The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro
The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro |
- Songkran festival goes dry
- Mystery of MH370 may never be solved, say experts
- N. Korea test-fires missiles as Obama hosts summit
| Posted: 25 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT THERE will be no water pistol fights, celebrity dunk stations, or really, any kind of water fun at Singapore's first Songkran water festival on April 12 and 13. The organisers of Celebrate Songkran 2014 at the Padang have taken heed of the national campaign to conserve water and nixed the water-based activities. Instead, they will host a Water Conservation and Water Heritage Exhibition in conjunction with national water agency PUB. The organisers said this was appropriate in view of the recent dry spell and current moves to cut back on water usage. Though lighting designer Sanischaya Mankhongphithakkul, 25, agrees with the rationale, it still feels a little odd. "What's a water festival without water?" During Songkran, celebrated every year during the Thai New Year from April 13 to 15, thousands take to the streets to douse each other with water guns and buckets. Event organiser Leo Chin, 38, said the reworked concept does not detract from the celebration of water. "Water can either be saved or wasted. In this case, we have chosen to save it." While he was bracing himself for some backlash, he did not expect it to affect the target of 10,000 participants over the two days. Chin said he cancelled all water-related activities after he had public feedback expressing concern about water wastage. He approached the PUB last week to explore how the event could support water conservation efforts. A PUB spokesman said: "While some rain has returned, the recent dry spell is a good reminder for all of us to not take our water for granted, and to conserve water." Other activities at the event will go on as planned. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network |
| Mystery of MH370 may never be solved, say experts Posted: 25 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Even if searchers are able to miraculously pluck Malaysia Airlines flight MH370's "black box" from the depths of the vast Indian Ocean, experts say it may not solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries. Planes, ships and state-of-the-art tracking equipment are hunting for any trace of the passenger jet, which Malaysia said crashed in the forbidding waters after veering far from its intended course. They face a huge challenge locating the Boeing 777's "black box", which holds vital clues to determining what caused the plane to vanish. But experts believe the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder may not yield answers on the riddle of how and why the plane diverted an hour into the flight, and embarked on a baffling journey to the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean. The data recorder details the aircraft's path and other mechanical information for the flight's duration, and "should provide a wealth of information", US-based aviation consultancy firm Leeham Co said in a commentary. But the cockpit voice recorder – which could reveal what decisions were made by those at the helm and why – retains only the last two hours of conversations before the plane's demise. That means potentially crucial exchanges surrounding the initial diversion, which took place halfway between Malaysia and Vietnam, will be lost. "Clearly, it won't reveal anything that happened over the Gulf of Thailand – this will have been overwritten by the end of MH370," it said. British aviation expert Chris Yates said that even if the black boxes are found, "it seems unlikely that we will get that answer" of why the plane ended up thousands of kilometres off course. "We still have no idea as to the mental state of the pilot and co-pilot, we have no idea if somebody managed to get into the cockpit to seize the aircraft, and we've certainly had no admissions of responsibility since this whole episode started," he told BBC television. Paul Yap, an aviation lecturer at Singapore's Temasek Polytechnic, said: "With the new satellite data, I think we can say it is a chessboard," he said of the wide search area. — AFP |
| N. Korea test-fires missiles as Obama hosts summit Posted: 25 Mar 2014 09:17 PM PDT SEOUL: North Korea test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles Wednesday, prompting a stern US reaction after President Barack Obama hosted a landmark Japan-South Korea summit aimed at uniting the three nations against Pyongyang's nuclear threat. Washington condemned the tests as "troubling and provocative", with the US State Department threatening "appropriate measures" for the violation of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from conducting ballistic missile tests. South Korea's defence ministry said both missiles flew 650 kilometres (400 miles) into the Sea of Japan (East Sea), upping the ante after a series of shorter-range launches in recent weeks. Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok identified them as Rodong-class missiles with a maximum range of 1,000-1,500 kilometres. "This missile is capable of hitting not only most of Japan but also Russia and China," Kim said, adding they had been fired from mobile launchers near Pyongyang. North Korea last tested a Rodong missile in July 2009, following UN condemnation of its second nuclear test in May. Kim said the tests were clearly timed to coincide with Tuesday's summit in The Hague between Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye. "The North is boasting its military capability to grab the attention of the international community," Kim said. 'No signs' of nuclear test Warning that North Korea could be building up towards a major provocation, Kim said the South was closely monitoring the situation, but added there were "no signs" of Pyongyang preparing for an imminent nuclear test. The South's foreign ministry denounced the "wanton violation" of UN resolutions, saying this could only serve to heighten regional tensions. "We will come up with responses to the provocations in close cooperation with allies, partners and the UN Security Council," a ministry statement said. Over the past four weeks, North Korea has conducted multiple launches of short-range Scud missiles and rockets to coincide with annual joint military drills South Korea is conducting with the United States. South Korea condemned the Scud launches as a "reckless provocation" but stopped short of calling for UN sanctions, given the short range and a recent easing of North-South tensions. The trilateral summit in the Netherlands came as Obama sought to help repair strained ties between two of the United States' closest Asian allies and key partners in the effort to curb North Korea's nuclear programme. "Over the last five years, close cooperation between the three countries succeeded in changing the game with North Korea," Obama said. "Our trilateral cooperation has sent a strong signal to Pyongyang that its provocations and threats will be met with a unified response," he added. Relations between Tokyo and Seoul are at their lowest ebb in years, mired in emotive issues linked to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule and a territorial dispute, as well as Japan's use of South Korean "comfort women" as sex slaves in wartime brothels. Washington fears an open rift would undermine the united stance against North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Calibrated tests Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the tests were a carefully calibrated "show of force". Yang noted that previous Rodong tests had been launched from North Korea's east coast, and that firing them from near Pyongyang had curtailed their reach into the sea. "If they had gone closer to Japan, that could have created a serious political backlash, not only from Japan but also possibly Russia," Yang said. "It's a clear violation of UN resolutions, but the North is willing to risk sanctions to showcase its capabilities," he added. Six-party negotiations on the North's nuclear programme - also involving China, Russia and the North - were suspended in 2009. Seoul and Washington have refused to consider a resumption until North Korea makes a tangible commitment to denuclearisation. Wednesday's tests also coincided with the fourth anniversary of the sinking of the South Korean naval corvette, Cheonan, which Seoul said was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine. The North has always denied involvement in the incident, which killed 46 sailors. South Korea's military exercises with the United States, which wind up next month, are an annual source of North-South antagonism. But this year's drills began as relations between Seoul and Pyongyang were enjoying something of a thaw, as both sides held the first reunion for more than three years of families divided by the Korean War. -AFP |
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