International

Two ancient sandstone artefacts believed to have been stolen from Thailand during the Vietnam War are set to return from the United States Friday night, officials say. The temple support beams with their exquisite carvings of the Hindu deities Indra and Yama date back to the late 10th or 11th century and had been on show for decades at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. They are expected to touch down in Bangkok on Friday night and will be put on display at the National Museum for three months from Tuesday, following a special ceremony. Thai Fine Arts Department Director General Prateep Pengtako said the two lintels are about 1,000 years old and show the influence of the ancient Khmer Kingdom, which had its capital in modern-day Cambodia. "Lintels are part of the structure of ancient Cambodian temples," he told AFP. "The lintels were assessed to be taken away sometime between 1958 and 1969. In particular, 1965-66 saw a lot of Thai artefacts go missing." The lintels were among 133 Thai artefacts on display at museums and galleries in the US. "The return of these antiquities holds great importance in terms of history, archaeology, and culture to the Thai Government and the Thai people," the Thai foreign ministry said, after a handover ceremony earlier this week between US authorities and the Royal Thai Consulate General in Los Angeles. "It is believed that both of the sacred lintels were illegally exported from Thailand around the 1960s during the Vietnam War." The repatriation comes after a three-year investigation by the US Department of Homeland Security. The California museum insisted it had long planned to return the artefacts, but disputed investigators' allegations that they were stolen. "We are very pleased that these lintels are going back to their country of origin," Jay Xu, the museum director, said in a statement. US museums are not the only ones to be embroiled in art provenance scandals in recent years. Australia has repatriated at least eight looted statues to India since 2014. France has vowed to return items taken from Senegal and Benin. The Netherlands is moving to repatriate artefacts stolen from its former colonies. And Germany has promised to give back artefacts to Nigeria.

Malaysian authorities on Tuesday were investigating a collision between metro trains in Kuala Lumpur that injured more than 200 people, as dramatic accounts emerged of the crash. The accident happened in an underground tunnel close to the landmark Petronas Twin Towers at around 8:45 pm (1245 GMT) Monday, when a packed train collided with another that was empty and heading in the opposite direction on the same track. Passengers were left battered and bruised after being thrown across carriages during the crash, with many evacuated on stretchers. Most suffered minor injuries but 64 were taken to hospital, and six were in critical condition Tuesday, authorities said. One passenger, Lim Mahfudz, described the moment the trains collided. "This resulted in all seated passengers being thrown... and standing passengers being thrown," he wrote on Twitter, adding people were injured as glass flew around the carriage. It was a "real nightmare", he said. "The impact was so strong that I suffered injuries to my head, left leg and chest," another passenger, Afiq Luqman Mohd Baharudin, told official news agency Bernama. Shaken passengers had to be evacuated by emergency workers from the tunnel, and brought up to the surface. The empty train had a driver at the controls and was being tested after repairs, while the full train was driverless. Authorities say there was no sign of foul play and suspect the accident was caused by a miscommunication between the driver and the network's command centre. The accident happened close to a station under the Twin Towers, which is one of the busiest on the network. The affected line resumed services early Tuesday. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has described the crash as "serious" and urged authorities and the train operator to "conduct an in-depth probe". The accident was the worst on the metro system since it began operations about 25 years ago, although there have been less serious incidents. In 2008, four passengers suffered minor injuries when two trains collided.

Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in person at a court hearing on Monday for the first time since her government was overthrown by the military in a Feb. 1 coup, her lawyer told Reuters. Suu Kyi looked in good health and held a face-to-face meeting with her legal team for about 30 minutes before the hearing, lawyer Thae Maung Maung said. Suu Kyi, 75, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts to build democracy, is among more than 4,000 people detained since the coup. She faces charges that range from illegally possessing walkie-talkie radios to violating a state secrets law. The ousted leader "wished people good health" in her meeting with her lawyers and also made an apparent reference to her National League for Democracy party that could be dissolved soon. "She said the party was established for the people so the party will be there as long as the people are," Thae Maung Maung told Reuters. Myanmar's junta-appointed election commission will dissolve Suu Kyi's political party for vote fraud in a November election, media reported on Friday, citing a commissioner, who threatened action against "traitors" involved. The army seized power claiming fraud in an election won by Suu Kyi's party in November. Its accusations had been dismissed by the former electoral commission. In his first interview with foreign media since the coup, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing had also said Suu Kyi was in good health as he disputed the number of people killed by security forces in protests since the coup. Myanmar has been in chaos since the army took power, with daily protests, marches and strikes nationwide against the junta, which has responded with lethal force, killing more than 800 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group. Min Aung Hlaing in the May 20 interview said the actual casualty figure was about 300 and that 47 police had also been killed.

A gun battle erupted on Sunday between Myanmar security forces and an alliance of armed ethnic groups opposed to February's coup, at a town on the border with China, Myanmar media said. The fighting at Muse, one of the main crossing points to China, was the latest to hit Myanmar since the coup led to an upsurge of conflict with insurgent groups in border regions, as well as bombings, shootings and arson across the country. Gunfire broke out in Muse around dawn, broadcaster DVB and Khit Thit Media said. Khit Thit Media published pictures of what it said were civilian vehicles that were peppered with bullet holes. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Reuters was unable to reach a junta spokesman or spokesmen for the four ethnic armed groups that make up the Northern Alliance. One of the groups in the alliance, the Kachin Independence Army, attacked a military post in northwestern Myanmar, nearly 320 km from Muse and closer to the Indian border on the other side of the country on Saturday. The junta is fighting a growing number of conflicts since it seized power on Feb. 1 and overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Ethnic armed groups that have waged war for decades to demand greater autonomy have been joined by new groups opposed to the coup. Meanwhile, protests are carried out daily against military rule, while strikes have paralysed hospitals, schools and much private business. More than 125,000 school teachers - nearly a third of the total - have been suspended for joining a civil disobedience movement to oppose the coup, an official of the Myanmar Teachers' Federation said. At least 815 people have been killed by security forces since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners activist group. The junta disputes that figure and its leader, Min Aung Hlaing, said in comments broadcast on Saturday that 300 people had been killed in addition to 47 police. Protesters also demand the release of nearly 4,300 people who have been arrested since the coup, including Suu Kyi, 75. Min Aung Hlaing said Suu Kyi was healthy and would soon appear in court. Her next hearing is on Monday on some of the many charges brought against her, which range from illegal possession of walkie-talkie radios to breaching a state secrets law. The army seized power on the grounds of alleged fraud in the general election won by Suu Kyi's party in November. Its accusations had been dismissed by the former electoral commission, dozens of whose officials are now locked up.

The Philippines and China held ‘friendly and candid’ talks on the South China Sea, the Philippines' foreign ministry said on Saturday, days after the minister ordered Chinese vessels out of the disputed waterway in an expletive-laced tweet. The presence of hundreds Chinese vessels inside the Philippines 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has been the latest source of tensions between the two countries in the South China Sea, through which $3 trillion worth of goods pass every year. The Philippines said the encroaching vessels were manned by militia, while Beijing said they were fishing boats sheltering from bad weather. ‘The two sides had friendly and candid exchanges on the general situation and specific issues of concern in the South China Sea,’ under a bilateral consultation mechanism convened in 2016 to ease tensions in the strategic waterway, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement. ‘There was mutual recognition of the importance of dialogue in easing tensions and understanding each country's position and intentions in the area,’ the DFA said. Earlier this month, Philippines Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin likened China to ‘an ugly oaf’ for its behaviour in the waterway. ‘China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O…GET THE FUCK OUT,’ Locsin tweeted on his personal account. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who prefers to not provoke Beijing and wants to tap it for loans and investment, barred his ministers from talking about the South China Sea situation in public after the outburst. Also discussed during Friday's dialogue was the row over the June 2019 sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese fishing vessel that abandoned the Filipino fishermen in the South China Sea. The Philippine justice ministry will seek compensation for the victims, the DFA said. Despite recent tensions, ties between the Philippines and China have improved under Duterte, who described the 2016 arbitration ruling on the South China Sea that went in Philippines' favour as just a ‘piece of paper’ he could throw in the trash. But the Philippines reiterated its call on Beijing to respect international law, including the arbitral ruling during the talks, the DFA said.  

Nepal's parliament was dissolved for the second time in five months Saturday and new elections called for November as the Himalayan country battled political turmoil alongside the coronavirus pandemic. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari made the order after declaring that neither Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli nor Sher Bahadur Deuba, leader of the opposition Nepali Congress, had a majority to form a new government. Political rivalries between the communist prime minister and his former Maoist allies hit a new peak as the country battles a severe coronavirus wave with acute shortages of oxygen and vaccines. Authorities have been reporting about 200 deaths a day, but experts say there are a lot more and the United Nations has launched an emergency Covid-19 appeal saying that Nepal is at ‘breaking point’. Bhandari dissolved parliament in the early hours of Saturday after a new breakdown in talks. ‘The president... has dissolved the current House of Representatives and fixed the first phase of general elections on November 12 and the second phase on November 19,’ his office said in a statement. Oli was reappointed the prime minister only last week as no leader could muster a majority after the veteran communist lost a vote of confidence. The 69-year-old had a month to win a new vote of confidence in parliament but the president called on other parties to try to form a government as Oli struggled to win support. Bhandari, who hails from the ruling party and is considered close to Oli, has been criticised for agreeing so quickly to Oli's recommendation for a new election. Chandrakanta Gyawali, a constitutional expert, said the president has ‘derailed from the spirit of the constitution’ by giving in to Oli so easily. ‘This decision could be challenged in the court again. The prime minister has repeatedly attacked the constitution,’ Gyawali said. In December, Oli dismissed the legislature and called elections, accusing members of his Nepal Communist Party of blocking his moves. After nearly two months of protests, the Supreme Court reinstated parliament, saying Oli's move was unconstitutional. Oli became prime minister in 2018 and secured a two-thirds majority of parliament through a merger between his party, the CPN-UML, and a former rebel party, CPN (Maoist Centre). Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal has turned against Oli again however, setting off the hostilities.  

Myanmar's junta has threatened to dissolve the political party of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi over alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election, an official said. Union Election Commission chair Thein Soe said Friday the investigation into November's election result was almost complete. ‘What shall we do with the (National League for Democracy) party that (acted) illegally. Should we dissolve the party or charge those who committed this (illegal activity) as traitors of the nation? We will analyse and consider taking this action,’ he said, in a video posted on a local media outlet's Facebook account. The election commission met with political parties on Friday to discuss potential changes to the electoral system but NLD representatives did not attend. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has justified his February 1 power grab by citing alleged electoral fraud in the November poll won by Suu Kyi's NLD party in a landslide. On Thursday, local media reported the junta had removed a mandatory retirement age for generals, which would allow Min Aung Hlaing to continue serving once he turns 65 this July. Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed since the putsch and more than 800 people have died as the military moved to crack down on protesters and dissent. The coup and its aftermath have also seen a spike in clashes between the military and Myanmar's numerous ethnic rebel armies, sending tens of thousands of civilians fleeing their homes. Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since she was taken under house arrest. She was subsequently hit with a series of criminal charges, and her legal team has faced an uphill battle to get a private audience with their client. The charges include flouting coronavirus restrictions during last year's election campaign and possessing unlicensed walkie-talkies. The most serious charge alleges that she violated the country's colonial-era Official Secrets Act. Suu Kyi is expected to appear in person in court Monday for the first time, after weeks of delays with her legal case. NLD secured an absolute majority in Myanmar's election in November, in a poll disputed by the military-aligned opposition and criticised by rights groups. The Asian Network for Free Elections monitoring group has said ‘the results of the 2020 general elections were, by and large, representative of the will of the people of Myanmar.’ A group of ousted lawmakers -- many of them previously part of the NLD -- have formed a shadow ‘National Unity Government’ to undermine the junta. Myanmar's junta later declared the group would now be classified as ‘terrorists’, as the military moves to tighten its grip over a country in turmoil.  

A dog hailed as a hero in the Philippines after it lost half its face while apparently saving two girls from being hit by a motorcycle a decade ago has died, her owner said. Anton Mari Lim announced Kabang's death on Facebook this week, sparking an outpouring of grief and tributes on social media for the 13-year-old mutt. Kabang became an internet sensation in 2011 after local media reported how she had saved the lives of two girls crossing a busy road by deliberately leaping in front of a motorbike. ‘You have always been a hero, selfless to a fault,’ wrote the vet, who first treated Kabang and later adopted her. ‘I will miss you jumping over the gate to greet me everytime I get home, staying beside me when I work in the garden or acting like a supervisor when I mow the lawn. You were just there.’ In the accident, Kabang's snout and part of her jaw were torn off when the motorcycle flipped over, also damaging an eyelid. An online fundraising drive raised more than $27,000 to treat her wounds in the United States. Her face was partially rebuilt, but efforts to fit a prosthetic snout and jaw were abandoned. Kabang died in her sleep on Monday, Lim said in the Facebook post, which has been liked and shared thousands of times. ‘Run free Kabang,’ said many of the hundreds of comments on the post. Kabang's remains will be kept in a concrete vault at the foot of a solid aluminium statue of her in the southern city of Zamboanga that was funded by an American fan.  

* Officials banned from talking publicly on South China Sea * Duterte says maritime patrols will continue * Gag order may show more coherent strategy: expert Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has barred his cabinet from talking about the South China Sea in public, but said the gag order did not mean the country was wavering in its defence of its sovereign rights. His decision follows weeks of strong rebukes of China by his ministers over the presence of hundreds of fishing vessels in the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), fuelling tensions that have gone against Duterte's policy of rapprochement and non-confrontation with Beijing. ‘This is my order now to the cabinet, and to all and sundry talking for the government, to refrain from discussing the West Philippine Sea with anybody,’ Duterte said in a televised address, using the local name for its EEZ. ‘If we talk, we talk but just among us,’ he said. But Duterte later clarified his order should not be construed as weakness and on Tuesday said maritime patrols must continue. ‘Our agencies have been directed to do what they must and should to protect and defend our nation's interest,’ Duterte said in a statement. ‘We will not waver in our position.’ Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea and has built military installations equipped with missiles on reefs in disputed areas, including within the Philippine EEZ, alongside a constant presence of coastguard and fishing vessels. China's maritime conduct has been a constant problem for Duterte, who has refrained from criticising Beijing and instead praised its leadership, hoping to secure big investments. His approach has frustrated nationalists. His defence and foreign ministers and his legal adviser have taken strong positions lately on what they have called a ‘swarming and threatening’ presence of Chinese vessels they believes are manned by militias. China's embassy in Manila has denied the presence of militias. It did not respond to requests for comment on Monday and Tuesday. The gag order could lessen tensions at the rhetorical level, said Aaron Jed Rabena of the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress, a Manila-based think tank. ‘It could be that President Duterte has realised that it's high time for his administration to speak with one voice given the mixed signals ... which show a government that is incoherent,’ Rabena said.  

Singapore will close schools from Wednesday as authorities warned new coronavirus strains like the one first detected in India were affecting more children in the city-state. The government has been tightening restrictions following a recent rise in local transmissions after months of near-zero cases. At a virtual news conference late Sunday, authorities announced that primary and secondary schools as well as junior colleges would shift to full home-based learning from Wednesday until the end of the school term on May 28. Hours before Sunday's news conference, Singapore confirmed 38 locally transmitted coronavirus cases, the highest daily count in eight months. Some of the cases involved children linked to a cluster at a tuition centre. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, citing a conversation he had with the ministry's director of medical services Kenneth Mak, told a news conference Sunday that the B.1.617 strain "appears to affect children more". The strain was first detected in India. "Some of these mutations are much more virulent and they seem to attack the younger children," Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said at the news conference. "This is an area of concern for all of us," he said, adding however that none of the children who had been infected were seriously ill. The government is "working out the plans" to vaccinate students under the age of 16, Chan said in a Facebook post. The financial hub joins Taiwan in shutting down schools to stem the surge in infections. Taiwan's capital Taipei and adjacent New Taipei City announced Monday that schools would suspend classes from Tuesday until May 28. Taiwan, which emerged relatively unscathed last year, announced a further 333 local cases Monday, bringing the total to just over 2,000.   The rise in local transmissions in Singapore will probably scupper a quarantine-free travel bubble with Hong Kong, due to begin on May 26 after an earlier failed attempt. Singapore has limited public gatherings to two, banned restaurant dine-ins and closed gyms in an attempt to stop the surge in infections. Authorities have also banned non-passengers from entering the airport terminal and closed an adjacent mall as around 9,000 workers undergo testing. Singapore had to fight serious coronavirus outbreaks last year when the illness surged through crowded dormitories housing low-paid foreign workers, infecting tens of thousands. But by global standards, its outbreak has been mild -- officials in the city of 5.7 million have reported more than 61,000 cases so far and 31 deaths.

Fighters of a local militia opposed to Myanmar’s junta have pulled back from the northwestern town of Mindat after days of assault by combat troops backed by artillery, a member of the group said yesterday. The US and Britain called on the army to avoid civilian casualties and a shadow National Unity Government formed by loyalists of Myanmar’s detained elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, appealed for international help. A spokesman for the junta did not answer calls for comment. The fighting in the hill town of Mindat, about 100km from the Indian border in Chin state, is some of the heaviest since the coup plunged Myanmar into chaos with daily protests, strikes and the emergence of new local militias. “To avoid confrontation, we retreated out of concern over damage to the town,” said one fighter, adding that only women and children remained in the town of more than 40,000 that was now largely occupied by the army. “Since all the boys and men are involved in this fight, all of them are on the run.” The US-funded RFA (Radio Free Asia) website quoted a member of the group as saying five of its fighters were killed, but it believed it had inflicted losses several times that many on the army, widely known as the Tatmadaw. The local Chinworld news website said the Chinland Defence Force had captured three traffic police and an “informer” and would execute them if the army did not release Chin prisoners. Army-controlled Myawaddy television had said on Saturday that some security forces were killed and others missing after attacks by “unscrupulous people” in Mindat. Yesterday it reported two other attacks on security forces over the past day — one at Kanpetlet, also in Chin state, and the other at Shwegu in northern Myanmar. Chin is a majority Christian state in the predominantly Buddhist country. The fighting in Mindat marks the emergence of the Chinland Defence Force, one of several new groups to spring up in opposition to the junta in a country that already had about two dozen ethnic armed groups. The fighters also say they are part of the People’s Defence Forces of the shadow government, which called on the international community for help. “We are sad that we can’t protect the people in Mindat. I salute the heroes in Mindat as well as the people in Myanmar risking their lives to resist the junta’s brutal oppression,” its prime minister, Mahn Win Khaing Than, said in a message.

Seven Indonesians drowned after an overloaded boat capsized because of tourists attempting a selfie in a reservoir on Java island, police said Sunday. The accident happened when all 20 passengers suddenly moved to the one side of the vessel to take a group photo on Saturday in the Boyolali regency, said Central Java police chief Ahmad Lutfi. "The cause of the accident was overcapacity," Lutfi told reporters. "The 20 people took a selfie on the right side then the boat lost balance and flipped." Police added that 11 people were rescued but seven were found dead. Rescuers were searching for two people still missing. Authorities said they will look into whether there was negligence by those managing the boat rides at the reservoir. Lutfi said that the boat was helmed by a 13-year-old. Boat accidents are common in Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of around 17,000 islands, due to lax safety standards. In April, rescuers were rushed to find 17 fishermen after two boats collided in West Java. Three were found dead and 13 were still missing when the search ended. And in January last year, 10 people went missing after a boat carrying 20 migrant workers to neighbouring Malaysia capsized off the coast of Sumatra island.

At least five opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes in Myanmar, an anti-junta militia said Sunday, as Britain and the United States condemned the military's violence against civilians. The country has been in uproar since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February 1 coup, triggering a massive uprising which authorities have sought to quell with lethal force. Some in the anti-junta movement have set up local militias armed with home-made weapons to protect their towns from security forces -- which have killed at least 790 civilians according to a local monitoring group. In the western state of Chin, the town of Mindat has emerged as a hotspot for unrest, where some residents have formed the Chinland Defence Force (CDF). "We have at least five members killed and over 10 were wounded" this week, said a CDF spokesman, adding that five Mindat residents were also arrested by the military. With mobile data blocked across the country, details about the fighting have been slow to come out, and on-the-ground verification is made harder as locals are fearful of retaliation. The spokesman, who declined to be named, told AFP that CDF fighters set fire to several army trucks, destroying them, and ambushed reinforcement troops, while the military has attacked the town with artillery. By Sunday, the CDF had retreated into the jungle, he said. "We will not stay any more in the town... but we will come back to attack soon," he said. "We only have home-made guns. This was not enough." He added that residents remaining in Mindat -- which has been under martial law since Thursday -- were afraid to leave their homes for fear of being targeted by the military. The US and UK embassies in Myanmar sounded the alarm Saturday on Mindat's unrest, calling for security forces to cease violence. "The military's use of weapons of war against civilians, including this week in Mindat, is a further demonstration of the depths the regime will sink to to hold onto power," the US embassy said in a tweet Saturday. The British embassy said the Mindat violence "cannot be justified". "Evidence of atrocities should be sent to the (United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar) so perpetrators can be held to account," the embassy tweeted, referring to a committee that collects evidence of international crimes. State-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday that a military tribunal would be convened to try "perpetrators of terrorist attacks" in Mindat. Across the country, anti-coup protesters continue to march for democracy -- with demonstrators in northern Hpakhant holding signs that said "Stay strong, Mindat".

Of the 100 cities worldwide most vulnerable to environmental hazards all but one are in Asia, and four-fifths are in India or China, according to a risk assessment published yesterday. Across the globe, more than 400 large cities with a total population of 1.5bn are at “high” or “extreme” risk due to some mixture of life-shortening pollution, dwindling water supplies, deadly heat waves, natural disasters and climate change, the report found. The sinking megalopolis of Jakarta — plagued by pollution, flooding and heat waves, with worse to come — topped the ranking. But India, home to 13 of the world’s 20 most risk-laden cities, may face the most daunting future of any country. Delhi ranks second on the global index of 576 cities compiled by business risk analysts Verisk Maplecroft, followed within India by Chennai (3rd), Agra (6th), Kanpur (10th), Jaipur (22nd) and Lucknow (24th).Mumbai and its 12.5mn souls is 27th. Looking only at air pollution — which causes more than 7mn premature deaths worldwide each year, including a million in India alone — the 20 cities with the worst air quality in the world among urban areas of at least a million people are all in India. Delhi in pole position. The air pollution assessment was weighted towards the impact of microscopic, health-wrecking particles known as PM2.5, cast off in large measure by the burning of coal and other fossil fuels. Outside Asia, the Middle East and North Africa have the largest proportion of “high risk” cities across all threat categories combined, but Lima is the only non-Asian city to crack the top 100. “Home to more than half the world’s population and a key driver of wealth, cities are already coming under serious strain from dire air quality, water scarcity and natural hazards,” the report’s lead author Will Nichols said. “In many Asian countries these hubs are going to become less hospitable as population pressures grow and climate change amplifies threats from pollution and extreme weather, threatening their role as wealth generators for national economies.” While richer than India, China faces formidable environmental challenges as well. Thirty-five of the 50 cities worldwide most beset by water pollution are in China, as are all but two of the top 15 facing water stress, according to the report. But different political systems and levels of development may ultimately play in China’s favour, Nichols said. “For China, an emerging middle class is increasingly demanding cleaner air and water, which is being reflected in government targets,” he told AFP. “China’s top-down governance structure — and willingness to take abrupt measures, such as shutting down factories to meet emissions goals — gives it more of a chance of mitigating these risks.” India’s weaker governance, coupled with the size and scale of its informal economy, makes it far harder to address environmental and climate issues at the city level, he added. When it comes to global warming and its impacts, the focus shifts sharply to sub-Saharan Africa, home to 40 of the 45 most climate-vulnerable cities on the planet. The continent least responsible for rising global temperatures will get hit the hardest not only because of worse droughts, heat waves, storms and flooding, but also because it is so ill-equipped to cope. “Africa’s two most populous cities, Lagos and Kinshasa, are among those at highest risk,” the report noted. Other especially vulnerable cities include Monrovia, Brazzaville, Freetown, Kigali, Abidjan and Mombasa. The climate index combined the threat of extreme events, human vulnerability, and the ability of countries to adapt. The first in a series of risk assessments for cities, the report evaluates threats to liveability, investment potential, real estate assets, and operational capacity.

The Philippines has detected its first two cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India, its health ministry said yesterday, even as confirmed daily Covid-19 infections fell to a near eight-week low. The World Health Organisation has classified the coronavirus variant, known as B.1.617, as a variant of global concern with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily. The variant had been confirmed in two Filipino seafarers who returned in April, Alethea De Guzman, director of the ministry’s epidemiology bureau, told a news conference “We need to continually monitor what other variants we may be able to detect locally, as well as monitor the spread of the variants we have already detected,” De Guzman said, adding that the seafarers were isolated on their return and had both recovered. Separately, the health ministry yesterday reported 4,734 new coronavirus infections, the lowest single-day tally since March 17, bringing total cases to more than 1.11mn. The number of daily infections in the Philippines, which is battling one of the worst outbreaks in Asia, has fallen from a peak of 15,310 on April 2, but has stayed above the daily average of roughly 1,700 cases for 2020. The drop in cases, if sustained, will buoy hopes that tougher restrictions imposed on March 29 will be relaxed to help the economy, which contracted 4.2% in the first quarter. In a bid to prevent the entry of variants, the Philippines has temporarily barred travellers coming from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh from entering the country. Indonesia and Malaysia this month reported the first cases of the B.1.617 coronavirus variant. Philippines has also previously recorded cases of a variant first detected in Britain and another first discovered in South Africa, as well as a homegrown P.3 variant.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has condemned an alleged racist attack on a local woman of Indian descent after media reported she was kicked and abused for not wearing a mask, in a case that is being investigated by police. In a Facebook post on Monday night, Lee said while people may be anxious and stressed because of the Covid-19 pandemic ‘that does not justify racist attitudes and actions, much less physically abusing and assaulting someone because she belongs to a particular race, in this case Indian.’ Local media reported the 55-year-old Singaporean woman was walking briskly on Friday when a man shouted racial slurs at her for not wearing her mask above her nose and kicked her in the chest. Face masks are mandatory in public in Singapore, but can be removed when exercising, including brisk walking. In statement on Tuesday, Singapore police said a 30-year-old man had been arrested for public nuisance, uttering words with intent to wound the racial feelings of others and voluntarily causing hurt. A multicultural society, Singapore has strict laws regulating acts that could damage racial harmony. The alleged attack comes as Singapore tightens social distancing rules and with authorities detecting a rising number of locally acquired coronavirus variants, including a more contagious variant first detected in India. Other politicians in Singapore also condemned the alleged attack. ‘We felt indignant when Asians were attacked merely because of their race in other countries. Let us not allow such behaviour to take root here,’ said Grace Fu, minister for sustainability and the environment. Violent hate crimes against people of Asian ethnicity have risen especially in the United States, coinciding with the spread of the coronavirus first detected in China in late 2019. Chinese form about three-quarters of Singapore's local population, followed by about 15% of Malays and 7.5% Indians. The finance and trade hub is also home to foreign workers from many countries, and has strict laws to keep harmony between different races and religions.    

* Two Filipino seafarers have recovered from Indian variant * WHO has called B.1.617 a "variant of concern" * Cases, deaths retreat from peak in April The Philippines has detected its first two cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India, its health ministry said on Tuesday, even as confirmed daily Covid-19 infections fell to a near eight-week low. The World Health Organization has classified the coronavirus variant, known as B.1.617, as a variant of global concern with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily. The variant had been confirmed in two Filipino seafarers who returned in April, Alethea De Guzman, director of the ministry's epidemiology bureau, told a news conference "We need to continually monitor what other variants we may be able to detect locally, as well as monitor the spread of the variants we have already detected," De Guzman said, adding that the seafarers were isolated on their return and had both recovered. Separately, the health ministry reported on Tuesday 4,734 new coronavirus infections, the lowest single-day tally since March 17, bringing total cases to more than 1.11 million. The number of daily infections in the Philippines, which is battling one of the worst outbreaks in Asia, has fallen from a peak of 15,310 on April 2, but has stayed above the daily average of roughly 1,700 cases for 2020. The drop in cases, if sustained, will buoy hopes that tougher restrictions imposed on March 29 will be relaxed to help the economy, which contracted 4.2% in the first quarter. In a bid to prevent the entry of variants, the Philippines has temporarily barred travellers coming from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh from entering the country. Indonesia and Malaysia this month reported the first cases of the B.1.617 coronavirus variant. The Philippines has also previously recorded cases of a variant first detected in Britain and another first discovered in South Africa, as well as a homegrown P.3 variant. The Philippines has the second-highest number of Covid-19 cases and casualties in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.

At least seven people were killed and one reported missing after a landslide at an Indonesian gold mine, authorities said Tuesday. Torrential rains triggered a landslide on Monday, inundating the mine with mud mixed with stones and debris in South Solok regency, West Sumatra, said the local emergency department head Fikri, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. In a statement, the department said "at least seven killed and one is missing". Rescuers managed to save nine survivors from the mud and were combing the area to find the missing miner, Fikri said. "Initially, rescuers were having difficulties to evacuate victims to a rescue vehicle because the terrain at the site was challenging," Fikri said, but in the end all survivors went to hospital for emergency treatment. The disaster occurred just two weeks after another landslide hit the Chinese-backed Batang Toru hydropower project in North Sumatra, killing 10 people. Three people were still missing when rescuers ended their search last week. Fatal landslides and flash floods are common across the country during the rainy season. Last month, more than 200 people were killed in a cluster of far-eastern islands and neighbouring Timor Leste as Tropical Cyclone Seroja turned small communities into wastelands of mud and uprooted trees. Indonesia's disaster agency estimates 125 million people -- nearly half of the country's population -- live in areas at risk of landslides. The disasters are often caused by deforestation and poor mitigation planning, according to environmentalists.

Travellers entering the Philippines will be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine, up from a week previously, as authorities try to contain more infectious coronavirus variants, the presidential spokesman said yesterday. The new controls will apply regardless of whether a visitor has been vaccinated and the first 10 days of quarantine will be in a government-accredited facility and the remainder at home, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a briefing. Visitors will get a Covid-19 test on the seventh day after arrival, but will still be required to complete a 10-day stay in a facility even if they test negative, Roque said. The Southeast Asian country is battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia with more than a million infections, including those caused by variants first detected in Britain and South Africa, and more than 18,000 deaths. In a bid to prevent the entry of a variant first identified in India, the Philippines has temporarily barred travellers coming from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh from entering the country. The new controls come after five passengers arriving in the last month with a travel history to India tested positive for Covid-19. Samples had been taken in order to do genome sequencing, the health ministry has said. The Philippines also allowed a container ship with a travel history to India to dock on Thursday to provide medical assistance to 12 of the 21 Filipino crew members who tested positive for Covid-19. Out of the 12, two were in critical condition and had to be evacuated to a medical facility for treatment, while the others were receiving care on the ship, the transport ministry said yesterday.

Myanmar's ruling military, which is facing nationwide protests against the coup that removed the elected government three months ago, said on Friday it would not agree to a visit by a Southeast Asian envoy until it could establish stability. Leaders of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) reached consensus on five points at a summit on the Myanmar crisis last month, which was attended by the architect of the Feb. 1 coup, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. These included an end to violence, dialogue between the military and its opponents, allowing humanitarian help, and permitting a visit by a special Asean envoy. "Right now, we are prioritising the security and stability of the country," Major Kaung Htet San, a spokesman for the military council, told a televised briefing. "Only after we achieve a certain level of security and stability, we will cooperate regarding that envoy." The junta would consider suggestions made at the summit if they were helpful to its visions for the country, he added. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, which unleashed anger amongst a public unwilling to tolerate a return to military rule after five decades of economic mismanagement and underdevelopment. Protests and marches have taken place on most days, the latest a big pro-democracy demonstration on Friday in the commercial capital Yangon, and smaller protests in at least 10 other places around the country. At least 769 people have been killed and nearly 3,700 detained in the military's crackdown on opponents, according to an advocacy group monitoring the crisis. The junta says it is battling terrorists. On Friday, spokesman Kaung Htet San said more arrests of instigators of violence had been made than were publicly announced. The April 24 Asean meeting in Jakarta was hailed as a success by those who attended, but analysts and activists remain skeptical that Myanmar's generals will implement the five-point plan, which had no timeframe nor any mention of releasing political prisoners, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Kaung Htet San said Asean leaders had provided positive suggestions to Min Aung Hlaing, but whether or not they would be followed depended on the situation in Myanmar, and if their ideas were "helpful to our further visions". The prospect of stability anytime soon in Myanmar appears bleak, with a reigniting of conflict between the military and ethnic minority insurgents in the borderlands and minor bombings and explosions now taking place regularly in its main cities. The junta says it is fighting rogue elements of ethnic armies and all parties remain committed to a nationwide ceasefire. It has blamed the spate of urban bombings on supporters of Suu Kyi's ousted government. A recently formed National Unity Government, a coalition of anti-military groups, says the junta orchestrated the bombings as a pretext to crush its opponents. Two local media outlets on Friday reported that fighters from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) attacked and killed 30 Myanmar troops as they tried to travel on a river, citing local people and a KIA source. Kaung Htet San said violence and armed conflicts would be dealt with by the military "in a suitable way". The junta has for months limited access to the internet in an effort to disrupt the anti-coup movement and this week banned satellite television receivers of outside broadcasts. Kaung Htet San said the military respected the public's right to access information, but overseas-based social networks were being used to share material that was "very alarming for national security". He also said security would be intensified to protect strategic gas pipelines, following an attack on security personnel at one location nearly Mandalay this week. Myanmar has twin oil and gas pipelines that stretch across the country to China, a country many in Myanmar believe enabled generals to amass vast personal wealth from natural resources, at a time of crippling sanctions and international isolation. China has said it takes no sides in the conflict and wants a stable Myanmar.