8 Killed in Deadly California Boat Fire; 26 Missing

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3 September 2019, 11:15

In this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, a dive boat is engulfed in flames after a deadly fire broke out aboard the commercial scuba diving vessel off the Southern California Coast, Monday morning, Sept. 2, 2019. Photo: Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A middle-of-the-night fire swept a boat carrying recreational scuba divers anchored near an island off the Southern California coast early Monday, leaving at least eight dead and little hope any of 26 others missing would be found alive.

Five of six crew members on the Conception escaped by jumping into an inflatable boat they steered to a nearby vessel.

Rescuers recovered four bodies just off Santa Cruz Island and spotted four others on the ocean floor near where the boat sank only about 20 yards (18 meters) from shore. They planned to continue searching for survivors, but Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester cautioned it was unlikely anyone else would be found alive.

“We will search all the way through the night into the morning, but I think we should all be prepared to move into the worst outcome,” she told an afternoon news conference.

The four bodies plucked from the ocean about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles all had injuries consistent with drowning, said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll.

It wasn’t immediately clear when the bodies on the ocean floor might be retrieved or when divers could search the boat for others.

“It’s upside down in relatively shallow water with receding tides that are moving it around,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. Investigators have not yet determined a cause for the fire.

The 75-foot (23 meters) Conception was on a three-day excursion to the chain of rugged, wind-swept isles that form Channel Islands National Park in the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles. The fire broke out around 3 a.m. in Platt’s Harbor off Santa Cruz Island.

The five crew members who escaped took refuge on a boat called The Grape Escape that was anchored nearby. Two had minor injuries, Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney said.

The Grape Escape’s owners, Bob and Shirley Hansen, told The New York Times they were asleep when they heard pounding on the side of their 60-foot (18-meter) fishing vessel about 3:30 a.m. and discovered the frightened crew members. They told the couple they fled when the fire grew out of control.

“When we looked out, the other boat was totally engulfed in flames, from stem to stern,” Hansen said, estimating it was no more than 100 yards (91 meters) from his craft. “I could see the fire coming through holes on the side of the boat. There were these explosions every few beats. You can’t prepare yourself for that. It was horrendous.

“The fire was too big, there was absolutely nothing we could do,” he added.

Hansen said two of the crew members went back toward the Conception looking for survivors but found no one. Asked at a news conference if the crew tried to help others aboard, Rochester told reporters, “I don’t have any additional information.”

The Conception, based in Santa Barbara Harbor on the mainland, was owned by Truth Aquatics. Dave Reid, who runs an underwater camera manufacturing business with his wife, Terry Schuller, and who has traveled on the Conception and two other boats in Truth Aquatics’ fleet, said he considered all three among the best and safest dive-boats around.

“When you see the boats they are always immaculate,” he said. “I wouldn’t hesitate at all to go on one again. Of all the boat companies, that would be one of the ones I wouldn’t think this would happen to.”

His wife said Truth Aquatics crews have always been meticulous in going over safety instructions at the beginning of every trip she’s been on.

“They tell you where the life jackets are, how to put them on, the points of egress, the exits, where the fire extinguishers are, on every single trip,” said Schuller, who goes on diving expeditions often with her husband. “They are the best, the absolute best.”

Both said the sleeping area is comfortable but small, however, with bunk beds stacked next to one another in a tight space on the vessel’s lowest deck. Coming up to the top deck to get off requires navigating a narrow stairway with only one exit. If the fire was fast-moving, Reid said, it’s very likely divers couldn’t escape and the crew couldn’t get to them.

“If there was an explosion in the engine area that could have gone right into the sleeping area,” Reid said.

The Conception was on the final day of a Labor Day weekend cruise when the fire erupted and a mayday call was made. Rochester said that call indicated the boat was already fully ablaze.

After hearing the call, Capt. Paul Amaral of the vessel assistance company TowBoatUS said a boat sped from Ventura Harbor some 30 miles (48 kilometers) to the island.

“We launched that boat knowing that the vessel was on fire, lots of people aboard,” he told The Associated Press.

A Coast Guard helicopter and a fireboat were on scene when he arrived around 5 a.m. He first searched the water and shoreline, then turned back to the Conception, which was adrift and going aground.

Amaral said he was able to attach a line and pull it back into deeper water where the fireboats could reach it.

Brown said the elements of the tragedy were daunting for rescuers: The boat was in a remote location with limited firefighting capabilities, passengers were sleeping below deck in the middle of the night and there was a quick-moving fire.

“You couldn’t ask for a worse situation,” the sheriff said.

The Conception was chartered by Worldwide Diving Adventures, which says on its website that it has been taking divers on such expeditions since the 1970s. It was owned and operated by Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara-based company founded in 1974.

Coast Guard records show inspections of the Conception conducted last February and in August 2018 found no deficiencies. Earlier inspections found some safety violations related to fire safety.

A 2016 inspection resulted in owners replacing the heat detector in the galley and one in 2014 cited a leaky fire hose.

Records show all safety violations from the last five years were quickly addressed by the boat’s owners.

Truth Aquatics’ website reports the vessel, launched in 1981, has rafts and life jackets for up to 110 passengers and exits on the port, starboard and bow that provide “easy water entry.” It was built specifically for divers.

The trip promised multiple opportunities to see colorful coral and a rich variety of marine life around the Channel Islands, which draw boaters, divers and hikers.

Five of the eight Channel Islands comprise the national park and Santa Cruz is the largest within the park at about 96 square miles (248.6 square kilometers).

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Story: Stefanie Dazio. Associated Press writers John Antczak, John Rogers, Frank Baker and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles, Michael R. Blood in Oxnard, California, and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this story.

China Adds Records of New UNESCO Heritage Site Into Textbooks

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Xinhua News Agency

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3 September 2019, 11:07

Aerial view of the archaelogical ruins Liangzhu City. Photo: Hangzhou Liangzhu Archaeological - Site Administrative District Management Committee

HANGZHOU, China (Xinhua) — The ancient civilization of Liangzhu, China’s latest cultural site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has had its history recorded in middle school textbooks, which will be used in the new school year that started on Monday.

The archaeological discoveries of Liangzhu, including its unique water conservancy system and jade wares, are compiled into the history textbooks published by the People’s Education Publishing House for grade 7 in China.

In addition, the new high school mathematics textbooks use the carbon dating of the relics unearthed from the Liangzhu culture to explain the exponential and logarithmic functions.

The ruins unearthed in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province bear the remnants of a 5,000-year-old civilization. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 6.

“China has carried out more than 80 years of archaeological research at the Liangzhu site. With the Liangzhu ancient city as its core, the culture prospered between 5,300 years and 4,300 years ago in the Yangtze River Delta region,” said Wang Wei, president of the Chinese Archaeological Society.

He said the inclusion of the Liangzhu site in the textbooks helps foster a cultural confidence among young people and improves their awareness of culture protection and heritage.

Chen Shoutian, an official of the Liangzhu Site Administration in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, said the Liangzhu ancient city ruins park would offer a field study area to expand knowledge on the culture for students of different ages.

Previous to the release of the textbooks, the Chinese publisher of the Zhejiang Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House signed a copyright exporting agreement with two publishers from Egypt and Romania to promote the English-version children’s book titled “Ancient City of Liangzhu,” which displays a panoramic view of Liangzhu in three parts — water, jade and city.

The book is expected to be marketed in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

US Promotes Free and Open Indo-Pacific at Naval Exercise in Sattahip

By

Associated Press

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3 September 2019, 10:53

Officers of the U.S. Navy and maritime forces of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) participate in the inauguration ceremony of ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise in Sattahip, Thailand, Monday, Sep. 2, 2019. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP

CHONBURI — A senior U.S. naval officer underlined Washington’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific as the United States on Monday launched its first joint naval exercise with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Rear Adm. Kenneth Whitesell spoke at the opening ceremony of the ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise at the Sattahip naval base in eastern Thailand.

He said the multilateral exercise demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, which Washington has been promoting to counter China’s increasing influence in Asia, including Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Several Southeast Asian countries contest the Chinese claims of ownership of almost all of the strategically important area. Beijing has asserted its claim by building seven islands and equipping them with military runways, missile defense systems and outposts.

The United States has been shoring up relations with allies and taking a higher military profile in the Pacific as part of its rivalry with China.

The joint operation, first proposed in 2017, involves eight warships and four aircraft from seven of ASEAN’s 10 countries, and more than 1,000 personnel. As well as practicing search and seizure operations, the exercise will work on interoperability in maritime asset tracking and division tactics.

“We are a robust constellation of allies and partners working collectively towards continued security and stability of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Whitesell. “There is no better signal of our desire to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific than the robust diversity of U.S. naval operations in this region.”

In response, the U.S. has accused China of bullying behavior and recently sailed an aircraft carrier through the disputed waters, one in a series of shows of military might that it calls freedom of navigation operations.

“We are in the Indo-Pacific to stay,” said Whitesell. “My promise to you is that we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all nations who share a mutual respect for and adherence to international law, as well as a vision of free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The ASEAN bloc is increasingly having to find a balance between Washington and Beijing. This inaugural exercise comes less than a year after China’s navy hosted a similar initiative off the coast of Guangdong.

The inclusion of representatives from Myanmar, an ASEAN member, has drawn criticism. Washington has sanctioned the Myanmar army’s top brass over its brutal repression of the Muslim Rohingya minority, and human rights groups think its navy should have been excluded.

The USS Montgomery, one of the ships that will participate in Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN-U.S. Maritime Exercise is docked in Sattahip, Thailand, Monday, Sep. 2, 2019. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP

Story: Jerry Harmer

New Semester Starts in Hong Kong, Violence Deplored

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Xinhua News Agency

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3 September 2019, 10:47

Young flag guards perform their duty at a flag-raising ceremony at the Wong Cho Bau School in China's HKSAR on Sept. 2, 2019. Photo: Qin Qing / Xinhua

HONG KONG (Xinhua) — School principal Wong Kam-Leung spread a message of peace, hard work and loving one’s own country as he made his first-day-of-school speech.

On Monday, 800 students and teachers gathered for a national flag-raising ceremony at a spacious hall of Wong Cho Bau School in the New Territories. Flag-raising at the beginning of a school year is its tradition.

“It saddens me to see all the controversy and disturbances in Hong Kong over the summer. Those young people who threw a national flag into the sea must have very low respect for the flag and the country. Today’s ceremony is significant. It teaches students to respect the country,” he told a roomful of attendees.

“We can only have a safe home and a nice place to study when we have a strong nation at our back. For Hong Kong to develop, it must integrate into the overall picture of the Chinese nation, and that is the way for young people in Hong Kong to find success in the future,” he said.

As students return to school, a handful of violent demonstrators disrupted the morning public commuting by blocking train doors.

To avoid possible disturbances by riots, teachers arrived at the school early on Monday morning, said Sharon Yau, one of the 60 teachers at the school.

“I can’t help worrying about not being able to get to work, a traffic jam or a station shut down due to the protests. Demands should be expressed in a sensible manner, instead of disrupting people’s lives and causing fear,” she said.

A team of 19 young flag guards in white uniforms marched in the ceremony, while their classmates watched respectfully. All stood at attention as the flag was hoisted.

“I’m nervous but very excited. We practiced a lot to make sure we march at the same pace. This is a huge honor for me,” said 9-year-old April Lam, who joined the flag guard team five months ago.

Hong Kong has more than 1,000 kindergartens, 587 elementary schools, 506 secondary schools, and 22 institutions that confer higher education degrees. Classes began on Monday without disturbances, despite boycott calls from the opposition. Kindergartens canceled classes due to torrential downpours.

On Monday, yellow school buses were visible on the streets. Most schools in Hong Kong were generally normal on the first school day, and the traffic was smooth, said Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, secretary for education of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

“In the past few weeks, we have been liaisoning and discussing with different stakeholders in the sector to ensure normal school operation as far as possible. Of course, we need to monitor the situation closely, and we are prepared to provide support to schools if necessary,” Yeung said.

“I think it’s a common value in the society and also among the education sector that schools should not be used as places to make political demands or to put pressure on the government for political needs,” Yeung added.

RESTORING ORDER AT SCHOOLS

Long before the new academic year kicked off on Monday, concerns had been mounting about possible campus bullying, especially those targeting children of police officers.

The personal data of at least 1,662 police officers and their families have been illegally disclosed online since June, including pictures of the children of the police and information about their schools and classes.

In some cases, teachers reportedly encouraged bullying against children of the police. In response, Yeung issued a stern warning that the schools concerned must “take disciplinary action” and the education bureau will impose punishment accordingly, including considering whether they are still qualified to be an educator.

In the face of cyberbullying and threats of attacks against children of the police, personal alarm devices were offered to police with children under the age of 18, according to media reports.

According to the police, 117 liaison officers keep in contact with primary and secondary schools to offer assistance if necessary.

The unrest since early June has already had a negative impact on some middle school students, sending an alarm to teachers, parents, and civil groups. Two petrol bombs were found among the belongings of a 13-year-old suspect detained recently.

In an open letter to all elementary and middle schools in Hong Kong, a civil group named Safeguard Hong Kong warned of possible class boycotts and campus bullying and called for efforts to bring the “nature of education” back to schools.

Teachers give a lecture to students at the Wong Cho Bau School in China's HKSAR on Sept. 2, 2019. Photo: Qin Qing / Xinhua — Teachers give a lecture to students at the Wong Cho Bau School in China’s HKSAR on Sept. 2, 2019. Photo: Qin Qing / Xinhua

CALLS TO END CHAOS

The prolonged protests and violence have drawn ire among the public. On Monday, a handful of violent demonstrators disrupted morning commuting by blocking train doors. Hong Kong opposition also bewitched students to boycott classes to keep tensions high.

Denouncing the new wave of disruptive and even dangerous behaviors, many people are appealing for peace and rational thinking.

Before the new semester began, Margaret Chan, former director-general of the World Health Organization, called on students not to skip classes amid the current chaos and refrain from violent protests.

“School years are the most beautiful and precious time in one’s life,” Chan, who is also a mother, said in a statement to students. “Cherish your time, get yourselves prepared for a beautiful future.”

The current situation also left Yu Kwok-chun, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, in distress, particularly when he saw teenagers and students being instigated into violent acts.

“I hope students can calm down and return to campus for the new semester,” Yu said.

Yu’s concerns were echoed by Lam Suk-yee, former president of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions.

“The unrest has brought mayhem to Hong Kong’s economy and public security, and greatly damaged infrastructure facilities,” Lam said. “Such acts are harming others and not benefiting society. Our residents have had enough.”

She hoped all students and workers, white- or blue-collar, can stick to their posts amid efforts to stop violence, end the chaos, restore order and rebuild a prosperous and stable Hong Kong.

Tens of Thousands in Hong Kong Boycott First Day of School

By

Associated Press

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3 September 2019, 10:39

Students wear protective gear during a protest in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Hong Kong has been the scene of tense anti-government protests for nearly three months. The demonstrations began in response to a proposed extradition law and have expanded to include other grievances and demands for democracy in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. Photo: Kin Cheung / AP

HONG KONG (AP) — Clad in gas masks along with their formal white school uniforms, tens of thousands of students in Hong Kong boycotted the first day of classes Monday as part of a citywide strike following a violent weekend of demonstrations.

High school students added gas masks, goggles and hard hats to their traditional uniforms, while university pupils crowded into a square at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Workers also participated in their own rally at a public park, braving strong winds and storm clouds as a typhoon threatened.

Nearly three months of youth-dominated protests — calling for democracy and an independent inquiry into police conduct — will be tested as classes resume with the end of the summer break in the semiautonomous Chinese territory.

The young protesters strove to demonstrate their continued determination with Monday’s school boycott, the first of a planned two-day strike.

Jacky So, president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s student union, said 30,000 students attended a rally on campus. They dressed in black and wore face masks, waving banners for their student associations and black signs with the Chinese character for “Strike.”

Separately, high school students who were skipping class rallied in Edinburgh Place, a public square in Hong Kong’s central business district. Teenagers spoke to the crowd from a stage with a backdrop that read: “With no future, there’s no need to go to class.”

At St. Francis’ Canossian College, uniformed students kneeled in a line and held up hand-painted signs that read, “The five major demands: Not one is dispensable.” The elite girls’ school is where Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam was educated.

Hong Kong Education Secretary Kevin Yeung said he hoped students would stay in class.

“Schools should not be used as places for political demands or exercising pressure,” he said at a government briefing.

The protesters’ demands include dropping charges against more than 1,000 people who have been arrested and formally withdrawing an extradition bill that would allow Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial. The appeals are undergirded by a sense among some Hong Kong residents that the Communist Party-ruled mainland government has been eroding the autonomy and civil liberties promised when the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.

Some demonstrators disrupted the morning commute on Monday by blocking train doors, attempting to evade riot police who were hot on their heels by moving quickly between multiple public transit stations.

Officers at Lok Fu station hit protesters with batons and arrested one. Three others were arrested at Lai King station.

On Sunday, the MTR Corp. suspended train service to the airport after several hundred protesters gathered there following calls online to disrupt transportation. They blocked buses arriving at the airport but police in riot helmets kept them out of the terminal. Some protesters hurled bricks and metal poles onto the tracks of the Airport Express rail line, police said, prompting train services to be suspended and forcing some travelers to walk some distance to the airport.

Late at night Saturday, video from Hong Kong broadcaster TVB showed police on the platform of Prince Edward subway station swinging batons at passengers who backed into one end of a train car behind umbrellas. The video also shows pepper spray being shot through an open door at a group seated on the floor while one man holds up his hands.

Police officers said at a briefing Monday that they rejected accusations that they “beat up” ordinary citizens without first confirming their identities. They said they specifically targeted those who they believed to be rioters, including those who had changed out of their black protester outfits, and arrested 63 people on suspicion of illegal assembly and possessing explosives and offensive weapons.

Radical protesters have “hijacked the name of justice,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Mak Chin-ho said Monday. “The biggest victims are the citizens of Hong Kong.”

Clashes between police and protesters have become increasingly violent, as the self-described “front-line” demonstrators use gasoline bombs and throw rods at officers. Authorities in turn have employed water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and batons.

The protesters say that a degree of violence is necessary to get the government’s attention after peaceful rallies were futile. Lam’s administration, however, maintains that the violence must first end before any fruitful dialogue can begin.

“We always say that we must stop the violence right away, and then kick off the dialogue,” said Administration Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-Chung.

Students wearing gas masks and helmets hold a banner which reads "Five major demands are indispensable.", at St. Francis' Canossian College in Hong Kong, on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Hong Kong has been the scene of tense anti-government protests for nearly three months. The demonstrations began in response to a proposed extradition law and have expanded to include other grievances and demands for democracy in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. Photo: AP — Students wearing gas masks and helmets hold a banner which reads “Five major demands are indispensable.”, at St. Francis’ Canossian College in Hong Kong, on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Hong Kong has been the scene of tense anti-government protests for nearly three months. The demonstrations began in response to a proposed extradition law and have expanded to include other grievances and demands for democracy in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. Photo: AP

Secondary students hold up their smartphone lights on during a protest in Hong Kong, on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019. Hong Kong has been the scene of tense anti-government protests for nearly three months. The demonstrations began in response to a proposed extradition law and have expanded to include other grievances and demands for democracy in the semiautonomous Chinese territory. Photo: Kin Cheung / AP

Story: Nadia Lam and Vincent Yu. Alice Fung and Raf Wober in Hong Kong and Yanan Wang in Beijing contributed to this report.

10% There: Singapore–London Last Overland Journey Makes Pitstop in Bangkok

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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2 September 2019, 18:00

Top: Alex Bescoby next to the Oxford on Sept. 2, 2019 at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.

A

tenth of the way along its drive from Singapore to London, The Last Expedition’s team of eight said Monday that they’re feeling fine – despite rainstorms and a lack of air conditioning.

The Last Expedition, an expedition of three Land Rovers making their way along one of the longest land routes on earth, made a pitstop in Bangkok Monday morning.

“I’ve sweated through all my clothes. I’m wearing the only clothes I have left. Everything else is in the laundry,” expedition director Alex Bescoby said to the press at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club, laughing. “I’m so happy to be here so I can get some laundry done.”

The expedition set out from Singapore on Aug. 25 and crossed over the Thai border on Friday in Songkhla province. The team plans to leave Bangkok on Tuesday, before stopping at Nakhon Sawan to camp for the night and leaving Thailand on Wednesday via Mae Sot in Tak province.

Bescoby, charmingly rugged, is the team’s natural leader.

“It’s been amazing to see the changes. You start in Singapore and everything is super modern. Then we come to Malaysia we drove through the beautiful Cameron Highlands, and you’re in what feels like a rainforest. Then you’re driving through southern Thailand, and even from southern Thailand to central Thailand feels very different,” Bescoby said.

The team plans to arrive in London on Nov. 29, or within 100 days of leaving. The entire journey is approximately 16,000 to 18,000 kilometers, Bescoby says.

Read: Historic Singapore–London Overland Trip Will Pass Through Thailand

So far they’ve driven 1,800 km, or 10 percent, and have been on the road for 8 days. “It feels like two months,” he said. “There’s a big party on November 29th in London. We can’t be late!”

“What’s wonderful about this is that you see every mile. You’re not flying over it in a plane. You see the gradual change, the way people dress, the way people speak, different architecture, different religious buildings. It’s been amazing and we’ve only gone 10 percent of the way,” Bescoby said.

The Last Expedition is a reverse journey and tribute to the 1955 Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition, where six young men from the Oxbridge universities were the first to drive from London to Singapore. One of the Rovers used in the original journey, the Oxford, has been fixed up and is being driven in this expedition as well.

“I think there’s something really special about using old technology to do a modern-day journey,” Bescoby said. “When you drive this car, you have to concentrate. You feel every single yard of the road. You feel the weather, you feel the temperature, and the response that people have given it has been amazing.”

Unfortunately, 87-year-old Tim Slessor, one of the men from the original expedition who was slated to join the Last Overland, was too sick to travel with the company even though he had spent a year and a half planning the trip.

Tim Slessor with “Oxford,” the Land Rover Series I he drove from London to Singapore in 1955 to 1956. He will be driving it again from Singapore to London on 25 August 2019. Photo: Klareco Communications / Courtesy

“He’s 87 but full of fire. We planned this for 18 months. But one month ago he was in intensive care. That was unusual because he was so healthy. But he recovered and went to Singapore,” Bescoby said. “But in a cruel twist of fate, the morning of leaving, he had to stay in bed.”

In a message presented to the press Monday, Slessor said that he would like to thank Thailand for welcoming his expedition 63 years ago, when there were no roads along the last 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the border. In his Bangkok pitstop back in 1956, he also stopped at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.

The team said they hope Slessor can recover and join them for at least part of the journey.

Although Slessor was absent, 75-year-old Australian expat Kevin Horsfield came to the event with his Land Rover, one of the many Land Rover enthusiasts present.

“I wanted to see this car because it’s not very much older than me,” he said, examining the Oxford.

Khaosod English’s Facebook live with Alex Bescoby and Silverius Purba.

The Team

Three weeks before the expedition set off, as Slessor fell ill, the team added the last-minute member Nathan George, Slessor’s 22-year-old grandson. He’s the same age that Slessor was when he set out on the original journey.

Driving north from Songkhla to Bangkok, George says he was drenched by rain leaking through the Oxford’s roof. “I was absolutely soaked. It was like a built-in shower,” George said.

Nathan George, left. Therese-Marie Becker signs an autograph on a Land Rover top drawer for a Thai Land Rover enthusiast.

Indonesian Silverius Purba is the team medic in charge of keeping the cars in shape, as well as the expedition’s security.

“If the Land Rover leaks water and not oil, then it’s good,” he said, joking about the Oxford.

His biggest medical concern? Not malaria, surprisingly, but how eight different stomachs will take to different cuisines.

The other two Land Rovers in the expedition are newer Defender models with modern amenities such as air conditioning and radio.

Bescoby, a Yangon-based filmmaker originally from Manchester, is filming a TV series about the journey set to be released in 2020. The other two filmmakers in the team are french Leopold Belanger and New Yorker David Israeli. Managing the expedition’s route is Marcus Allender, founder of the Go Myanmar tourism website.

The only woman on the team is Therese-Marie Becker, the digital strategist whose responsibilities include social media management, brand building, and so on. Singaporean Larry Leong is the team’s IT and communications officer. He’s already driven from London to Singapore twice, once with his five-year-old daughter. Such trips can prove to be addictive so he decided to join the current expedition, he said.

“There’s something really wonderful about getting in a car with your friends, with the food that you need, with camping year, with some music, and just driving,” Bescoby said. “And the whole point of the journey is to make the journey itself.”

Follow The Last Overland on their journey via their Facebook and Twitter.

Additional reporting Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Oxford and the two other Defender Land Rovers in the expedition.

The three Land Rovers in the Last Overland expedition.

New 4K Traffic Cameras to Bust Bangkok’s Red Light Runners

By

Tappanai Boonbandit, Staff Reporter

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2 September 2019, 17:26

Police officers holding tickets at the Traffic Police Command Center on Aug. 30.

BANGKOK — Seeing no cops around doesn’t mean you can get away with running a red light, because a newly upgraded red light camera system went live Sunday.

A new traffic law enforcement system is now operational at 30 intersections across Bangkok in an effort to reduce accidents and police workloads.

The new system upgraded cameras that have been in use since 2009. The updates included high-definition 4K primary cameras and 2-megapixel secondary cameras, both of which are fitted with infrared lights for seeing in the dark.

“There are still a lot of accidents in Bangkok, especially from red light violations,” traffic police commander Police Maj. Gen. Nithitorn Jintakanon said. “Following the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy, we will use innovation and technology to increase the effectiveness of traffic law violation detection.”

Nititorn also said the cameras are capable of detecting offenders during thunderstorms and reading altered license plates.

The automatic system will only record vehicles which completely drive over a “stop” line at a red light. Drivers who run through an amber light or stop partially beyond a line are not penalized.

Once a camera has caught an offender, the system will submit photo evidence to the command center, where officers will verify vehicle details and issue a ticket to the offender’s address within seven days. Drivers will be able to access their records online using a passcode printed on the ticket.

Offenders will be fined up to 1,000 baht, but Nititorn said the fine will be reduced to 500 baht for a temporary initiation period, though he did not specify the time frame.

During a test run between Aug. 1 and 25, the system detected more than 22,260 offenders. The Ratchada-Rama IV intersection saw the most violations.

Use the interactive map to see the 30 intersections equipped with the new red light cameras:

Related articles:

Bangkok Traffic Cams Bust 27,000 Drivers. Here’s Where They Are

Ticket Cams to Bust Bangkok’s Lane Cutters

New Traffic Tickets More Convenient – but Can’t Be Ignored

Second Storm to Shower Isaan and Much of Thailand Today

By

Tappanai Boonbandit, Staff Reporter

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2 September 2019, 15:24

A pig is being evacuated to safety in Phichit on Aug. 30.

BANGKOK — Isaan and Bangkok should expect more heavy rain Monday as a new storm approaches Hainan in China.

Just after tropical storm Podul left the country on Saturday, the Thai Meteorological Department released a notice on Sunday advising that a tropical depression will hit dozens of provinces, especially in the northeastern region, Monday through Wednesday.

The depression’s impact on Thailand is not expected to be as severe as Podul, because it isn’t heading directly towards the country. Even so, the department warned of “heavy rainfalls and flash floods,” as the depression is gaining strength.

Downpours are forecast for Isaan and the North, including in Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Phitsanulok, and Ubon Ratchathani – provinces which have been recently inundated with floods.

The department also warned rain could cover 70 percent of Bangkok and surrounding areas. Sailors in the Andaman Sea and upper Gulf of Thailand should be watchful as waves will be up to three meters high.

Meanwhile, disaster mitigation department chief Chaiyapol Thitisak said Monday that flooding is easing, but areas in 15 provinces are still immersed in water left by Podul. More than 3,663 households across 24 provinces are reported to have been affected by floods over the last weekend, with many evacuated to higher grounds or left stranded on roofs.

The Department of Highways also reported that five routes in Nan (No. 101), Mukdahan (No. 2034), Yasothon (No. 23 and No. 202), and Ubon Ratchathani (No. 2050) are still cut off as of Monday. Drivers are advised to be vigilant and follow signs.

The death toll and injuries from Podul remain unclear. Chaiyapol reported only one casualty in Ubon Ratchathani and one injury in Chaiyaphum, while media reports have listed at least five deaths since Saturday.

The new depression formed over the South China Sea on Sunday before barraging Hainan on Monday. Its peak winds have measured 55km per hour, which is strong enough to break twigs off trees, but less powerful than the peak winds of Podul, which measured at 74km per hour.

Although Podul has left several northeastern provinces flooded, other areas in the region such as Nakhon Ratchasima remain dried up by an ongoing drought, which has been described by locals as one of the most severe in decades.

A bird's eye view of flooding Sept. 2 in Amnat Charoen. — A bird’s eye view of flooding Sept. 2 in Amnat Charoen.

A utility pole in Amnat Charoen collapsed by strong currents on Sept. 2.

Monks being evacuated on Sept. 2 in Amnat Charoen.

Rescuers pushing inflatable boat through currents in Phitsanulok's Wang Thong district on Sept. 2. — Rescuers pushing inflatable boat through currents in Phitsanulok’s Wang Thong district on Sept. 2.

30+ Short Films Pack Festival This Sept.

By

Tappanai Boonbandit, Staff Reporter

-

2 September 2019, 12:25

A still from “Lost & Found.” Image: Wabi Sabi Studios via Short of the Week / YouTube

BANGKOK — A PSA for time-pressed cinephiles: an international film festival will screen dozens of short films and animations this month.

This year’s “International Thai Film Festival,” running from Sept. 14, will feature an impressive roll of 32 short films and animations from 19 countries. Two short films (“Stuck” and “Anna”) are premiering at the festival. The weekend event, in its second year, is organized by production management company Siam Entertainment Group.

Selections range from action, comedy, drama, to sci-fi and were curated from hundreds of submissions.

Attila Miklosy, one of the curators, said the festival has no particular theme or genre, but the selections were based on the quality of the script and storytelling.

“Apart from certain technical requirements, we want films that are inspirational and meaningful to the audience,” Miklosy said.

This year’s headlining film, “Sing,” from Hungary, follows a girl, Zsófi, who moves to a new elementary school and joins the school’s famed choir, only to find herself being barred from singing. “Sing” won Best Live Action Short Film at the 89th Academy Awards.

Another Oscar-nominated film is the Australian animation “Lost & Found.” This stop-motion picture (think “Wallace and Gromit”) is only eight minutes long, but is packed with action as a stuffed dinosaur tries to save his fox partner from jeopardy.

For a laugh, try “Chuchotage” from Hungary, which follows two interpreters at a conference. It’s an ordinary job, until they begin to compete for attention.

Or dive into a futuristic world with “Ryoko’s Qubit Summer” from Japan, which explores the idyllic world of artificially intelligent school girls inside a quantum computer. But the computer is on the brink of being terminated for becoming too brilliant.

For cinephiles into filmmaking, the festival will also include a “preview” of seven feature films alongside a panel discussion.

The details of the other films and the festival schedule can be found online.

“International Thai Film Festival” will run from Sept. 14-15 at Show DC on Chaturathit Road. Every screening will include Thai and English subtitles. Tickets can be obtained online for 530-650 baht per day. The venue is reachable by taxi or motorcycle taxi from MRT Phetchaburi.

Record-Setting Hurricane Dorian Keeps Pounding North Bahamas

By

Associated Press

-

2 September 2019, 11:22

This GOES-16 satellite image taken Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, at 17:00 UTC and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shows Hurricane Dorian, right, churning over the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Dorian struck the northern Bahamas on Sunday as a catastrophic Category 5 storm, its 185 mph winds ripping off roofs and tearing down power lines as hundreds hunkered in schools, churches and other shelters. Photo: NOAA via AP

McLEAN’S TOWN CAY, Bahamas (AP) — In a slow, relentless advance, a catastrophic Hurricane Dorian kept pounding at the northern Bahamas early Monday, as one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded left wrecked homes, shredded roofs, tumbled cars and toppled power poles in its wake.

The storm’s top sustained winds decreased slightly to 180 mph (285 kph) while it spun along Grand Bahama island overnight in what forecasters said would be a daylong assault. Earlier, Dorian churned over Abaco island with battering winds and surf during Sunday.

There was little information from the affected islands, though officials expected many residents to be left homeless. Most people went to shelters as the storm approached, with tourist hotels shutting down and residents boarded up their homes.

“It’s devastating,” Joy Jibrilu, director general of the Bahamas’ Ministry of Tourism and Aviation, said Sunday afternoon. “There has been huge damage to property and infrastructure. Luckily, no loss of life reported.”

On Sunday, Dorian’s maximum sustained winds reached 185 mph (297 kph), with gusts up to 220 mph (354 kph), tying the record for the most powerful Atlantic hurricane to ever make landfall. That equaled the Labor Day hurricane of 1935, before storms were named. The only recorded storm that was more powerful was Hurricane Allen in 1980, with 190 mph (305 kph) winds, though it did not make landfall at that strength.

The hurricane was moving to the west at 6 mph (9 kph).

Forecasters said Dorian was most likely to begin pulling away from the Bahamas early Tuesday and curving to the northeast parallel to the U.S. Southeast seaboard. Still, the potent storm was expected to stay close to shore and hammer the coast with dangerous winds and heavy surf, while authorities cautioned that it could still make landfall.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an order Sunday for the mandatory evacuation of his state’s entire coast. The order, which covers about 830,000 people, was to take effect at noon Monday, at which point state troopers were to make all lanes on major coastal highways one-way heading inland.

“We can’t make everybody happy, but we believe we can keep everyone alive,” McMaster said.

A few hours later, Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, ordered mandatory evacuations for that state’s Atlantic coast, also starting at midday Monday.

Authorities in Florida ordered mandatory evacuations in some vulnerable coastal areas. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned his state that it could see heavy rain, winds and floods later in the week.

Dorian first came ashore Sunday at Elbow Cay in Abaco island at 12:40 p.m., then made a second landfall near Marsh Harbour at 2 p.m.

“Catastrophic conditions” were reported in Abaco, with a storm surge of 18-23 feet (5.5-7 meters).

Video that Jibrilu and government spokesman Kevin Harris said was sent by Abaco residents showed homes missing parts of roofs, electric lines on the ground and smashed and overturned cars. One showed floodwaters rushing through the streets of an unidentified town at nearly the height of a car roof.

In some parts of Abaco, “you cannot tell the difference as to the beginning of the street versus where the ocean begins,” Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said. According to the Nassau Guardian, he called it “probably the most sad and worst day of my life to address the Bahamian people.”

Bahamas radio station ZNS Bahamas reported that a mother and child on Grand Bahama had called to say they were sheltering in a closet and seeking help from police.

Silbert Mills, owner of the Bahamas Christian Network, said trees and power lines were torn down in Abaco.

“The winds are howling like we’ve never, ever experienced before,” said Mills, who was riding out the hurricane with his family in the concrete home he built 41 years ago on central Abaco.

Jack Pittard, a 76-year-old American who has visited the Bahamas for 40 years, also decided to stay put on Abaco for Dorian, which he said was his first hurricane. A short video from Pittard about 2:30 p.m. Sunday showed the wind shaking his home and ripping off the siding.

The Bahamas archipelago is no stranger to hurricanes. Homes are required to have metal reinforcements for roof beams to withstand winds into the upper limits of a Category 4 hurricane, and compliance is generally tight for those who can afford it. Risks are higher in poorer neighborhoods, with wooden homes in low-lying areas.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dorian is forecast to be 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 kilometers) off Florida, with hurricane-force wind speeds extending about 35 miles (56 kilometers) to the west.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for Florida’s East Coast from Deerfield Beach north to the Georgia state line. The same area was put under a storm surge watch. Lake Okeechobee was under a tropical storm watch.

Mandatory evacuation orders for low-lying and flood-prone areas and mobile homes were in effect starting either Sunday or Monday from Palm Beach County north to at least the Daytona Beach area, and some counties to the north issued voluntary evacuation notices. Weekend traffic was light in Florida despite those orders, unlike during the chaotic run-up to Hurricane Irma in 2017 when the unusually broad storm menaced the entire state.

Ken Graham, director of the hurricane center, urged people not to bet on safety just because the forecast track had the storm a bit offshore. With every new forecast, “we keep nudging (Dorian’s track) a little bit to the left” — that is, is closer to the Florida coast, Graham said.

President Donald Trump already declared a state of emergency and was briefed about what he called a “monstrous” storm.

“We don’t know where it’s going to hit but we have an idea, probably a little bit different than the original course,” Trump said. “But it can change its course again and it can go back more toward Florida.”

Yolande Rolle puts sandbags at her shop's doorstep as she prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport on Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. Hurricane Dorian intensified yet again Sunday as it closed in on the northern Bahamas, threatening to batter islands with Category 5-strength winds, pounding waves and torrential rain. Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP — Yolande Rolle puts sandbags at her shop’s doorstep as she prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport on Grand Bahama, Bahamas, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. Hurricane Dorian intensified yet again Sunday as it closed in on the northern Bahamas, threatening to batter islands with Category 5-strength winds, pounding waves and torrential rain. Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP

Story: Ramón Espinosa.

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