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Torrential rain knocked out power, caused slips and left roads and subways submerged in and around the South Korean capital of Seoul overnight, leaving at least eight people dead, authorities said on Tuesday.

The southern part of Seoul received more than 100mm (3.9 inches) of rain per hour on late Monday, with some parts of the city has received 141.5mm of rain, the worst rainfall in decades, according to Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The accumulated rainfall in Seoul since midnight Monday stood at 420mm as of 5 a.m. Tuesday, with more rain forecast.

In the glitzy, highly concentrated Gangnam district, some buildings and stores were flooded and were without power, while cars, buses and subway stations were submerged, leaving people stranded.

Streets and subway stations were submerged in South Korea’s posh Gangnam area due to torrential rain, video footage on social media showed.

Footage showed people walking through flooded streets of Gangnam and cars passing through inundated roads while a subway station was submerged.

At least six people died with at least nine injured and six missing in Seoul and two others in the neighbouring Gyeonggi Province by early Tuesday, authorities said.

Published : August 09, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/international/international-news/40018660

Aug. 8th, 2022 is the 55th anniversary of the Asean’s foundation. Congratulations on Asean Day through this page. It is not an overstatement that Asean Member States have manifested their earnest efforts to seek peace and prosperity in the region since its establishment, overcoming unexpected obstacles over the past five and a half decades.

By Ambassador Kim Hae-yong 

Secretary General of Asean-Korea Center  

Last May, I had the chance to meet the president and vice president of a university in Vietnam, a member of “Passage to Asean Association,” which represents a network of 80 universities and colleges from Asean countries and consists of more than 1.2 million students. Along with an introduction to the university, they pinpointed on the need to increase exchanges among the youth and further deepen mutual understanding in order to accumulate future-oriented developments in Asean-Korea relations. Recognizing the bigger thirst on Asean’s end for youth exchanges from the meeting, the Asean-Korea Center also reaffirms the key role that our youth play in developing a genuine, sustainable and mutually beneficial cooperation between Asean and Korea.

Since the establishment of the Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in 1989, Asean and Korea have made rapid developments over the years. All areas including trade, investment, culture and tourism, and people-to-people exchanges saw remarkable advancements, especially after the agreement on the Joint Declaration on Asean-ROK Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in 2010. Although the two sides may have inevitably lost some traction due to the onset of COVID-19, stable figures in trade and investment depict much potential for recovery once the pandemic is settled.

With high hopes for recovery and aspiration for consolidation of the partnership, the role of youth can be much highlighted as they are the future players in Asean-Korea relations. Asean has very young and dynamic demographics, with the population under age 35 taking up 57 per cent of the total. The role of youth is also highly valued by Asean, as seen through Asean Secretariat’s declaration year 2022 as the “Year of Asean Youth” under the chairmanship of Cambodia.

Against this backdrop of the growing importance of youth’s role, one of the most crucial assignments that lies ahead for the youth of Asean and Korea is perceiving one another as equal partners. For Koreans, Asean should not only be seen as a provider of tourist destinations, low-wage workers, or exotic food but as a true friend who can support when in need. For Asean, Korea should be given greater value and perceived as a partner who shares common values, rather than just as a country with economic benefits or as a source of K-pop and K-drama. To alter such status quo into a more balanced perception for the future of Asean-Korea relations, the Asean-Korea Center is carrying out many efforts.

With the aim of understanding the current perceptions of Asean and Korean youth, the centre conducted a survey of the youth of the two regions last year. Some interesting findings were made in the survey. Both Asean and Korean youths viewed the future of ASEAN-Korea relations positively, showed encouraging favorability toward each other, and were also interested in one another. All the results showed promising outcomes for future partnerships. Aiming to delve into details of such a positive outlook, the centre is carrying out the second phase of the survey this year.

Acknowledging that Asean youth residing in Korea can be one of the key players in shaping future relations, given their understanding and perception of both Korea and their home country, the centre has been actively gathering and supporting the activities of the Asean Youth Network in Korea (AYNK) since its establishment in 2014. Particularly, activities conducted by AYNK contribute to the community-building initiatives of Asean students in Korea, while at the same time also promoting Asean and its culture more to Korean peers.

To stimulate dialogues and discussions on Asean-Korea relations and its future partnership, the centre is preparing to hold the “2022 Asean-Korea Forum” this November, where scholars and policymakers from both Asean and Korea will engage with one another to exchange their views and ideas to develop strategies together for the future relationship. In particular, a separate session will be dedicated to the youth, the future players of ASEAN-Korea relations, to share their fresh views and outlook, by inviting the winners of Asean-Korea Academic Essay Contest,” which is one of the centre’s core projects for ASEAN and Korean youths.

The opening of an “Asean Hall” on Jeju Island next month is also in line with these efforts. The Asean Hall in Jeju is an exhibition space showcasing the culture and tourism-related items on Asean and Jeju. To provide information on Asean member states and Asean-Korea relations as well as insights into their culture, the Hall also offers digitalized self-service kiosks for a more vibrant visitor experience. Hopefully, this new exhibition hall can be used as a great venue for site visits especially among the youth and younger generation, thereby contributing to formulating a better sense of familiarity and understanding of Asean and Asean-Korea relations. As one of the most popular tourist destinations in Korea among both Koreans and international travellers from Asean, and a symbolic milestone for Asean-Korea relations, being the very location of the 1st Asean-Rok Commemorative Summit in 2009, the Asean Hall in Jeju is expected to contribute to increasing exposure of Asean to local Koreans and in enhancing a sense of Asean-Korea bond among Asean tourists.

Marking the 55th “Asean Day,” the Asean-Korea Center once again envisions a sustainable and mutually beneficial partnership between Asean and Korea, one that is shaped by the vision of its future generations that genuinely value and appreciate one another. To that end, the Asean-Korea Center will steadfastly continue to keep up its efforts to deepen mutual understanding and promote greater awareness of Asean and Korean youth to one another.

Published : August 09, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40018658

The Razoni, the first ship to depart Ukraine under an UN-brokered deal, is looking for another port to unload its grain cargo as the initial Lebanese buyer refused delivery citing a more than five-month delay, the Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon said on Monday.

“According to the information provided by the shipper of the Ukrainian grain aboard the Razoni, the buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the cargo due to delays in delivery terms,” the embassy said in a Facebook post.

“So the shipper is now looking for another consignee to offload his cargo either in Lebanon/Tripoli or any other country/port.”

The Razoni left Odesa last week carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn.

The ship was scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday (August 7) but it changed its destination to Turkey’s Mersin port and is currently at anchor off Turkey’s southern coast, according to Refinitiv ship tracker data.

The United Nations and Turkey brokered the agreement last month after warnings the halt in Ukrainian grain shipments caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world.

So far, around 243,000 tonnes of corn have been exported from Ukraine on seven ships since the first departure on August 1, according to a Reuters tally of data from Turkey’s defence ministry.

Published : August 09, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40018657

The United States will return to Cambodia 30 looted antiquities, including bronze and stone statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities carved more than 1,000 years ago, US officials said on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country’s archaeological sites – including Koh Ker, the capital of the ancient Khmer empire – suffered widespread looting in civil conflicts between the 1960s and 1990s. Cambodia’s government has since sought to repatriate stolen antiquities sold on the international market.

Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said the items being returned were sold to Western buyers by Douglas Latchford, a Bangkok dealer who created fake documents to conceal that the items had been looted and smuggled.

Williams said the antiquities, including a 10th-century sandstone statue depicting the Hindu god of war Skanda riding on a peacock, were voluntarily relinquished by U.S. museums and private collectors after his office filed civil forfeiture claims.

“These statues and artefacts, which range in age from the Bronze Age to the 12th century, are of extraordinary cultural value to the Cambodian people,” Williams said at a ceremony in Manhattan announcing the return of the antiquities.

U.S. prosecutors in 2019 charged Latchford, a dual citizen of Thailand and the United States, with wire fraud and smuggling over the alleged looting. He died in Thailand in 2020.

The antiquities will be displayed at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s U.S. ambassador Keo Chhea told Reuters at the ceremony.

In 2014, federal prosecutors returned the Duryodhana, a looted 10th-century sandstone sculpture, to Cambodia after settling with auction house Sotheby’s Inc, which had acquired it.

Last year, the Manhattan district attorney’s office returned 27 looted antiquities to Cambodia.

Published : August 09, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40018655

Florida’s sea turtles are grappling with a gender imbalance made worse by climate change. Recent heat waves have caused the sand on some beaches to get so hot that nearly every turtle born was female.

“The frightening thing is the last four summers in Florida have been the hottest summers on record,” said Bette Zirkelbach, manager of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, a city in the Florida Keys, a string of tropical islands stretching from the southern end of the state.

“Scientists that are studying sea turtle hatchlings and eggs have found no boy sea turtles, so only female sea turtles for the past four years,” Zirkelbach said, whose turtle centre has operated since 1986.

When a female turtle digs a nest on a beach, the temperature of the sand determines the gender of the hatchlings. Zirkelbach said an Australian study showed similar statistics – “99% of new sea turtle babies are female.”

Instead of determining sex during fertilization, the sex of sea turtles and alligators depends on the temperature of developing eggs, according to the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

If a turtle’s eggs incubate below 81.86 Fahrenheit (27.7 Celsius), the turtle hatchlings will be male, whereas if they incubate above 88.8 F (31C), they will be female, according to NOAA’S National Ocean Service website.

“Over the years, you’re going to see a sharp decline in their population because we just don’t have the genetic diversity,” said Melissa Rosales Rodriguez, a sea turtle keeper at the recently opened turtle hospital at the Miami Zoo. “We don’t have the male-to-female ratio needed in order to be able to have successful breeding sessions.”

The two turtle hospitals are also battling tumours in turtles known as fibropapillomatosis, also known as FP. These tumours are contagious to other turtles and can cause death if not treated.

With climate affecting the future of turtles and the disease being so widespread, Zirkelbach sees the need to save every turtle she can and open more rehab centres.

“The Turtle Hospital was the first. But, sadly and fortunately, there’s a need all throughout Florida.”

Published : August 09, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40018651

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, hit by shelling over the weekend, is operating as normal, the Interfax news agency quoted the Russian-installed head of the local administration as saying on Monday.

Earlier, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for international inspectors to be given access to the nuclear plant after Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over the shelling of Europe’s largest atomic plant.

Guterres said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) needed access to the plant.

Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor complex located near the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine in early March, shortly after Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour, but it is still run by Ukrainian technicians.

Ukraine accused Russia of responsibility for renewed shelling on Saturday that had damaged three radiation sensors and injured a worker at the plant in what was the second hit in consecutive days on the site.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a televised address on Sunday, said Russia was waging “nuclear terror” that warranted more international sanctions, this time on Moscow’s nuclear sector.

The region’s Russian-installed authority said Ukrainian forces hit the site with multiple rocket launchers, damaging administrative buildings and an area near a storage facility.

The Russian Embassy in Washington also itemised the damage, saying artillery fire from “Ukrainian nationalists” damaged two high-voltage power lines and a water pipeline, but the critical infrastructure was not affected.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Western countries with influence over Ukraine should push Kyiv to stop shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The events at the Zaporizhzhia site have alarmed the world. Residents living near the vast nuclear power plant say they fear fighting between Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces in the region could lead to a disaster comparable to the 1986 Chornobyl disaster.

Locals in Enerhodar told Reuters on Thursday that they thought Russia and Ukraine should agree to a wide perimeter around the plant where fighting could not take place.

“The city of Enerhodar, as well as the nuclear power plant, is built on sand. Even any small explosions could lead to sand moving,” humanitarian aid point volunteer Volodymyr Martynyuk said.

“We’re talking about the safety of the entire planet, not just about the safety of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia and nearby foreign countries,” Martynyuk added.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raised grave concerns on Saturday about the shelling the previous day at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying the action showed the risk of a nuclear disaster.

Both sides accused each other on Saturday of engaging in “nuclear terrorism”. Ukraine’s state nuclear power company Energoatom blamed Russia for the damage while Russia’s defence ministry accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant.

“I’m extremely concerned by the shelling yesterday at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which underlines the very real risk of a nuclear disaster,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.

Grossi, who leads the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, urged all sides in the Ukraine conflict to exercise the “utmost restraint” around the plant.

The Kremlin said on Monday there was no basis for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents at the moment.

In response to a question about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s offers to broker peace talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy could meet only after negotiators from both sides had “done their homework.”

Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv have been stalled for months, with each side blaming the other for a lack of progress.

“The Ukrainian delegation has gone off the radar, there is no negotiation process now,” Peskov said on Monday.

“As for a meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelenskiy, it is possible only after all the homework has been done by the delegations. This is missing, so there are no necessary prerequisites for the meeting,” he added.

Published : August 08, 2022

By : Reuters