An engine-cooling problem forced Nasa on Monday to postpone for at least four days the debut test launch of the colossal new rocket ship it plans to use for future astronaut flights back to the moon, more than 50 years after Apollo’s last lunar mission.
Senior Nasa officials declined to set a precise time frame for retrying a launch of the mission, dubbed Artemis I. But at a news briefing hours after the aborted countdown, they said a second launch attempt was still possible as early as Friday, depending on the outcome of further data review.
If engineers can resolve the issue on the launch pad in the next 48 to 72 hours, “Friday is definitely in play,” Michael Sarafin, Nasa’s Artemis mission manager told reporters.
The mission calls for a six-week, uncrewed test flight of the Orion capsule around the moon and back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific.
The planned journey will mark the kickoff of Nasa’s highly vaunted moon-to-Mars Artemis program, the successor to the Apollo lunar missions of the 1960s and ’70s.
The countdown was halted about 40 minutes before launch time as the 32-story-tall, two-stage Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion crew capsule awaited liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Disappointed spectators who had gathered around the site promptly packed up their chairs, as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris – who had arrived shortly ahead of the scheduled launch – greeted members of the Nasa team.
In her outstretched palms one morning, 49-year-old Nilanthi Gunasekera holds her family’s last remaining handful of dried fish – a reminder of Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in decades.
She is just one of the millions of Sri Lankans battling a calamitous decline in living standards, as they find themselves forced to skip meals, ration out medicines and turn to firewood in place of cooking gas.
“We had an alms giving a session on the 25th of last month. That day (was the last occasion) we had a good meal (with meat),” Gunasekera said, grasping the shards of fish.
Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising oil prices and economic mismanagement under previous governments, the island nation is in the throes of its starkest crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
Rampant inflation, snaking fuel queues and shortages of essentials such as food and medicine have driven many Sri Lankans into poverty, while months of street protests ousted the previous president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in July.
More than a quarter of the population of 22 million is now struggling to secure adequate, nutritious food, the United Nations says.
Exacerbating the situation, thieves broke into Gunasekera’s home a few months ago, stealing the cooker and gas cylinder. Her family couldn’t afford a new one. “We cook with firewood now,” she said.
Her biggest concern though is the education of her children. The crisis has left her family unable to even afford exercise books, and her husband has to rely on the charity of employers for money to buy them, she added.
Nearby, at a food kiosk, 42-year-old Chandra Thushari Peiris’s palms are holding up crockery she just washed in the afternoon. They were covered in dust and cobwebs after months of disuse, following the closure of her business.
Peiris never worried about food previously, as her family would finish leftovers they couldn’t sell. However, with inflation driving the prices of raw materials like oil and sugar up, people were left with little disposable income to indulge in treats like rolls and roti from their kiosks.
That in essence shuttered the business, and in turn, their income dried up. Peiris said she and her husband, an autorickshaw driver who has also lost his income, are determined to not let their children starve, but they are missing out on meals themselves as a result.
“Today, we decided that we should reopen this shop. My daughter is also at home, without a job. If we do something we will earn some money. We have been just waiting for something but nothing has happened,” said Peiris.
As dusk approaches, 58-year-old road sweeper W. M. Irangani’s palms cradle a lit coconut oil lamp in a small, cramped room that she shares with her two unemployed sisters and son.
She places the lamp before a small figurine of Buddha, clasps her hands together and mutters a prayer.
Irangani had spent the morning working on an empty stomach. She has to work, otherwise, she would risk losing her job, given the number of unemployed people ready to fill her position.
She had a portion of rice when she returned, with that being her only sustenance for the day. She has no plans for dinner.
“We only have a little sugar, no other food. If we borrow money from someone we have to pay it. I am scared to borrow because I have no way of paying it back.”
Irangani heads out to collect petals used as religious offerings, telling Reuters she had simply prayed earlier for a better future, one where her family would have enough food to eat.
As desperation grows, the government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe is seeking a multi-billion-dollar bailout in talks with the International Monetary Fund and is tapping major allies, from India and Japan to the United States.
But major financial assistance is still months away, making tough austerity measures likely, so few Sri Lankans are expecting to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reassured the world that by 2030, 50 per cent of India’s energy production will be met by non-fossil fuel, and by 2070 it plans to be “net zero”.
Modi was addressing a public rally on the completion of 40 years of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Sunday.
He said that a silent revolution was taking shape in India with rising demand for electric vehicles (EV). The state and central governments have extended incentives and subsidies for the EV sector.
Remembering the first interaction with Suzuki’s chairman 13 years ago, Modi added, “When the Suzuki chairman showed interest in setting up a plant in Gujarat, I was confident that with each passing year the company will come to know how much Gujarat is committed to development.”
The prime minister said, “I wanted to create a mini-Japan in Gujarat, to some extent the Japanese have been provided their experience of home. Now the state has many golf courses, Japanese restaurants and even locals have started learning Japanese. Even Japan has a special love for Gujarat and as many as 125 Japanese companies are functioning in the state. It looks like a mini-Japan.”
Acknowledging Japan’s “kaizen” management concept, Modi brought kaizen-related experiences to the Prime Minister’s Office and other Central government departments.
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The demolition of the twin towers near Delhi on Sunday was widely hailed by the Indian society, particularly those engaged in the realty sector, which said it was a stern message to the builders who violated laws while carrying out illegal constructions.
The current market value of over 900 apartments located in the twin towers was estimated at over 7 billion Indian Rupees (87.53 million U.S. dollars).
The twin towers of nearly 100 meters in height belonged to the realty firm Supertech Limited and were situated in Noida, a residential town adjacent to Delhi.
Hailing the move of demolishing the twin towers, Forum for People’s Collective Efforts (FPCE) president Abhay Upadhyay said that it was a “huge victory” for the flat owners, reported the online edition of The Tribune newspaper.
Referring to it as the demolition of the “ego of builders and development authorities”, he said that the responsibility of development authorities should have been fixed in this case.
Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) president Harsh Vardhan Patodia was quoted as saying that the decision is “symbolic of the New India that we are living in”, which is all about best practices, governance and following the law. “We stand by the authorities and Supreme Court in this decision,” Patodia said.
According to him, most of the organized developers were adhering to all guidelines laid down by the authorities and this will act as a good reminder for those who do not.
CEO of REA India Dhruv Agarwala said, “This will set a good precedent for the housing sector. It will serve as a deterrent for developers to violate building norms and laws.”
Meanwhile, Supertech Limited’s chairman R.K. Arora said that his company had incurred an estimated loss of nearly 5 billion Indian Rupees (62.52 million U.S. dollars) because of the demolition of its twin towers.
Following complaints regarding illegalities involved in the twin towers’ construction, the Supreme Court of India had last year ordered their demolition.
Reports of illegal constructions by the builder lobby are galore in India, even as questions are often raised about the construction quality of high-rise residential apartments or flats.
Often the nexus between the builder lobby and the local authorities are blamed for the illegal constructions carried out in the country.
More than 3,700 kilograms of explosives were used in the demolition of the twin towers. The demolition work was carried out efficiently with no damage reported from the residential units situated next to the twin towers. As a precautionary measure, all nearby residential units were vacated by the local authorities on Sunday morning.
Pakistan needs financial help to deal with “devastating” floods, its foreign minister said on Sunday, adding that he hoped financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund would take the economic fallout into account.
Weighty monsoon rains have caused devastating floods in both the north and south of the country, affecting more than 30 million people and killing more than 1,000.
“I haven’t seen the destruction of this scale, I find it very difficult to put into words,” said Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in an interview with Reuters, adding many crops that provided much of the population’s livelihoods had been wiped out.
Pakistan would this week launch an appeal asking United Nations member states to contribute to relief efforts, Bhutto-Zardari said, and the country needed to look at how it would handle the longer-term impacts of climate change.
Bhutto-Zardari said after relief efforts, the country would have to look at how to develop infrastructure that was more resistant to both floods and droughts and address the huge changes faced by the agriculture sector.
The foreign minister said that although Pakistan contributes “negligible amounts to the overall carbon footprint … we are devastated by climate disasters such as these time and time again, and we have to adapt within our limited resources, in whatever way we can, to live in this new environment.”
The South Asian nation was already in an economic crisis, facing high inflation, a depreciating currency, and a current account deficit.
The IMF board will decide this week on whether to release $1.2 billion as part of the seventh and eighth tranches of Pakistan’s bailout program, which it entered in 2019.
Bhutto-Zardari said the board was expected to approve the release given an agreement between Pakistani officials and IMF staff had already been reached. He hoped in the coming months the IMF would recognize the impact of the floods.
Bhutto-Zardari, the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said the economic impact was still being assessed, but that some estimates had put it at $4 billion. Given the impact on infrastructure and people’s livelihoods, he said he expected the total figure would be much higher.
Hundreds of Pakistanis were airlifted out of flood-ravaged regions on Sunday (August 28) as the military joined national rescue and recovery efforts, following a devastating deluge of rain and floods which had left over 1,000 dead in the past month.
Crowds were seen surrounding helicopters deployed to evacuate stranded residents. Military-filmed footage showed relief packages being flung from aircraft. Boats also continued to transport people across vast areas of floodwater resembling lakes.
Pakistan’s army chief on Saturday (August 27) visited the southern province of Balochistan, which has been hit heavily by torrential rain. In the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, flash floods swept away a large bridge overnight, cutting off some districts from road access.
Historic monsoon rains and flooding in Pakistan have affected more than 30 million people over the last few weeks, the country’s climate change minister said, calling the situation a “climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions.”
Bangkok’s Yaowarat Road was named the world’s eighth coolest street in the latest Time Out poll, which saw pollsters asking more than 20,000 people about post-pandemic life in their city.
Time Out magazine released its list ranking 33 coolest streets last week. The ranking is based on food, fun, culture and community.
The magazine describes Yaowarat as “one of Bangkok’s oldest thoroughfares, with a history that dates back to the city’s foundation, Yaowarat Road winds and curves through Bangkok’s riverside Chinatown.
“Lined with neon signs and bustling day or night, this cultural hub is home to temples, restaurants, markets and legions of acupuncturists and dispensers of Chinese medicine.
“It’s been a street food lovers’ favourite for generations, but lately the area has seen cool galleries and high-end restaurants move in too, keeping Yaowarat as relevant and culturally diverse as the day it was paved.”
The top 10 coolest streets in the world are:
Rue Wellington, Montreal, Canada
Gertrude street, Melbourne, Australia
Great Western Road, Glasgow, Scotland
Yongkang street, Taipei, Taiwan
Værnedamsvej, Copenhagen, Denmark
Karangahape road, Auckland, New Zealand
Tai Ping Shan street, Hong Kong
Yaowarat Road, Bangkok
Oranienstrasse, Berlin, Germany
Hayes Street, San Francisco, US
Meanwhile, Bangkok came in at 51 among 53 top cities in the world in 2022, while the capital’s Ari area was 47th among 49 coolest neighbourhoods in the world by Time Out.
The Thai LoFi/Soul singer-songwriter drops his new music video “Hotel”.
After many months of anticipation, Tor Thanai (Tor Thanai Phornphong) is back with a thrilling teaser and a music video of his song “Hotel.”
The video was directed by Nut-Nanut Mahatthanasiri or Nanut Malongyer (IG: @directed.nanut), who most recently directed music videos for various household names in Thailand such as WANYAi, Slot Machine, and Gavin.D. However, it was Nanut’s early work that he did for a Thai rapper, Youngohm, in a song called “Doo White” that caught Tor Thanai’s attention. After researching Nanut’s cinematographic style, Tor Thanai eventually reached out to Nanut and invited him to direct a music video for his newly released song.
Apart from having a rising music video director like Nanut working on this project, music video producer Nan-Tanyatorn Chantawongsatorn was also one of the crew members, helping to ensure everything ran smoothly on this project. Set photographers Anuchit Boonsuksri and Thaveesak Phattanalai also took hundreds of photos on the set of the music video to capture the behind-the-scenes shots and the acting chemistry between the actors. Moreover, costume stylist Kittipong Intarangsee led the team in charge of the clothing elements worn by Tor Thanai and the main actress, JARA. Due to this accomplished team, LoFi/Soul singer-songwriter Tor Thanai’s music video is full of meticulous details.
Initially, Tor Thanai wanted to launch this music video in the middle of 2021. But as Thailand’s third COVID-19 wave hit the country, production had to be postponed several times. However, almost a year later, the project was finally done.
In the music video, Tor Thanai is seen walking and following the actress, JARA or Jennifer Liora Roberts (IG: @jara.liora), in what appears to be the hallway of a hotel. JARA, in her role as Jennie, is a model and actress who has gained recognition from her work in several advertisements and product endorsements in Thailand recently. The music video was filmed in Prince Palace Hotel, located in the commercial heartland and a well-known wholesale clothing market of Bangkok’s downtown area, Bo Bae.
The video shows us the progression of the relationship between two actors, Tor and Jennie, who met in a bar and were seemingly disinterested in each other. Slowly, the story reveals that they are passionately in love.
The video then leads us along with each character to various places in the hotel from a grand stairway to a hotel corridor. Finally, both of them stop in front of a room with the number 5.
“Hotel” is a single release after taking a hiatus from the music industry for several years. The song came to fruition after Tor Thanai listened to his elder brother’s idea of having a boutique hotel business in Bangkok. The track bears the influence of artists like Jamiroquai and Michael McDonald. This song is genre-defying and sees Tor Thanai venturing into music scapes that he’s never been to.
Written and produced by Tor Thanai, the song “Hotel” explores a mystifying but oddly romantic relationship that started in a hotel’s cocktail bar. The music incorporates Lofi/Soul music elements with an intimate and soulful yet distinctive voice that helps to deliver his unwavering vision. The lyrics are well-crafted with vivid imagery to enrich the atmosphere.
“Maybe we’ll stay another night / Maybe it’ll feel so right / Merlot or the beer you like / Good love, we be up all night,” Tor Thanai sings in the chorus.
The song was mixed by the prolific Thai mixing engineer Pete Tanskul of 8bit MixLab, whose credits include Stamp, Lipta, and Nap A Lean. It was then mastered by a multi-Grammy Award-winning engineer Alan Douches of West West Side Mastering, New York, whose credits include Sufjan Stevens, My Chemical Romance, and Fatboy Slim.
8 things to know about this song:
1. Tor Thanai invited music video director Nanut Mahatthanasiri (Nanut Malongyer) to work on this project after he saw Nanut’s early work for Thai rapper, Young Ohm, in a song called “Doo White.”
2. The main actress of this music video is JARA or Jennifer Liora Roberts. She is a half American – half Thai actress and a professional model in Thailand.
3. The music video was filmed on the 11th and the 30th floor of Prince Palace Hotel, Bo Bae. It was once “Mahanak Palace” of the Field Marshal Prince Kromaluang Nakhon Chaisri Suradej, a son of King Rama V. Therefore, Prince Palace Hotel was named to enhance his prestige.
4. The reason that the production team chose this hotel is because they thought that the green-colored corridor of the hotel and its classic-style elevator would match the mood of the song.
5. The room number 5 shown in the video does not exist. It is just a prop that set decorators brought to make it match the lyrics: “Waiting for the key to Room 5.” In reality, all the rooms on the 30th floor have 4-digit numbers.
6. The electric guitar that Tor Thanai used in the video is a Fender Standard Telecaster – Arizona Sun Satin. It’s a Mexican-made model.
7. Instead of writing the word “Coffee” in the first verse of the song, “Havin’ decaf in the morning,” Tor Thanai changed it to “Decaf,” which stands for decaffeinated coffee. This is because Tor Thanai is hypersensitive and allergic to many different types of foods and caffeine is one of them. Therefore, he normally drinks decaf coffee more than normal coffee. When he wrote this song, he intended to use this word to reflect his own coffee-drinking behavior.
8. He was inspired to write this song after he listened to his elder brother’s idea of having a boutique hotel business in Bangkok. He wrote the song later that night while reading business articles about boutique hotel businesses.
Blackpink’s new music video “Pink Venom” is shattering records across the world – including in Thailand. The K-pop group’s first release since 2020’s “Lovesick Girls” features a stunning performance from Thailand’s Lisa (Lalisa Manoban) in a hip-hop outfit.
Released on August 19, the video racked up the highest-ever number of YouTube views in 24 hours with 90.4 million.
Meanwhile In Thailand, “Pink Venom” was surging on Thai Twitter and Facebook, according to analysis by Wisesight (Thailand).
As many as 68,141 messages related to the video were posted on Thai social media – 72.6 per cent by netizens and 27.4 per cent by brands.
Twitter users were its biggest fans, posting 49.1 per cent of messages, followed by Facebook users (45.1 per cent) and other social media (5.8 per cent).
Analysis showed that female netizens accounted for more than three-quarters (76.09 per cent) of messages about “Pink Venom”. Meanwhile, the video was most popular among the 18-24 age group, who posted 54.64 per cent of all messages.
Brands climbing aboard the “Pink Venom” bandwagon are mostly related to retail, e-commerce, department stores, media outlets, and food-and-beverage.
Brand operators pledged special Blackpink-themed merchandise and other offers if the music video reached so many million views. The pledges drew likes and shares from netizens, boosting the brands’ profiles.
Two Thai brands receiving the biggest online engagement from the trend are:
– Shoemaker Nanyang, which vowed to produce a special edition of black/pink-toned shoes if the music video hit 80 million views in 24 hours. That pledge received more than 100,000 interactions from netizens, Wisesight said.
– IT product distributor Advice vowed to hand out sets of computer and gaming equipment in black-pink colours if the video reached 100 million views in 48 hours. That promise gained over 80,000 interactions.
Meanwhile, Jennie Blackpink’s decision to wear a black Manchester United shirt in the video has seen the item sell out online and in shops across the world. Marketing experts have called the move a win-win strategy between entertainment and sports.
Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban, K-pop girl group Blackpink’s only Thai member, won the “Best K-Pop” award at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards for her song “Lalisa” on Monday.
The awards, also known as the VMAs, are held by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in music videos. This year’s event was held at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey.
Lisa came out as a winner, beating other K-pop nominated artists including ITZY, Seventeen, Stray Kids, TWICE and BTS.
Apart from being the first solo K-pop artist to win these honours, this is also the first time that Lisa and other Blackpink members performed in a US award show.
The annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony was first held in 1984 at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall.
The VMAs are normally held in either New York City or Los Angeles, though a couple have also been hosted in Miami and Las Vegas. Newark first came under the spotlight when the 2019 VMA was held there on August 26, 2019.
