Dad in tragic plane crash seen swigging a bottle of beer as his 11-year-old son flies his plane - The Straits Times

An unsettling video has surfaced on social media, showing a Brazilian rancher swigging a bottle of beer while his 11-year-old son is piloting his private plane.

Mr Garon Maia, 42, and his son, Francisco, died when the same aircraft – a US$1.2 million (S$1.6 million) twin-engine Beechcraft Baron 58 – crashed on July 29 in a forest between the states of Rondonia and Mato Grosso, in Brazil.

Overcome with grief, Mr Maia’s wife, Ms Ana Pridonik, took her own life with a gun hours after her husband and stepson were buried on Aug 1.

Investigators are now trying to determine how much the father’s actions recorded in the video contributed to the tragedy.

It’s unclear when Mr Maia took the video, but investigators said what was seen in it reflected how much he regarded his and his son’s safety.

In the video, Francisco could be seen in control of the plane as it took off on a dirt runway, with Mr Maia, on the co-pilot’s seat, giving him instructions.

“Wait, everything ready? Nothing in front, okay. Come on, 600 horses, you can push. 600, Kiko, go,” Mr Maia could be heard telling his son.

“Hand on the lever, hand on the lever. Keep your hand there and look at the speed,” he said, as the plane took to the sky.

Moments later, as the plane began cruising, Mr Maia was seen downing a bottle of beer.

“The passenger can have one. Right, Kiko?” he said.

Crash investigators said on July 29, Mr Maia flew out of his ranch in Nova Conquista and then stopped at an airport in Vilhena to refuel.

He was planning to fly Francisco back to Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, where the boy lives with his mother and attends school, reported Daily Mail.

The plane took off at 5.50pm and plummeted eight minutes later.

“The plane crashed very close to the ploughed land. He didn’t have time to land,” news reports quoted one witness as saying.

Investigators are trying to determine whether his son was the one flying the plane when it crashed.

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2023-08-05 14:40:00Z
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Heatwave forces Singapore scouts to leave jamboree in South Korea - The Straits Times

The SSA said that the Singapore contingent comprises 40 youth participants aged 14 to 17 years old, while the rest are adult leaders and volunteers.

The association said: “The safety and welfare of our young people and adult volunteers are of the utmost importance and therefore, after consulting with local stakeholders, we made the decision to transfer our young people and adult volunteers from the jamboree site.”

The contingent will be transferred to the Daejeon Education Centre in Daejeon Metropolitan City, the SSA added, before heading to Seoul to meet their British counterparts for activities like visiting tourist attractions.

The jamboree, which began on Tuesday, faced calls on Saturday for it to be cancelled after large contingents from the United States and Britain pulled out a week early over extreme heat and weather conditions.

Saturday’s pullouts are a fresh blow to the organisers and the South Korean government, which on Friday promised more water trucks, air-conditioned spaces and medics in an attempt to save the event.

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2023-08-05 08:35:10Z
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Heatwave-hit jamboree in South Korea in doubt as Singapore, US and British scouts leave site - CNA

The World Organization of the Scout Movement said in a statement on Friday it had asked the Korean Scout Association to consider "alternative options to end the event earlier than scheduled and support the participants until they depart for their home countries".

Organisers would meet on Saturday to discuss whether to continue, cancel or scale back the event, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Hit by extreme heat, hundreds of participants at the event fell ill and were treated for heat-related ailments, prompting complaints from parents over the safety of their children.

Reports in local media have suggested the event's issues go beyond the heat, citing poor campsite conditions, with sanitation "less than ideal" including rudimentary showers and toilets, and saying scouts had been plagued by insect bites.

A Korean-American parent, whose 15-year-old daughter lost consciousness while participating in the event, claimed an ambulance was called but it did not arrive at the site until 45 minutes later.

"We were told she lost consciousness and (her eyes rolled back), revealing the whites," she told South Korean broadcaster SBS.

"Those 45 minutes were terrifying for us. We can't even imagine what might have happened during that time. How can South Korea allow children to be neglected like this?"

The event is also facing additional challenges besides the heat. Jeolla authorities on Saturday said about 70 people on the site have come down with COVID-19.

Local media outlets have described the situation as a "national disgrace", given the time the country had to prepare for the event.

Critics had earlier warned of the risks of gathering such a large number of youth in a treeless region with little shelter from the summer heat.

Some people online have compared the situation to the deadly survival game featured in South Korea's mega-hit Netflix series Squid Game.

More than 150 countries were taking part in the gathering as of Friday, according to officials.

The jamboree is scheduled to run until Aug 12.

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2023-08-05 04:25:25Z
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US Scouts to pull out of heatwave-hit jamboree in South Korea - CNA

Temperatures have hit 34 degrees Celsius in Saemangeum, near the city of Buan on South Korea's west coast, where 39,000 participants, mostly scouts aged 14 to 18, are camping.

The pullout by the United States comes as a further blow to the organisers and the South Korean government, which on Friday had said it would send more water trucks, air-conditioned spaces and medics to save the event.

Scouts from Britain, the largest grouping at the jamboree, said on Friday they were moving to hotels in Seoul for the rest of their stay, to alleviate pressure on the site.

The World Organization of the Scout Movement also said in a statement on Friday that it had asked the Korean Scout Association to consider "alternative options to end the event earlier than scheduled and support the participants until they depart for their home countries".

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2023-08-05 00:11:05Z
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Singapore attendees could cut short trip at World Scout Jamboree in South Korea if heat worsens - CNA

"LIGHT FATIGUE"

While no one from Singapore has succumbed to the heat so far, some have experienced "light fatigue" because of the weather, said the Singapore Scout Association.

The affected participants were told to rest and stay hydrated. No one required further medical attention.

"As part of our safety measures, regular water parades are taken to ensure hydration. We will also cancel outdoor activities if the weather is too hot and will move indoors (or) under shade," the scouting body said, adding that those who do not want to take part in activities are also allowed to rest in camp. 

The association said the temperature at the event was about 37 degree Celsius in the day but dropped to a "comfortable level" in the evening.

Leaders have been assigned to chaperone the scouts to ensure they are well-hydrated. The scouts have also been told to call home daily to give updates. 

“Our Scouts are enjoying themselves, interacting with Scouts from other countries ... And the morale of our contingent is high,” it said. 

However, if the heat situation worsens, the association said it would consider leaving the jamboree early and returning to Singapore. The contingent is in constant contact with its Singapore headquarters and the Singapore embassy in Seoul.

Mr Ang Wee Jin, the leader of the Singapore contingent, said the scouts would be disappointed if the event was cut short. 

"But they understand the implications if they stay too long in the heat ... safety is a priority and if the situation worsens, we will discuss with (the association) and pull out," said Mr Ang.

"I'm impressed with the kids' tenacity. They are taking it positively and enjoying themselves."  

The jamboree comes a few days after the heat is estimated to have killed at least 22 people across the country as of Tuesday, more than triple the record of seven during the same period last year, an official at South Korea's National Fire Agency said.

Earlier on Friday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called for an "unlimited" number of air-conditioned buses that scouts can use for brief refuge and refrigerator trucks to provide cold water. 

A day earlier, he ordered dozens of military doctors and nurses to the campsite to provide emergency care.

Some residents of Buan said the government should have been better prepared for the heat.

The scout's gathering is due to run until Aug 12.

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2023-08-04 11:32:00Z
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Singapore 'willing' to discuss Malaysia high-speed rail - Bangkok Post

PUBLISHED : 4 Aug 2023 at 09:28

Vehicles form a long queue to enter the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore early on April 1, 2022, before crossing the causeway to Malaysia's southern Johor state (Photo: AFP)

Singapore is open to start on a “clean slate” on a proposed high-speed rail link with neighbouring Malaysia, acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in Parliament on Thursday.

"Singapore is willing to discuss any new proposal for a Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail from Malaysia in good faith, starting from a clean slate," Chee told lawmakers. "We have not received any new proposal from Malaysia."

Malaysia said last month it will invite proposals from private companies, paving the way for revival of the project that was once estimated to cost more than 100 billion ringgit (US$22 billion). The plan, which was agreed upon in 2016, suffered multiple delays because of escalating costs and was eventually scrapped in 2021 after both countries failed to reach an agreement. 

The on-again, off-again 350-kilometre (218-mile) high-speed rail link would cut travel time between the centres down to about 90 minutes versus more than four hours by car. The service was previously due to start in 2026.

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2023-08-04 02:28:00Z
CBMiZGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJhbmdrb2twb3N0LmNvbS93b3JsZC8yNjIzNDk0L3NpbmdhcG9yZS1zYXlzLXdpbGxpbmctdG8tZGlzY3Vzcy1tYWxheXNpYS1oaWdoLXNwZWVkLXJhaWzSAQA

Trump pleads not guilty of plotting to overturn election loss - CNA

TRUMP STILL THE REPUBLICAN FRONT-RUNNER

Trump's legal woes have done little to damage his status as Republican front-runner. Forty-seven per cent of Republican voters said they would support him in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken after Tuesday's indictment, extending his lead over second-place Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 13 per cent.

Three-quarters of Republicans said they agreed that the charges were "politically motivated", showing that Trump's claim that he is the victim of political persecution resonates with his base.

That said, the same poll found about half of Republicans said they would not vote for Trump if he were convicted of a felony, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, underscoring the potential risks his legal entanglements pose for his candidacy.

Most prominent Republicans, including several competing with Trump for the White House, have either defended him or offered muted criticism, instead accusing the Biden administration of weaponising the Justice Department against a campaign foe.

Biden declined to comment on the arraignment.

Many of the allegations in Tuesday's indictment had been well-documented in media reports and the investigation conducted by a US House of Representatives select committee.

But the indictment featured some details that were not widely known, including several based on grand jury testimony and contemporaneous notes from former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also running for the Republican presidential nomination.

The indictment describes a phone call in which Pence told Trump there was no legal basis for the theory that Pence could block certification of the election.

"You're too honest," Trump responded, according to prosecutors.

Although Pence repeatedly told Trump he lacked the authority to reject electoral votes from certain states, Trump kept repeating the claim.

On Jan 6, as he spoke to his supporters before they attacked the Capitol, Trump said: "If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election." Some rioters at the Capitol later chanted, "Hang Mike Pence!"

Far from deterred by the violence, Trump and his associates kept calling Republican members of Congress hours after the riot had ended, still intent on blocking certification, the indictment said.

Pence was one of the few Republicans to criticise Trump on Tuesday, saying that "anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president".

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2023-08-03 23:01:27Z
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