Typhoon Lan makes landfall in western Japan, threatens damage - CNA

Power outages hit almost 90,000 households in central and western Japan, according to regional utilities. Seven & i Holdings said about 210 7-Eleven convenience store outlets were shuttered to ensure safety.

The dangerous levels of rains and winds forced road closures and dozens of train lines to suspend services in the area.

Over the next 24 hours, the central Tokai region - home of Toyota Motor - was expected to get about 350mm of rainfall, nearly three times the average rainfall for the month of August.

Many factories close during the Obon holidays, when city-dwellers return to their ancestral homes.

Typhoon Lan had sustained winds of 150kmh and was moving northwest across the western part of the main island of Honshu at around 15kmh.

It was forecast to reach the Sea of Japan by early Wednesday and continue north along the sea, according to Japan's weather agency. 

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2023-08-15 00:10:28Z
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Malaysians want change, says opposition leader after Perikatan Nasional gains in state polls - CNA

An analyst that CNA spoke to said PN’s gains in the PH-BN states indicate not a desire for change by Malaysians, but a yearning among many Malays for “a return to the pre-2018 absolute Malay dominance over Malaysian polity and society”. 

“As UMNO (United Malays National Organisation) is perceived to be scandal-ridden, (the Malays) go for other Malay parties such as PAS (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia) and Bersatu (Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia),” said Dr Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. 

UMNO is a BN-component party while PAS and Bersatu are PN-component parties. 

Dr Oh added that the results of the state polls suggest that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government is “very shaky”. 

“Members of Parliament (MPs) currently professing support for Anwar may sense the change in the political wind, and switch their support accordingly without offending the anti-hopping law,” he told CNA. 

The anti-hopping law – a constitutional amendment which came into force on Oct 5 – was first mooted as a bipartisan response to the Sheraton Move in 2020 which saw the collapse of the then-PH government.

Under the new law, politicians who switch parties will lose their seats, triggering a by-election. 

Following the state polls results on Sunday morning, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, citing the opposition’s strong performance in the state elections, said that the people have rejected Mr Anwar’s unity government alliance. 

He also called for Mr Anwar’s resignation. 

Meanwhile, Mr Anwar, who leads the PH-BN alliance, stressed that the unity government at the federal level remains intact and committed to serving the people, even as he added that the people's choice must be accepted.

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2023-08-14 12:10:00Z
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China diplomat Wang Yi’s deft touch with a tie wins online praise - South China Morning Post

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1. China diplomat Wang Yi’s deft touch with a tie wins online praise  South China Morning Post
2. Cambodia's next leader, Chinese FM pledge to boost ties  CNA
3. Wang Yi's visit signals China's desire to engage with South-east Asia's new and incoming leaders  The Straits Times
4. In Phnom Penh, Wang Yi shows support for Cambodia’s changing of the guard  South China Morning Post
5. Malaysia and China to deepen ties in various fields  The Star Online
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2023-08-14 07:47:55Z
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Typhoon Lan bears down on Japan's main island - CNA

TOKYO: An approaching typhoon battered communities along Japan's Pacific coast on Monday (Aug 14) with heavy rain and crashing waves, prompting authorities to warn about landslides and flooding.

On track to hit the main island of Honshu early on Tuesday, Lan was expected to dump up to 40cm of rain in the 24 hours to 6am on Tuesday in some areas, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Some towns would see gusts up to 162kmh on Monday, picking up to 180kmh on Tuesday when the system slams into Honshu, the agency said.

The storm was forecast to make landfall on the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula, about 600km west of Tokyo, before making a beeline inland for Osaka, western Japan's main city.

By late Monday morning, one municipality in the Wakayama region started calling on local elderly people to consider evacuating their homes for public shelters.

The approaching typhoon has also prompted the cancellation of public transport services on Tuesday, causing headaches for holidaymakers during the traditional "obon" travel week.

Annually, millions of families return to their hometowns during this season, but some people decided to shorten their vacations and returned to cities Monday before the typhoon strikes.

Japan Airlines said it cancelled 19 flights for Monday and 240 flights on Tuesday. Its rival All Nippon Airways also planned to announce cancellations later.

Various sections of high-speed "Shinkansen" bullet train services are also due to be suspended on Tuesday, especially in regions surrounding the regional business hubs of Osaka and Nagoya on Honshu island.

As of Monday morning, Lan was 260km southeast of Cape Shionomisaki on the Kii Peninsula, packing gusts up to 198kmh.

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2023-08-14 04:24:21Z
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Taiwan will not back down to threats, says its vice president during US trip - CNA

China considers Taiwan its most important diplomatic issue, and is a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington, which is the island's most important international backer and arms supplier.

China has a particular dislike of Lai, who has previously described himself as a "practical worker for Taiwan independence", a red line for Beijing which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

WILLING TO TALK

Lai, who has pledged to maintain peace and the status quo, reiterated in New York that on the basic of dignity and parity he was "very willing" to talk to China and seek peace and stability.

But Lai said he will protect Taiwan's sovereignty, that only Taiwan's people can decide their future and that the Republic of China - Taiwan's formal name - and the People's Republic of China are "not subordinate to each other".

Both Taipei and Washington are aiming for the US stopovers to be low-key, and have called on China not to take any provocative action in response.

Still, Taiwanese officials say China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using Lai's US stopovers as a pretext to intimidate voters ahead of a next year's election and make them "fear war".

On Monday, the Eastern Theatre Command of China's People's Liberation Army, which has responsibility for the area around Taiwan, showed pictures on its WeChat account of troops practising storming a beach, though did not give the location, timing or specifically mention Taiwan.

It said the soldiers guided armoured vehicles "to the enemy frontline positions and launched a fierce attack".

China carried out war games around Taiwan in April after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from California where she met US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while also on a transit on her way back from Central America. 

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2023-08-14 01:54:00Z
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Cambodia's next leader, Chinese FM pledge to boost ties - CNA

Hun Manet was appointed by the king but he and his cabinet must still win an Aug 22 vote in parliament, where his father's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) dominates the lower house.

Hun Manet posted on his Telegram channel that he and Wang "pledged to promote cooperation between the two countries".

He also reaffirmed in a Facebook post his government's "unchanged position" towards the One-China policy and promised no interference in Chinese national affairs.

Hun Manet is scheduled to visit China in September and October.

Wang also met his Cambodian counterpart and reaffirmed Beijing's "unwavering commitment" to respecting Cambodian sovereignty and conveyed Beijing's support for the kingdom, according to a Cambodian foreign ministry statement.

His visit follows diplomatic clashes between Beijing and Manila over their claims to the South China Sea.

China insisted a Philippine navy vessel grounded on a reef in the Spratly Islands be removed from the hotly contested waters, long a flashpoint between them, after the Philippines accused the China Coast Guard of firing water cannon at boats on a resupply mission last weekend.

Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines are all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is in talks with China over a code of conduct in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

Phnom Penh has become one of China's strongest allies in the region under Hun Sen, who ruled for almost four decades, receiving huge sums of Chinese investment.

Hun Sen's CPP won all but five of the 125 seats in the lower house in July polls, which were widely decried as a sham after the main opposition party was barred from running.

He announced days after his landslide victory he would hand power to his eldest son, a four-star general, and that he would become president of the Senate early next year as well as serving in other positions until at least 2033.

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2023-08-13 15:41:00Z
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479 take Pledge as new Singapore citizens at annual ceremony - The Straits Times

Speaking at the event held at ITE College West in Choa Chu Kang, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said Singapore has always been open to the world – to flows of goods and services, people and ideas.

“Our multiculturalism and multiracialism are what define us as a society and make us uniquely Singapore,” added Mr Gan, who is an MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC.

“Today, we are here to welcome you to the Singapore family. Like our forefathers decades ago, you bring with you new ideas, networks and skills. You bring with you the determination and desire to build a better future for your family.”

This year’s event opened with a performance by Keat Hong Chinese Orchestra, a cultural group under the administration of Chua Chu Kang Community Club. The orchestra played a selection of familiar tunes, including National Day songs.

The event closed with the attendees reciting the Pledge and singing the National Anthem.

The first National Citizenship Ceremony was held in 2007 to commemorate the significance of citizenship, and served as an occasion to formally welcome new citizens into the Singapore “family”.

All new citizens are required to receive their citizenship certificates either at the annual ceremony, which GRCs take turns to organise with support from the National Integration Council, or at citizenship ceremonies held at the group representation constituency-level that are organised throughout the year.

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2023-08-13 13:05:00Z
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