North Korea test-fires 30 missiles into sea, says South Korean military |
- North Korea test-fires 30 missiles into sea, says South Korean military
- Dry spell drives home need for water solutions — Chua Chin Wei and Simon Tay
- Two-week search for Malaysian jet finds only frustration and suspicion
- Australia’s search for MH370: Six questions
- ‘Divergent’ film earns US$4.9 million, Lions Gate green lights sequel
- The Five Ws and one H in Australia’s MH370 quest— Tay Tian Yan
| North Korea test-fires 30 missiles into sea, says South Korean military Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:57 PM PDT
"North Korea fired off 30 short-range missiles between 4.00am and 6.10 am (1900-2110 GMT Friday) this morning from its east coast into the Sea of Japan (East Sea)," said a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs. "The missiles are estimated to have flown about 60 kilometres (37 miles)," he added. South Korea urged North Korea earlier this week to stop what it called "provocative" and potentially dangerous tests, a day after Pyongyang test-fired 25 projectiles into the sea. The show of force is apparently intended to express anger at the South's continuing joint military exercises with its ally the United States. It is not unusual for Pyongyang to carry out such tests but there has been a spate of them in recent weeks. "The North should stop actions that cause military tension and unnerve its neighbours," Seoul's defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters on Monday. "Provocative action made without any prior notifications... can pose significant danger to sea vessels and aircraft passing by the area," he added. The US State Department had also called on Pyongyang to refrain from "provocative actions that aggravate tensions". Beijing expressed concern earlier this month after the North test-fired a rocket into the flight path of a Chinese airliner. The annual South Korean-US military drills started in late February and will run until mid-April. The North has habitually criticised the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercises, along with other military drills south of the border, as rehearsals for an invasion. Seoul and Washington say they are purely defensive. Earlier this month, the North's powerful National Defence Commission threatened to demonstrate its nuclear deterrent in the face of what it called US hostility. But Seoul's defence ministry said there was no sign of an imminent nuclear test by the North, which staged three atomic tests in 2006, 2009 and last year. The latest missile tests came as South Korea and Japan said yesterday that their leaders will hold a summit with US President Barack Obama next week, in a breakthrough after Washington urged the pair to mend badly strained ties. The meeting on the side-lines of an international nuclear conference taking place in The Hague on Monday and Tuesday will mark the first formal talks between President Park Geun-Hye and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since they took office more than a year ago. "At the three-way summit, North Korea's nuclear programmes and the issue of nuclear non-proliferation will be discussed," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement — AFP  |
| Dry spell drives home need for water solutions — Chua Chin Wei and Simon Tay Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:55 PM PDT
Climate change, extreme weather events, water scarcity and pollution are real issues impacting on water supply. The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report has identified water crises as one of the world's top three risks this year. Signs are evident across different countries and regions, affecting both rich and poor. Whether it is California, Brazil or Queensland in Australia, all are facing their worst drought in decades. In Brazil's case, more than 120 cities are under water rationing, despite the fact that the country is estimated to hold more than 10 per cent of the global freshwater supply. In Malaysia, after a two-month dry spell, a third phase of water rationing has been announced. It will affect more than 3.6 million people. As we mark World Water Day tomorrow, given recent events, the overall situation bears review. While there is sufficient supply in Singapore, under current conditions, this cannot be taken for granted. Moreover, while the government has invested in technology and infrastructure, companies and citizens can and must do more. Technology Not Enough Countries are searching for solutions, and more have begun to recognise the merits of water recycling to increase water security. This is technically possible, as Singapore had shown by introducing NEWater in 2002. Questions on costs and perceptions of acceptability are now shifting. In Australia, a key element in South East Queensland's urban drought initiative is a recycled water project along the state's western corridor. This is the country's largest recycled water scheme and aims to reduce the dependency on sources that would be vulnerable to climate change. In California, the Orange County Water District has long used recycling to weather the dry conditions better than other regions in the state. Its Groundwater Replenishment System treats and purifies used water to produce drinking water. Orange County provided an early model for Singapore and, this year, its pioneering work won the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize. This approach is now emulated in Australia, as well as in other American states, such as Colorado and Texas. Yet, recycling can only be part of the solution. Significant investments must be made for a diversified portfolio of water sources. For Singapore, local catchment and reservoirs remain important, as does water pumped in from Malaysia under a long-standing agreement between the two countries. To make Singapore's water supply more robust, additional new efforts have been made for recycled NEWater and desalinated supply, drawn from the sea. These new sources of water are more resilient and less dependent on rain. During the recent dry period, desalination and NEWater plants had run at close to full capacity. Indeed, with the fall in water levels at reservoirs, the drought would have been worse if NEWater had not been used to top up and maintain the water stock. Today, these new sources can meet up to 55 per cent of Singapore's water needs, and more investment can be expected in the future. Yet, NEWater and desalination are not without costs and constraints. Energy is a critical element and major cost in their production. And since Singapore does not have its own sources of energy, production depends ultimately on the supply of gas or other fuel from elsewhere. Even with the best current technology, we cannot indefinitely and infinitely increase the supply of water. Managing Demand for Water Therefore, we need to better manage the demand for water. Fundamentally, Singaporeans need to be reminded that water is a precious resource. This is a slogan from the country's early years and Singaporeans of that generation will remember water rationing. However, recent years of plenty may have lulled us into complacency. Notably, during this spell of drought and haze, household water consumption went up. Some of this usage is essential but others may seem frivolous, such as the plan to hold a Songkran or water festival next month in Singapore, even though this is not our custom. Singaporeans and residents need to take ownership in water conservation and change consumption habits. Currently, supplies remain adequate and water rationing is unnecessary. But exercises in rationing might be important to drive home the message anew. Such exercises could start in schools to expose younger generations to the issue. It could also be carried out systematically across different constituencies, one at a time, to make the point clearer, while avoiding mass disruption. The lesson would be to not take things for granted, and would make people more aware and robust, in case of an emergency. These exercises must aim to help develop a common understanding about sufficiency and sustainability. We hope the Singaporean "kiasu" instinct would not kick in, causing people to stock water excessively in bathtubs and buckets, which would create unnecessary wastage and potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Rationing exercises must be carried out in tandem with the promotion of better consumption habits. Per capita water consumption in Singaporean households has been steadily decreasing, from 165 litres a day in 2003 to the current 151 litres. We can, however, definitely do more. Improving water conservation can be spurred by simple common-sense efforts, such as not leaving the tap running unnecessarily, using water-efficient appliances and fittings, or timing our showers. Companies can also do their part as responsible corporate citizens. More than 200 companies and organisations that took part in the PUB's 10 per cent Challenge have successfully managed to reduce their water usage by 10 per cent in the past four years. Wafer fabrication plants have also taken steps to stem their thirst. So have developers when designing our buildings. For example, City Developments Limited has successfully cut down its water usage by using rainwater to test waterproofing in newly-built toilets. At construction sites, underground water storage tanks are used to collect rainwater, which is then used for miscellaneous purposes such as watering plants or hosing down muddy truck tyres. Such efforts are commendable. While this extended dry spell is still on people's minds, the public should be encouraged to do their part to conserve this precious resource and cut down water consumption for years to come. . — todayonline.com * Chua Chin Wei is Deputy Director and Coordinator for sustainable resources at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA). Simon Tay is SIIA Chairman and Vice-Chairman for the Asia-Pacific Water Forum, a non-profit network across the region. ** This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online. |
| Two-week search for Malaysian jet finds only frustration and suspicion Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:50 PM PDT
The international team hunting Flight MH370 in the remote southern Indian Ocean yielded no results yesterday, and Australia's deputy prime minister said suspected debris there may have sunk. Today, six aircraft began returning to the region where objects identified by satellite were spotted earlier this week, while two merchant ships were also searching the area. China, Japan and India are sending planes and Australian and Chinese navy vessels are steaming to the zone, more than 2,000km southwest of Perth. Aircraft and ships have also renewed the search in the Andaman Sea between India and Thailand, going over areas that have already been exhaustively swept to find some clue to unlock one of the biggest mysteries in modern aviation. Malaysian officials have been realistic about their ability to lead the operation with a global dynamic that some have said is beyond the country's technical capabilities and expertise. "This continues to be a multinational effort coordinated by Malaysia, involving dozens of countries from around the world," Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a briefing yesterday. Malaysia welcomed "all assistance to continue to follow all credible leads", said Hishammuddin, who is also acting transport minister. He said searchers were facing the "long haul" but were conscious that the clock was ticking. The plane's "black box" voice and data recorder only transmits an electronic signal for about 30 days before its battery dies, after which it will be far more difficult to locate. Investigators suspect the Boeing 777, which took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing shortly after midnight on March 8, was deliberately diverted thousands of miles from its scheduled path. They say they are focusing on hijacking or sabotage but have not ruled out technical problems. The search itself has strained ties between China and Malaysia, with Beijing repeatedly leaning on the Southeast Asian nation to step up its hunt and do a better job at looking after the relatives of the Chinese passengers. Hishammuddin has rejected complaints that the country has botched search efforts or refused to share vital information with other governments. For families of the passengers, the process has proved to be an emotionally wrenching battle to elicit information, their angst fuelled by a steady stream of speculation and false leads. In a Beijing hotel where the bulk of Chinese families have been awaiting information, the deadlock prompted rage over perceived Malaysian incompetence. For a handful of Chinese families who chose to be flown to Kuala Lumpur to be closer to the heart of search operations, the flow of information has been no more fluid. On Wednesday, grief erupted into anger when several family members unfurled a protest banner in front of a throng of journalists, demanding the truth from the Malaysian government. The ruckus prompted police to escort the relatives, including a distraught mother, away from the briefing room. By yesterday, the Chinese families who had been staying at a resort south of Kuala Lumpur had to decamp to another hotel as they were displaced by customers for the upcoming Malaysian Formula One grand prix. "Tonight all the government could give us was old information. But of course we, the families, want to hear new updates," Malaysian Hamid Ramlat, the father of a passenger, told reporters after emerging from a briefing on Thursday night. Some experts have argued that the reluctance to share sensitive radar data and capabilities in a region fraught with suspicion amid China's military rise and territorial disputes may have hampered the search. Two people familiar with the investigation said the search had been slowed in some cases by delays over the paperwork needed to allow foreign maritime surveillance aircraft into territorial waters without a formal diplomatic request. Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said yesterday he was grateful for the search craft offered by China and others, but Australian rescue coordinators said they did not request the assistance and have not yet included them on any of their schedules. — Reuters |
| Australia’s search for MH370: Six questions Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:42 PM PDT
As the operation to find the airliner continues, here is a recap of where things stand. What is the current situation? The red-eye flight disappeared off civilian air traffic control screens without issuing a distress call at 1.22am on March 8 about 120 nautical miles off the coast of Kota Bharu, in the South China Sea. After a week's search in the South China Sea, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said on March 15 that the plane's final communication with a satellite placed it somewhere in one of two corridors: a northern arc stretching from northern Thailand to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, or a southern one stretching from Indonesia and into the vast southern Indian Ocean. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced to country's Parliament on Thursday that satellite images, examined by its Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (ADIGO), found two objects — with the larger measuring 24 metres and the smaller five metres — on a remote patch of the southern Indian ocean. "It's probably the best lead that we have right now, but we have to get there, find them, see them to know," AMSA's general manager John Young told reporters Thursday. The operation to find the airliner, involving planes from Australia, New Zealand and the US has been hampered by limited fuel capacities — the aircraft take off daily from Western Australia, the closest land mass and fly out 2,500km to reach the object site. Bad weather has added to visibility issues. The search continues today with the weather expected to improve but there have been no sightings so far.
US satellite company DigitalGlobe confirmed that the images were taken by its satellite on March 16. Analysts have said the images were likely to have been analysed by both US and Australian military before Abbott's announcement. According to several air crash investigators, the objects are unlikely to be parts of the aircraft, which are heavy and would have sunk. Instead, they said that floating debris are usually buoyant items such as life jackets and seat cushions. Oceanographers have said that the particular stretch of ocean is remote and is rarely traversed even by long-haul ships travelling to research bases in Antarctica. "It's a pretty pristine part of the ocean which indeed means that if this is debris... it's highly likely either from the plane or it comes from some ship in the ocean itself, and there's not a lot of shipping going on," Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at Sydney's University of New South Wales, was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press. Where is the operation? The initial search had focused on South China Sea when it was believed that the plane might have crashed near Vietnam. The search area was then widened to the Straits of Malacca and the southern Andaman Sea when evidence was found that the plane might have turned back. After it was established that one of the possible paths for MH370 is southwards, Australia and Indonesia both agreed to lead search operations in the region. Australia's search is focused on a 23,000-sq km area in the southern Indian Ocean, along the southern corridor of MH370's possible paths. The area was chosen based on the information made available to Australia's Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and refined in conjunction with other agencies, the agency said earlier this week. The current area of interest is a smaller patch located 2,300 km away from Perth and is said to be roughly the size of Italy. It is located just around 1,000km south from the Diamantia Fracture Zone, which includes the Diamantia Trench on its eastern part. The 7.3km-deep trench called Diamantina Deep, which is among the deepest points in the Indian Ocean, is located there. Nearby lies the Southeast India Ridge which slopes away from a peak roughly 2.5km under the surface of the sea to a depth of some 4km. Who is involved? The operation is co-ordinated by AMSA, with today's search involving four military and one civilian aircraft. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has tasked three of its P-3 Orion maritime surveillance planes for the search today. These are joined by one ultra-long-range Bombardier Global Express jet, and the US Navy's P-8 Poseidon military aircraft. A Norwegian car carrier vessel, the Hoegh St. Petersburg, joined the search on Thursday, and will continue today; one more merchant vessel is on the way to join the operation. The Royal Australian Navy replenishment ship HMAS Success is also on its way to the location and is due to arrive at the site today. Previous operations also included the RAAF's C-130J Hercules transport aircraft and another P-3 Orion from the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The operation will soon be joined by five ships and three ship-borne helicopters from China, in addition to China's two Ilyushin IL-76s and one Shaanxi Y-8 transport planes that arrived in Malaysia this morning. Japan will also send two of its P-3 Orions, while the UK is sending its hydrographic survey ship HMS Echo. In total, there are 18 ships, 29 aircraft and 6 ship-borne helicopters deployed along the northern and southern corridors as of yesterday. Six merchant ships have joined in AMSA's search so far. While the greatest deployment of multinational assets are concentrated in the southern corridor, Malaysia has said it is continuing the northerly search over land until AMSA is able to confirm the objects are definitely debris belonging to MH370. How are they looking for the debris? The satellite images that triggered this specific search were taken by WorldView-2, which was launched on October 8, 2009 and takes new photos of locations around the Earth every 1.1 days. "DigitalGlobe have several satellites and they have the highest accuracy in terms of pixels of any commercial satellite imaging system. They're basically spy satellites," Chris Rizos, a professor of geodesy and navigation at the University of New South Wales told UK daily The Guardian. The C-130 Hercules were then dispatched to do the initial leg work by dropping marker buoys to provide an on-going reference point. Meanwhile, the P-3 Orion aircrafts which make up the bulk of the search, are veterans of ten years serving in the Middle East and are equipped with sonobuoys which can locate underwater objects, and other rescue kits. HMAS Success, which is commanded by Captain Allison Norris and is on the way, is built to replenish ships with fuel, ammunition, food and stores at sea. It may also carry a Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel boat and a Sea King transport-utility helicopter. The most sophisticated asset however is the US' P-8 Poseidon, a converted Boeing 737 usually tasked with anti-submarine warfare and electronic intelligence with its Raytheon multi-mission surface search radar. On the other end of the sophistication spectrum is the Norwegian car carrier, which will likely only use binoculars, according to the head of shipping at Hoegh, Olav Sollie. "The best way with this size of a vessel [which is 230m long] it sounds probably old-fashioned, but its a very good way of doing a search on sea, that is on deck with a binocular," he told reporters yesterday. When will we know more? Following Abbott's announcement to the Australian Parliament, AMSA sent for two merchant ship to scour the area together with HMAS Success. The second merchant ship is scheduled to arrive tonight. The authority said yesterday that the search area was four hours away from the nearest air base, leaving search planes only enough fuel for two hours of searching. AMSA said yesterday that a definite answer to whether the debris captured by satellite imagery is related to MH370 will be available within three days. "Every effort is being made to locate the objects seen in the satellite imagery. It must be stressed that these sightings, while credible, are still to be confirmed," Malaysia's acting Transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein reiterated yesterday. Why is it important to find the debris quickly? With 14 days gone, crash investigators have just 16 days before the emergency beacons of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders exhaust their 30-day batteries. The search team will have a difficult time picking up ultrasonic pingers, the device that transmits short high-pitched signals at brief intervals for detection, considering the vast are of the ocean involved, the temperature of the waters and depth of the identified location. Experts have noted that finding MH370's black box will be harder than that of Air France flight AF447, which the flight has been compared to. "AF447 had a good Last Known Position (LKP) which provided search teams with an approximate location to focus a search for debris," said David Gallo, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, noting that MH370 does not have the LKP. Families of the passengers and crews have grown increasingly restless with the fruitless search after close to two weeks since the plane went missing. The pressure has piled up on Malaysia's government and officials as the search wears on, especially from Beijing where state news agencies have openly attacked Putrajaya for its alleged secrecy. Relatives have vented their fury on government officials. University of Newcastle's meteorologist Martin Babakhan said the objects seen by the satellite might have moved "around 200 or 300 kilometres" since it was last spotted. Strong westerly currents in the Indian Ocean also have pushed AMSA's search areas further to the east each day. Even then, oceanographer Gallo predicted that just getting the required robotic submersibles to the site would take a month, and once they arrive it could be one to six months before they find the missing airliner. |
| ‘Divergent’ film earns US$4.9 million, Lions Gate green lights sequel Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:29 PM PDT
"Divergent" stars Shailene Woodley in the story of a futuristic society that divides people into factions based on single personality traits. Woodley's character, teen heroine Tris Prior, has multiple dominant traits that make it difficult for her to fit in, and she becomes a threat to the government's faction system. Lions Gate had tentatively scheduled "Divergent" sequels for March 2015 and March 2016. Yesterday, the company said it gave the official green light to the second instalment, "Insurgent". "We're confident that Divergent is on its way to becoming another important franchise for us," Lions Gate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer said in a statement. "Divergent" is expected to sell between US$50 million and US$68 million worth of tickets at US and Canadian theatres through Sunday, according to pre-opening estimates from Wall Street and box office analysts. The film is based on the first of a trilogy of novels by newcomer author Veronica Roth. — Reuters |
| The Five Ws and one H in Australia’s MH370 quest— Tay Tian Yan Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:28 PM PDT
Australia discovered something possibly coming from MH370, and a silver-haired gentleman at the AMSA made the announcement to the world soon afterward. He couldn't have looked more commonplace than you and me, and definitely not a gorgeous-looking chap that is the spokesperson of some government, his Australian accented English unhurried or sluggish. The point is, he had all the five Ws and one H explicitly laid out. What: Two unidentified objects had been spotted, the bigger one approximately 24 meters in length, plus some splintered debris. Where: Southern Indian Ocean 2,500km southwest of Perth. Who: Satellite images handed over to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and then analyzed by the Australian Geospatial Intelligence Organization (AGIO). When: Thursday morning. Why: Unusual debris lying on possible southward path of MH370 warranting a thorough search although it was specifically stated that it was not necessarily related to the doomed flight. How: Australia, New Zealand and the United States have deployed search aircraft, transporters and vessels (models of assets specified), along with a nearby merchant vessel to the designated area. The five Ws and one H were all distinctly served in slightly more than ten minutes, expressly delivered with no ambiguity of any sort, meant to inform the world that the discovery was of significant credibility although no pledges could yet be made for the time being. No further questions needed to be asked the moment the media conference came to a close. The "How" is of particular relevance here. Australia had already kicked off a series of "How" manoeuvres right before the silver-haired gentleman made the announcement. Upon receiving the information, prime minister Tony Abbott instantly informed all his parliamentarians in Canberra and then our prime minister Najib Tun Razak, explaining the developments and follow-up measures in Australia's search operations. Australia didn't hand over the satellite images to the NTSB, FAA, CIA, FBI or any other other US agency for verification but its own experts, showing that the country was indeed confident of its findings. Abbott did not withhold any piece of information, nor order his people to double check before calling up Obama and Xi Jinping in secret for tips to handle this matter. On the contrary, Australia made the decisive move by rushing to the scene, getting the RAAF P-3 Orion and US Air Force P-8 Poseidon to comb the area, while C-130 Hercules was sent to drop the datum marker buoys in order to measures the ocean currents and determine the original location of the spotted objects. Such competency has been awe-inspiring. Indeed, there is much we in Malaysia can learn from the country, and get embarrassed by its efficiency, First and foremost, Australia was handed the new search mission and area of search only a few days ago. The southward zone assigned to the country is almost as big as the northward zone shared by some two dozen other countries. This area, the Indian Ocean, is an enormous boundless expanse of water with hardly any dry land dotting it, besides being far off regular aviation and navigation routes. The country's technical and personnel abilities are proven, having successfully come up with such an important discovery within a short span of several days. Secondly, from discovery to searching and public announcement, the entire procedure has been handled meticulously and decisively. All information has been shared unreservedly in full transparency, nothing withheld. Let's put aside the question whether MH370 will eventually be found, we cannot deny that Australia has displayed a very high level of prudence and efficiency in the shift of the search mission focus from South China Sea to the southern Indian Ocean. Perhaps you might argue that if what have been spotted from the satellite images are subsequently proven to be not from MH370, then shouldn't Australia be blamed for wasting everyone's effort? Not really. Conducting the search mission is about not giving up hope and every possibility. It is a litmus test for technical competency and humanitarian spirit, a worthwhile attempt that deserves the highest accolades even though nothing positive is produced in the end. — www.mysinchew.com * This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online. |
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