Hawaii Maui wildfire kills 67, leaves painful questions in its wake - CNA

MAALAEA, Hawaii: Hawaiian officials on Friday (Aug 11) were still trying to determine what caused a deadly wildfire to sweep through Lahaina on Maui island with terrifying speed, killing at least 67 and decimating the historic resort town with little warning to residents.

The death toll was expected to rise as search teams combed through the charred ruins of the town with the aid of cadaver dogs, after the fire torched 1,000 buildings and left thousands homeless in what officials say is the worst natural disaster in the state's history.

"As firefighting efforts continue, 12 additional fatalities have been confirmed as of 1pm today amid the active Lahaina fire. This brings the death toll to 67 people," Maui County said in a statement.

Governor Josh Green has been warning the number was likely to climb further.

"Without a doubt, there will be more fatalities. We do not know, ultimately, how many will have occurred," Green told CNN when the toll stood at 59.

Three days after the disaster, it remained unclear whether some residents had received any warning before the fire engulfed their homes.

The island includes emergency sirens intended to warn of natural disasters and other threats, but they did not appear to have sounded during the fire.

Officials have not offered a detailed picture of precisely what notifications were sent out, and whether they were done via text message, email or phone calls.

Maui County Fire Chief Bradford Ventura said at a Thursday press conference that the fire's speed made it "nearly impossible" for frontline responders to communicate with the emergency management officials who would typically provide real-time evacuation orders. He also noted that cellular service was knocked out.

"They were basically self-evacuating with fairly little notice," he said, referring to residents of the neighborhood where the fire initially struck.

County Mayor Richard Bissen told NBC's "Today" show on Friday that he did not know whether sirens went off but said the fire moved extraordinarily quickly.

"I think this was an impossible situation," he said.

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2023-08-11 18:36:00Z
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All ears on hot button issues ahead of Malaysia state polls, with rising popularity of podcasts among politicians - CNA

“If you want to find out if it is true, you will have to find the article. For social media, sometimes it is not true, sometimes it is true. I do not believe 100 per cent,” he told CNA.

Despite the importance of such social media tools, politicians still go back to the basics by going on the ground to get up close and personal with their supporters.

But all the messaging and outreach, whether in person or online, are only important if voters are motivated to go to the ballot box.

VOTER APATHY

One key election concern this time round is voter apathy.

Some fear that not many Malaysians working overseas would return for the local polls, while others are worried that voters are getting tired of elections and politicians' rhetoric.

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2023-08-11 05:55:00Z
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Singapore and China reaffirm upgraded bilateral relations during Wang Yi's visit - CNA

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday (Aug 11) reaffirmed the two countries' "longstanding and substantive relations", which were upgraded in April.

The decision to elevate bilateral ties followed a meeting earlier this year between Mr Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said at the time that the upgraded partnership reflects the commitment by both sides to continually expand bilateral cooperation, as well as pursue new collaboration in forward-looking areas such as digital and green economies.

On Friday, Mr Lee and Mr Wang discussed how to expand and enhance collaboration that would benefit both countries and the region, MFA said in a press statement.

Mr Wang also updated Mr Lee on China's foreign policy priorities.

Mr Lee welcomed China's continued engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and looked forward to closer ASEAN-China cooperation, said MFA.

"Both sides affirmed the importance of building an open, peaceful and inclusive region," it added.

Mr Wang also called on Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.

"They took stock of the good progress in bilateral cooperation, anchored by our three government-to-government projects in Suzhou, Tianjin and Chongqing, and institutionalised platforms such as the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC)," MFA said.

This is the 15th anniversary of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project and both sides seek to leverage the opportunity to refresh bilateral cooperation.

Mr Wong will visit China later this year to co-chair the 19th JCBC with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.

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2023-08-11 12:28:33Z
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Like a warzone: Hawaii's fleeing tourists tell of escape - CNA

Guests were finally evacuated to the airport when the hotel ran out of food, she said.

But she was not sure when she would be able to get home, with her flight booked for Saturday, and her husband in a long queue to try to change the tickets.

"I don't know if we'll be able to get a hotel room, or we'll have to sleep here on the floor," she said.

Tourists were taken to the airport in school buses, where they were met by volunteers distributing sandwiches and water.

Canadian Brandon Wilson had travelled to Hawaii with his wife to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

But two days after they arrived, the fires cut the power to their AirBnB.

By Thursday morning they were running low on food and had no cash to buy groceries, so they decided to try to leave.

"As we drove through Lahaina it looked like a warzone," he told AFP.

"It really looks like somebody came along just bombed the whole town. It's completely devastated."

"It was really hard to see," he said, sobbing. "You feel so bad for people. They lost their homes, their lives, their livelihoods."

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2023-08-11 05:01:44Z
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'We won't feel intimidated': Chinese scientists see limited impact from US hi-tech investment ban - CNA

As Beijing directs more funding into science and technology to meet its goal of self-reliance, some see the latest restrictions as an opportunity.

“China will continue to advance its technologies and is firmly supporting home-grown alternatives, so the withdrawal of US capital is a chance for us to step in,” said one investor in Shanghai focused on Chinese hi-tech firms.

Li from the ministry-affiliated centre also said the order could motivate Chinese scientists and that could “give a boost to these industries”. But he said those working overseas who had planned to return to China may now reassess their options.

According to Zeng Liaoyuan, from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Chengdu, universities and research institutes are prepared for the restrictions.

“We won’t feel intimidated or devastated,” said Zeng, an associate professor of information and communication engineering. “We will continue to find ways to enhance China’s technological strength in these areas.”

But the tech rivalry between the two powers has had an impact in China. The quantum physicist said it was a pity that scientists found themselves in what he called a “lose-lose” situation, and that his start-up had been unable to source essential components from the US in recent years.

Sourcing parts has also been a problem for other Chinese companies. One researcher gave the example of Origin Quantum, a major Chinese player in quantum technologies.

“Origin Quantum used to say it should be able to build a quantum computer with hundreds of qubits,” said the researcher, who does not work for the company, referring to the basic units of information. “So far it has only built a computer with more than 70 qubits.”

This article was first published on SCMP. 

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2023-08-11 02:33:00Z
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Biden calls China a 'ticking time bomb' due to economic troubles - CNA

SALT LAKE CITY: US President Joe Biden on Thursday (Aug 10) called China a "ticking time bomb" because of its economic challenges and said the country was in trouble because of weak growth.

“They have got some problems. That’s not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” Biden said at a political fundraiser in Utah.

Biden's remarks were reminiscent of comments he made at another fundraiser in June when he referred to President Xi Jinping as a "dictator". China called the remarks a provocation.

Those comments came shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken completed a visit to China aimed at stabilising relations that Beijing described as being at their lowest point since formal ties were established in 1979.

China's consumer sector fell into deflation and factory-gate prices extended declines in July. China may be entering an era of much slower economic growth with stagnated consumer prices and wages, contrasting with inflation elsewhere in the world.

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2023-08-11 01:33:31Z
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Fewer Malaysians expected to bother voting at state polls - why this may hurt the ruling coalition - CNA

One voter who tells CNA that he will not be casting his ballot for the upcoming polls is Farizul Izwani, who is registered to vote at the state constituency of Cempaka in Kelantan

Farizul, who is based in Selangor for work, says that travelling home might be cumbersome, and he feels that it is unlikely that his vote would matter in the bigger picture. 

“When I travelled back to vote in the general election, I had to endure a nine-hour traffic jam from KL to Kelantan,” says the 42-year-old. 

“PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia) is also very strong in Kelantan. I don’t think my vote will be enough to sway support for PH-BN,” says Mr Farizul, who is a PH supporter. 

Mr Thomas Fann, chairman for non-governmental group - The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections - which is better known as Bersih, predicts that the voter turnout is likely to be around 64 per cent based on the feedback he received. 

“State elections not held in conjunction with the General Election tend to have a lower voter turnout by around 10-15 per cent. For the upcoming state polls, the early signs are not good … We are a bit concerned,” says Mr Fann.

Bersih is a strong advocate for mass participation at the polls, and has launched a #VoteLocal campaign on Aug 1 to persuade voters to cast their ballots irregardless of which party they support.

Mr Fann cites how the PH candidate Michelle Ng for the Subang Jaya state seat in Selangor recently revealed that there has been a lower number of postal ballots issued for her constituency than expected. 

In the video posted on Instagram, Ms Ng says that only 398 postal ballots were issued by the Election Commission for the Subang Jaya state seat for the upcoming polls.

This is significantly lower from the projected 1,425 postal ballots issued for the area during GE15 for the Subang parliamentary seat. 

“If this is reflective of the voter turnout rate on Aug 12, we are headed for disaster. In order for PH to retain the state, we need at least a 65 per cent turnout. I hope this is a wake-up call,” she says in the video.

LOWER TURNOUT AMONG ETHNIC MINORITIES LIKELY TO ADVANTAGE PN 

On how this lower voter turnout could impact overall results, observers CNA spoke to outline that a large number of voters who will abstain from voting will likely be the ethnic minorities -  Chinese and Indians who are based out of state. 

They add that this will likely hurt the PH-BN alliance more, as the majority of ethnic minorities support the coalition. 

Bersih’s Mr Fann tells CNA: “Based on our interaction and observations with overseas voters and voters out of state, the profile of this group is typically those of Chinese ethnicity, who are registered to seats near the west coast of Peninsula Malaysia.” 

He adds that a lower voter turnout for these seats would probably handicap PH. 

“(With lower voter turnout), I think the seats in the West Coast would probably become a lot more competitive and may be decided by a few hundred votes,” says Mr Fann. 

Ilham Centre’s Mr Hisommudin also cites data from the Melaka and Johor state polls held in 2021 and 2022 respectively, as examples of how PH’s performance was adversely impacted by relatively lower turnout by the minority voters. 

Based on statistics provided by the Election Commission, the turnout for the Chinese and Indians in Melaka and Johor were 68 per cent and 43 per cent respectively.

This was lower than the figures for the General Election in November, which was 72 per cent and 68 per cent for the Chinese and Indians in Melaka and Johor respectively.

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2023-08-10 10:00:00Z
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