Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, who are said to be best friends, took the money from tuition, fees and donations at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, south of Los Angeles.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said the missing money was discovered during a routine audit and it is believed the nuns had stolen the money over at least a decade.

Kreuper was a former principal at the school where she worked for 20 years until her retirement earlier this year. Chang was a teacher for 20 years and she also retired this year, according to local media reports.

“Our community is concerned and saddened by this situation and regret any injury to our long relationship with the families of the school,” the Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the nuns’ order, said in a statement sent to AFP. “The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School.”

Parents were reportedly informed about the nuns’ misdeeds earlier this month.

Though police have been alerted, the Archdiocese has said it does not plan to seek criminal charges against the pair, who spent decades as students’ moral enforcers.

“We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. We do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account,” the Press-Telegram quoted an attorney telling parents and alumni at a recent meeting.

The nuns allegedly got away with their crime by depositing some checks made out to the school for tuition and other fees into a bank account different than the one used by the school.

“Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers,” Michael Meyers, the school’s pastor, said in a letter to parents.

“They and their order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana.”

Indonesia will study China’s offer to develop 5G technology in the archipelago, particularly the business model and ecosystem required in such an upgrade.

China offered Asean countries its services in developing 5G technology at a press conference on the sidelines of the 2018 Telsom Telmin meeting between regional communications ministry officials in Ubud, Bali, on Thursday.

“China is offering [to develop] 5G technology, but it is up to each [Asean] country because we need to consider the ecosystem and business model,” Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said as quoted by Antara.

He said the government would leave it to cellular phone operators to make the decision of whether they would adopt 5G technology.

The 5G network offers more speed than 4G, which is currently being used widely in the country, but by applying the upgraded technology, consumers will also pay more.

Rudiantara estimated the price could be five to 10 times higher than the price of 4G networks.

Previously, China’s Deputy Minister for Industry and Informatics Technology Zhaoxiong Chen told journalists that the county had developed 5G technology and would share it with Asean countries.

“We have good achievement in 5G technology and we have tested the system. We want to share our success and experience with Asean to accelerate the adoption of 5G technology,” Zhaoxiong said, adding that two Chinese companies – Huawei and ZTE – were ready to offer their services and expertise. – The Jakarta Post

LG Display partners with NHK for 8K broadcasting of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

LG Display, the world’s biggest organic light-emitting diode panel maker, said it is working with Japan’s national public broadcasting company NHK to broadcast the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with 8K picture quality.

The partnership is a part of LG’s OLED business plan for the Japanese TV market, where there is high demand for high picture quality. To promote OLED panels in Japan, the company participated in the 28th Finetech Japan forum held in Tokyo on Thursday.

LG Display’s adviser Yeo Sang-deok said in his keynote speech at the forum, “Self-emissive OLED panels with a wide-viewing angle and infinite contrast ratio feature quick responses that are ideal for watching sports games.”

“Enjoy the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with OLED TVs,” he added. In Japan, OLED TVs account for 69 per cent of the market for high-end TVs over $2,000 (Bt64,000), Yeo said. “We have many Japanese companies like Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Funai among our 15 OLED panel customers,” he said. “This means OLED TVs are mainstream in Japan.”

LG Display is the world’s first OLED TV panel provider that introduced the panels in 2013. According to IHS Markit, the global sales volume of OLED TVs is forecast to stand at 2.54 million units this year and to grow to 6 million by 2020. – The Korea Herald

Internet users rising in Philippines: survey

The number of Internet users in the country has increased, the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey showed.

The SWS survey, conducted from September 15-23, disclosed that 41 per cent of adult Filipinos are Internet users. This is a notch higher than the 40 per cent recorded in the previous period in June 2018.

According to SWS, the proportion of Filipino adults using the Internet “has been steadily increasing” since SWS first conducted a survey regarding the matter in June 2006, which showed 8 per cent of Filipinos are Internet users.

“It initially ranged from 11 to 19 per cent from September 2007 to December 2011, then from 23 to 32 per cent from March 2012 to December 2015,” SWS said.

By April 2016, SWS noted that the proportion of Internet users was consistently at 34 per cent or above.

The September 2018 survey was fielded using face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults, 18 years old and above nationwide. – Philippine Daily Inquirer

4G mobile data usage rises 46 per cent

Data usage in Bangladesh through mobile phones got momentum after the roll-out of 4G service in February, with average consumption hitting the landmark of one gigabyte (1GB). Last year, the average usage was about 700 megabyte (MB), said industry insiders. 1GB equals 1,024 MB.

In the third quarter of the year, the country’s second largest operator Robi’s 28.3-million active mobile Internet subscribers consumed 1,182MB data on average.

Robi, which has 5.5 million regular 4G customers, saw its data usage shoot up 88 per cent in a space of one year, according to the quarterly financial report of its parent company Axiata.

In the same period Grameenphone saw 52.40 per cent year-on-year growth in data usage from its 36.3 million active Internet users, of which 5 million are using 4G.

Combining all kinds of data users, average usage reached 1,149MB at the end of September, according to its third-quarter report.

For the first time after the launch of mobile Internet in Bangladesh more than a decade ago, Grameenphone’s average data consumption was lower than Robi’s.

However, Banglalink, the country’s third largest operator, was far behind: as of September its 20-million Internet subscribers are using 734MB data on average, according to its parent company’s report.

Nowadays, lots of digital services are available on the mobile platform, which is boosting data consumption, said Shahed Alam, head of corporate and regulatory affairs at Robi. “4G has definitely given the industry a boost to change the customers’ data usage pattern.” – The Daily Star

The product overhaul is StarHub’s first since its new chief executive Peter Kaliaropoulos took the helm in July this year.

From December 6, the telco will only be selling three new SIM-only mobile plans:

l $25 Singapore dollars (Bt600) a month for 13GB of mobile data and 100 minutes of local talk-time;

l S$50 a month for 40GB of mobile data and 300 minutes of local talk-time; and

l S$80 a month for 70GB of mobile data and 500 minutes of local talk-time.

These plans comprise 10GB of bonus data, which will expire after the first 12 months after signing up.

In comparison, consumers now paying S$50 a month are only getting 8GB of mobile data, with unlimited talk-time and unlimited weekend data.

All current plans at StarHub will be scrapped from December 6. Current subscribers will retain their existing plan.

Rival Circles.Life, a mobile virtual network operator, currently offers 26GB of mobile data and 100 minutes of talk-time for S$48 a month.

In a statement on December 5, StarHub chief of consumer business group Johan Buse said: “We hate to admit it, but people do not rate telcos highly. This is a regrettable reality, and we are determined to earn back customers’ trust and be the telco that they deserve.”

Buse was referring to the incumbent telcos being seen as slow in innovating to meet consumer needs.

One common complaint is that the telcos’ complicated plans have consumers jumping through hoops to figure them out. Buse said that the mobile plan overhaul is just the beginning, with more product revamps to come.

With the revamp, caller number display and international roaming add-ons will be free by default for the first time for customers not on contract.

The Cabinet Office and ministries plan to make arrangements as early as yesterday to revise internal rules on government bodies’ procurement of these devices, according to sources. Halting the use of their products is aimed at preventing cyberattacks and the leaking of confidential information. With the enactment of the US National Defence Authorisation Act in August this year, that country began prohibiting the use of equipment and services by the two Chinese companies within government organisations and at companies conducting business with the government.

The US government has urged Japan and other allies to refrain from using the companies’ products such as mobile phones and semiconductors, saying they contain viruses that facilitate Chinese cyberattacks and illegal communication intercepts.

In response, the Japanese government plans to create a system in which it will refrain from purchasing products and services of companies that the government believes pose a national security threat, the sources said.

The government plans to avoid directly naming the two companies to prevent provoking China’s anger, but a government source said that Huawei and ZTE are the targets of the ban at the current stage. The government is also considering banning products by Japanese private companies that use parts made by the two Chinese companies.

A government source said it is possible that “mobile phones and semiconductors of the two companies are currently being used” by government-affiliated organisations.

Based on the arrangements, the Cabinet Office, ministries and agencies plan to revise internal rules on government bodies’ procurement of devices, including communication lines and personal computers.

Specifically, the government is considering introducing a comprehensive evaluation system that awards contracts based on factors other than prices, such as technological capabilities, and including “mitigating national security risks” in the criteria for judging bids. Ordinary competitive bids based on prices will not be offered. However, if the two companies’ products are widespread in the private sector – including the defence industry and companies operating important social infrastructure such as electric power generation – it could cause greater damage in the event of a cyberattack.

For that reason, the government is also looking at establishing a new supply chain in cooperation with the United States and Australia to procure parts mainly for communication equipment and semiconductors from countries other than China.

In addition to the United States, Australia and New Zealand are planning to ban the equipment of Huawei and others from their planned 5G next-generation mobile network.

Chatbot Shakti will help guide women on necessary measures that could be taken during an unfortunate event of harassment along with the details of relevant authorities they can reach out to.

It can be used by people to understand what constitutes sexual harassment, details that a survivor should keep ready to report an unfortunate incident, who in the organisation the incident should be reported to and the contact details of the concerned authorities to whom a formal complaint can be made.

“It is encouraging to see courageous women from a cross-section of industries raise their voice against workplace harassment. We feel technology can play a role in offering information that many survivors seek, when something like this happens,” Anindita Guha, head of product and product marketing for Gupshup said in a statement.

The bot is available 24-7 and can be accessed by logging into one’s Facebook account and sending a message to the page “MeToo India”.

“With Shakti, our aim is to offer a confidential resource to those who want to raise their voice against such harassment but do not know how to go about it,” Guha added.

The #MeToo movement, which began in the US over a year ago in response to accusations of sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in the entertainment industry, gained traction in India in late September after actress Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of inappropriate behaviour on the sets of a film they were shooting in 2008.

Since then, the hashtag has become a rallying cry against sexual harassment, with multiple women coming out with their #MeToo stories on various social media platforms.

In a report on the Vietnamese logistics market released by the business data and information provider StoxPlus, the percentage of logistics cost over the nation’s total gross domestic product (GDP) is 20.8 per cent, much higher than the world’s average rate of 10-11 per cent.

Also in the report, the number of vehicles in Vietnam increased by 10 per cent each year while the development of transport infrastructure and facilities grews by just 3-4 per cent per year. The area of land used for transportation rose only 1 per cent, while the total area for parking lots has met just a small part of demand.

According to Abivin Joint Stock Company’s CEO, Pham Nam Long, inappropriate urban planning and underdeveloped transportation infrastructure are among the reasons causing the logistics sector to be the bottleneck of the Vietnamese economy.

Local companies are not aware of logistics activities and they have not met the requirement of corporate governance and human resource management, Long said.

Vietnam’s trade activities have improved recently and the number of foreign partners doing business in the country keeps increasing, thus raising demand for high-quality logistics, he added.

Startup opportunities

Despite the limitations, the logistics sector offers a wide range of opportunities for startup companies that can operate in different sectors of the rising industry.

Startup companies have the latest technologies and software to optimise their logistics procedures. Some of them have developed programmes that help customs agencies automate their procedures.

As a developing economy, Vietnam’s logistics sector has lured the attention of foreign companies; however, local firms have their own advantages, Pham Khanh Linh, CEO of Logivan Technologies Pte, said.

“Local logistic companies understand the market, people and local culture. Besides, the Vietnamese working style is quite different from that of foreign firms,” she said.

“The Vietnamese government also gives more incentives to Vietnamese startups in tax, policies and other issues.” Vietnamese startups are often small, so “our sole advantages are being able to make mistakes, quickly resolving issues and realising our new ideas,” Long said.

In logistics, operation management is key and technology helps smooth the operation procedures for many logistics firms.

Long said technology helps companies simplify repetitive tasks, and in the case of logistics firms, they are able to operate more efficiently.

Goods transportation requires the calculation of different variables such as the size, volume and weight of the package, packaging method, the type of truck and hours of service, and those variables have a big impact on the price of transport, Linh said.

“Technology helps optimise the connection between truck drivers, sellers and consumers. And global positioning system (GPS) helps us locate the trucks and drivers,” Linh said. But technological advancements cannot remove people from the workflow as people are still needed to resolve unexpected issues on the trip, Linh added.

In the near future, Logivan will study the Internet of things to scan trucks and maximise the trucks’ loading capacity, and use artificial intelligence to solve customers’ problems, she said.