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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/us-canada/40021453

Pentagon successfully flight tests hypersonic weapon components

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022

The US Navy and Army blasted off a rocket from a seaside launch pad in Virginia to test nearly a dozen hypersonic weapons on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, calling the test successful.

Sandia National Laboratories ran the test from Nasa’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, which evaluated hypersonic weapon communications and navigation equipment as well as advanced materials that can withstand the heat in a “realistic hypersonic environment”, according to a Navy statement.

Hypersonic glide vehicles are launched from a rocket in the upper atmosphere before gliding to a target at speeds of more than five times the speed of sound, or about 6,200 km per hour.

The United States and its global rivals have quickened their pace in building hypersonic weapons, the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and defeat traditional mechanisms.

To speed up the development, the Pentagon launched these experiments and prototypes using a sounding rocket, a smaller and therefore more affordable test vehicle, to fill a critical gap between ground testing and full-system flight testing.

Wednesday’s test was intended to validate future aspects of the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike system and the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon.

Glide bodies are different from their air-breathing hypersonic weapon cousins, which use scramjet engine technology and the vehicle’s high speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion to enable sustained flight at hypersonic speeds.

Companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies are working to develop the US’s hypersonic weapons capability.

Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asean/40021445

Four Mekong countries take part in river patrol

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022

Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China kicked off another joint round of patrols on the Mekong on Wednesday to prevent illegal activities along the international river.

Law enforcers from the riparian counties are taking part in the four-day patrol, which will cover a distance of more than 600 kilometres, China Radio International (CRI) reported.

Four patrol vessels are taking part in the latest security mission. Two Chinese vessels departed Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture on Wednesday morning to join two other vessels from Laos and Myanmar downstream.

Prior to the patrol, law enforcers from these countries held online talks to analyse criminal movements and the Covid-19 situation along the Mekong.

So far, the Mekong countries have conducted at least 120 joint patrols on the river that runs through their territories.

The Mekong River, or Lancang River as it is known in China, is a vital waterway for cross-border shipping and trading.

Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China have been conducting joint patrols on the river since December 2011.

Over the decade, the security situation in the Mekong River basin has improved significantly and remains largely stable, Xinhua reported, citing the Yunnan provincial public security department.

Vientiane Times

Asia News Network

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asean/40021442

Robotic technology gives a new lease of life to dying Malaysian shadow puppetry

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022

At a large mall on Malaysia’s Penang Island, curious shoppers stop in front of a makeshift stall to watch black, shadowy figures move and dance across a white screen.

It is the performance of “wayang kulit“, or shadow puppetry, a theatrical art form once popular across Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Indonesia.

Unlike traditional shadow puppetry, which includes meticulous efforts to craft puppet figurines out of buffalo skin and lengthy rehearsals among dozens of artists, this modern animatronic show uses 3D-printed characters controlled by robotics with their movements choreographed and programmed by one person — its young creator, Ahnaf Hakimi Ahmad.

The love for shadow puppets’ ability to tell stories of ordinary people through dialogue, music and visuals prompted the 33-year-old to start the project in July 2021 to “save” the heritage with a government grant of Malaysian ringgit 20,000 (160,000 baht).

In the face of fading heritage due to film, television and social media, the multimedia lecturer said he hoped robotic technology can help shadow puppets to be seen more often “whenever and wherever”.

Efforts to preserve the art form have been hampered in recent years not just by a lack of public interest, but also by criticism in the Muslim-majority country that the stories and characters surrounding shadow puppet performances, often based on Hindu gods and epics like the Ramayana, were “un-Islamic”.

The number of active shadow puppet troupes in Malaysia have dwindled to around eight, following a ban on shadow puppetry in the 1990s in its home state of Kelantan.

The animatronic puppet show has drawn some criticism from the traditionalists, said Ahnaf Hakimi. But he aims to keep it as original as possible by using music from traditional performances and designing the characters based on traditional puppets.

Back in the Penang mall, shoppers were impressed by the puppets with a modern twist, that tell contemporary stories that resonate with modern viewers.

Mohd Jufry Yusoff, a puppet master with over 40 years of experience who advised on the robotic show, was optimistic that with new technology the culture of shadow puppetry can grow.

Moving forward, Ahnaf Hakimi said he would like to tell more stories of ordinary people while making the show mobile for more people to access.

Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/world/asia-pacific/40021437

Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong promoted to chairman

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2022

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong was promoted to chairman on Thursday, taking the top post of the world’s largest chipmaker held by his father, who died two years ago.

The company said in an announcement that the board of directors approved the appointment of Lee as executive chairman.

Samsung Electronics Board chairman Kim Han-jo recommended the appointment, which was followed by the board’s approval, it added.

The board cited the “current uncertain global business environment” and “the pressing need for stronger accountability and business stability” in approving the recommendation.

Samsung added that the 54-year-old’s inauguration ceremony is not scheduled for Thursday.

Lee appeared at a district court on Thursday morning for a trial surrounding his alleged involvement in the controversial 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries into a de facto holding company of the Samsung conglomerate.

Lee, who joined Samsung in 1991, has held the vice chairman post for a decade.

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network

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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/world/40021423

‘Disinformation can be a hurdle to achieving economic goals’

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022

Fake news affects more than holiday discussions over dinner. It can even hamper regional economic goals.

In November 2020, the Apec Policy Support Unit published a report which served as a recap of what would turn out to be the first year of the still ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Assessing the then-raging pandemic, a section of that instalment of the Apec Regional Trends Analysis was headlined, “New virus, old challenges”. That is, the strain of coronavirus may be novel, but it has exposed and amplified old issues which have been inadequately addressed by policymakers up and until they faced the perfect storm that was the last three years.

The virus called our attention to gaps in environmental protection, for example, and to faltering cooperation between governments which would have helped stymie the virus before it swelled to pandemic proportions. The crisis has shown the fragility of some supply chains among economies and exposed the dangers of growing economic and social inequalities within them.

And, for better or worse, it has amplified the already speedy trend of digitalization, seeing as in-person interaction and travel were halted for months at a time. Failure to go online was basically a death sentence for most businesses—especially micro, small and medium enterprises—and almost every office had to mutate into a hybrid online-offline version of itself to keep operations going. This evolution cannot be reversed, and so society will have to live with and adapt to both the advantages and pitfalls of the accelerated digitalization of everything, including an explosion in and, daresay, normalization of information disorder.

Information disorder is a catch-all phrase for the spread of false information which may cause negative societal and even economic harm—whether or not the harm was the intent of the creators and spreaders. It can be divvied into three categories: misinformation, or the sharing of falsities but with no intent to harm anyone; disinformation, or the sharing of false information with the intent to do harm; and misinformation, or the repurposing or recontextualization of facts, also with harmful intent. All three are reliant on how fast stories can be spread online to dangerous effect.

False information, online or off, has been prevalent before 2020, but as with other things, the pandemic has made its consequences both more immediate and deeply concerning. Misinformation, disinformation, and various conspiracy theories alleged that Covid-19 vaccines were ineffective, harmful, or contaminated—with microprocessors, poisons, or pork products—and were promoted for the purpose of any number of shadowy interests, from the profit-oriented to the perverted. A false rumour about the dangers of vaccination, if gone viral, can contribute to the spread of illness into multiple communities, and many possible preventable deaths. It can erode trust in the prevailing authorities, which may result in delinquencies in following prescribed safety measures. 

The virus should be seen as an eye opener to how much attention policymakers should pay to online information disorder. Even after Covid-19 eases, the dangers of erosion of trust will continue, and possibly worsen with beefed-up post-pandemic digital platforms. This will be true not just for each economy, but also at the regional level.

Any policy, specifically those that are reform-oriented and inclusive, needs community-level trust to be effective. When people have a high degree of institutional trust, they are more inclined to believe policymakers have their interests as the highest priority, and to agree that these institutions are performing effectively and ethically.
 
On the other hand, a lack of trust in institutions, coupled with other factors, such as growing inequality and fraying social cohesion, can hinder the effectiveness of reform policies, and in some cases even of cooperation among economies, by fueling protectionist and anti-globalization sentiments. 
 
During crises that require interlinked efforts across multiple governments—such as during the pandemic, or, in the broader scope, climate change—information disorder can erode domestic support for the pertinent policies, thus creating weak links.

Long-term regional goals—such as the Apec vision for “quality growth that brings palpable benefits and greater health and wellbeing to all” within the next 20 years—will meet speedbumps, A lack of trust in authorities can proliferate, in underserved communities for example, which would cripple the ability of Apec economies to achieve inclusion goals. More generally, the same could apply to climate goals, education rates, income gaps and stability.
 
While every government must approach the problem of information disorder according to their respective domestic situations, they must also come together to begin a process of examining its challenges to develop a concerted strategy. This would be a long-term and wide-scope endeavour; a policy brief published by the Apec Policy Support Unit gives three recommendations for how to start.
 
First, as it is a relatively new and complex subject, Apec economies must seek to understand information disorder. This would entail a multidisciplinary effort to which the Apec forum, with its many workstreams, would be suited. Most research on the subject takes place in silos; economies should bring them together to take a broader perspective and engage experts who can best assess their impact on the most vulnerable sectors, such as the poor, seniors, and even the youth. Best of all, governments will have the ability to engage with the companies that have created the digital environments where information disorder thrives. They can foster relationships and get access to data essential to forming countermeasure policies at the local and regional levels.
 
Secondly, governments must build their capacity to address the issue in the long term and in anticipation of the changing environment of information disorder. This may involve the need for major organizational changes within government, to enhance coordination and information—sharing among agencies and with the private sector—regarding online threats, rapid response, as well as the need for domain-specific monitoring of the information space during crises.
 
And third, governments should take active steps to strengthen institutional trust—in government institutions, yes, but equally important, in unbiased third-party sectors that can corroborate and fact-check information. This includes the media and research institutes, as well as multilateral groupings like Apec, which could bring different players together and engage them, and their own membership, in dialogue. As a compliment to organizational-level action, economies should also invest in digital literacy, to ensure citizens are aware of the threat and nuances of information disorder and appreciate the institutional ecosystems that keep it at bay.
 
On a final note, a crucial aspect of trust building is not adding to the problem. People look to their governments as sources of authoritative, reliable, and truthful information. It should be assumed that governments will not knowingly spread falsehoods to their own people, but mistakes in the form of misinformation disseminated by official sources can and do happen. Governments and intergovernmental bodies should establish clear mechanisms to not only rectify the misinformation but also to minimize its occurrence by establishing clear frameworks for transparency and accountability. Because information disorder can generate unpredictable and often chaotic outcomes, a focus on information consistency, stability, and trust is needed to ensure the achievement of quality growth priorities.
 
Emmanuel A. San Andres is a Senior Analyst in the Apec Policy Support Unit. He is a co-author of the policy brief, “Putrajaya Vision 2040, COVID-19 and Information Disorder.”

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https://www.nationthailand.com/pr-news/world/40021422

Children face the brunt of a rapidly heating planet

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2022

More than 2.02 billion children globally face the risk of exposure to high heatwave frequency by 2050.

New research by Unicef has shown that some 559 million children are currently exposed to high heatwave frequency. Furthermore, 624 million children are exposed to one of three other high heat conditions — high duration of heatwave, high severity and extremely high temperatures.

During a year in which heatwaves in both the southern and northern hemispheres broke records, The Coldest Year Of The Rest Of Their Lives: Protecting Children From The Escalating Impacts Of Heatwaves highlights the already extensive impact of heatwaves on children and reveals that, even at lower levels of global heating, in just three decades, more regular heatwaves are unavoidable for children everywhere.

The report estimates that by 2050, all of the world’s 2.02 billion children are expected to be exposed to high heatwave frequency, regardless of whether the world achieves a ‘low greenhouse gas emission scenario’ with an estimated 1.7 degrees of warming in 2050 or a ‘very high greenhouse gas emission scenario’ with an estimated 2.4 degrees of warming in 2050.

In Thailand, the report showed an alarming rate of children’s exposure to high heat factors in 2020, in which Thailand has faced problems with high heatwave frequency. Over 75 per cent of children under 18, or around 10.3 million, have been exposed to it. If no action is seriously taken, almost every child under 18 in Thailand will suffer high heatwaves more often and longer in 2050.

Produced in collaboration with The Data Collaborative for Children and launched in partnership with Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Vanessa Nakate and the Africa-based Rise Up Movement, these findings underscore the urgent need to adapt the services children rely on as unavoidable impacts of global heating unfold. It also makes a case for continued mitigation, to prevent the worst impacts of the other high heat measures, including longer and hotter heatwaves and higher extreme temperatures.

“The mercury is rising and so are the impacts on children,” Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell said. “Already, 1 in 3 children live in countries that face extremely high temperatures and almost 1 in 4 children are exposed to high heatwave frequency, and it is only going to get worse. More children will be impacted by longer, hotter and more frequent heatwaves over the next thirty years, threatening their health and well-being. How devastating these changes will depend on the actions we take now. At a minimum, governments must urgently limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius and double adaptation funding by 2025. This is the only way to save children’s lives and futures – and the future of the planet.”

Heatwaves are especially damaging to children, as they are less able to regulate their body temperature compared to adults. The more heatwaves children are exposed to, the greater the chance of health problems including chronic respiratory conditions, asthma, and cardiovascular diseases. Babies and young children are at the greatest risk of heat-related mortality. Heatwaves can also affect children’s environments, their safety, nutrition and access to water, and their education and future livelihood.

The report found high heatwave duration currently impacts 538 million, or 23 per cent of, children globally. This will rise to 1.6 billion children in 2050 at 1.7 degrees warming, and 1.9 billion children at 2.4 degrees warming, emphasising the importance of urgent and dramatic emissions mitigation and adaptation measures to contain global heating and protect lives.

Millions more children will be exposed to high heatwave severity and extremely high temperatures depending on the degree of global heating reached. Children in northern regions, especially Europe, will face the most dramatic increases in the high severity of heatwaves and, by 2050, nearly half of all children in Africa and Asia will face sustained exposure to extremely high temperatures.

Currently, 23 countries fall into the highest category for child exposure to extremely high temperatures. This will rise to 33 countries by 2050 under the low emissions scenario and 36 countries under the very high emissions scenario. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and India are among the countries expected to remain in the highest category in both scenarios.

“The climate shocks of 2022 provided a strong wake-up call about the increasing danger hurtling towards us,” said Vanessa Nakate, climate activist and Unicef Goodwill Ambassador. “Heatwaves are a clear example. As hot as this year has been in almost every corner of the world, it will likely be the coldest year of the rest of our lives. The dial is being turned up on our planet and yet our world leaders haven’t begun to sweat. The only option is for us to continue to turn up the heat – on them – to correct the course we are on. World leaders must do this at COP27 for children everywhere, but especially the most vulnerable children in the most affected places. Unless they take action, and soon, this report makes it clear that heatwaves will become even harsher than they are already destined to be.”

Unicef is calling on governments to:

PROTECT children from climate devastation by adapting social services. Every country must adapt critical social services – water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, education, nutrition, social protection and child protection – to protect children and young people. For example, food systems must be strengthened to withstand hazards and ensure continued access to healthy diets. Increased investments must be made in the early prevention, detection and treatment of severe malnutrition in children, mothers and vulnerable populations. At COP27, children and their rights must be prioritized in decisions on adaptation.

PREPARE children to live in a climate-changed world. Every country must provide children and young people with climate change education, disaster risk reduction education, green skills training and opportunities to meaningfully participate and influence climate policymaking. COP27 must-see countries strengthen the focus on children’s climate education and empowerment in the ACE action plan, adopt it, and implement previous commitments to build youth capacity.

PRIORITIZE children and young people in climate finance and resources. Developed countries must deliver on their COP26 agreement to double adaptation funding to $40bn per year by 2025 at a minimum, as a step toward delivering at least $300bn per year for adaptation by 2030. Adaptation funding must make up half of all climate finance. COP27 must unlock progress on loss and damage, placing the resilience of children and their communities at the centre of discussions on action and support. 

PREVENT a climate catastrophe by drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and keep 1.5 degrees Celsius alive. Emissions are projected to rise by 14% this decade, putting us on a path to catastrophic global heating. All governments must revisit their national climate plans and policies to increase ambition and action. They must cut emissions by at least 45% by 2030 to keep heating to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.