The essence of the statement is designating the 2019 as the Year of Asean Cultures. The Asean heads of government will cooperate to encourage their communities to share cultures, respect differences and promote human security.

Many activities have been provided under the concepts of Variety, Creativity, and Sustainability in order to promote Asean’s cultures as well as sustainable cultural tourism to the international community and to drive innovative economics development, he said.

The great performance arts of each nation in Asean will be showcased and cooperation will be boosted between the Asean Cultural Centre in Bangkok and the Asean partners’ Culture Houses. Also, an Asean Popular Street Food Exhibition will be held to round out the cultural programme during the June 20-23 summit.

Veera said Thailand as the host had also prepared gifts and performances for all of the leaders and their spouses. The gifts comprise a portrait of them and a garland for the couple, set in a silk box with the Asean summit logo on top.

A gala-dinner performance for the delegates will be divided into two parts. There will be singing the “Asean Way”, and two new songs, “Advancing Together as One” and “Asean Will Go Far”, he said.

    After a fractious TV debate, in which Brexit figurehead Johnson managed to avoid any trademark gaffes and emerged largely unscathed after an onslaught from his four remaining rivals, the Conservative Party’s 313 MPS will vote once again to remove the candidate with the least support.

The former foreign minister grabbed more votes than his three nearest challengers combined in Tuesday’s second-round, and the only question appears to be who will eventually join him in the final two to face the party’s 160,000 members.

Johnson had ducked out of the first TV debate on Sunday and has carefully stage-managed his media engagements in a contest that remains his to lose.

    He cast himself Tuesday as the one politician able to bring Britain successfully out of the European Union and therefore deliver the Brexit that UK voters called for three years ago.

“We must come out on October 31 because otherwise I’m afraid we face a catastrophic loss of confidence in politics,” said Johnson in the hour-long BBC question-and-answer session with voters.

“I think the British people are thoroughly fed up.”

But neither he nor the others raised their hands when asked by the BBC to do so if they could “guarantee” that Brexit will happen by October 31.

– Frantic search for leader –

Tuesday’s debate did little to alter a growing sense that Johnson would need to make an error of monumental proportions not to win at this stage.

The Guardian newspaper called Johnson’s performance “sober and sensible”.

“Still the clear front-runner, still almost certainly the next PM,” it wrote.

Johnson picked up 126 of the 313 Conservative MPs’ votes cast Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt won 46 votes and environment minister Michael Gove 41.

International development minister Rory Stewart continued his against-the-odds challenge by nearly doubling his support base to 37.

Interior minister Sajid Javid scraped through with exactly the 33 required to make the third round.

Britain is frantically searching for a leader after Prime Minister Theresa May stepped down last month over her repeated failure to deliver Brexit on time.

Her successor will be saddled with both resolving Britain’s deepest political crisis in generations and setting the terms of how it deals with the rest of Europe for decades to come.

An additional two rounds of voting will whittle the list of contenders down to just two on Thursday.

The finalists will face the ruling party’s grassroots members in a vote next month to decide who wins.

– ‘Not credible’ –

Johnson’s lead is so substantial that some UK media say the others are simply fighting for a good spot in his future government.

Stewart fired the most direct barbs at Johnson on Tuesday by arguing that “no-deal is not a credible threat”.

Both Hunt and Gove repeated that a further delay may be required if a Brexit deal was within reach.

“If we were nearly there, then I would take a bit longer,” Hunt said.

But Javid said it was “fundamental” to get out by the new deadline no matter what.

Johnson has warned throughout that he is prepared to take Britain out of the European Union without an agreement — as long as it is done by the October 31 deadline.

But he has also called this tough talk a negotiating tactic designed to scare Brussels and force it to compromise on the nagging issue of the Irish border.

EU leaders have long ruled out re-opening the binding part of the agreement they all signed with May last year.

Only Stewart is openly trying to salvage May’s pact in the hope of pushing it through Britain’s splintered parliament at the fourth attempt.

“In the end, there is only one route to getting this done which is through parliament and there is only one deal,” Stewart told BBC Radio on Wednesday.

The Daily Telegraph suggested that Stewart and Johnson had moved closer to a face-to-face showdown “after emerging as the big winners” from Tuesday’s vote and debate.

The event was held between June 6-16 in Prague Quadrennial (PQ).

Ureerat Chareontoh, ambassador of Thailand to Czech Republic hosted a reception on June 6 to introduce the “Same Same but Different” and Nattaporn Thapparat, art curator, designers and PQ veteran, as well as Nikorn Sae Tang, Thai artist.

The reception was participated by ambassadors, media, curators as well as artists from around the world.

Ureerat mentioned that she was excited for the PQ this year as it is the first time that Thailand, as a country, participated in this important art scene of the Czech Republic and probably in Europe as well.

“Same Same but Different” is also Thai common phrase reflecting how Thais see things in life as they can be the same yet different in some way.

Nattaporn said that this project focused on life matter by communicating Thai people’s attitude towards society, art, culture and belief through the eyes of theater practitioners, artists and designers together with community, interpreting matters in everyday life into an art form. The shared space installation was inspired by the community’s washing lines where identity of each member is composed and visible.

The reception, attended by more than 50 guests, was followed by the interactive presentation at the exhibition area, where Nikorn Sae Tang, a performing artist, director and play writer and founder of the Theater 8×8, created a scene of doing laundry by hands in a probably shared space, a quite common scene in Bangkok and other provinces in the country.

The exhibition itself also reflected a shared space among artists and designers. Back of 500 T-shirts were used as canvas to showcase various art forms, including theater and design.

Prague Quadrennial was established in 1967 to bring the best of Performance Design, Scenography and Theater Architecture to the front line of cultural activities to be experienced by both professionals and general public. The PQ is held in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic once every four years.

DESPITE only bleak chances of concluding negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of this year considering little tangible progress has been made in the past six months, Thailand maintains the historic deal involving 16 economies can be finalised by November.

Experts and observers believe a breakthrough in concluding the world’s biggest trade deal would showcase the success of ‘Asean centrality’. Asean economic ministers will meet during the 34th Asean Summit from tomorrow to Sunday to discuss the RCEP negotiations.

The RCEP has been envisioned as a 16-country mega-trade pact encompassing 10 Asean nations as well as India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Negotiations have been going on for seven years.

The completion of the RCEP negotiations by the year-end is one of 13 economic deliverables that Thailand had set for itself as Asean chair this year. The completion of the trade pact sits beside other regional goals such as the completion of the Asean Single Window trade system and the declaration to transform Asean to Industry 4.0.

“As global trade has been rocked by the ongoing US-China trade tensions, all 10 Asean members have voiced support for completion of the RCEP negotiations by the end of this year,” said Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Trade Negotiations.

Due to the superpower trade conflict, Thailand’s exports to China have been dwindling in the past year. In the first quarter of this year, Thai exports to China fell by 8.1 per cent year on year. The drastic fall in shipments led to a trade deficit of $1.45 billion in April, according to the Commerce Ministry.

Completing the RCEP negotiations will allow Thailand to expand its export destinations and trade freely with more countries, Auramon said.

“For this reason, completing the RCEP negotiations is Thailand’s top economic priority as Asean chair. It is our toughest challenge and if successful, it will be our biggest achievement,” she stated.

If the negotiations are successful, RCEP will be the largest multilateral trade pact in history. The combined gross domestic product of RCEP members makes up 28 per cent of global GDP and as much as 30 per cent of the value of world trade.

In 2018, Thailand’s trade value with the RCEP countries amounted to US$70 billion (Bt2.19 trillion). Thailand’s exports to the RCEP countries currently account for 58 per cent of the Kingdom’s total exports, according to the Commerce Ministry.

When Singapore chaired Asean last year seven of the 20 chapters of the RCEP agreement were concluded, leaving Thailand with the task of concluding up to 13 chapters. Six months have gone by after Thailand assumed the chair but not a single additional chapter has been completed.

“However, significant progress has been made in various chapters covering issues such as trade in goods and services, competition regulation and investment,” Auramon said.

There are various chapters, she explained, where negotiations are nearly complete but some countries have been holding up the conclusion of these chapters to use them as leverage for negotiating other outstanding chapters.

Local elections in various RCEP members have also delayed progress on the trade negotiations in the first six months. Thailand and Indonesia held general elections in March and April respectively. The Indian general election was held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. These elections may have led many RECP members to wait to negotiate with the newly elected governments, Auramon said.

Meanwhile, there are also some RCEP members who do not have a free trade agreement with one another, such as China and India, the trade official said. This lack of foundation means the establishment of a common position on various chapters such as the rules of origins for exports between members could require more time.

Auramon expects the RCEP negotiations to be completed by November with the signing ceremony for the trade pact to be held in 2020.

After the trade agreement is signed, each country will then have to ratify the trade deal in their respective parliaments, she said, hoping that the RCEP will be officially enacted sometime in 2020.

“Completing the RCEP is not just significant for Thai trade, but it is also symbolic of Thailand’s commitment to pushing forward the notion of ‘Asean centrality’,” said Piyanat Soikham, a lecturer in politics and international relations at Ubon Ratchathani University.

Yan Xuetong, chief of the Institute of International Relations at Tsinghua University, stated: “Even if the negotiations are not fully completed by the end of this year, Thailand must keep the dialogue on issues such as RCEP on the table while it chairs the grouping to ensure the region remains one entity and that cooperation in the region continues to progress gradually.”

Despite the rising trend of bilateralism, Asean is an export-reliant region that champions multilateral free trade. Establishing the RCEP by the end of this year will help Thailand find its place in the shifting global supply chain and cope with the negative impacts of uncertain trade conditions in the upcoming years, said Matthew Circosta, an analyst for Moody’s Investors Service (Singapore).

A wave of one metre (three feet) is expected to hit the coast of the Sea of Japan, north of Tokyo, the nation’s meteorological agency said.

The quake registered six on the Japanese scale, which goes up to a maximum of seven and was felt in the capital, which is more than 300 kilometres away.

An official of the disaster management office of Niigata prefecture, the epicentre of the quake, told AFP: “We do not have a precise picture of the impact as we are still collecting information. But so far there have been no report of injuries or casualties.”

Separately, a fire department official in the region said two elderly women were sent to hospital following falls but “they were conscious.”

The earthquake struck at a late hour in mainly sparsely populated areas so it was not easy to evaluate the damage immediately.

Witnesses cited by national broadcaster NHK said they experienced strong shaking that knocked some books off shelves and moved some furniture.

The broadcaster showed images of some cups and glasses smashed on the floor of a restaurant.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.4.

Officials immediately stopped bullet train services in the region as a precautionary measure, according to NHK, which also said thousands of households were left without power.

The meteorological agency said some small waves had already reached some coastlines of Yamagata and Niigata, in the northwest of the country.

The agency warned that it is “dangerous” to stay near the coast or in the sea. “Do not approach or enter the sea until the advisory is lifted,” it said.

A minor change in sea levels had already been monitored on a small island off Niigata, it added.– ‘No abnormalities’ –

“All nuclear power plants have reported no abnormalities,” government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

“Strong jolts may continue,” warned Suga, adding that authorities were checking for signs of damage or injuries.

Some local roads were also closed after the earthquake, which struck at around 10:22pm local time (1322 GMT).

Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

A powerful quake rocked northern Japan in September and triggered massive landslides that killed 44.

Last June, a deadly tremor rocked the Osaka region, killing five people and injuring over 350.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

Niigata itself has a history of large earthquakes.

In 2004 a 6.8-magnitude quake hit, killing 68 people, including elderly who died in the days and weeks after the first tremor from stress and fatigue.

The area was also hit by a magnitude-6.8 quake in 2007, leaving 15 people dead.

He has also ordered the police to control traffic flow and escort the foreign guests to and from the summit.

More than 10,000 police officers will be positioned along the routes and at the spots that the Asean heads of government and their spouses visit, including Don Mueang airbase and the summit hotel and meeting hall, Prawit announced.

Importantly, he added, commuters in the capital should be impacted by the meeting and the security arrangements surrounding it as little as possible.

The Air Force is responsible for anti-drone missions and guarding the visitors at Don Mueang airbase, he said, adding that the Navy will maintain order along the riverside, while the Army will take care of intelligence.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, meanwhile, has arranged plans for disaster risks, and the Public Health Ministry is providing clinics and medical teams, the deputy PM – who is also defence minister – said.

The Asean heads of government gather on Saturday and Sunday at a Bangkok hotel for the summit.

Wireless Road from Sarasin intersection to Phloen Chit intersection will be closed from 6am to 6pm on both days.

People will have to use Rama IV Road and Phloen Chit Road instead.

Anyone wanting to complain about the effects of the meeting on them, or inform the authorities about any serious threats or abnormal incidents, should contact the Damrongdhama Centre, the Government Contact Centre or the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Unprecedented mass rallies against the bill have rocked the city’s government — plunging the city into its biggest political crisis in decades — with protesters calling for Lam to step down.

“I personally have to shoulder much of the responsibility. This has led to controversies, disputes and anxieties in society,” Lam told a press conference.

“For this I offer my most sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong.”

Lam suspended the bill after the city saw massive rallies on June 9 and 12 — with bouts of violence between the police and some protesters.

But that failed to quell public anger, and was followed by an even bigger protest Sunday that organisers said drew over two million people — more than a quarter of the population — to the streets.

Lam gave no indication she was prepared to step down, saying instead she wanted to “continue to work very hard… to meet the aspirations of the Hong Kong people”.

Critics of the extradition bill fear the legislation will entangle Hong Kong residents in China’s notoriously opaque and politicised justice system, and damage the city’s reputation as a safe business hub.

More than 4,000 people were relocated as a large number of structures were damaged or collapsed following late Monday’s earthquake outside Yibin in Sichuan province, according to the city government.

State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of rescuers bringing a survivor out of the rubble of a building on a stretcher overnight. Other images showed a woman being helped out of another collapsed structure.

Images from Changning county showed an electricity pole knocked down on the roof of a building, a hole in a brick home and broken windows on the street.

Cracks appeared in several roads and a major highway connecting Yibin and Xuyong county was closed, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Mud and rock slipped from the side of a hill, blocking a road and wrapping around a truck, according to CCTV footage.

More than 10,000 rooms within an undisclosed number of buildings were moderately damaged while 12 collapsed, according to Yibin authorities. The homes of more than 4,000 families were damaged in Gong county.

An early warning alarm system was triggered in the provincial capital Chengdu about one minute before the earthquake struck, Xinhua said. The alert rang 10 seconds before it hit Yibin.

A three-second headstart before an earthquake strikes can prevent 14 percent of casualties, Xinhua said.

Nine people died in Changning county and three others in Qixian county, the Yibin city government said in its Twitter-like Weibo account, up from an initial death toll of six overnight.

Rescuers pulled six bodies and seven survivors from buildings, it said.

Xinhua said more than 50 people were being treated in two hospitals.

More than 500 firefighters have been dispatched to the scene. Rescue personnel were also sent with 5,000 tents, 10,000 folding cots and other emergency supplies, Xinhua reported.

The area was hit by a series of at least four aftershocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.1.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the main quake at 5.8.

Earthquakes regularly strike Sichuan, where a powerful 7.9-magnitude quake left 87,000 people dead or missing in 2008.

In February, three earthquakes hit Rongxian county in the province, killing two people and injuring 12 others — casualties that residents blamed on fracking.

Local authorities later halted shale gas mining after thousands of residents protested.

When asked if he was convinced it was an inside job given the recent turn of events where a state PKR chief, with ties in the Philippines, had gone missing, the Economic Affairs Minister said: “I am convinced”.

Allegations are flying around that the missing PKR leader was with Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz, the other man in the video, who was arrested at the KL International Airport last Friday (June 14) as he was about to leave for Manila.

Speaking to reporters after attending the signing ceremony between several conglomerates pertaining to the development of affordable homes in Selangor on Tuesday (June 18), Azmin said the attack was due to his performance as a politician and Cabinet member.

“And I am sure the public is aware who the culprit is in this episode,” he hinted, adding that the police should be given space to conduct their investigations.

The PKR deputy president said he had initiated several measures to clear his name including making a qazaf report that was lodged at the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) citing Haziq for illicit sex and police reports.

In the past week, clips of a sex video involving two men have gone viral, followed by a confession by Haziq, who is also Santubong PKR Youth chief, that he was one of the two men in the video.

He also claimed that the other person was Azmin.

Azmin has categorically denied the allegation, saying it was made to tarnish his reputation and destroy his political career.

Haziq is being investigated under four charges, including Section 377B of the Penal Code for carnal intercourse against the order of nature and Section 292 for distributing obscene materials.