However, one local economist disagrees, saying it is beyond the capacity of such a small country to save the WTO from a crisis in its multilateral trading system.

Stephen de Boer, Canada’s ambassador and permanent representative to the WTO, said in an exclusive interview with The Nation that Thailand is the 2019 chair of the 10-country Asean trade bloc and its ambassador has assumed the helm of the WTO General Council.

These positions give the Kingdom substantial leverage in WTO reforms, de Boer said.

Sunanta Kangvalkulkij, Thailand’s ambassador to the WTO, is chairing its General Council – its highest-level decision-making body – in Geneva,

“She can influence the way things roll out this year,” de Boer said.

Thailand is among the 90 countries actively supporting the multilateral trading system and is engaging in the reform negotiations, he said, but the process requires input from all 164 members.

Canada recently created “the Ottawa group” of WTO members in a bid to restore public and governmental trust and confidence in the organisation.

“The multilateral trading system is facing significant challenges,” de Boer said. “A lot of people say it’s because of the [Donald] Trump administration, but that’s probably unfair.” Isolationism under President Trump is just one of many challenges confronting the WTO, he said.

WTO members are also mired in the Doha development agenda, talks for which began in 2001. The agricultural sector, specifically, is posing obstacles, though agreement has been reached on export subsidies, environmental clauses and information technology, while negotiations on fishery subsides should be completed by December. Currently, talks are underway on e-commerce.

“We’ve recently faced a challenge regarding the system of resolving disputes, while the US has blocked the appointment of new members to the WTO appellate body,” de Boer said. “There should be seven members, but they are only three right now, dropping to one by December. You need at least three to form a quorum, so the panel will cease being functional.”

He said Canada shared the US view that changes were necessary to improve the WTO, which was founded in 1995. Members are examining what works well and what doesn’t.

However, he agrees with the US that the dispute-settlement mechanism is too legal – too much like a court of law. But, de Boer said, Canada objects to the US tactics of blocking appointments to the appellate body, as it undermines the world trade body.

Regulations governing the appellate are not always clearly worded and prone to contradictory interpretations, as is common in any legal system, he said.

Dispute settlement

“The fundamental question is: Do you believe in the system overall, and if you believe in the system, are you willing to abide by a decision you don’t agree with [as well as] abide by a decision you do agree with?” he asked.

The US under Trump’s leadership has been taking action unilaterally against China and other countries in trade disputes. This has undermined the multilateral system, which requires members to settle their disputes via the WTO dispute-settlement mechanism.

Trump raised tariff rates against Chinese goods, citing unfair trade practices against US companies as well as China’s continuing high-trade surplus with the US. He has also taken unilateral action against other countries by raising tariffs on imported washing machines, solar panels, steel and aluminium – which is negatively affecting Thailand, EU, Canada, Mexico and other countries. China has retaliated against the US by raising tariffs against US goods.

“We hope the US will return to the WTO,” de Boer added.

In separate interview, Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general at the Department of Trade Negotiations, confirmed to The Nation that Thailand, as Asean chair, will play a greater role in saving the WTO.

The Thai government and WTO held a seminar in Bangkok last week entitled “WTO-Asean Regional Policy Dialogue on WTO Reforms ”. Senior Asean officials will meet in Laos early next month to discuss coordinating collective actions to push for WTO reforms, she said.

“Thailand agrees that it is urgently needed to find solutions to the deadlock in the appellate body before December,” she added.

The economist Sakon Varanyuwatana, however, is sceptical about Thailand’s leadership role at the WTO. “We in Thailand – a small country – cannot do much given that the US, a powerful country, has ignored the multilateral trading system,” he said, adding that many countries have also created trade blocs as an alternative or supplement to the multilateral trading system.

“Thailand should instead focus on negotiating free-trade agreements under RCEP and CPTPP,” Sakon suggested.

    William Connolly, now better known as “Eggboy”, cracked an egg over Fraser Anning’s head at a press conference in Melbourne Saturday, prompting the senator to hit him in the face repeatedly.

The controversial politician had a day earlier triggered outrage by claiming the attack in New Zealand that killed 50 people at two mosques was the result of Muslim immigration to the country.

    Connolly’s act has spawned viral memes and drawn support from social media users around the world, with one setting up a GoFundMe page which quickly raised Aus$44,000 (US$31,000) to cover “legal fees” and “more eggs”.

An update to the page, which could not be verified, said “EggBoi (Will) plans to send a majority of the money to the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack”.

“I donated for his heroic act in front of bigotry and racism. What he did is very inspiring for a young kid,” wrote one supporter, Mohamed Majrad.

Another simply wrote: “VIVA EGG BOI!”

Anning’s remarks had drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the Queensland senator’s comments as “appalling” and “ugly” with “no place in Australia”.

Former PM Kevin Rudd dubbed Anning a “racist and a fascist”, and encouraged Australians to sign a petition calling for him to be booted out of parliament.

The Change.org petition has amassed 1.2 million digital signatures.

Anning brushed off the backlash Monday, repeating his claims tying Muslim immigration to terrorism and defending his use of violence against the 17-year-old, according to ABC.

Victoria Police are investigating the incident, including Anning’s response, the national broadcaster reported.

Anning has previously drawn controversy by calling for a “final solution to the immigration problem” and claiming that “all terrorists these days are Muslims”.

Self-confessed white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, from Australia, has been charged with murder in the Christchurch mass shootings.

It would be the first arrest in a case that broke last week with a series of shocking revelations involving Seungri of Big Bang and a close group of his friends.

Jung, who has been booked on charges of filming and sharing sex videos without his partner’s consent, was sent home early Monday morning after a five-hour interrogation by the police agency’s special crime squad.

Following the interrogation, police said they were considering requesting an arrest warrant within a day or two.

Sex videos showing at least 10 victims were shared in a 2015 mobile messenger group chat consisting of eight participants, including K-pop star Seungri, FT Island’s Choi Jong-hoon and Yoo In-seok, who at the time was the co-chief of Yuri Holdings together with Seungri.

Read also: CNBlue’s Lee Jong-hyun latest in sex video scandal

Seungri resigned from his post at the club after the Burning Sun scandal broke in January, beginning with a news report suggesting that police had assaulted a man who reported sex offenses at the club. A subsequent investigation uncovered allegations of wrongdoing at the club including rape, drug use and the secret filming of sex videos.

Transcripts of the chats showed that abusive and offensive language was used to describe the women in Jung’s sex videos. The messages also implicated a high-ranking police officer, who allegedly shielded the entertainers from consequences.

In 2016 and again in late December 2018, the police questioned Jung after his girlfriend filed a complaint alleging that he had secretly filmed sex videos, but the singer was not prosecuted.

Under South Korean law, anyone who films or shares sex videos without the consent of those involved can be sentenced to up to five years in prison or be fined as much as 30 million won ($26,424).

    As the alleged gunman callously picked off his victims in Christchurch’s Al Noor mosque, he livestreamed the gruesome scene on Facebook Live, apparently using a camera mounted on his body, after also tweeting a racist “manifesto.”

Facebook said it “quickly” removed the video, plus the gunman’s account and Instagram, and in the first 24 hours scrubbed 1.5 million videos worldwide “of which 1.2 million were blocked at upload.”

Spokeswoman Mia Garlick from Facebook New Zealand said the firm was “working around the clock to remove violating content using a combination of technology and people.”

    But despite pleas — and official orders from authorities — not to share the content, the footage proliferated widely online and experts said the 17-minute video was easily retrievable several hours after the attack that killed 50 people.

According to Facebook’s own figures, at least 300,000 videos were not blocked before being uploaded and there is no official data on how many times these were viewed or shared.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said authorities did whatever they could to purge the web of the images but laid the responsibility at the door of the Silicon Valley giants.

“Ultimately it has been up to those platforms to facilitate their removal,” she told reporters.

“I do think that there are further questions to be answered. Obviously these social media platforms have wide reach. This is a problem that goes well beyond New Zealand.”

“This is an issue that I will look to be discussing with Facebook,” she warned.

According to the New Zealand Herald, some major firms are considering pulling ads from Facebook and the anger is evident from an op-ed in that paper from one of its business writers.

“At the moment, it feels like my kids are at risk of seeing live snuff films on Facebook, just so (boss) Mark Zuckerberg can get fractionally richer.”

– ‘Enough is enough’ –

This was not the first time Facebook Live has been used to broadcast atrocities — a murder was livestreamed in the US city of Cleveland in 2017 — and Facebook and Twitter say they have invested in technology and human resources to combat the problem.

Facebook has hired about 20,000 moderators but critics say they are not doing enough.

David Ibsen, executive director of US-based Counter Extremism Project, charged: “The technology to prevent this from happening is available. Social media firms have made the decision not to invest in adopting it.”

And world leaders and authorities are beginning to indicate they may try to take matters into their own hands.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged that while social media companies have indicated willingness to take action, “clearly the capability to deliver on that willingness hasn’t been present. That is the problem.”

“There needs to be the capability to be able to shut this — these horrific things — down immediately and if you can’t do that, then the responsibility of having those features available is something that really generally needs to be questioned,” he added.

British Home Secretary Sajid Javid also urged social media giants to do more. “Take some ownership. Enough is enough.”

Courts are also taking almost immediate action, with a Christchurch 18-year-old — whose name was suppressed by the judge — charged with distributing the video and inciting violence with a post that said “target acquired”.

He faces a maximum of 14 years in prison for each charge.

– ‘New low in clickbait’ –

Critics have also slammed some mainstream media for broadcasting the video, with some UK tabloids briefly posting excerpts before apparently reconsidering.

“For a brief period this morning the Mirror website ran some edited footage filmed by the gunman in Christchurch. We should not have carried this. It is not in line with our policy relating to terrorist propaganda videos,” its editor tweeted.

British journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy described the posting of the “murder video” as a “new low in clickbait.”

And the Australian Communications and Media Authority has launched a “formal investigation” into whether any firms broke the law after Sky News Australia broadcast the footage.

For its part, AFP analysed a copy of the video and confirmed it was genuine via a digital investigation but did not broadcast the footage to its clients.

Social media expert and Buzzfeed journalist Craig Silverman said the killer “created the equivalent of a multiplatform content strategy” that was “meticulously planned.”

“Newsrooms, platforms, and public officials need to think about how to avoid playing into the hands of people whose deadly actions are designed to trigger maximum exposure for their message, and set off new cycles of violence and radicalisation,” wrote Silverman.

Two drivers were taken to hospital. One was injured in the leg while the other driver suffered from smoke inhalation, according to the police.

The collision of the two Mass Transit Railway (MTR) trains happened at around 3am on the Tsuen Wan line when the train operator was testing a new signalling system.

Photos released by MTR showed damaged train cabins with doors unhinged. Shattered glass was strewn across the cabin floor.

One train was seen tilted up on one side and detached from the track.

Services on the Central to Admiralty section of the line have been suspended for the day. Commuters have been told to use alternative methods of transport.

Trains on the rest of the Tsuen Wan line, between Admiralty and Tsuen Wan stations, are running at 3½ minute intervals as per normal, the MTR Corporation said.

Apologizing for the inconvenience caused, MTR’s operations director Adi Lau said the operator had no clue why the two trains ended up on the same track during the trial.

He said all trials would be suspended until the cause of the crash is investigated, and vowed the new signal system would only come in after it passes all tests.

He added that it would take a day to resume train services because the undercarriage of one of the trains had derailed.

In a statement, the Hong Kong government said it “has great concern on the collision”.  Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan has requested MTR Corp to conduct thorough investigation into the cause of incident, the statement said.

Mr Chan has also relayed to the Chairman of MTR Corp Board, Professor Frederick Ma, the request to call an urgent board meeting.

It added that the Transport Department is closely monitoring the traffic condition, and has requested and coordinated other public transport operators to enhance service.

This incident comes after the MTR suffered its worst-ever disruption caused by signalling failure last October.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters were inconvenienced on Oct 16 after four main lines on the train network were disrupted for six hours on Oct 16 due to a signalling glitch.

The flash flood occurred after heavy downpours in the area from Saturday afternoon to the early hours of Sunday.

Jayapura Regent Matius Awoitauw told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the survivors were in “urgent need” of emergency aid such as food and medication and facilities for burying the dead.

Currently, 200 people are taking refuge at his residence while 1,400 others are sheltering in nearby schools. Dead bodies are being taken to hospitals in the region for identification purposes.

He added that the regional government was working with the National Police and the Indonesian Military to record and evacuate any other residents from the area while building public facilities for evacuees.

The Cendrawasih Military Command has set up a public kitchen that distributed 5,000 meals on Sunday at lunchtime.

According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the flooding mostly struck the Sentani Kota district, affecting Sentani Kota, Hinekombe and Dobonsolo subdistricts and five villages, Kampung Sereh, Yoboy, Yahim, Yobeh and Ifar Besar. The regency administration also estimated that the flooding destroyed around 350 houses, 100 shophouses and two bridges.

Vehicles are seen immersed in mud after flooding in Sentani, Jayapura, Papua on Sunday. (Antara/Gusti Tanati)

BNPB spokesperson, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said the flood had carried away several houses. He said he had seen nine houses being washed away.

Amateur videos and photos verified by BNPB show that the flood also carried away large trees and even a light aircraft.

The airplane belonging to Cendrawasih Air that was parked in a hangar in Doyo Baru. It was dragged several meters. A BNPB helicopter was also dragged several meters from its position by the flood.

The government has yet to estimate the total material losses caused by the disaster.

Residents examine their wrecked homes after flooding in Sentani, Jayapura, Papua on Sunday. Some 50 people are believed to have lost their lives in the deluge. (Antara/Gusti Tanati)

Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) Papua head, Aiesh Rumbekwan, pointed to “massive” deforestation in a nearby mountainous area, known as the Cyclops, coupled with a large volume of water in Lake Sentani as contributory causes to the disaster.

“We can see this from the branches and trees that are floating. Those are not trees that have tumbled down in the rain, rather they are trees that have been cut down,” Aiesh said.

He said some parts of the mountain had been turned into residential areas.

The deforestation in the mountain area, Aiesh went on, had reduced the number of springs that usually flowed into Lake Sentani. He suspected that the overflowing of the lake occurred because of reclamation coupled with the dumping of garbage.

Meanwhile, resident Yance Wenda said that the recent flooding was “more frightening” than a similar deluge in 2007 as his house was inundated within a mere six hours.

“[The flood] brought down large rocks from the mountain. The torrent sounded like huge [ocean] waves,” said Yance, who has moved to a nearby church following the flood.

Tai was among a group of Malaysians visiting the Tiu Kelep Waterfall in Bayan district in north Lombok when the earthquake struck at 2.07pm local time. Six other Malaysians are still missing, Wisma Putra said in a statement.

They were on the island since March 14 and supposed to fly back to Kuala Lumpur today.

Tai’s son who was with her suffered minor injuries and is reported to be receiving treatment at a hospital. According to initial reports, there were about 40 tourists, including domestic visitors, at the waterfall.

“Most of the victims were Malaysians and domestic tourists,” said reports quoting an administration spokesman.

China Press reported that Tai, 56, the wife of its editor-in-chief Datuk Teoh Yang Khoon, was in Lombok with her ex-classmates from SRJK (C) Jementah. There were a total of 28 of them in the group.

Sin Chew Daily executive reporter E Met Yeat said Tai, whom she had known for more than 15 years, was a helpful and caring superior.

“She took good care of her colleagues. We are very sad to hear about the news.

“Shocking news. It is difficult for me to accept it,” she said.

Former Sin Chew Daily reporter Kuek Ser Kwang Zhe remembered Tai fondly, saying he just met her recently while hiking in Bukit Gasing.

“I will remember her as a warm and helpful boss,” he said.

Star Media Group chief content officer Esther Ng expressed sadness over Tai’s passing, saying that she was a kind and down-to-earth person.

“Our news team works closely with the Sin Chew Daily team. Siew Kim had always been very helpful when we needed to counter check stories with each other.

“We have lost a friend and partner,” she said.

Wisma Putra urged all Malaysians affected to contact the embassy in Jakarta as soon as possible at +6221 522 4947 or +62 813 8081 3036. They can also contact Wisma Putra directly at 03-8887 4570.

Indonesia’s Antara National News Agency quoted a local government official as saying that most of the tourists at the waterfall when the earthquake struck were from Malaysia.

He said five victims were evacuated from the landslide area with two of them dead and several others were injured.

Supported by the much faster mobile network, the museum will likely be digitalized to such an extent that visitors thousands of miles away may be able to explore it in virtual reality. And those visiting it in person will be able to learn about the treasures it houses in greater detail with the aid of digital technology.

In the past 20 years since the museum started to facilitate its work with digital technology, a lot of information about the cultural relics it preserves has been provided on its app, and multiple digitalized ways have been employed for visitors to have a more rewarding experience.

The cooperation between the museum and Huawei will now take that to an even higher level, as the new generation of telecoms technology will enrich the experience of visitors to the museum, virtually and in reality, even further. And if conditions become mature in the near future, it will not just be visits to the Palace Museum that 5G transforms.

With 5G networks and a smartphone, one will be able to have a consultation with a doctor without leaving home or give instructions to robotic cleaners to do household chores.

In fact, what the new 5G networks represent is none other than the next technological revolution. There is no reason to politicize the arrival of this next-generation technology. Neither is there any reason to demonize what Huawei, as one of the world biggest telecoms equipment providers, is doing to usher in this technological revolution.

What is even more dangerous than the harm done to fair competition in the world market is the negative impact the political barriers some Western countries have put in the way of Huawei will have on the evolution of technology.

Huawei, which is a private company that has no affiliations to the government, can provide the most advanced technologies and equipment for 5G mobile networks. Those trying to block it on national security grounds are simply not keeping up with the times.

No country has provided any solid evidence to support the accusations that the Chinese telecoms giant presents a threat.

What they’ve done to Huawei will, as technology progresses, be shown to be nothing more than a political farce.

Shortly after an official announcement on the death of Virachai on Saturday, condolence messages poured in to the media and on social media.

Career diplomat Virachai, 58, had been stricken with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and passed away in the early hours of Saturday (US local time) at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Ambassador Virachai is remembered by many as a stalwart friend of the United States, working tirelessly to further the US-Thai relationship, and advanced the prosperity and security of both our nations,” said US State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino.

Virachai had previously served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations in New York where he did much to assert Thai leadership globally, said Palladino.

“He was an avid musician, bringing the beauty of His Late Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s musical compositions to many Americans,” he said in a statement. “Ambassador Virachai will be greatly missed. The United States will long remember his leadership and contributions to his country and the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Thai Embassy in Washington, where he was posted, issued a condolence statement to him and his family. “Throughout his 32 years of diplomatic service, Ambassador Virachai served Thailand with dedication and distinction. As an accomplished diplomat and expert in international law, he earned respect and admiration from the Thai people and his colleagues worldwide,” the embassy said. “Ambassador Virachai will always be n our hearts and memories,” the embassy said.

“It is with great sadness that we learned today of the passing of His Excellency Virachai Plasai,” Peter Haymond, charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Bangkok, said in a statement. “On behalf of the American people, I offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, his friends and the people of Thailand.”

His colleagues at the Foreign Ministry offered their personal condolences to his family. Many recalled him as a musician, who impressed with his guitar playing not only at the ministry headquarters but where ever he was posted as an envoy.

Prior to his current appointment, Virachai was Thailand’s permanent representative to the United Nations since March 2015. Among his achievements while serving at the United Nations was his successful leadership of the Group of 77, the largest grouping of countries at the UN, as chairperson of the G-77 in 2016. His latest achievement was leading Thailand’s negotiations with the European Union to solve the problem of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishery, which helped lift the Kingdom from a yellow-card ranking, according to the Foreign Ministry statement.

The Preah Vihear temple case made Virachai popular amongst the public for his legal battle against Cambodia in 2011-2013 at the ICJ at the Hague when he was the ambassador to the Netherlands.