US, UK Officials Slam Russia’s ‘Utter Contempt’ For The United Nations
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken On Tuesday Said The US Will ‘Never Recognize’ Russia’s Plans To Hold Referenda In Parts Of Ukraine.
“Let me be very clear if these referenda proceed and if Russia purports to annex Ukrainian territory, the United States will never, never recognize it,” Blinken said alongside British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations summit, Blinken added that the actions by Russian President Vladimir Putin show his “utter contempt and disdain for the United Nations”.
Cleverly echoed similar remarks afterwards and encouraged other countries to call out Putin’s “aggressive actions” against the people of Ukraine.
Russian-installed leaders in occupied areas of four Ukrainian regions on Tuesday set out plans for referendums on joining Russia, a challenge to the West that could sharply escalate the war and sparked condemnation from Ukraine and its allies.
In the apparently coordinated move, pro-Russian figures announced referendums for Sept. 23-27 in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces, representing around 15% of Ukrainian territory, or an area about the size of Hungary.
Russia already considers Luhansk and Donetsk, which together make up the Donbas region Moscow partially occupied in 2014, to be independent states. Ukraine and the West consider all parts of Ukraine held by Russian forces to be illegally occupied.
Rate Hikes, Ukraine War, China Woes Darken Asia Economic Outlook, Says ADB
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) On Wednesday Further Slashed Its Growth Forecasts For Developing Asia For 2022 And 2023 Amid Mounting Risks From Increased Central Bank Tightening, The Fallout From The War In Ukraine And Covid-19 Lockdowns In China.
The ADB now expects the bloc’s combined economy, which includes China and India, to grow 4.3% this year, after previously trimming the forecast to 4.6% in July from 5.2% in April. By 2023, the ADB expects the region’s economy to expand 4.9%, slower than the April and July forecasts of 5.3% and 5.2%, respectively, it said in the September edition of its flagship Asian Development Outlook report.
“Growth in developing Asia is expected to weaken. GDP growth forecast for the region is revised downward,” ADB Chief Economist Albert Park said during a virtual briefing on Tuesday (September 20), as he warned a significant global economic downturn would severely undermine demand for the region’s exports.
China’s economy will likely expand by 3.3% this year, further cutting the growth forecast after trimming it to 4.0% from 5.0% in April. The ADB expects the world’s second-largest economy to grow 4.5% next year, slower than the previous estimate of 4.8%.
The outlook for the sub-regions this year remained mixed, with Southeast Asia and Central Asia expected to grow faster than previously projected at 5.1% and 3.9%, respectively.
The ADB, however, kept its growth forecast for South Asia at 6.5%, despite a lower growth estimate for India and an economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
The Manila-based lender at the same time raised its inflation forecasts in the region, as supply disruptions continue to underpin food and fuel prices.
Average inflation in developing Asia this year is now expected to hit 4.5%, up from April and July forecasts of 3.7% and 4.2%, respectively. By 2023, inflation is seen hitting 4.0%, compared with projections of 3.1% in April and 3.5% in July.
Hong Kong May Face Second-Highest Fiscal Deficit Ever: Finance Chief
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
Hong Kong’s Fiscal Deficit This Year Is Expected To Exceed HK$100 Billion ($12.74 Billion), Almost Double The HK$56.3 Billion Estimated In The Budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po Said In His Blog On Sunday.
The deficit would mark the second-highest ever, behind only the HK$232.5 billion record in 2020, Chan said, adding that the number will be even worse if it excludes the HK$35 billion raised through the issuing of Green Bonds this year.
The government’s financial reserves may also fall further, to about HK$800 billion, the finance chief warned.
“Both the external economic momentum and conditions of local markets have encountered a strike by the pandemic and the tightened monetary policies of central banks,” he said.
Revenue from profits and salary taxes is going to fall short of expectations because of faltering exports, private consumption and investment, while stamp-duty and land-sale incomes are also weak, Chan added.
On Friday, the government announced it will further extend the rental or fee concessions applicable to government properties and short-term tenancies and waivers to alleviate enterprises’ financial pressures.
Chan said one of the government’s priorities is improving people’s livelihoods in the short and medium term while maintaining healthy and sustainable public finances at the same time.
According to recent research by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council released on Monday, Covid-19-related issues have remained among the top concerns for Hong Kong exporters over the next three months.
Five hundred Hong Kong traders from six major industry sectors, including clothing, electronics, jewellery, machinery, timepieces, and toys, were interviewed for the survey. COVID-19 persistence and the border closure, cited by 40.2 per cent and 22.6 per cent of respondents respectively, are the major impediments to export performance.
Exporters’ confidence improved slightly over short-term prospects, as evidenced by the HKTDC Export Index, which gained 1.9 points over the third quarter to 32.8. Yet an index reading below 50 still indicates pessimism.
In another telling finding, exporters are facing downward pressure on prices, as indicated by a fall in the Trade Value Index of 11.5 points to 40.2. The decline from above 50 to less reflects a shift from optimism to pessimism.
Irina Fan, HKTDC’s director of research, said a majority of the respondents in the latest exporters’ survey view the shortening of the mainland’s Covid-19 quarantine requirement, to seven days of isolation plus three days of home confinement, as positive for business.
Fan added that enabling more-flexible business travel arrangements, the gradual resumption of cross-border commerce and trade, and a smoother production flow were cited as top benefits.
On the bright side, the city’s jobless rate has improved this year from a high of 5.4 per cent in the February-April period to 4.3 per cent from May through July, and 4.1 per cent in the June-August period.
Chan said he also expects the second phase of electronic consumption vouchers, which will be issued from October 1, could inject over HK$15 billion into the market.
Renewable Energy Generation Capacity Rises To 20% In South Korea
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
Capacity For Generation Of Renewable Energy For The First Time Is Exceeding 20 Per Cent Of Total Power Production In South Korea This Year, State Data Showed On Tuesday.
According to the Korea Power Exchange, renewable energy capacity totalled 27,103 megawatts as of September — 20.1 per cent of the total 134,719MW power generation facilities.
It is estimated that the portion surpassed the 20 per cent level for the first time in August, after posting 19.8 per cent in July. Renewable energy includes solar, hydro and wind power as well as bio-backed generation.
Data showed that liquefied natural gas accounted for the highest share of the total energy output with 30.8 per cent, followed by coal at 27.2 per cent, renewable energy with 20.1 per cent and nuclear power with 17.3 per cent.
Electricity generation capacity by renewables first outpaced nuclear power generation in September last year and has since been growing.
But nuclear power is likely to curb the growth of renewable energy in power generation again in the years to come as the incumbent Yoon Suk-yeol administration has made moves to nullify the previous government’s drive to phase out nuclear power.
According to the power generation policy unveiled by the Industry Ministry, the government has the goal of expanding the portion of nuclear power to 32.8 per cent of total output by 2030, setting the share of renewable energy at 21.5 per cent.
Compared to an earlier plan for 2030 suggested by the previous Moon Jae-in administration, the revised portion of nuclear power is higher by 8.9 percentage points and the latter is lower by 8.7 percentage points.
Further, there are predictions that solar power generation business will be scaled back as the industry ministry has decided to look into allegations about unauthorised loans worth 261 billion won (6.9 billion baht) for some solar energy projects during the Moon administration.
Market insiders have raised concerns that local enterprises would have difficulty fulfilling the RE100 target, under which they will use 100 per cent renewable energy without resorting to fossil fuels, by 2050.
Samsung Electronics and many others, including some public firms, have joined the RE100 scheme, which was initiated by developed countries.
“The government will continue to expand the portion of renewable energy for businesses’ to attain the goal of RE100,” an official said. “There will not be any particular problem in terms of supply of renewable energy as the portion will climb to 21.5 per cent in 2030.”
‘We Sent Her Victorious’: UK Newspapers Bid Farewell To Queen Elizabeth II
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
THE NATION
Leading Newspapers Paid Their Last Respects To Queen Elizabeth II On Tuesday, As Front Pages Across The Globe Were Dominated By The Funeral Rites And Pageantry At Westminster Abbey.
Souvenir editions featured photos of the procession led by King Charles, the late queen’s son, and his three younger siblings as they followed the gun carriage pulled by 142 Royal Navy sailors, bearing the coffin to Westminster Abbey through streets lined by the grieving public.
The Daily Telegraph was dominated by a photo of King Charles beside his mother’s coffin with the headline “An outpouring of love”.
The i newspaper took a bird’s-eye view of the pageantry, showing huge crowds lining both sides of the road with the headline “The end of the Elizabethan age”.
The Times showed soldiers from the Queen’s Company carrying the coffin into Westminster Abbey topped with the headline “Go forth upon thy journey”.
The Daily Mail’s souvenir edition titled “Her final journey” carried a photo of Queen Elizabeth’s coffin being lowered into the Royal Vault at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
“…until we meet again” said the Daily Mirror’s tribute edition, over a cropped photo of the soldiers carrying the crown-and-rose adorned coffin into the black recesses of Westminster.
The Guardian also focused on the coffin against a black background, declaring “The final farewell”.
The Sun devoted its cover pages to the solemn pageantry under the headline “We sent her victorious”. Appearing over an image of the coffin being lowered into St George’s Chapel were two headlines: “God bless the Queen” and “God save the King”.
The Metro played up a photo of the carriage carrying the coffin with a short and simple headline: “The Queen’s state funeral”.
The Financial Times ran an image of the coffin being carried into Westminster Abbey with the tribute “People of living service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer” – a quote from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s funeral sermon.
The Daily Star’s front page pictured the funeral procession with a cropped photo of Queen Elizabeth II and her late husband Prince Philip. “Side by side, together, forever” was the headline.
Singapore Couple Build Bomb-Resistant Homes In Ukraine
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
Funded Privately Through Donations From Friends And Family, The Houses Are Provided To People For Free And Have Also Been Able To Create Employment Opportunities In Ukraine.
On his second trip to Ukraine in August, architect Rudy Taslim, 38, almost wandered into a forest of pine trees, before he was yanked by his collar to a halt by his local guide.
Pointing to a nondescript sign with “mine” in Ukrainian written in black paint, barely visible amid the foliage and rubble of the war-torn countryside, Taslim realised that he had nearly lost his life venturing into a field of landmines.
“Although I could have lost my life that day, this is just part of the everyday landscape for Ukrainians,” he said.
He and his wife, Lam Bao Yan, also 38, are two Singaporeans working in Ukraine to build new bomb-resistant emergency homes for the millions of citizens affected by the war with Russia.
To date, the couple has built 200 homes with local partners in the region since the war started in February.
The couple went to the country twice, in May and August, to assess the situation on the ground and build homes for a few weeks each time. They expect to roll out a total of 500 homes by winter in November.
With the winters in Ukraine getting as cold as minus 20 deg C or lower, Taslim said: “If these homes are not up by winter, the cold could kill these people even before a bullet does.”
Lam, who works with Taslim in their firm Genesis Architects, said: “When the war struck, we knew that only some fraction of the population comprising able-bodied women and children were allowed to leave… This means that men, people in rural villages and those with severe mental health conditions and physical handicaps would have likely slipped through the gaps.”
During one of their trips, the couple had heard about three children living alone in a ravaged home in the village. The trio were bereft of their parents, and the youngest – a five-year-old girl – had cerebral palsy and was being taken care of by her brother, who was only 15.
The middle child, a girl who was only eight, was vulnerable to the risk of sexual exploitation by opportunistic predators.
Lam said: “These are the people still left behind without support, who have become invisible as the world moved on from the war in Ukraine.”
While the trio have since been funded by the couple to go to school and directed to local help, Lam said most homes had also been completely destroyed, forcing residents to live in bomb shelters or makeshift tents made of tarpaulin.
Lam added: “Many of these people just live for weeks on end in bomb shelters and leave only to collect food outside. But it really is no way to live – it is dark, damp, dusty and windowless… It’s as if they’re not even human.”
Through their architectural expertise, the couple has designed modular homes that are cost-effective, using local-sourced materials such as pine wood and even styrofoam blocks that comply with European Union standards for health and safety.
Each housing module is slightly bigger than a container and comes fitted with a toilet, kitchen and living spaces. These modules can be further connected and modified to create larger homes. A family of five can live in two to three modules.
Taslim said: “Although styrofoam is often seen as this sort of fish-market, flimsy material, industrial styrofoam can be quite robust and is a cheap and light material that is also quite effective as an insulator against the cold.
“Besides this, the houses being cheap, light and modular makes it easy to manufacture these homes centrally and get them transported to places of need.”
Taslim said GenesisArchitects worked with Ukrainian suppliers to bring costs down from an initial €16,000 (S$23,000) to €4,000 per housing module.
The design plans were also shared with interested parties to build these houses by themselves.
Funded privately through donations from friends and family, the houses are provided to people for free. Taslim and Lam have also been able to create local employment in Ukraine through the building of these houses.
The occupants of these homes are chosen based on how incapable they are of moving away.
While the couple knows that their help might only be “a drop in an ocean”, Ms Lam said what matters to them is that they are actually contributing directly to the ground.
Recalling a woman who hugged her and wept when the couple rescued her after she had been living without food for a few days in a bomb shelter, Lam said: “What these people want most is to know that the world is with them, here, and that they have not been forgotten, that someone will come and save them.”
While many have sent love and support to Ukraine in the form of online messages, she said: “Ultimately, to us, love is not a word but an action… Love is a thing in the world that can be seen and felt.”
On their trips to Ukraine, the couple also took along a team of professionals such as dentists, doctors and counsellors, so that they could provide more holistic support to the people there.
Lam added: “With the skills and resources we had, building houses for Ukrainians was what we thought love and support looked like… And we would like to encourage others to imagine what love might look like if it were a thing as well.”
Long-Term Detentions At Japan’s Immigration Facilities Remain Unsolved
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
The Resolution Of Such Issues As The Long-Term Detention Of Foreign Nationals At Immigration Control Facilities Is Likely To Be Delayed, As It Has Become Certain That A Bill To Amend The Immigration Control Law Will Not Be Passed During The Current Diet Session.
The government had sought to address the problem of foreign nationals being held for a long time before being deported as a result of their illegal entry or staying in the nation too long.
On Tuesday, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party told the opposition camp it would give up on passing the bill during the ongoing session. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference on the same day that the government had submitted the bill “as a necessary measure to address urgent issues for immigration control administration, such as long-term detention.”
The number of overstayers reached 82,868 as of January this year, an increase of about 22,000 from the same month in 2015. As of the end of 2019, there were 649 foreign nationals who refused to be deported, accounting for about 70% of the 942 detainees in immigration control facilities.
Some of these detainees became ill while in custody.
To avoid prolonged detentions, the government included in the bill a system that would assign supervisors to such foreign nationals and allow them to stay outside immigration control facilities until deportation. Under the envisioned system, the Immigration Services Agency would appoint supervisors from among a person’s relatives and others.
There have been many cases in which a person made repeated applications for refugee status as a ploy to avoid deportation, so the bill also includes a rule that foreign nationals who apply for refugee status more than three times will be deported, in principle.
However, the postponement of the bill means there is no indication of when these changes could be realized.
“Ultimately we are left with the same immigration administration, which no one wanted,” Natsuo Yamaguchi, the leader of LDP’s coalition partner Komeito, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“I wonder if the public fully understands the contents of the bill,” said Mari Kawamura, a professor of international law at Kyorin University. “[The government] should continue its efforts to protect foreign nationals who need protection, through measures including the expansion of refugee protection.”
Bangladesh Won’t Take Any More Rohingyas: Home Minister
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal On Monday Said Bangladesh Will Not Allow Any More Rohingya People From Myanmar To Enter Its Territory.
“We have already been facing problems with the Rohingya situation in Bangladesh,” he said replying to a query from journalists after attending a discussion on the fifth raising day of Anti-Terrorism Unit in the capital.
The home boss said Myanmar army is fighting with Arakan Army and firing shells and a few of those landed in Bangladesh leaving one dead and several others injured.
“We have strongly protested this. …We will continue to protest and if it does not work, we will raise the issue to the United Nations,” he said.
The minister said the prime minister and the foreign ministry will soon take a decision.
“We are peace-loving country and do not want peace to be disturbed,” he added.
Addressing the discussion Asaduzzaman Khan said militancy has been brought under control.
Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed said the threat of militancy is not removed completely and it will remain until the problem remains globally.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam, who was the first chief of ATU, said that ahead of the national elections when police will be busy with election duty, militancy may see a rise and advised to keep a check on that.
Referring to the repression of Palestinians, he said Muslims across the world have deprivation and resentment which is a key factor behind the rise of militancy.
Chief of ATU Additional IG SM Ruhul Amin said the unit was formed on September 19 in 2017 the backdrop of militant attacks in 2016 and 2017, but it started operation activities following the enactment of rules in 2019.
He said the ATU along with other units has brought militancy under control. Mentioning that the unit still could not reach the expected level in terms of training and equipment though it was formed five years back, he demanded government support to reach its height.
South Korean Pop Band Blackpink And American Poet Amanda Gorman Took To The United Nations Stage On Monday To Urge Action On Climate Change And Other Global Goals That Include Achieving Gender Equality And Ending Hunger And Poverty.
Gorman read a new poem in the UN General Assembly chamber in New York, a day before world leaders start making annual speeches to the 193-member body.
“I only ask that you care before it’s too late, that you live aware and awake, that you lead with love in hours of hate. I challenge you to heed this call, I dare you to shape our fate. Above all, I dare you to do good, so that the world might great,” said Gorman to a round of applause.
Gorman and Blackpink were taking part in an event to promote the 17 sustainable development goals created by the United Nations in 2015.
Speaking via video, the four members of Blackpink – UN advocates for sustainable development goals – urged people to decrease energy consumption, choose local produce and cut food waste.
“We must seize this moment and take actions to create a world that is more sustainable and leave no one behind,” Blackpink member Jennie Kim.
A U.N. climate science panel has said governments and industries should drastically reduce fossil fuel emissions to contain global warming and limit its climate impacts.
Covid Set To Officially Become A ‘Communicable Disease Under Surveillance’
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
THE NATION
The Royal Gazette Website On Tuesday Published Two Public Health Ministry Announcements That Would Remove Covid-19 From The List Of “Dangerous Communicable Diseases” And List It Among “Communicable Diseases Under Surveillance” From October 1.
The announcements, signed by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, stipulated that the downgrade of Covid-19 is due to the decline in infections, severe symptoms and deaths in both Thailand and globally.
“Furthermore, Thailand now has an adequate stock of vaccines and drugs, while the majority of the population has been vaccinated against the virus,” said the announcements.
“The Public Health Ministry therefore announced the new status of Covid-19 that reflects the current situation, so that related regulations and disease control measures can be adjusted accordingly.”
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration will meet on Friday to evaluate the situation and discuss measures to be implemented by the government and private sector to ensure the public can safely resume a normal life in the post-pandemic era, deputy government spokesperson Trisulee Trisaranakul said on Tuesday.
Excluding Covid, 57 diseases are currently on the “communicable diseases under surveillance” list, including Aids, dengue fever, and bird flu. Twelve diseases are classified as dangerous, such as Zika fever, SARS and MERS.
The Daily Telegraph was dominated by a photo of King Charles beside his mother’s coffin with the headline “An outpouring of love”.
The Daily Mail’s souvenir edition titled “Her final journey” carried a photo of Queen Elizabeth’s coffin being lowered into the Royal Vault at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
“…until we meet again” said the Daily Mirror’s tribute edition, over a cropped photo of the soldiers carrying the crown-and-rose adorned coffin into the black recesses of Westminster.
The Guardian also focused on the coffin against a black background, declaring “The final farewell”.
The Financial Times ran an image of the coffin being carried into Westminster Abbey with the tribute “People of living service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer” – a quote from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s funeral sermon.
