The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will be forced to reconsider a peace plan agreed with Myanmar if the country’s military rulers conduct more executions of prisoners, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday.
The prime minister said that while the five-point consensus had “not advanced to everyone’s wishes” there had been some progress including in providing humanitarian aid. But he went on to say the current situation had “changed dramatically” and could be seen as even worse than before the peace agreement because of the junta’s execution of the activists.
Myanmar’s military last week defended the execution of the activists as “justice for the people,” brushing off a deluge of international condemnation including by its closest neighbours.
Myanmar will not be represented at this week’s meeting, a spokesperson for the Asean chair said on Monday after its military rulers declined a proposal to send a non-junta representative instead.
The United States wants Taiwan to always have freedom with security and will not back away from that, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday, during a visit to Taipei fiercely criticised by China.
While respecting the “One China” policy, our solidarity with Taiwan is more important than ever, Pelosi said, during a joint news conference with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. The U.S. supports the status quo and does not want anything to happen to Taiwan by force, Pelosi added.
Asked about the economic consequences Taiwan has to face as a result of her visit, Pelosi said the US’ chips act opens the door for better economic exchanges between the United States and Taiwan.
Taiwan is committed to maintaining the status quo across the Taiwan strait, Tsai said, adding that China’s military exercises, launched in response to Pelosi’s visit are an unnecessary reaction.
Pelosi arrived in Taipei late on Tuesday on an unannounced but closely watched trip, which has drawn condemnation and vows of retaliation from Beijing.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the Taiwan legislature on Wednesday (August 3) in a trip condemned by China.
Pelosi addressed the Taiwanese parliament where she said the U.S. chip bill would offer a good opportunity for U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in the chip industry. She also said she wanted to increase parliamentary exchanges with Taiwan.
Nancy Pelosi U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SPEAKER, Said : “Our purpose, or the three purposes I said, but in doing so, we want to increase interparliamentary cooperation and dialogue. And we do so at a time when our president (Joe Biden) has put forward an Asian-Pacific initiative, which we support, and we want to be specific in terms of how we work with Taiwan in that regard.”
“Thank you. We talk about the economy, thank you for bringing up the chips bill (Chips and Science Act). All of these members were instrumental in passing that important legislation which we think offers greater opportunity for U.S.-Taiwan economic cooperation.”
“In terms of governance, we commend Taiwan for being one of the freest societies in the world, for your success in addressing the COVID-interest issue, which is a health issue, a security issue, an economic issue and a governance issue. We congratulate you for that.”
“And again, we come in friendship, we thank you for your leadership, we want the world to recognise that. And with that, I thank you Vice President Tsai (Chi-chang) for your hospitality, for your kind words.”
Pelosi is due to meet with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen later on Wednesday and the two will later have lunch together, the presidential office said.
Pelosi, travelling with six other American lawmakers, is the most-senior U.S. political leader to visit Taiwan since 1997.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for the second leg of her Asia tour amidst intense speculation that she may visit Taiwan.
Pelosi was expected to arrive in Taipei later on Tuesday, people briefed on the matter said, as the United States said it would not be intimidated by Chinese “sabre rattling” over the visit.
In Malaysia, Pelosi met members of Malaysia’s parliament in Kuala Lumpur.
Footage filmed by local broadcaster Astro Awani showed Pelosi entering a room with the Malaysian parliament speaker, before she participated in a meeting accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia.
She is expected to meet Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, state news agency Bernama reported.
One person familiar with Pelosi’s itinerary said in Taiwan, most of her planned meetings, including that with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, were scheduled for Wednesday.
Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has never renounced using force to bring the island under its control.
Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims and says only its people can decide the island’s future.
Pelosi began her Asia tour in Singapore on Monday. Her office said she will also go to South Korea and Japan, but made no mention of a Taiwan visit.
China views the visit by U.S. officials to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp on the island.
Washington does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is bound by U.S. law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
The Kremlin also warned the United States on Tuesday that an expected visit to Taiwan by Pelosi would put it on a collision course with China and provoke tensions in the region.
“We cannot say for sure right now whether she will or will not get there, but everything about this tour and the possible visit to Taiwan is purely provocative,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
China has repeatedly warned Pelosi against going to Taiwan. Beijing says a Pelosi visit would contravene the one-China principle that Washington has vowed to abide by.
Meanwhile, Taipei residents were divided over a possible visit by Pelosi.
While university student Yang Hsing-ruei believed the visit would help the Taiwan-U.S. relationship improve, his classmate, Chang Yun-fan, thought it won’t bring “any real benefit”.
“In the end, we are just a chess piece in someone else’s game. It is very hard for Taiwan to walk its own path,” said 22-year-old Chang.
Taiwan is preparing its air-raid shelters as rising Chinese military pressure and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine focus new attention on the possibility of a Chinese attack on the democratic island.
China considers Taiwan its territory and has increased military activity around the island. Taiwan vows to defend itself and has made strengthening its defences a priority, with regular military and civil defence drills.
Last month, Taiwan held a comprehensive air-raid exercise across the island for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic disrupted regular drills.
Among the instructions citizens got in case of incoming missiles was to get down in their basement parking lots with their hands covering their eyes and ears while keeping their mouth open — to minimise the impact of blast waves. But some civil defence advocates say more needs to be done.
“We have to be more diligent in preparing. To put it bluntly, we are quite scared and there is no way to know if this thing (war) will also happen here,” said Yang Yu-tung, a local government official.
Other preparations include designating shelters where people can take cover if Chinese missiles start flying in, not in purpose-built military bunkers but in existing underground spaces like basement car parks, parts of the subway system and underground shopping centres.
The capital of Taipei has more than 4,600 such designated shelters that can accommodate some 12 million people, more than four times its population. Entrances are marked with a yellow label, about the size of an A4 piece of paper, with the maximum number of people it can take.
Enoch Wu of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party says he is trying to prepare members of the public for the worst case scenario of having to hide away in a “bare-bones shelter” in his workshops, showing them how to prepare survival kits to take with them into shelters.
Authorities are required by law to keep the shelters clean and open, but they don’t have to be stocked with emergency supplies like food and water. Researchers at parliament called in June for shelters to be provided with emergency supplies.
However, many in Taiwan are still unaware of the shelter system that stretches under much of the city.
Harmony Wu, 18, was surprised to learn that an underground shopping concourse where she and other youngsters were practising dance would become an air-raid shelter in the event of war. But she said she could see why.
“We aren’t prepared and won’t immediately realise when war has arrived, we might still be laughing and having fun without knowing that outside the war already started.”
Taipei officials have been updating their database of designated shelters, putting their whereabouts on a smartphone app, and launching a social media and poster campaign to make sure people know how to find their closest one.
A senior official in the city office in charge of the shelters said events in Europe had brought a renewed sense of urgency.
“Look at the war in Ukraine… normal buildings, organisations or schools could get hit by strikes too,” Abercrombie Yang, a director of the Taipei City Building Administration Office, told Reuters. “In the same vein, Taiwan could face the same situation.”
BloombergNEF reports an 11% year-on-year rise in global renewable energy financing in the first half of 2022, for a total of $226 billion
Global investment in renewable energy totaled $226 billion in the first half of 2022, setting a new record for the first six months of a year.
The uptick in investment reflects an acceleration in demand for clean energy supplies to tackle the ongoing global energy and climate crises, according to Renewable Energy Investment Tracker 2H 2022, a new report published by research firm BloombergNEF (BNEF).
Investment in new large- and small-scale solar projects rose to a record-breaking $120 billion, up 33% from the first half of 2021.
Wind project financing was up 16% from 1H 2021, at $84 billion.
Both sectors have been challenged recently by rising input costs for key materials such as steel and polysilicon, as well as supply chain disruptions and rising financing costs.
Yet, today’s figures indicate that investor appetite is stronger than ever, in part due to the very high energy prices currently being seen in many markets around the world.
The Renewable Energy Investment Tracker summarizes BloombergNEF’s tracking of global investment in renewable energy up to and including 1H 2022, and covers both project investments and corporate fundraising.
As well as seeing booming project investments, the first half also saw an all-time record for venture capital and private equity investments into renewables and energy storage, with $9.6 billion raised – up 63% on the previous year.
One category that saw falling investment was public equity issuances. After a very strong first half in 2021, public market issuances for renewable energy companies dropped 65% in 1H 2022, totalling $10.5 billion.
The 2Q figure, at $3.9 billion raised, is the lowest quarterly total since 2Q 2020.
Albert Cheung, head of analysis at BloombergNEF, said: “Policy makers are increasingly recognizing that renewable energy is the key to unlocking energy security goals and reducing dependence on volatile energy commodities. Despite the headwinds presented by ongoing cost inflation and supply chain challenges, demand for clean energy sources has never been higher, and we expect that the global energy crisis will continue to act as an accelerant for the clean energy transition.”
China posted remarkable investment growth in both wind and solar project finance.
The country’s large-scale solar investments totaled $41 billion in 1H 2022, up 173% from the year before.
It also invested $58 billion in new wind projects, up 107% year-on-year. Nannan Kou, BNEF’s head of China analysis, said: “Green infrastructure is the most important investment area that China is relying on to boost its weak economy in the second half of 2022. The investment growth trend follows China’s strategy to build new renewable generation capacity so that it can replace its existing coal fleet. China is well on track to hit its 1,200 gigawatt wind and solar capacity target by 2030.”
Offshore wind was another sector that saw a stark increase, with investment up 52% from the previous year, to $32 billion.
Chelsea Jean-Michel, offshore wind analyst at BNEF said: “Investments in 2022 will flow into projects coming online in the next few years as the offshore wind installed base is set to grow tenfold from 53GW in 2021 to 504GW in 2035.
Offshore wind projects enable companies and governments to make progress toward their decarbonization goals at scale.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany are just a few of the countries that have increased their offshore wind targets in the first half of 2022, signalling further support for investment in the technology.”
BloombergNEF (BNEF) is a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and the disruptive technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon economy. Our expert coverage assesses pathways for the power, transport, industry, buildings and agriculture sectors to adapt to the energy transition. We help commodity trading, corporate strategy, finance and policy professionals navigate change and generate opportunities.
Bloomberg is a global leader in business and financial information, delivering trusted data, news, and insights that bring transparency, efficiency, and fairness to markets. The company helps connect influential communities across the global financial ecosystem via reliable technology solutions that enable our customers to make more informed decisions and foster better collaboration. For more information, visit Bloomberg.com/company or request a demo.
Stuttgart – The Porsche 911 GT3 is getting a big brother: the 911 GT3 RS, the new top of the 911 line in terms of performance will celebrate its world premiere on 17 August. The development of the high-performance sports car was inspired by the successful 911 RSR and 911 GT3 R GT racing cars.
“The new 911 GT3 RS is even more optimised for track use than its predecessors. The spontaneously responsive, high-revving four-litre, six-cylinder boxer engine with approximately 500 PS has proven ideal for use at trackdays and club sport events,” says Andreas Preuninger, Director GT Model Line. “That’s why we focused primarily on aerodynamics and chassis questions in the development of the new 911 GT3 RS.”
Broadcast on 17 August at 5:00 pm CEST
The digital world premiere of the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS will be broadcast on newstv.porsche.com on 17 August at 5:00 pm CEST. The video will also be available on demand there after the event.
Further information, as well as film and photo material, is available in the Porsche Newsroom: newsroom.porsche.com
A project to develop an “aniverse” – a revolutionary educational metaverse which is expected to transform Thailand’s education system – is currently 25 per cent complete.
The project to troubleshoot issues and reduce social inequality was launched in January under cooperation between consumer electronics manufacturer Anitech and digital service provider Creative Digital Living.
As of Tuesday, the project had garnered cooperation from government and private agencies, such as the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry, blockchain developer xChain and as many as 17 universities.
Creative Digital Living executive chairman and co-founder Pitchyen Hongpakdee said the aniverse is being developed under a four-phase plan.
The educational metaverse plan, which went into operation in January, will run until December next year. The development is currently in the second phase spanning July to December this year.
The company has cooperated with universities to enable 500,000 lecturers and students to access the metaverse, Pitchyen said.
“We believe that in the future we can find a way to attract dropouts and low-income students back to school in the digital world,” he said.
The partnership with xChain will help reduce transaction fees in the metaverse, making the community as perfect as possible and creating opportunities for all users, Pitchyen added.
Meanwhile, Creative Digital Living Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Ampornsak Angkatavanich said the aniverse features two systems – a Learning Management System and Edu GameFi to troubleshoot limitations in offline and online classes, and combine the worlds of learning and gaming.
Ampornsak said the aniverse also has an artificial intelligence system that enables students to discover their identity and reduce the teaching preparation for lecturers by up to 20 per cent.
“With a massive online role-playing game system, students can create their virtual avatar to complete missions in a learning space to obtain non-fungible tokens and experience points,” he said.
Students will also be able to study and work in the metaverse, which will enable them to enter the labour market when they turn 18, Ampornsak said.
The company will offer free land on the metaverse to the 17 universities that participated in the project by August this year, he added.
Panita “Rod May” Chawaphatarathanakul was born with a rare genetic condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA. The disease results in progressive decline of motor, causing difficulties in movement, swallowing and breathing. She requires 24-hour physical care from her parents.
In severe or moderate cases, patients with SMA have to rely on medical equipment, e.g. walking support, wheelchair, respirators, as well as multi-disciplinary medical experts and continual treatment.
Despite physical limitations, Rod May’s intelligence level is no difference to that of normal person. Rod May in her early 30s is currently pursuing a PhD in Basic and Applied Social Psychology with a scholarship. She is committed to helping society, and inspires patients and individuals to live happily.
Palliative care is chosen as the current treatment for her, as she is yet unable to access to the new medication which boosts SMN protein production, restoring muscles and respiratory system. It has been clinically proven to help better patients’ quality of lives and reduce mortality rate. Thus, fund-raising is a way in which we can support Rod May enhancing access to the treatment, so she can prolong her life which means she can further help and inspire the society.
People should avoid sexual contact with foreigners in order to contain the spread of monkeypox, the Medical Council of Thailand advised on Tuesday.
Amorn Leelarasamee, a member of the Medical Council of Thailand, said he was uncertain whether monkeypox would become endemic in Thailand as the disease can be transmitted from person to person and from animal to person.
He pointed out that monkeypox would be unable to control if the disease spreads among rodents such as monkeys, rabbits and rats.
“If monkeypox patients have any underlying disease such as cancer or immune deficiency, the virus could cause death,” he warned.
Amorn asked people who develop fever, a red rash and blisters to immediately take a monkeypox test and isolate themselves for 21 days.
He also advised Thais to avoid sexual contact with foreigners as most monkeypox cases worldwide have been found in gay men.
Up to 20,000 Europeans are infected with monkeypox daily, Amorn noted.
“Monkeypox can’t be transmitted via sexual contact, but people can be infected with the virus from blister secretions,” he warned.
He said hotel operators should clean rooms in line with international standards in order to contain the spread of the disease.
More than 22,100 people in 70 countries have been infected so far with monkeypox, with 5,189 cases found in the US alone, Amorn said.
“Monkeypox patients have been found in most US states, except Vermont, Montana and Wyoming,” he added.
