent year on year to 19.5 trillion yuan (Bt87 trillion) in the first half of this year, a positive sign highlighting the country’s rising spending power despite a complex global economic situation with increasing external uncertainties.

In addition to witnessing strong online sales between January and June, the ministry found that the growth in goods used for daily lives remained encouraging during the same period, as demand for daily necessities (14.1 per cent), Western and traditional Chinese medicines (10.9 per cent), grain and edible oil (10.4 per cent) and beverage products (9.9 per cent) surged year on year.

According to the statement, the head of the ministry’s Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion, as the next step, the government will continue to optimise the operational mechanism of its consumption system, speed up transformation of old urban residential areas and implement other policies to further stimulate the potential of domestic consumption, as well as create more jobs in both urban and rural areas.

Sun Fuquan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development in Beijing, said as China had officially given the green light for 5G commercial services in June, a new round of consumption demand will be stimulated in the second half of this year. Consumption of high-definition televisions, intelligent home appliances, virtual-reality and augmented-reality products will also see fast growth.

“The growth in these specific areas will not only occur in the home market, but also in global markets, especially those economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative,” he said.

As the business model and product content evolved, services rather than real items, have also become the new growth point targeted by both physical stores and e-commerce platforms, said Li Dongjin, a marketing professor at Tianjin-based Nankai University.

China experienced steady development of service consumption in the first half of the year, as the growth of the country’s catering sector, educational and entertainment business, and healthcare industry rose 9.4 per cent, 10.9 per cent and 9.5 per cent, respectively, leading to service spending accounting for 49.4 per cent of the country’s total domestic consumption, a 0.6 percentage point increase over the same period of the previous year.

To better support the preparatory work for the upcoming second China International Import Expo in Shanghai and understand the country’s supply capacity and demand for major consumer goods in a timely and accurate manner, the Ministry of Commerce conducted a statistical survey of the country’s retailers and consumers, on the supply and demand of 10 major categories of consumer goods, such as food and clothing, from March to May this year.

The survey found that the supply of consumer goods was mainly domestic, and the demand for imports was strong. About 79.6 per cent of consumers purchased imported consumer goods during the three-month period. Foreign cosmetics, jewellery, passenger vehicles, mother and child products, watches and glasses remained popular choices for Chinese shoppers.

About 24.1 per cent of consumers said they would increase their purchases of imported consumer goods in the second half of this year. They are now paying more attention to branding information, product safety and design in the process of selecting goods, according to the survey.

The predictions in the Asian Development Outlook Supplement are unchanged from the forecasts made in the April report.

The ADB said Vietnam has been the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia this year, noting growth in the first half of 2019 is estimated at 6.8 per cent year on year despite agriculture being hurt by drought and African swine fever.

Growth in industry and manufacturing remained robust, though not as strong as in the first half of 2018.

Strong inflows of foreign direct investment, up by 27 per cent in the first five months of 2019 from a year earlier, sustained growth. China overtook South Korea and Singapore to become the largest overseas provider of newly registered capital.

Meanwhile, the US remained the largest export market for Vietnam, with exports growing by 28 per cent in the first five months over the same period last year.

According to the ADB, inflation in Vietnam will be 3.5 per cent in 2019 and 3.8 per cent in 2020.

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said in Jakarta on Friday that 118.5 trillion rupiah had entered Indonesia’s financial system through government debt papers, while 74 trillion rupiah had entered through the stock market.

He said the flow of foreign capital into Indonesia was at a high intensity and that would help improve the country’s capital balance and balance of payments.

“The capital inflows will also support economic stability,” Perry was quoted as saying by kontan.co.id.

At the end of June, the central bank had recorded $9.7 billion in capital inflows.

Perry said the positive perception of the country’s economy had been strengthening recently, supported by rating upgrades by Standard and Poor’s as well as a looser monetary policy.

“It is in line with the lessening of global market financial uncertainty marked by looser monetary policy,” he added.

The standoff has been going on for weeks near an oil block within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to an analysis released by the Washington-based think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) early this week.

Vietnam on Friday accused China of “unlawful activities” by deploying a survey ship escorted by government and merchant marine vessels the past several days around Vanguard Bank to conduct a mapping mission within their EEZ and continental shelf.

Chinese coast guard also challenged Vietnam’s ongoing oil and gas operations there in a separate incident.

The AMTI said it also monitored a similar situation between Chinese and Malaysian vessels near an oil and gas block in Luconia Shoals in May. A Chinese coast guard vessel tried to prevent ongoing drilling operations in the area, which lies on Malaysia’s continental shelf.

“This shows that Beijing is committed to trying to block unilateral oil and gas exploitation by its neighbors anywhere in the nine-dash line,” AMTI director Gregory Poling told INQUIRER.net.

Nine-dash line refers to China’s massive claims of about 90 percent of the entire South China Sea, which had been invalidated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, however, Beijing still refuses to recognize the ruling.

Poling warned that Philippines may also face a similar situation with Malaysia and Vietnam in the future should it decide to unilaterally explore Recto Bank (Reed Bank), one of the areas within the country’s EEZ being considered by the government for a joint exploration with China.

But the analyst also observed that the incidents with Malaysia and Vietnam showed that China would only resort to bullying at most and is actually careful not to wage war over the South China Sea.

“It also shows that China intends to do so [block unilateral oil and gas operations] through bullying and intimidation, not force. When other parties stand up to that bullying and continue their commercial activities anyway, as Malaysia and Vietnam are, it most often convinces China to back down and try again some other time,” he said.

Poling added that these reports dispute the notion that pushing back against China means that it would automatically lead to a full-blown conflict, contrary to President Rodrigo Duterte’s claims that asserting the country’s rights over the West Philippine Sea could result to war.

“These incidents put the lie to the Duterte government’s insistence that any resistance to China’s demands means war,” the security expert said.

Poling explained that China’s South China Sea strategy was never about resorting to military force because it is concerned about its image in the global arena.

“If it uses force, it will be painted as an aggressor, it will undermine its desire to play a role as a global leader, and it will invite even greater involvement by outside powers,” he said.

He emphasized that China is also “less likely” to use force against the Philippines because the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States would come into play.

The Philippines and the US are bound by the MDT, signed on Aug. 30, 1951, which calls for both states to come to each other’s defense in case of an armed attack.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has assured the Philippines earlier this year that it will come to its aid in case of armed attack in the South China Sea.

On Friday, the police announced that the 41-year-old man who allegedly set fire to the studio is Shinji Aoba.

When he was taken into police custody, he told the police a story to the effect that he has complained about the animation company stealing his idea for a novel, according to investigative sources.

The police believe that he had become increasingly resentful toward the company and plotted the arson incident, the sources said.

On Friday morning, the police and the Kyoto City Fire Department jointly conducted an on-site investigation at the three-story steel-frame concrete building in Fushimi Ward that is managed by Kyoto Animation, with the attendance of President Hideaki Hatta.

According to the National Police Agency, the number of casualties this time is the largest among murder cases since the start of the Heisei era (1989-2019).

The police said that 33 of the 74 employees and other people inside the building at the time of the fire died, and 35 were injured. Six people escaped unharmed from the blaze.

According to a police statement and other sources, the suspect suffered burns over his entire body and became unconscious after he was detained. He apparently was not a Kyoto Animation employee and had never worked for the company. He reportedly lives in Minuma Ward, Saitama.

The suspect entered the building’s first-floor entrance while screaming, “Die!” He then poured gasoline from what appeared to be a bucket and set it alight. About five minutes after the fire broke out, police officers found the suspect lying face up on a road about 100 meters south of the building. He told them he “started the fire with a lighter.”

An explosion was heard and the building went up in flames at about 10:35 a.m. on Thursday. The fire, which was mostly extinguished after about five hours, destroyed most of the about 700-square-meter building. It appears smoke and flames rapidly spread inside.

Several knives and a hammer were found near the studio in a rucksack and bag thought to belong to the suspect. Two 20-liter gasoline cans and a hand cart had also been left nearby. A man resembling the suspected arsonist purchased 40 liters of gasoline from a gas station about 500 meters west of the studio before the fire broke out. Police suspect the man used the cans and cart to carry the gasoline to the studio.

The building’s first story was used for offices, and the second and third stories were the animation production areas. Most of the 74 people inside the building were Kyoto Animation employees, and the rest were employees of another company.

According to President Hatta, a special card is usually required to access the building. However, this system was disarmed on Thursday morning because people from outside the company were attending a meeting there.

According to the police, 20 of the dead were women, 12 were men, and one victim’s gender had not been confirmed. Two victims were found on the first story; 11 were on the second story; one was on the stairs between the second and third stories; and 19 were on the stairs leading from the third floor to the roof. The victims on the stairs leading to the roof reportedly lay piled on top of one another.

While some of the victims sustained severe injuries, others had no obvious external injuries but apparently died from carbon monoxide poisoning. The police will conduct legally required autopsies to determine the causes of the deaths.

According to the air carrier, this is the first time a Korean full-service carrier will operate its own IT system cloud. It is also the first time a top Korean conglomerates has adopted such a system.

In November last year, Korean Air clinched a deal with LG CNS and Amazon Web Service to transfer its data storage to a cloud computing system. It has completed a data center transfer over the past seven months.

At the Cloud Command Center, employees can check the cloud transfer status on a real time basis and also view the status of all data centers, overseas networks, local networks, and security control and management.

The company will soon complete the digital transformation process and stable data storage transfer to its cloud system, aiming at providing customers with increased convenience when using Korean Air, officials said.

“The South Korean government cannot agree with the Japanese government’s unilateral and arbitrary claims regarding our court’s ruling and jurisdiction, and its arbitration proposal to resolve the dispute. We also do not have to be bound to (Japan’s) demands,” a ministry official said.

“To sincerely resolve the problem, Japan needs to face up to the unfortunate history and make efforts to heal the suffering and wounds of the victims.”

The ministry also urged Japan to withdraw its retaliatory export restrictions and seek diplomatic solutions.

Earlier in the morning, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono summoned South Korean Ambassador to Japan Nam Gwan-pyo and claimed that South Korea remains “in violation of international law” for not answering to Tokyo’s proposal to resolve the historical dispute via third-country arbitration.

“What the South Korean government is doing now subverts the world order established after World War II,” Kono said, adding that Seoul’s rejection was “very regrettable.”

Nam said that Japan’s “unilateral” actions were damaging the roots of the bilateral relationship.

“(The two sides) should work to quickly resolve the dispute through dialogue,” Nam said. “South Korean government is making ceaseless effort so that the case can close without hurting the bilateral ties.”

Seoul and Tokyo have been at odds since the top court here ruled in favor of South Korean victims who were forced to labor by Japanese companies during the 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

The court ordered Japanese companies, including Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to pay damages to the victims. But the companies have refused to comply and the Japanese government has claimed that these wartime crimes were settled in a 1965 treaty normalizing ties between the two countries.

Amid escalating tension over the discord, Japan slapped export restrictions on high-tech materials vital to South Korea’s technology sector early this month, which Seoul believes is a retaliatory measure to the Supreme Court’s rulings.

To settle the dispute, Seoul proposed South Korean and Japanese firms create a joint fund to compensate the victims of forced labor. The South Korean government has maintained that it will honor the court decision and that the issue should be resolved through diplomatic talks, rather than a dispute settlement process

But Japan has rejected this proposition, and called for the creation of an arbitration panel consisting of three third-country members on June 19. It set the deadline to Thursday, but Seoul did not give a response.

In Friday’s meeting, the two sides exchanged strong words.

When Nam said that Korea had also proposed a way to resolve the dispute, Kono cut in on him and said Japan could never accept Seoul’s proposal. Kono also said Korea made the proposal knowing that Japan is not going to accept it, and said it was “extremely rude.”

After the opening remarks, Kono and Nam held a closed-door meeting. In a statement released after the meeting, Kono said Tokyo would take “necessary measures” against Seoul.

It is the third time Japan has called in the South Korean envoy to complain about the court ruling, after Oct. 30, when the top court made the ruling, and on Nov. 29.