The Thai team and the Phuket team were disappointed that Phuket did not win the competition to be the host country of the Specialised Expo 2027–2028. They congratulated Serbia, which won with two-thirds of the votes.
The host country of Specialised Expo 2027–2028, elected by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Member States, gathered in the 172nd General Assembly. All 154 countries that the BIE is a member of were eligible to vote.
Thailand’s candidature was for a Specialised Expo in Phuket between March 20 and June 17, 2028 under the theme “Future of Life: Living in Harmony, Sharing Prosperity”.
The Thailand team led by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, has tried hard before the third country presentation to propose Phuket as the host for the Specialized Expo 2028 in Paris, France on June 21, while the team in Phuket paid respect to the holy spirit of the city, securing the victory.
Amnuay Pinsuwan, Deputy Governor of Phuket, and the Board of Directors of the Local Government Organization paid respect to the Thep Kasatri and Si Sunthon Heroine Monument and other sacred, highly respected spirits of the city to encourage the motivation of the staff involved in the competition.
They also planned to set off a total of 200,000 fireworks at the 72nd Anniversary Queen Sirikit Park, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket, if Phuket had won.
Thailand (for Phuket) competed with 4 other countries: United States of America (for Minnesota), Serbia (for Belgrade), Spain (for Malaga), and Argentina (for San Carlos de Bariloche). Each country has 20 minutes for the country’s presentation for Expo 2028. After that, the committees immediately cast their votes.
In the second round of voting, Serbia has 69 votes, followed by Spain with 48, the United States with 21, and Thailand with 15 votes. So Thailand did not go to the next round. Eventually, BIE Member States elected Serbia as the host country of Specialised Expo 2027–28, with 81 votes compared to 70 votes for Spain.
The Southern MICE Facebook page, which broadcast live voting, stated when votes were out with the message “Congratulations to Serbia”.
President Joe Biden speaks during a discussion on managing the risks of Artificial Intelligence during an event in San Francisco, Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday called comments by President Joe Biden referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator “extremely absurd and irresponsible.”
The new clash of words comes just over a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that sought to break the ice in a relationship that has hit a historical low.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, June 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Biden’s comments at a fundraiser in California “go totally against facts and seriously violate diplomatic protocol, and severely infringe on China’s political dignity.”
“It is a blatant political provocation. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and opposition,” Mao said at a daily briefing.
“The U.S. remarks are extremely absurd and irresponsible,” Mao said.
Blinken’s visit, during which he met with Xi, was aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers but appeared not to have achieved any solid results.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Monday, June 19, 2023. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)
Biden, at the fundraiser on Tuesday night local time, said that Xi was embarrassed over the recent tensions surrounding a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had been shot down by the Air Force over the East Coast.
“That’s a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn’t know what happened,” Biden said.
Mao reiterated China’s contention that the balloon was intended for meteorological research and had been blown off course accidentally.
“The U.S. should have handled it in a calm and professional manner,” she said. “”However, the U.S. distorted facts and used forces to hype up the incident, fully revealing its nature of bullying and hegemony.”
In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Chung-Hoon observes a Chinese navy ship conduct what it called an “unsafe” Chinese maneuver in the Taiwan Strait, Saturday, June 3, 2023 (Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Andre T. Richard/U.S. Navy via AP)
Blinken’s visit had been originally scheduled for February, but was put on hold after the balloon incident. While it marked a return to high-level contacts between the sides, China continues to refuse talks between their militaries.
In recent days, the U.S. says Chinese warplanes and naval ships have maneuvered in threatening ways to their U.S. counterparts in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, despite agreements between them on protocols for avoiding such incidents.
During Blinken’s visit, China reiterated its strong objections to U.S. support for the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory. The U.S. has also sought to block Beijing’s access to cutting-edge computer chip manufacturing technology that could be used for military purposes, and accused China of stealing American intellectual property.
After meeting with Xi on Monday, Blinken acknowledged entrenched differences. “We have no illusions about the challenges of managing this relationship. There are many issues on which we profoundly, even vehemently, disagree,” he said.
Chadchart Sittipunt, the governor of Bangkok, announced the installation of a technical system to detect and arrest drivers who drive on pavements and park in prohibited areas. Driving on pavements falls under the jurisdiction of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and falls within the framework of the city’s Cleanliness and Order Act.
Currently, Bangkok has begun installing pilot systems at five locations:
1. Ratchada Phisek 36 Alley (Suea Yai Utis) – 2,921 cases of driving on pavements.
2. Phetkasem 28 Alley – 1,338 cases of driving on pavements.
3. Nivej Varintorn School Front – 619 cases of driving on pavements.
4. Phetchaburi 9 Alley – 49 cases of driving on pavements.
5. PTT Thepharak Pump – 19 cases of driving on pavements.
Most of these incidents occur between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. (data from June 12 to 20). The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration intends to expand this system to another 100 locations in September.
Chadchart Sittipunt, the governor of Bangkok, intrduced the installation of a technical system to detect and arrest drivers who drive on pavements.
According to the analysis of pedestrian accidents in Bangkok, there are an average of 900 cases per year in the city and 2,900 cases nationwide. However, the current measures taken by the BMA to enforce pedestrian safety are inadequate at every location.
Therefore, the BMA has introduced a technical system that uses existing CCTV cameras and installs image analysis software or BMA AI Camera to improve detection. This system can record driver-related data such as number plates, date and time of violations.
This system can effectively replace human personnel, reducing interactions and potential conflicts between officers and offenders. It also minimizes the risk of corruption in the collection of fines. From June 1 to 20, a total of 799 cases were detected and 771 fines imposed, with 28 cases receiving a warning which has a fine of 2,000 baht per offense.
The CCTV cameras will collect data on a daily basis. The information collected will be shared with the offenders’ employers to encourage them to change their behavior.
In terms of parking violation enforcement, the BMA uses the same technology to provide evidence and reports of violations to the police for further action.
The system detects vehicles parked in prohibited areas for more than 5 minutes and sends notifications along with the evidence to police officers’ accounts at LINE. This allows them to take action without having to conduct physical surveillance at every location.
The pilot system has already been rolled out in the Central World area and further expansion is planned later this year.
The Ban Pad Oom Community is an exemplary model of government-community cooperative efforts in sustainable forest protection and management.
Although data shows that there has been a decline in timber imports from China in recent years, the consumer demand for wood-related products has increased from 70% to 90%.
Ban Pad Oom is a model of sustainable forest management where the local community works closely with government agencies to protect and manage the surrounding forest areas.
The Pitak Prai application, e-Tree platform, and NCAPs, are key technologies used for forest protection and management
Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand: Ban Pad Oom, a community situated in the heart of Thailand’s forested region, is on the brink of change. Once an area plagued with illegal logging and timber trade, it is now emerging as a model for forest protection, achieved through communities cooperating with governments to safeguard forests.
Over the years, Thailand’s forests have been prime targets for criminal activities due to the wide variety of highly in demand deciduous trees. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that timber trade to China has played a major role in illegal logging in the region. Despite recent statistics showing a declining trend due to strict clampdowns of illegal logging and the fact that forest areas have been reduced to only one-third of what it originally was, the demand for wood and wood-related products continues to rise from 70% to a staggering 90%, thus imposing a huge pressure on forest protection efforts within the region.
To address this issue, UN-REDD has partnered with the Royal Forest Department and other government agencies to combat illegal logging and create an environment for sustainable timber trade by establishing Ban Pad Oom at Dome Pradit Sub-district, Nam Yuen District, Ubon Ratchathani Province as a model project where the government and the community can cooperate in forest protection and management efforts with the goal of moving towards sustainable forest trade.
Katrina Borromeo, the Programme and Communications Officer, for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), highlighted that Ban Pad Oom showcases the power of close cooperation between local communities and government agencies in protecting community forest areas from deforestation. “The Ban Pad Oom model calls for local community members to act as volunteers, keeping a close eye on their forest environment in cooperation with government officials”, explained Borromeo. If any suspicious behavior or illegal loggers are detected, the villagers can immediately notify the authorities through various communication channels such as the Pitak Prai application.
Enhancing the understanding of community members on the importance of forests is critical. By actively involving communities in monitoring their home area, strong relationships have been established, fostering concrete collaboration with government officials in forest conservation collaboration.
In addition, according to AOMJITR SENA, Forestry officer of the Royal Forest Department, various technologies have been developed and employed to help detect transgressors. These include the Pitak Prai application, the e-Tree registration system, as well as the NCAPS camera system, and the use of drones to help in effectively patrolling the area. These actions have made it possible to detect and resolve illegal logging problems in a timely manner. “These technologies have been used at Ban Pad Oom in Ubon Ratchathani province as to showcase the collaborative efforts between the local community and the government”, said Sena.
The Pitak Prai application is an application installed on a smartphone that can send alerts on illegal trespasses within suspected areas, in addition to alerting and monitoring forest fires in a timely manner. Moreover, the e-TREE digital platform is aimed at enhancing the monitoring of forest management. It also assists in the registration and traceability of trees, which has proven very helpful in promoting sustainable timber trade.
On the other hand, NCAPs are remote systems that consist of cameras and sensors to monitor illegal logging in critical risk areas. It works hand in hand with ground patrols, in that it can record and alert the authorities when suspicious movement is detected through the cameras. This reduces the risk of clashes between the local volunteers and suspected illegal loggers. Additionally, the cameras can also record images which can then be used as evidence in court proceedings. This capability has enabled the community to better monitor threats in the surrounding community’s forests, as well as reduce the risk of illegal logging and deforestation.
Ban Pad Oom is an exemplary model for forest conservation, illustrating how the community, in close cooperation with government agencies and leveraging the use of modern technology, effectively manages and maintains its forest areas. This success story serves as a case study for other communities, enabling them to adapt and implement similar community-based forest protection models.
Ultimately, forest protection and conservation is a vital component of UN-REDD’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from deforestation and degradation. Through its collaborative efforts, UN-REDD empowers communities, engages governments, and promotes sustainable practices that will conserve forests, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient future.
“Dear Tummy Lifestyle Supermarket” brings a wide variety from famous snacks brands with special discount up to 50% in the Snack Carnival at G floor, ICONSIAM from today – 16 July 2023.
Dear Tummy Lifestyle Supermarket G floor, ICONSIAM invites you to enjoy shopping for snacks from famous domestic and international brands. There are more than 1,500 items, including crispy snacks, biscuits, wafers, cookies, crackers, pies, chocolates, jelly, various flavored candies, chewy gummies, and more other snacks such as Pringles, Koh-Kae, Choco Mucho, LOTTE Pepero, and Bento with special discounts up to 50%, ready to enjoy the taste of happiness in the Snack Carnival from today – 16 July 2023.
Furthermore, meet activities every Friday – Sunday in the period such as, the Happy Hours, the mascots showcase and free tasting from many brands at the store. Special for “Dear Tummy Members,” get Pringles 102 g. (3 cans, assorted flavors) when spend over 1,000 Baht per receipt (limited right) and receive 1 additional premium product when shop snacks from participating brands for 350 Baht per receipt.
In addition to snack products and other variety products, whether vegetables, fruits, fresh meats, condiments, consumer goods, and many more, “Dear Tummy” also adds special services to increase convenience for customers.
Start with a personal shopper who will help recommend products and promotions at the store, including taking care of ordering products via LINE OA: @deartummy or calling 088-971-8034, as well as providing delivery service directly to every area in Bangkok with a promotion to get a 100 Baht delivery fee discount when ordering products at 1,000 Baht per receipt from today onwards.
Dear Tummy Lifestyle Supermarket, G Floor, ICONSIAM is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for more information and to order the products via LINE OA: @deartummy or call 088-971-8034.
“Brother” organized “NO OCEAN WASTE” or “THAI SEA FREE OF WASTE“activity to promote environmental care,bringing employees to collect garbage at Bangsaen beach
Chonburi, 17 June 23 – Brother, the leader in printer innovation in collaboration with Saen Suk Subdistrict Municipalityorganized NO OCEAN WASTE or “Thai Sea Free of Waste” activity, reinforcing the corporate values in “Brother Group Global Charter” tosupport the “World Oceans Day”to achieve the environmental vision of2050. The ecological conservation activity was organized by bringing volunteer employeesand their companions to collect garbage along lower Bangsaen beach, aiming to protect the environment and create nice and clean scenery.
Today’s event was held at the lower Bangsaen beach, Muang Saen Suk, Muang, Chonburi province. The event received great support from the management team led by Mr. Teerawut Supapunpinyo, Managing Director of Brother Commercial (Thailand) Co., Ltd., together with representatives of Saen Suk Subdistrict Municipality, as well as more than 60 volunteers and their companions.
Mr. Teerawut Supapunpinyo, Managing Director, Brother Commercial (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said at the event that “Brother’s mission is a commitment to the society and environment. Also, one of the core values in the ‘Brother Group Global Charter’ is aligned with the objective of ‘World Oceans Day‘ to protect the environment.
As a part of our aim to achieve the 2050 environmental vision, we organized environmental protection activities. We have continuously reinforced the values in our offices and helped preserve the ecosystem, including the seas. We would like to protect the sea to maintain its abundance, so we continue to enjoy its beauty. We have organized activities to raise awareness of environmental protection on World Oceans Day for 3 consecutive years.
This year we have organized activities under ‘No Ocean Waste’ or ‘Thai Sea Free of Waste’ theme. We coordinated with Saen Suk Municipality, Chonburi Province, to organize garbage collection activities along the lower Bangsaen beach to protect the environment, provide cleanliness and create good scenery for this major tourist attraction.”
Today’s activity began with Saen Suk municipal official welcomed a group of volunteers. He mentioned that it is important to preserve Bangsaen beach, one of Thailand’s well-knownand beautiful beaches. Tourists from all over the world come to visit all year round. It is essential to maintain the cleanliness so that garbage does not accumulate and damage the environment and scenery.
The volunteers and their companions were divided into groups to collect garbage along the lower Bangsaen beach for more than 2 hours. After that, they participated in making plant pots from oyster shells activity by Khao Sam Muk Community Enterprise. People from the community taught the volunteers in every step.Once the plant pot is completed, the P-Touch label machine is used to type a message and attach it on the cement pot.
This event is completed with happiness for both employees who participated in the environmental conservation activities and also created income for people in the community.
For the tourism of Bangsaen beach, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources by the Office of the 2nd Commissioner (Chonburi) attendeda meeting of the Public Beach Area Development Committee with Saen Suk Municipality to prepare for the opening of Bangsaen Beach Public Area as an orderly tourist attraction along with the conservation of natural resources and the environment.
At the meeting, important measures were proposed, such asfoam-free zones, non-smoking beach, reducing and eliminating single-use plastics, sorting garbage before disposal and close the beach to the public on Monday to clear garbage.The meeting also proposed Bangsaen Beach to be a new model for the beach in accordance with World Oceans Day’s “Innovation for Ocean Sustainability”.
World OceansDay World Oceans Day was established at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCEN) or Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. More than 178 member countries gathered to disseminate knowledge and campaign to people around the world through various networks in many countries.
Activities are continuously organized in collaboration with organizations for people to protect and preserve the oceans. In 2008, the UN designated 8th June as World Oceans Day. Officially started in 2009, countries around the world organized activities to protect and preserve the oceans.
FILE - Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi reviews an honor guard at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on April 30, 2019. Photo: Heng Sinith / AP File
TOKYO – Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, has spent her third birthday in a row under detention following the ouster of her democratically elected government in a military coup.
Suu Kyi, whose birthday fell on Monday, faces a total of 33 years in prison — essentially a life sentence — after being tried on 19 charges, including corruption and election fraud.
According to sources familiar with her situation, Suu Kyi is in a relatively healthy state. She has been held in a small building in the compound of a prison in the capital Naypyitaw since June last year, after being under house arrest.
Suu Kyi’s younger son, Kim Aris, issued a video statement ahead of her birthday calling on the junta to release her and return power to a democratically elected government.
Kim Aris, issued a video statement.
“This is an appeal firstly to the Burmese military to release my mother and all political prisoners and to commit to a ceasefire whilst opening negotiations to hand power back to the democratically elected government,” Aris, who lives in Britain, said in the statement released Saturday.
Along with Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, other senior members of her government as well as other pro-democracy activists and politicians were arrested by the military after the coup, most of whom remain in detention.
Suu Kyi’s now-dissolved political party, the National League for Democracy, on Monday urged the junta to hold dialogue with her to resolve political problems arising from the coup.
“We will work effectively in collaboration with allied countries and allied forces both inside and outside the country for the immediate release of all political prisoners without exemption, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” the party said in a statement, employing an honorific used for older women in Myanmar.
Activities to mark Suu Kyi’s birthday have been held in areas controlled by the pro-democracy People’s Defense Force, such as the Sagaing region of central Myanmar, as well as in other countries, local media reports said.
Many of her supporters in Myanmar posted photos of themselves with flowers in their hair — similar to those often worn by Suu Kyi — on social media Monday, in celebration of the democracy icon’s birthday and as a peaceful protest to call for her release.
In the video statement, Aris also accused Japan and India of supporting the Myanmar military.
“It is disappointing, to say the least, that countries such as Japan and India which is supposed to be the largest democracy in the world will have anything to do with the junta,” he said.
FILE – Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi makes an early voting for upcoming Nov. 8 general election at Union Election Commission office in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on Oct. 29, 2020. Photo: Aung Shine Oo / AP File
Aris said he is especially saddened as he has fond memories of having lived in both Japan and India as a child.
Activists and opposition groups have been criticizing India for reportedly selling arms to the military even after the coup.
The military is being accused of using excessive force against anti-junta resistance forces in the ongoing conflicts across the country.
The activists and groups have also condemned the Japanese government for not imposing sanctions on the junta, although many Japanese businesses have either left the country or gradually suspended their operations since the coup.
The Thai government denied the accusation of adopting an unbalanced approach to foreign policy after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai held unofficial talks to some foreign ministers of ASEAN countries as well as Than Swe, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Myanmar junta in Thailand on June 19.
Responding to criticism that the caretaker government should wait for the new government to address the issue, Don said he cannot wait until the new government is in power. If there is an opportunity, everyone should contribute to addressing the issue as soon as possible. There must be constant discussions even if it is exhausting. We have to look after the interests of the country.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai
Caretaker Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha said his government was not siding with any countries. He also defended Don’s action on Myanmar and rejected criticism that the caretaker government should not make such a move, especially when several ASEAN foreign ministers oppose participation. The public sees that this could have an impact on the perception of ASEAN’s image and credibility.
“Who does not come? Those who do not come, do not come. This matter is about finding a solution within ASEAN and it is necessary that we have talks. In the past, we all looked at different perspectives. We need to put ourselves in an appropriate position. In the past, we have followed our policy, which is to fully comply with the internal ASEAN resolutions on Myanmar. But if we look at it from a different angle, we would be more affected than others or not,” said Gen.Prayut.
Caretaker PM Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha
PM Gen. Prayut said that Thailand shares a land border of over 3,000 kilometres with Myanmar and also has maritime borders. There is cross-border trade worth billions of dollars each year, and some gas and oil resources come from Myanmar. These matters need to be discussed, taking into account what Thailand has to lose.
This decision comes at a time when Thailand is going to host the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) from June 24 to 26, which serves as an important platform to highlight close ties with China, which is Thailand’s top trading partner, worth 3.69 trillion baht, accounting for 18 percent of Thailand’s global trade.
China is considered friendly and economically linked to Myanmar’s military government.
Representatives from Myanmar and China attend a signing ceremony of business agreements during a forum on Myanmar-China trade cooperation in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, on May 26, 2023. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)
Prayut posted a message on June 20 saying that he is confident that the close friendship between Thailand and China will promote and further expand the success of the Chinese Global Business Meeting, which will benefit the economy, trade, and investment. There will be over 4,000 Chinese entrepreneurs from around the world attending WCEC to negotiate and explore trade and investment opportunities in Thailand.
FILE - This undated photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)
Rescuers in a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean raced against time early Tuesday to find a missing submersible carrying five people on a mission to document the wreckage of the Titanic, the iconic ocean liner that sank more than a century ago.
The submersible named the Titan, part of a mission by OceanGate Expeditions, carried a pilot, a renowned British adventurer, two members of an iconic Pakistani business family and another passenger. Authorities reported the vessel overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center.
Every passing minute, however, puts the Titan’s crew at greater risk. The submersible had a 96-hour oxygen supply when it put to sea at roughly 6 a.m. Sunday, according to David Concannon, an adviser to OceanGate.
“It is a remote area — and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger, a commander for the U.S. Coast Guard, which also is searching for the Titan. “But we are deploying all available assets to make sure we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board.”
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, speaks to the media, Monday, June 19, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
The Canadian research icebreaker Polar Prince, which was supporting the Titan, reportedly lost contact with the vessel about an hour and 45 minutes after it submerged. The Polar Prince will continue to do surface searches throughout the night and Canadian Boeing P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft will resume their surface and subsurface search in the morning, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Twitter. Two U.S. Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft also have conducted overflights.
In an email to The Associated Press, Concannon said he was supposed to be on the dive but could not go. He said officials were working to get a remotely operated vehicle that can reach a depth of 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) to the site as soon as possible.
OceanGate’s expeditions to the Titanic wreck site include archaeologists and marine biologists. The company also brings people who pay to come along, known as “mission specialists.” They take turns operating sonar equipment and performing other tasks in the five-person submersible.
The Coast Guard said Monday that there was one pilot and four “mission specialists” aboard. However, OceanGate’s website suggests that the fifth person aboard may be a so-called “content expert” who guides the paying customers.
OceanGate said its focus was on those aboard and their families.
“We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible,” it said in a statement.
The Polar Prince ship is seen while moored in Vancouver, British Columbia, Oct. 23, 2017. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
British businessman Hamish Harding, who lives in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, was one of the mission specialists, according to Action Aviation, a company for which Harding serves as chairman. The company’s managing director, Mark Butler, told the AP that the crew set out on Friday.
“There is still plenty of time to facilitate a rescue mission, there is equipment on board for survival in this event,” Butler said. “We’re all hoping and praying he comes back safe and sound.”
Harding is a billionaire adventurer who holds three Guinness World Records, including the longest duration at full ocean depth by a crewed vessel. In March 2021, he and ocean explorer Victor Vescovo dived to the lowest depth of the Mariana Trench. In June 2022, he went into space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
Harding was “looking forward to conducting research” at the Titanic site, said Richard Garriott de Cayeux, the president of The Explorers Club, a group to which Harding belonged.
“We all join in the fervent hope that the submersible is located as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement.’
Also on board were Pakistani nationals Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, according to a family statement sent to the AP. The Dawoods belong to one of Pakistan’s most prominent families. Their eponymous firm invests across the country in agriculture, industries and the health sector.
“We are very grateful for the concern being shown by our colleagues and friends and would like to request everyone to pray for their safety while granting the family privacy at this time,” the statement said. “The family is well looked after and are praying to Allah for the safe return of their family members.”
Shahzada Dawood also is on the board of trustees for the California-based SETI Institute that searches for extraterrestrial intelligence.
The expedition was OceanGate’s third annual voyage to chronicle the deterioration of Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, killing all but about 700 of the roughly 2,200 passengers and crew. Since the wreckage’s discovery in 1985, it has been slowly succumbing to metal-eating bacteria. Some have predicted the ship could vanish in a matter of decades as holes yawn in the hull and sections disintegrate.
The initial group of tourists in 2021 paid $100,000 to $150,000 apiece to go on the trip. OceanGate’s website had described the “mission support fee” for the 2023 expedition as $250,000 a person.
Unlike submarines that leave and return to port under their own power, submersibles require a ship to launch and recover them. OceanGate hired the Polar Prince to ferry dozens of people and the submersible craft to the North Atlantic wreck site. The submersible would make multiple dives in one expedition.
FILE – This undated photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company’s Titan submersible. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)
The expedition was scheduled to depart from St. John’s, Newfoundland, in early May and finish up at the end of June, according to documents filed by the company in April with a U.S. District Court in Virginia that oversees Titanic matters.
CBS journalist David Pogue, who went on the trip last year, noted his vessel got turned around looking for the Titanic.
“There’s no GPS underwater, so the surface ship is supposed to guide the sub to the shipwreck by sending text messages,” Pogue said in a segment aired on CBS Sunday Morning. “But on this dive, communications somehow broke down. The sub never found the wreck.”
The submersible, named Titan, is capable of diving 2.4 miles (4 kilometers) “with a comfortable safety margin,” OceanGate said in its court filing.
It weighs 20,000 pounds (9,072 kilograms) in the air, but is ballasted to be neutrally buoyant once it reaches the seafloor, the company said.
In a May 2021 court filing, OceanGate said the Titan had an “unparalleled safety feature” that assesses the integrity of the hull throughout every dive.
During its expedition in 2022, OceanGate reported that the submersible had a battery issue on its first dive, and had to be manually attached to its lifting platform, according to a November court filing. More missions, however, followed. The company reported that 28 people visited the wreck site last year.
FILE – This 2004 photo provided by the Institute for Exploration, Center for Archaeological Oceanography/University of Rhode Island/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, shows the remains of a coat and boots in the mud on the sea bed near the Titanic’s stern.
Experts said Monday that rescuers face steep challenges.
Alistair Greig, a professor of marine engineering at University College London, said submersibles typically have a drop weight, which is “a mass they can release in the case of an emergency to bring them up to the surface using buoyancy.”
“If there was a power failure and/or communication failure, this might have happened, and the submersible would then be bobbing about on the surface waiting to be found,” Greig said.
Another scenario is a leak in the pressure hull, in which case the prognosis is not good, he said.
“If it has gone down to the seabed and can’t get back up under its own power, options are very limited,” Greig said. “While the submersible might still be intact, if it is beyond the continental shelf, there are very few vessels that can get that deep, and certainly not divers.”
Even if they could go that deep, he doubts they could attach to the hatch of OceanGate’s submersible.
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Ben Finley and Holly Ramer reported from Canada. Danica Kirka, Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui in London, Robert Gillies in Toronto, Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Thai politics is finally coming out of stagnation after the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) officially recognized the election result of the 500 MPs and every member of parliament can receive the official letter from the ECT from June 20, 2023: The letter will be presented to parliament later.
Thereafter, Parliament will reconvene in early July, as required by law, which states that the first sitting of the legislature must be held within 15 days. The two major political parties that make up the government have informally agreed that the Move Forward Party will hold the post of Speaker of Parliament and the Pheu Thai Party will hold the posts of two Deputy Speakers of Parliament.
This is to be followed by a vote to elect the prime minister at the end of July. However, there is currently controversy surrounding Pita Limjaroenrat, the Move Forward Party’s leader and candidate for prime minister, because of his ownership of ITV shares, a former television station.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the Move Forward Party’s leader
Tithichet Nuchanat, Election Commissioner, said in an interview that the ECT has taken a decision to officially certify the election results of 400 constituency MPs and 100 party list MPs, a total of 500 people. This decision was taken because the investigation and verification of petitions against the election results could not be completed within the 60-day period. Therefore, it was necessary to announce the certification first. Investigations into the various complaints will continue in accordance with legal procedures.
The parliament souvenirs for the new MPs.
In addition, anyone who finds misconduct by the certified MPs can file a complaint with the ECT for further investigation within 30 days of the announcement of the MP certification on June 19. If the investigation reveals evidence of misconduct, witnesses and evidence will be collected to be presented in court for further consideration.
On the case of Reungkrai Leekijwattana, a member of the Palang Pracharath Party, who filed a petition again to the ECT requesting that the constitutional route under Article 82 be used to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court for a decision on the status of Pita, Tithichet said this was under consideration. He asked that the fact-finding committee set up by the ECT have the power to act first.
Reungkrai Leekijwattana filed a petition again on June 20.
“The verification process must include witness statements and evidence, such as meeting minutes, asset declarations and evidence of Pita’s shareholding. All of these must be complete and sufficient to be presented to the court. If they are incomplete, the court cannot accept them for consideration. Therefore, the ECT must proceed with thoroughness and fairness to all parties, especially the affected party,” Tithichat stressed.
Mr. Teerawut Supapunpinyo,
This event is completed with happiness for both employees who participated in the environmental conservation activities and also created income for people in the community.
World Oceans Day
