World

Phuket World News: Syria says no to chemicals; Death messages in Oz; Sally’s last ride

Published

7 years ago

July 24, 2012

Legacy Phuket Gazette

Phuket World News: Syria says no to chemicals; Death messages in Oz; Sally’s last ride | The Thaiger

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH

– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

Syria says it will not use chemical or biological weapons to crush uprising

Phuket Gazette / News Wires

PHUKET: The Syrian government said yesterday it will not use chemical or biological weapons to crush a 16-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, the first time it has acknowledged possession of such weapons, but warned it could use them to fight off “external aggression”.

Western governments have long accused Syria of having an active chemical weapons program, but the Syrian government previously denied possessing non-conventional weapons. A statement released by the Syrian cabinet in April 2003 rejected U.S. allegations that it was developing chemical weapons, saying such claims were designed to ‘further the interests of Israel’.

But in Damascus, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said chemical and biological weapons are secured and directly monitored by the armed forces. He assured Syrian forces would not use the weapons during the ongoing internal conflict, but cautioned they could be used in the case of “external aggression”.

However, Makdissi said it was also possible that rebels could use chemical weapons against civilians to blame them on the Syrian regime. “[They could] hit the political system in Syria through using tactical bombs or mines containing biological substances that would explode somewhere in a village and then accuse the Syrian forces of doing that.”

On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the Syrian government has a responsibility to safeguard its chemical weapons. “The U.S. is closely monitoring Syria’s proliferation-sensitive materials, which include chemical weapons, and facilities, and we believe that Syria’s chemical weapons remain under Syrian government control,” he said. “But given the escalation in violence in Syria and the regime’s increasing attacks on its own people, we remain very concerned about these weapons.”

He added: “In addition to monitoring the stockpiles, we are actively consulting with Syria’s neighbors and our friends in the international community to underscore our common concern about the security of these weapons and the Syrian government’s obligation to secure them. We’ve long said the mere presence of chemical weapons in the region undermines stability.”

Syria is not a signatory to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention which outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.

The UN estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President al-Assad began in March last year. The opposition believes the number of deaths has already surpassed 17,000.

On Friday, the United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) for an additional period of 30 days. The mission, which was established four months ago, was set up to monitor violence in Syria and the implementation of a six-point peace plan put forward by UN-Arab League Special Envoy Kofi Annan.

Tens of thousands across Australia receive death threat SMS

Phuket Gazette / News Wires

PHUKET: Tens of thousands of Australians have received text messages purporting to be from a hired hitman who threatens to kill them unless they pay $5,000, officials said yesterday. Police forces across the country have been flooded with calls from worried people.

The so-called hitman scam was sent from a 0000 number and received by an unknown number of people across Australia, although officials believe the number is in the tens of thousands. It is unclear if the scammers targeted mobile numbers at random or if they were obtained from a list.

The hitman scam is not new and has surfaced in the past in various forms, but it is the first time the scam has affected such a large number of people at the same time. The text messages received on Monday read: “Sum1 paid me to kill you. get spared, 48hrs to pay $5000. If you inform the police or anybody, death is promised. E-mail me now: killerking247 @ yahoo.com”

Police forces across Australia reported receiving a major increase in calls for assistance to 000, the national emergency number, as well as police assistance lines and local police stations. It was not immediately known if anyone had fallen for the scam and transferred money to the criminals, but police said it was likely given the large number of people who were targeted.

“Across Australia at this point in time, we’ve been flooded and inundated by disturbing text messages claiming that you are about to be killed if you don’t part with the sum of $5,000 and transfer this money into the hands of criminals,” Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of the Queensland Police Service said. “Please understand that this is a scam, a very ugly attempt by fraudsters overseas to get your money. There is no immediate danger or threat to you or your family, and the tens of thousands of Australians that have been targeted en masse.”

Detective Superintendent Jim Jeffery of the South Australia Police said people who have received the text message should not call police as an investigation is already underway. “Do not pay any money. There is no need to be alarmed at all in relation to this scam. It is entirely a hoax,” he said.

Such scams usually target young and elderly people, and Jefferey said it is likely at least some people will have fallen victim to the text message. “Given the extent [to which] the messages have gone out this morning, I’d be very surprised if some Australians haven’t fallen victim to the scam,” he said.

Australian police have launched a full investigation into the scam and are cooperating with international law enforcement agencies, but Jeffery said it is unlikely those responsible will be caught unless the e-mail address reveals some usable information about the scammers. “It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to identify and prosecute those responsible,” he said.

In July 2008, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) also warned about the hitman scam after a number of people received a similar threat. The scam is also known to be sent by e-mail, and the requested amount can vary from $1,000 to as much as $50,000.

Sally Ride, first American woman in space, dies at 61

Phuket Gazette / News Wires

PHUKET: Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space, died in California yesterday after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, her office said in a statement. She was 61.

Ride was born and raised in Encino, California, and first joined NASA in January 1978, just before finishing her Ph.D. in Physics at Stanford University. After spending a year training, Ride became eligible to be assigned as an astronaut on a space shuttle flight crew, and on June 18, 1983, she became the first American woman in space as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger for the mission STS-7.

A statement released by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden expressed Ride’s inspirational impact on the nation. “The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Sally’s family and the many she inspired. She will be missed, but her star will always shine brightly.”

In 2008, in an interview for the

— Phuket Gazette Editors

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World

The stakes are high, the deliberations continue – Parliamentary Brexit vote

Published

2 days ago

October 19, 2019

The Thaiger

Call it Super Saturday, call it Deal or No Deal, call it the most important day in recent UK history. Today (Saturday) the UK House of Commons will gather on a Saturday, the first time for decades. Golf games have been postponed, polo sticks will have to gather dust and the cleaner’s been told to come back on Sunday.

Earlier this week, British PM Boris Johnson did the near impossible and secured a new Brexit deal from the EU. The EU shocked everyone by throwing out the controversial Irish border backstop and replacing it with an alternative plan, after months of saying that Theresa May’s deal could not be changed. Moreover, the EU leaders seem happy with the deal and have been waxing lyrical about the scruffy British PM they all dreaded negotiating with.

But it’s not going to be easy. Some PMs have already tabled amendments that could make Johnson’s run of success fall short of a finish line. Opposition MPs will put forward proposals to scrap Brexit or schedule a second referendum.

So how is the crucial, and historic vote, going to roll?

It’s far too close to call. PM Johnson doesn’t have a majority in Parliament and his Northern Irish allies, the DUP, who he needed to pass legislation, have already said that they won’t back the new plan. Meanwhile, his opposition MPs are lining up to criticise the deal. And there’s serious concern that the arch-Brexiteers in his own Conservative party will vote against the deal too.

Bottomline, if MPs don’t vote for this deal then they can’t be certain that Brexit will be delayed, despite the fact that Johnson is legally obliged to request a Brexit extension if no deal has been agreed by 11 pm on Saturday night. Last month, opposition MPs passed legislation that binds the British to this commitment. Mr. Johnson says he will comply with the law but reminds his opponents that this decision relies on the EU still having to unanimously agree to it.

But, if the deal passes, the UK finally leaves the EU. Johnson would probably hope to capitalise on his success and call for a general election soon after. His poll ratings are good at the moment, and you’d think they would improve after delivering Brexit.

If the deal goes down, Johnson requests the extension and it’s approved, then we get into the nasty election where both sides will tear each other apart, adding more to a polarised community that may take decades to recover from this folly.

And if the EU refuses an extension, then all hell breaks loose.

Has it all been worth it?

Anyway, bring on Super Saturday as the deliberations continue.

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World

Johnson tells MPs that there is ‘no better outcome’ than his Brexit plan

Published

2 days ago

October 19, 2019

The Thaiger

by Robin Millard

British PM Boris Johnson is warning British MPs there was “no better outcome” to the tortuous Brexit process than his divorce deal, as he scrambles to get MPs behind the agreement ahead of today’s knife-edge vote in parliament (Saturday UK time).

Johnson is urging lawmakers to back the “fantastic” terms he struck with EU leaders and let Britain leave the bloc on October 31.

“There’s no better outcome than the one I’m advocating tomorrow.”

“I want colleagues on all sides of the House to think about a world tomorrow night in which we’ve got this thing done,” he added in a separate interview with ITV.

“I think the nation will heave a great sigh of relief.”

Johnson pulled off a major coup in agreeing a new divorce deal at a Brussels summit on Thursday, only a fortnight before Britain is scheduled to leave the EU. But the deal’s fortunes, and Britain’s immediate fate, rest in the hands of a few undecided MPs, who will vote in the first Saturday session of the Commons since the 1982 Falklands War.

Political pundits suggest the vote could be exceptionally tight. Johnson has no majority among MPs, every opposition party has come out against the deal and even his parliamentary ally, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), says it cannot support the terms.

Johnson requires the support of 319 other MPs to guarantee victory – and claims he is confident of getting the numbers, as he spent the day meeting and calling MPs.

He must convince diehard eurosceptics in his own Conservative ranks, former colleagues he expelled from the party for seeking to block a “no deal” departure, and main opposition Labour MPs from Brexit-backing constituencies to have any chance.

Labour is ordering its MPs to vote against the deal but threatening no punishment if they vote in favour. Several MPs spent yesterday wrestling with their consciences as the more than three years of turmoil since the June 2016 EU membership referendum came to a head.

Johnson is expected to deliver a speech to parliament from 0830 GMT on Saturday, kicking off a day of debate that could last well into the evening.

The turning of the screws

If the Commons rejects the deal, Johnson will be forced by law to ask the EU to delay Brexit, for what would be the third time. He has said he would rather be “dead in a ditch”.

French President Emmanuel Macron piled the pressure on MPs, saying he did not want a new delay now a deal was struck.

“The October 31 date should be respected. I don’t think that new deadlines should be given,” he said at the EU summit in Brussels.

“We need to end these negotiations and get on negotiating the future relationship.”

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel added: “There is no choice between Brexit or no Brexit: it’s a choice between deal or no deal.”

Johnson took office in July vowing to keep to the October 31 Brexit deadline, deal or no deal.

He pledged to renegotiate the most contentious elements of a divorce text agreed by his predecessor Theresa May with Brussels last year, which MPs rejected three times.

The compromise deal that was finally struck on Thursday has a new arrangement for keeping open the border between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

The DUP has said it cannot support the plans, as efforts to avoid checks on the Irish land border would lead to new trade barriers between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain.

Meanwhile…

Former Conservative prime minister John Major (1990-1997) and his Labour successor Tony Blair (1997-2007) pleaded with MPs to back a second referendum, ahead of a major rally by the “People’s Vote” campaign outside parliament on Saturday (UK time).

“Whatever is the outcome, no deal or bad deal, it should not pass without the final say resting with the people,” said Blair.

Major said Brexit was a “thoroughly bad idea” that risked breaking up the UK.

The Pound steadied around $1.29 yesterday as dealers took a breather at the end of a dizzying week.

ETX Capital analyst Michael Baker said the market was “really gambling” on the vote and had “not priced in fully all scenarios – so expect big moves”.

SOURCE: Agence France-Presse | PHOTO: Associated Press

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Economy

Local investor sentiment dampened by Brexit woes and slump in Chinese economy

Published

3 days ago

October 18, 2019

The Thaiger

The British pound fell today as investors fret over PM Boris Johnson’s chances of pushing his Brexit deal through the British parliament, while Asian markets were mostly down after data showed China’s economy expanded at its slowest pace in nearly three decades.

The pound rallied almost to US$1.30 yesterday following news that negotiators had hammered out an agreement that would avoid Britain leaving the EU without a divorce deal – a move many warn would be economically catastrophic. But the brief celebrations were soon tempered by the realisation that the British PM faces an uphill task in getting the deal past lawmakers, with opposition MPs and even some in his own Conservative party saying they won’t pass it.

Most importantly, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up Johnson’s government, said it was “unable to support these proposals”.

Forex traders sold sterling, pushing it back down below $1.29, and it extended losses in Asia. Focus is now on a crucial vote in London on the deal scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday).

“Much will depend on the PM’s ability to get some if not all DUP and (Scottish National Party) MPs onside, in addition to also getting the backing from the 21 ex-Conservative MPs he expelled from the party last month,” said National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril.

“Rejection of the deal might well see more political brinkmanship around a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, but the most likely scenario would be yet another extension of the 31 October Brexit date.”

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said whichever way the vote goes, “traders should prepare themselves for some severe volatility on Monday morning, with multiple big-figure moves a strong possibility”.

China growth slows again

Asian equity markets, meanwhile, were mostly lower after China said its economy expanded 6% in the third quarter, the slowest pace in 27 years, as leaders struggle to address weak domestic demand and the long-running US trade war.

The reading was a drop from the previous three months but in line with an AFP forecast and the government’s 6-6.5% target for the year.

While the National Bureau of Statistics said the economy “maintained overall stability”, it added that it “is under mounting downward pressure” from weakness at home and abroad.

Shanghai ended down 1.3% with Stephen Innes at AxiTrader saying traders were concerned the figures were not weak enough to prompt the Chinese central bank to embark on a big stimulus drive.

“With the People’s Bank of China, who arguably have plenty of policy ammunition to right the ship, probably unwilling to turn on the monetary taps, investors are taking risk off the table,” he said in a note.

Hong Kong was off 0.5% amid concern over the possibility of more violent protests over the weekend, while Sydney closed down 0.5 percent and Singapore eased 0.4%.

Seoul shed 0.8% and Wellington lost 0.7%, with Taipei and Manila also lower. But Tokyo closed 0.2 higher at a 10-month high, while Mumbai and Jakarta also edged up.

Hopes for the China-US trade talks were given a lift after Beijing’s commerce ministry said negotiators have “accelerated efforts” to hammer out details of last Friday’s mini-deal and were holding talks on moving on to the next phase of a wider agreement.

Donald Trump said Wednesday he hopes to sign the deal with President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Chile next month.

And the Turkish lira jumped more than 1% after Ankara said it would pause military operations in northern Syria for five days and US Vice President Mike Pence said Washington would not impose any fresh sanctions.