Recent Beijing rain heaviest since records began 140 years ago: Weather service - The Straits Times

BEIJING – Deadly rain that pummelled China’s capital in recent days was the heaviest since records began 140 years ago, Beijing’s weather service said on Wednesday, as a massive cleanup operation began.

Millions of people have been hit by extreme weather events and prolonged heatwaves around the globe in recent weeks – events that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change.

The Beijing Meteorological Service said the Chinese capital has just experienced the “heaviest rainfall in 140 years”, which is as long as the city’s authorities have kept records of the weather.

“The maximum value of rainfall recorded during this storm, 744.8mm, occurred at the Wangjiayuan Reservoir in Changping,” the service said, adding that the largest volume previously recorded was 609mm in 1891.

The rainstorms that hit Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province have claimed at least 20 lives.

The epicentre of flooding shifted to Hebei on Wednesday.

In Beijing’s Fangshan district – on the border between the capital and Hebei – an AFP team saw a park that had been completely flooded, with tonnes of rubbish that had been washed away by torrential rain stuck near a bridge.

The area was “extremely dangerous” on Tuesday, a police officer said.

Journalists also saw a military vehicle with caterpillar wheels on its way back from the worst-affected areas.

And AFP saw an ambulance, a rescue boat and a police car heading to Zhuozhou, a hard-hit district of Hebei.

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2023-08-02 09:19:24Z
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Aung San Suu Kyi's pardon part of Myanmar junta's attempt to seek legitimacy: Former UN expert - CNA

“They think that reducing sentences for Aung San Suu Kyi and the president U Win Myint will first of all get some of the support of the people, and more importantly, get them international recognition,” she said.

“It’s like a coating, a veneer, so that the international community can recognise them as a legitimate government of Myanmar.”

She noted that the military junta does not have control over the country, with over 50 per cent of the country under the control of the local ethnic groups.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing had acknowledged that much of the nation is not under full military control, with fighting continuing in Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, as well as Karen, Kayah and Chin states.

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2023-08-02 05:58:48Z
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Former US president Donald Trump indicted over efforts to overturn 2020 election - CNA

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump was indicted on Tuesday (Aug 1) over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election - the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House.

Trump is charged with three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction in the 45-page indictment brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

Trump is accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding - the Jan 6, 2021 meeting of a joint session of Congress held to certify Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.

"The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud," the indictment said.

Smith has already filed charges against Trump for mishandling top secret government documents, and the former president also faces a trial in New York for allegedly paying election-eve hush money to a porn star.

"Despite having lost, the Defendant was determined to remain in power," the indictment said.

"So for more than two months following election day on Nov 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won.

"These claims were false, and the Defendant knew that they were false."

The indictment mentions six co-conspirators but none are identified and Trump is the only named defendant.

According to US media reports, Trump is to be arraigned in court on Aug 3.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, lashed out at Smith, calling him "deranged" and saying he had issued "yet another Fake Indictment" to "interfere with the presidential election."

"Why didn't they do this 2.5 years ago?" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Why did they wait so long?

"Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign," he said.

Trump has repeatedly attacked the investigation as a political "witch hunt" by the Department of Justice.

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2023-08-01 21:42:00Z
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Chan Brothers to take legal action for live-streamed statements about private Europe tour - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – Chan Brothers Travel, one of Singapore’s biggest tour agencies, on Monday said it would take legal action against “public figures” for statements made on Facebook.

Chan Brothers did not name the individuals, but netizens on public forums made the connection to getai performer and digital content creator Wang Lei and his entourage, who recently conducted a live stream making complaints and allegations against a travel agency. 

In its statement, the agency said it had received feedback on a private Europe tour it organised for “some public figures”.

“We actively sought to address their concerns and invited them to meet in person upon their return to Singapore, so that we could deal with matters in the aftermath directly and thoroughly,” said Chan Brothers.

These parties, however, took to “multiple Facebook live streams” to make statements about the trip, the agency added.

Wang, who has 1.4 million followers on Facebook, had gone live on the social media platform on July 16 at 8.29pm, with an accompanying caption in Mandarin that said he would be talking about the travel agency behind the tour.

In the almost-30 minute live stream, which was carried out in Hokkien and Mandarin, the 62-year-old, flanked by three women, including getai singer Anderene Choo and comedian Tay Yin Yin, made several allegations against the travel agency, but did not name it.

Later, two men also joined the live stream, which had more than 280,000 views as at Tuesday evening.

A subsequent Facebook post the following day indicated that he had been on a 16-day tour around Europe and had travelled to Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.

Chan Brothers said it had made “careful consideration” and sought legal advice before deciding to move forward with action.

“As we must be accountable to our stakeholders and customers, our firm response is crucial for a fair resolution and to set an example for responsible digital conversations,” it added.

The Straits Times has contacted Chan Brothers for more information.

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2023-08-01 13:35:00Z
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Tourists flock to Chinese zoo after 'human-like' Malayan sun bear goes viral - The Straits Times

BEIJING – Visitors are thronging a zoo in eastern China’s Zhejiang province after a video of one of its bears went viral, with some netizens suggesting she looked so human she might be an employee in a bear suit.

Visitor numbers at Hangzhou Zoo have gone up by 30 per cent to around 20,000 a day since a video of the Malayan sun bear, named Angela, became a trending topic on Chinese social media at the weekend, Zhejiang province-based Chao News reported.

“After seeing this bear standing up on the Internet, I wanted to see how it looks in real life, so I came here,” said a man surnamed You, who said he had only half-believed the video he saw online, Chao News reported.

“After we saw the video on the Internet, we specially took the high-speed train from Suzhou to come over to see the bear,” another visitor, Ms Qian Ming, told a Hangzhou TV station. “We travelled overnight last night to get here. The bears are so cute.”

In the widely shared video posted last Thursday, the sun bear can be seen standing on its hind legs and stretching its neck out as it faces visitors watching from outside its enclosure, before sitting back down.

It was when Angela was standing up that some netizens said she looked like someone wearing a bear suit.

“If this is fake, it deserves an Oscar for special effects,” said one user on the Weibo microblog platform.

The zoo has sought to refute the rumour in posts on its official WeChat account and in interviews with local media, saying that Angela is “definitely not a human”.

“Our zoo is government-run, so that kind of situation would not happen,” a zoo official said, according to local media. “The temperature in the summer is nearly 40 degrees. If you put on a fur suit, you certainly couldn’t last more than a few minutes without lying down.”

Animal rights group Peta said this incident shows how all zoo animals, including this bear, should be moved to sanctuaries and wildlife reserves that “prioritise the well-being of animals”.

“These highly intelligent and social beings deserve to live freely and thrive in their natural environment, not used as mere spectacles for human entertainment,” Mr Jason Baker, Peta’s Asia vice-president, said in a statement on Tuesday. REUTERS

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2023-08-01 10:10:00Z
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AHTC to raise service and conservancy charges from Oct 1 - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – The Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) is increasing service and conservancy charges (S&CC) for its residents and tenants twice over the next year, with the first increase to take effect from Oct 1.

In a letter to residents seen by The Straits Times, AHTC said it is raising its monthly fees due to unprecedented inflation and high operating costs. The last time it raised S&CC was in 2018.

The Workers’ Party-run (WP) town council said it will write to all individual households and tenants in due course to provide details on the quantum of the increase. Those who face difficulty paying their S&CC monthly can contact their MP or any AHTC office for help, it added.

AHTC’s announcement comes after town councils under the ruling PAP had earlier announced that they were raising their S&CC rates from July 1.

The next phase of fee increase for both AHTC and the PAP town councils is July 1, 2024.

ST has contacted the WP for more details, including whether S&CC will likewise go up for residents and tenants under Sengkang Town Council, which is also run by WP MPs.

In its letter, AHTC said it has been facing increasing cost pressures since the last fee hike in 2018.

Noting that inflation rose to a 14-year high in January 2023, it said that cleaning and utilities expenses have risen substantially due to the spike in electricity tariffs, manpower wage growth and supply chain challenges. Tender prices have also gone up significantly.

Lift expenditures have also risen, with the town council noting that Aljunied-Hougang is a mature town with many flats built more than 30 years ago.

With many older blocks having undergone the Lift Upgrading Programme, there are now more lifts throughout the town, which adds to lift maintenance costs, it added.

The coming years will see electrical system upgrades, plumbing projects, reroofing of blocks, and repair and redecoration (R&R) works. In addition, about 990 lifts are also slated to undergo the Lift Enhancement Programme in the town.

“In view of the high inflation and cost pressures, AHTC will continue to explore new cost-saving initiatives,” it said.

“However, the gap for AHTC to remain fiscally and financially robust to implement the cyclical works in the years to come could only be bridged with an increase in S&CC fees.”

AHTC said it sought residents’ and tenants’ understanding of the need to raise S&CC fees.

On June 1, PAP town councils announced that S&CC would go up for Housing Board residents, shops, offices, markets and food stalls due to rising costs.

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2023-08-01 07:00:00Z
CBMiX2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vc2luZ2Fwb3JlL2FodGMtdG8tcmFpc2Utc2VydmljZS1hbmQtY29uc2VydmFuY3ktY2hhcmdlcy1mcm9tLW9jdC0x0gEA

Aung San Suu Kyi given partial pardon by Myanmar junta, has jail term reduced - CNA

Aung San Suu Kyi, who last week moved from prison to house arrest in the capital, Naypyitaw, has been in detention since the military seized power in a coup in early 2021.

She has been sentenced to 33 years in jail for a clutch of charges, including corruption, possession of illegal walkie-talkies and flouting COVID-19 restrictions.

"She couldn't be freed completely although some sentences against her were pardoned. She still has to face 14 cases. Only five cases out of 19 were pardoned," a legal source said.

Myanmar Radio and Television reported the pardons on Tuesday but an informed source said she would remain in detention. "She won't be free from house arrest," said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, was first put under house arrest in 1989 after huge protests against decades of military rule.

In 1991, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning for democracy but was only fully released from house arrest in 2010. She swept a 2015 election, held as part of tentative military reforms and her party won the next election in November 2020.

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2023-08-01 06:32:00Z
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