#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017708

The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, said on Wednesday the Gulf Opec producer would continue to support global energy security as a main driver of global economic growth.

His comments, in a first televised address since becoming president in May, came ahead of a U.S.-Arab summit in neighbouring Saudi Arabia this week.

Sheikh Mohammed also said the UAE would extend a “hand of friendship” to all countries that share values of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect.

His speech coincided with the start of a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden to the region that includes a meeting with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday on the first leg of the trip that is expected to discuss energy supplies and regional security.

Sheik Mohammed had already wielded power behind the scenes for years as de facto ruler of the UAE, a key regional player, before becoming president following the death of his brother.

“We will also continue to consolidate our nation’s position as a reliable energy provider, and support global energy security as a fundamental driver of global economic growth and development,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

The economy of the UAE, a trade and tourism hub, was “thriving and continues to grow at an impressive rate,” he said, adding that a key strategic focus was to diversify it further.

Long-standing relations between the United States and Gulf allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been strained, partly over perceived U.S. disengagement from Gulf security concerns and as Washington seeks support from the region to tame oil prices.

The Emirati leader stressed that the UAE would “not tolerate” anything that affects its security and would work to strengthen positive dialogue towards “stability and prosperity for all.”

Abu Dhabi has shifted away from a hawkish foreign policy that saw the UAE wade into conflicts from Yemen to Libya, to focus on economic priorities. This has seen the UAE forge ties with Israel and engages with Iran and Turkey after years of animosity.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017707

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates is donating $20 billion to the charitable foundation run by him and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates to boost its annual distributions.

The donation will help the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – one of the world’s largest private charitable foundations – increase its annual payout by 50% to $9 billion by 2026, he said in a post on his personal blog on Wednesday.

“The great crises of our time require all of us to do more,” Gates said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change, among others.

He added that the compounding effects of crises, which include surging inflation, had increased the need to invest more in the foundation’s core focus areas of health, education, gender equality and poverty alleviation.

The donation brings the 22-year-old organization’s endowment to about $70 billion, which includes a grant of $3.1 billion from Warren Buffett last month.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017688

Sri Lankan protesters breached the walls of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office in the capital Colombo on Wednesday as the government declared a state of emergency.

Hundreds of protesters, marching right past rows of riot police, surrounded prime minister’s office at around noon, demanding his immediate resignation.

Riot police fired several rounds of tear gas as protesters climbed over the compound’s fences.

“The prime minister as acting president has declared a state of emergency (countrywide) and imposed a curfew in the western province,” Wickremesinghe’s media secretary, Dinouk Colombage, told Reuters. Western Province includes Colombo.

Protests against the economic crisis have simmered for months and came to a head last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over key government buildings in Colombo, blaming the Rajapaksas and their allies for runaway inflation, corruption and a severe lack of fuel and medicines.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country on Wednesday, hours before he was due to step down.

Rajapaksa has authorized the prime minister to carry out presidential duties, the speaker of parliament said on Wednesday after the president fled to the Maldives amid protests.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said Rajapaksa had approved Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe acting as president, invoking a section of the constitution dealing with times when the president is unable to fulfil his duties.

Rajapaksa fled the country on Wednesday, hours before he was due to step down after a people’s uprising over a devastating economic crisis ended his family’s grip on the island nation.

The president’s flight brings an end to the rule of the powerful Rajapaksa clan that has dominated politics in the South Asian country for the last two decades.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017665

Russia and Myanmar are to deepen their defence cooperation after a meeting in Moscow between Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, and top Russian defence officials, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry said in a statement that the meeting had taken place on Monday, and that Hlaing was in Russia on a private visit.

“The meeting … confirmed the mutual disposition to consistently build up multifaceted cooperation between the military departments of the two countries,” the statement read.

Thomas Andrews, the United Nations human rights expert on Myanmar, said in February that Russia had supplied the junta with drones, two types of fighter jet, and two kinds of armoured vehicle, one with air defence systems.

Chaos has gripped Myanmar since a military coup in early 2021 ended a decade of tentative democracy, triggering protests that the junta’s troops suppressed with lethal force.

The United Nations has said its investigations show the military has committed mass killings and crimes against humanity. The junta has said it is seeking to restore peace and order.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017663

Nearly 50 chickens rescued from a suspected cockfighting ring in Chicago, Illinois, are in desperate need of new, forever homes.

These birds have been through a lot, according to the animal rights advocates who helped save them.

“Seven were in dire need of veterinary intervention due to multiple open wounds that were infected,” said Julia Magnus, attorney and animal rights advocate with Chicago Roo Crew, a small, fully-volunteer group focused on saving abused chickens. “Multiple were sick, they were all traumatized, they were all screaming. It was horrifying.”

Magnus says late-June’s cockfighting bust was the third one her group’s been a part of in Chicago alone since 2019.

“It’s (cockfighting) prevalent in spite of the fact that in the United States, in all of its territories, it’s banned,” said Magnus. “These birds are not valued as individuals with feelings, with sentience. They’re just seen as commodities for use to be tossed aside.”

Anyone interested in fostering any of the birds can reach out to Chicago Roo Crew on Facebook, Instagram or send an email to chicagoroocrew@gmail.com.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s really worth it because the birds that survive those situations are amazing individuals,” said Magnus. “It’s really amazing when you work with them and you see the flipped switch in their head – that hands aren’t there to harm them, but they’re there to offer them treats. They’re there to help them, it’s pretty beautiful.”

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017661

Twitter sued Elon Musk on Tuesday for violating the $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform and asked a Delaware court to order the world’s richest person to complete the merger at the agreed $54.20 per Twitter share, according to a court filing.

“Musk apparently believes that he – unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law – is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away,” said the lawsuit.

On Friday, Musk said he was terminating the deal because Twitter violated the agreement by failing to respond to requests for information regarding fake or spam accounts on the platforms, which is fundamental to its business performance.

Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit accused Musk of “a long list” of violations of the merger agreement that “have cast a pall over Twitter and its business.”

Shares in the social media platform tumbled to $34.06 on Tuesday from above $50 when the deal was accepted by Twitter’s board in late April.

Musk said he was terminating the merger because of the lack of information about spam accounts and inaccurate representations that he said amounted to a “material adverse event.” He also said executive departures amounted to a failure to conduct business in the ordinary course, as Twitter was obligated to do.

Twitter said it negotiated to remove from the merger agreement language that would have made such firings a violation of ordinary course requirement.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017660

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday , hours before he was due to resign after widespread protests over his handling of a devastating economic crisis.

The president’s departure was first reported by the Associated Press. Rajapaksa, his wife and two bodyguards left aboard a Sri Lankan Air Force plane bound for the city of Male, the capital of the Maldives, the AP report added, citing the official.

The government source said Rajapaksa had left the country but did not give more details.

Rajapaksa was due to resign as president on Wednesday to make way for a unity government after thousands of protesters stormed his and the prime minister’s official residences on Saturday demanding their ouster.

The president has not been seen in public since Friday. Parliament will elect his replacement on July 20.

The Rajapaksa family, including former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has dominated the politics of the country of 22 million for years and most Sri Lankans blame them for current problems.

The tourism-dependent economy was hammered badly by the Covid pandemic and a fall in remittances from overseas Sri Lankans, while a ban on chemical fertilisers damaged farm output. The ban was later reversed.

The political chaos could complicate efforts to pull Sri Lanka out of its worst economic crisis in seven decades, triggered by a severe shortage of foreign currency that has stalled imports of essentials such as fuel, food and medicines.

The financial meltdown developed after the Covid pandemic hammered the tourism-reliant economy and slashed remittances from overseas workers. It has been compounded by large and growing government debt, rising oil prices and a seven-month ban on importing chemical fertilizers last year that devastated agriculture. Soaring inflation, at a record 54.6% in June and expected to hit 70% in the coming months, has heaped hardship on the population.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017645

Many people in Japan are saying their goodbyes to former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. He was shot dead during a campaign event last Friday just days before the Upper House election. A funeral was held in Tokyo Tuesday.

Afuneral hearse carried the body of slain former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe made its way through Tokyo on Tuesday, in a final farewell to the country’s longest-serving premier, who was gunned down at a campaign rally last week.

Crowds packed pavements lined with a heavy police presence as the hearse carrying Abe departed from a central Tokyo temple in early afternoon. People shouted, clapped and waved as it passed, with some holding flowers.

The funeral motorcade passed through the capital’s political heart of Nagatacho and landmarks such as the Prime Minister’s office and the parliament building Abe first entered as a young lawmaker in 1993 after the death of his politician father, and the office from which he led the nation in two stints as prime minister, the longer from 2012 to 2020.

Hundreds filed into the temple on Monday evening and Tuesday morning to pay their respects to Abe, who died aged 67. His killing on Friday by an unemployed man wielding a homemade gun stunned a nation where both gun crime and political violence are extremely rare.

Published : July 12, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017638

At a buckwheat soba noodle restaurant in Tokyo, the signature noodle dish is served with a piece of raw wasabi, for diners to grind little pieces into the dipping sauce. But due to dwindling supplies, the restaurant fears it may not be able to serve fresh wasabi in the future.

“In the past, we served all the cold soba noodles with a piece of raw wasabi, but now we can no longer do that… due to insufficient supply of wasabi, we had to change our menu (to make raw wasabi only available for certain dishes),” said Norihito Onishi, manager of soba noodle restaurant chain Sojibo.

While the supply of wasabi was relatively sufficient at the time when the restaurant opened 30 years ago, Onishi said during the past decade he has faced situations where he had difficulties securing a stable supply of raw wasabi, attributing the shortage partly to climate change.

At the other end of the supply chain, wasabi farmer Masahiro Hoshina agrees.

“Recently, the power of a typhoon feels totally different from before due to global warming. It’s getting stronger,” said the 70-year-old farmer, from Okutama, a mountainous area to the west of Tokyo.

Hoshina has started worrying about his wasabi plants ahead of each rainy season, since Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan in 2019, flushing away many crops belonging to his neighbours. The wasabi harvest in Okutama was slashed by nearly 70% the following year according to local official data.

It took the farmers three years to recover from that disaster as wasabi plants, that grow in clear flowing water, need careful cultivation and around 18 months to reach maturity, according to Hoshina, who is also the head of the local wasabi farmers’ association.

“Global warming can be considered as one of many factors that are affecting wasabi production. When the water temperature rises, the amount of oxygen decreases which affects the growth of wasabi. The decreasing snow cover indirectly results in animals creating more damage to wasabi fields, which also discourages farmers. In addition to that, damages from flooding (due to rainstorms) become more frequent and they hit farmers as well,” explained Kyoko Yamane, an Associate Professor of Applied Biological Sciences at Gifu University.

This comes as a rapidly ageing population is threatening the sustainability of many traditional livelihood practices in Japan, including wasabi cultivation.

“I’m also concerned that more farmers will quit as they are getting older, and fewer people will grow it,” said Hoshina.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture’s latest data in 2020 shows that the production of wasabi has declined dramatically by more than half, compared to levels in 2005.

“If this unstable supply of wasabi persists in the future…we will face a situation where we need to come up with other ways to overcome the problem so that we don’t end up not serving raw wasabi at all,” said Onishi.

Published : July 12, 2022

By : Reuters

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40017636

For half a century, Takeo Nakajo has been catching katsuo, or skipjack tuna — indispensable in Japanese cuisine. But he and other fishermen in Kure, in Kochi prefecture in southwest Japan, have seen something worrying recently – an unprecedented number of unusually fatty katsuo.

“Before, the fish were lean with no fat, but this year, the fish have changed, they are very fat,” said Nakajo, 70, who set sail from the port town of Kure.

While heavier katsuo means more money, locals and experts say it indicates climate change and a risk for katsuo numbers already under threat due to growing demand and overfishing.

Originally from tropical waters, some Pacific katsuo migrate northward on a warm ocean current every spring, making Kochi’s arc-shaped bay a fertile fishing ground.

The average surface temperature of the bay in winter has risen by 2 degrees Celsius in the four decades to 2015, local fisheries lab data shows, and the fatter katsuo may be due to ample prey in the warmer sea.

But longer-term, this warming may prevent mineral-rich water from rising to the surface, resulting in a drop in plankton and smaller fish to feed on, leading to fewer katsuo, said Hideyuki Ukeda, an agroscientist and vice president of Kochi University.

Overfishing has already hit catch numbers and dealt a blow to the fishermen in Kochi who have stuck to traditional single-pole fishing methods versus large-scale seine fishing across the western Pacific.

Government data shows catch numbers in Kochi are only at a quarter of their 1980s peak.

Production of katsuobushi, dried and fermented katsuo, often used as a shaved condiment over traditional Japanese dishes or as a broth base, is already suffering.

The number of katsuobushi manufacturers in Kochi has plunged from dozens some forty years ago to only a few, said Taichi Takeuchi, who runs one in the town of Usa.

That has added pain for a century-old restaurant “Tsukasa” in Kochi.

The restaurant serves katsuo only caught locally through the traditional single-pole fishing methods that keep the skin intact and ensure the best taste for sashimi or raw fish dishes.

“At the moment, we are not yet at a stage where we don’t have katsuo and cannot provide meals. But it is something that might likely happen in the near future. If we leave the situation as it is, we can anticipate that katsuo will disappear,” said restaurant manager Kosuke Kitamura.

Published : July 12, 2022

By : Reuters