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ANA plans to transfer employees to Toyota Motor

InternationalOct 26. 2020

By The Japan News

ANA Holdings will ask several companies, including Toyota Motor Corp., to accept the secondment of employees, it has been learned.

The contents of a business restructuring plan, set to be announced Tuesday by ANA Holdings Inc., the holding company of All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA), have been revealed. By fiscal 2022, it plans to reduce the number of its employees by about 3,500.

The company faces an urgent need to cut personnel costs, which account for 30% of its fixed costs. At the same time, it must also secure employees in anticipation of the end of the novel coronavirus pandemic. ANA Holdings is believed to have concluded that Toyota Motor is able to accept secondment because of its financial scale and its capacity to take in employees.

For the 2020 fiscal year ending in March 2021, ANA Holdings is expected to post a record net loss of about ¥500 billion, as opposed to a net profit of ¥27.6 billion in the previous fiscal year. The company will carry out structural reforms to prepare for a prolonged slump in aviation demand.

In fiscal 2021, the company expects to cut costs by ¥80 billion through measures such as reducing the number of employees and selling aircraft.

The reduction of about 3,500 jobs will be realized through natural retirement, support for job changes and a freeze on hiring. According to the securities report of ANA Holdings, the entire group employed 46,000 people as of the end of March.

The company also plans to sell about 30 aircraft, mainly large models. As many as 59 large aircraft, such as the Boeing 777, have low fuel efficiency and are expensive to maintain.

ANA Holdings also plans to speed up the creation of other revenue sources. It plans to expand its so-called platform business to provide financial services by using customer data collected through its travel and financial operations.

Regarding international flights, which have seen a sharp drop in passengers, the company plans to prioritize resuming flights to and from Haneda Airport, due to high profit margins and high demand for international flights there.

Some flights from Narita Airport to Europe and Asia will be suspended for the time being.

Domestic flights will be concentrated at Haneda and Itami airports. ANA Holdings will also use Peach Aviation Ltd., a low-cost carrier under its wing, to promote joint operations with ANA.

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China to share Mekong data with MRC countries

InternationalOct 26. 2020China’s Ministry of Water Resources signed an agreement with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) on October 22. MRC 

By Phnom Penh Post

China’s Ministry of Water Resources signed an agreement with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) on October 22 which stated China would share more hydrological data with Mekong countries to ensure they can prepare for potential floods and droughts.

In an MRC press release, the commission’s secretariat CEO An Pich Hatda said infrastructure operations in the basin and tributaries were contributing to river flow changes and fluctuations which can impact communities on the river. More operational data sharing would be vital to better managing the river.

“The increased regulation of the basin and the opportunities and challenges it brings calls for greater data and information sharing, improved water release notifications, coordination of operations, and enhanced early warning systems,” Pich Hatda said.

The MRC said China has shared its water level and rainfall data from June to October during the rainy season for the last 18 years. The information the country shared was recorded at two hydrological stations located on the Upper Mekong at Yunjinghong and on a tributary at Manan, both in China’s Yunnan province.

Under the new agreement, China will extend its current data-sharing schedule to provide year-round data from the two stations. The data will be shared twice daily and include rainfall and river level data, the MRC said.

“China has also agreed to share urgent information on any unusual rise or fall in water levels and discharges, as well as other relevant information on factors that might lead to sudden flooding in the lower reaches of the basin,” the press release said.

The MRC said it had worked with China since 1996 on a number of collaborative initiatives, including annual meetings, data and information sharing, joint symposiums and technical exchanges on water resource development, environmental protection and hydropower development.

Mak Bunthoeun, a coordinator of River Coalition Cambodia at the NGO Forum on Cambodia, said the sharing of this data was one of the goals that the Mekong countries had been trying to achieve.

He said the Mekong countries tried to make it compulsory for China to share the information, rather than sharing it upon request.

“This is good news because we need transparent information about the water flow from upstream. This can avoid suspicion on China. Recently, a US-based organisation said China hid information and stored water upstream.

“They did not let the water flow, which meant countries downstream lacked water. This cooperation will clear this suspicion,” he said.

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‘Donald Trump had offered me position of Secretary of State’: Nikki Haley

InternationalOct 26. 2020

Former South Carolina Governor and former Ambassador to United Nations Nikki Haley. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP)

By The Statesman

Ms Haley, who went on to become one of the most successful US Ambassador to the UN, is now campaigning in support of Trump’s re-election bid.

Popular Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley has revealed that Donald Trump, soon after winning the November 2016 US presidential election, had offered her the position of Secretary of State which she politely refused.

However, the 48-year-old Haley, who at that time was the South Carolina Governor, said she could not refuse the second offer of the post of US Ambassador to the United Nations as Trump had met all the conditions she had set for accepting the position.

Ms Haley, who went on to become one of the most successful US Ambassador to the UN, is now campaigning in support of Trump’s re-election bid.

“There is a stark contrast” between President Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, she said at a fireside chat event organised by the Indian Voices for Trump in the battleground state of Philadelphia on Saturday.

“There is a lot at stake with this election,” she said.

Responding to a question from Dr Merlynn Carson, co-chair of Indian Voices for Trump, Ms Haley, for the first time, revealed that Trump, soon after winning the November 2016 presidential elections, offered her the position of Secretary of State. Trump sent a plane to fly her to New York.

However, Ms Haley said, she politely refused the offer, noting that she was not the right fit for the post as she had no experience.

Days later, after she returned from New York, Trump through his chief of staff offered her the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Responding to the offer, she set three conditions — the position should be of Cabinet rank, the envoy should be a member of the national security council and that she will not be a yes-woman, Haley said.

To all the conditions, Trump”s response was: “Done. What next?”, leaving her with no option but to accept the position, she recalled.

Haley has been one of the most successful US Ambassadors to the UN, a position in which she served for nearly two years.

Ms Haley said Trump has stopped giving aids to countries like Pakistan, which harbour terrorists.

“The relationship (of US) with India (under Trump administration) has never been stronger,” she said, adding that President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi get along very well.

Under Trump administration, the US is partnering with India on various issues, including defence, Haley said.

In the aftermath of the coronavirus, there is a far greater need to collaborate between India and the US, she said, referring to the increased co-operation between India and US along with Japan and Australia.

China, she said, is the number one national security threat to the US.

President Trump has “put China on notice,” Haley told the audience.

Trump is “not very much a politician”, “what you see, what he is,” she said when asked about the president. She referred to a conversation that she had with Trump, before he was scheduled a deliver an address at the United Nations and asked her opinion on calling the North Korean leader as the “Rocket Man”.

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Not the way how you talk about ‘friends’: Joe Biden’s attack on Trump over ‘filthy’ remark for India

InternationalOct 26. 2020

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

By The Statesman

‘Kamala Harris and I deeply value our partnership-and will put respect back at the center of our foreign policy,’ he said.

US President Donald Trump’s opponent Joe Biden launched a scathing attack on him for his “filthy” remark for India over the climate situation.

Biden said that it was not the way how you talk about “friends”.

In a tweet, Biden said, “President Trump called India “filthy.” It’s not how you talk about friends-and it’s not how you solve global challenges like climate change.”

“@KamalaHarris and I deeply value our partnership-and will put respect back at the center of our foreign policy,” he further added.

President Trump called India “filthy.”

It’s not how you talk about friends—and it’s not how you solve global challenges like climate change.@KamalaHarris and I deeply value our partnership—and will put respect back at the center of our foreign policy. https://t.co/TKcyZiNwY6— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 24, 2020

US President Donald Trump on Friday had described the air in India as “filthy” and shifts the climate change blame to India along with China and Russia.

Trump’s remarks come at a time when he was explaining his move to withdrew from the Paris climate accord. He had said that the move would have made America a non-competitive nation.

“Look at China, how filthy it is. Look at Russia. Look at India. The air is filthy. I walked out of the Paris Accord as we had to take out trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly,” he said during a debate with Democratic White House challenger Joe Biden.

The relations between US and India have been strengthening in last few months as the Quadrilateral grouping of US, Japan, India and Australia are sending their warships for the Malabar Exercise next month.

Quadrilateral grouping, which experts say is to be mirroring NATO, has already been criticized by China many times.

In another major development in direction of strengthening the ties, New Delhi and Washington are also stepping up efforts to conclude the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) ahead of the Indo-US 2+2 ministerial meeting on October 26-27.

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Malaysia’s King rejects state of emergency plan: What’s next?

InternationalOct 26. 2020

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (right) could finally prove that he has the majority support over PM Muhyiddin Yassin.PHOTOS: REUTERS

By Straits Times

Malaysia’s King surprisingly rejected a controversial plan proposed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to impose emergency measures on the country, after discussing the matter with other state monarchs on Sunday (Oct 25).

With the royal decree, Mr Muhyiddin’s embattled leadership now faces the prospect of defeat when Parliament reconvenes on Nov 2.

Here is how the power play could pan out:

1. Minority government

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin can still soldier on with a doubtful majority if he can strike confidence and supply agreements with his political rivals.

Some opposition figures – including Senator Liew Chin Tong from the Democratic Action Party and MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman from the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance – have mooted the idea of supporting the government on some issues – for example, to pass the Budget and its expenditure to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic – as long as their views are taken into account.

“This is a set of legitimate open deals, without having to resort to buying off individual MPs,” said Mr Liew.

Referring to bipartisan support for a constitutional amendment to lower Malaysia’s voting age to 18, Mr Syed Saddiq said he worked on the proposal with rival politicians to further “the national agenda”.

“We did it before, we can do it again for Malaysia,” he said.

2. New prime minister

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim could finally prove that he has the majority support that he claims to command and take over as prime minister in a peaceful transition, without having to call a general election.

Datuk Seri Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition has 91 MPs, and he has said he has the backing of over 120 lawmakers.

Speculation was rife that the additional numbers would come from Mr Muhyiddin’s current ally Umno, which has 39 MPs.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Malaysia’s PM Muhyiddin loses emergency bid but wins royal endorsement

Malaysia’s King rejects state of emergency plan, PM Muhyiddin to discuss decision with Cabinet

Mr Anwar’s appointment will still need to get the blessing of the King. The opposition leader has said that he presented documents in support of his claim during his audience with the King on Oct 13, although the palace said Mr Anwar did not provide it with a list of names.

Other prime ministerial candidates who have been floated include Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Malaysians hail King’s decision not to declare state of emergency

Malaysia’s King rejects controversial emergency measures: How the day unfolded

3. General election

If Mr Muhyiddin loses the Budget vote, there will be calls for Parliament to be dissolved and for voters to go back to the ballot box.

Politicians from both sides of the divide, as well as the public, have aired their objections to holding polls, after several new coronavirus clusters emerged from the state election in Sabah last month.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Political logjam over state of emergency plan drags Malaysia’s royal households into the fray

Malaysia’s PM Muhyiddin gets high approval for Covid-19 handling but popularity slips

The emergency measures were proposed in part to avoid this scenario and allow government spending on Covid-19 measures to continue.

The King, who in his statement yesterday stressed that lawmakers should stop politicking and that the Budget was crucial in combating the pandemic, could yet be implored again to reconsider an emergency declaration if a general election during the pandemic is on the cards.

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Unite and play your part, says Malaysian King

InternationalOct 26. 2020

By The Star

PETALING JAYA: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has decided that there is no need for a proclamation of an Emergency in the country at this point of time.

Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said that Sultan Abdullah also reminded all politicians to immediately stop all forms of politicking that could disrupt the stability of the country’s administration.

“Sultan Abdullah is of the opinion that there was no need for Members of Parliament to continue with their irresponsible actions that could disrupt the stability of the existing Comptroller, ” he said in a statement yesterday.

Ahmad Fadil said that after Sultan Abdullah and the Malay rulers had gone through a proposal by the government to declare a state of emergency, the King felt that the government had successfully contained the pandemic well and effectively.

He said the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday requested the proclamation of Emergency under Article 150(1) and proclamation of Emergency (Essential Powers 2020) Ordinance pursuant to Article 150 (2B) of the Federal Constitution to combat the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

“The King strongly believes in the ability of the government under the leadership of the Prime Minister to continue implementing policies and enforcement to curb the Covid-19 pandemic from spreading, ” he said.

Ahmad Fadil added that the Ruler stressed that the 2021 Budget to be tabled in Parliament was very important to the people in combating Covid-19 and restoring the nation’s economy.

“As such, the financial allocation is much needed by the frontliners to ensure the smoothness of their job and responsibilities, ” he said, adding that the King was very concerned about the people’s worry due to the emergence of several new Covid-19 clusters and the spike in daily positive cases.

Ahmad Fadil said that the King urged everyone, regardless of their background and their political leanings, to set aside all their differences to unite and play their respective roles in helping the government and the authorities to curb the spread of the disease.

The Malay Rulers had, at around 2.30pm yesterday, held a special meeting at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the government’s plan to declare a state of emergency to tackle the worsening Covid-19 situation.

On Friday, the Prime Minister and several ministers presented the King with the Emergency plan at Istana Abdul Aziz Indera Mahkota in Kuantan.

They were accompanied by the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador, Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun and Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Related stories:

MPs on both sides back Budget 2021 approval – not Emergency declaration

Rulers’ meeting at Istana Negara ends after over two hours

MCA fully respects and supports King’s decision not to declare Emergency

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Commerce chief: New initiatives to revive HK tourism sector

InternationalOct 25. 2020A woman poses for photos in from of Victoria Harbour while attending the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival at Central Harbourfront, Hong Kong, Jan 4, 2019. Photo Credit: China Daily 

By China Daily

HONG KONG – In launching new tourism initiatives, the Hong Kong government shows its determination in overcoming the difficulties brought about by the epidemic, said the city’s commerce chief.

READ MORE: HKTB plan to encourage locals to explore region, boost tourism

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah made the remarks on Friday after attending a press conference of the 2020 Wine and Dine Festival. The exemption for licensed travel agents to organize local group tours of not more than 30 people under the group gathering restrictions also came into effect on Friday.

We cannot have a total lockdown. It will bring a detrimental effect to the economy both locally and globally. But at the same time, we cannot open our gate indiscriminately.

Edward Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, HKSAR govt

He expected this year’s Wine and Dine Festival will reach out to more people as it will be conducted in a hybrid online and offline mode.

He said the launch of the festival amid the epidemic this year would be a good demonstration that Hong Kong can retain this brand name, “Wine and Dine – Best in Hong Kong”, Tang said.

On easing restrictions on local tours, he said the government aimed to strike a balance for all.

“As regards the local tourism arrangement, we are finding all ways and means to bring back the space and opportunity for business to resume under the premise of safe and healthy arrangements, as well as to allow some normalcy in business,” Tang said.

“We cannot have a total lockdown. It will bring a detrimental effect to the economy both locally and globally. But at the same time, we cannot open our gate indiscriminately.”

In addition to the local tour arrangement, Hong Kong has reached an agreement with Singapore to establish a travel bubble with a view to reviving air travel between the two places in a safe and progressive way. 

“We emphasize a very strong COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction test to be conducted before and after departure. In place of that, we hope that we can do away with the more restrictive quarantine arrangements, allowing people to have more freedom in going around the city in a safe manner,” Tang said.

ALSO READ: Tourism sector to get HK$400-m subsidy as visitors decline

He added that in launching the new initiatives, the government shows Hong Kong’s determination in overcoming the difficulties brought about by the epidemic. 

“We will build on these travel bubbles, local tour exemptions and events like this (2020 Wine & Dine Festival) to demonstrate to the world that if there is a will, there is a way,” he said.

“In that regard, we need cooperation from both people in the trade, like the travel trade as well as the public who will continue to observe social distancing and maintain public health.”