Archives for February 11, 2018

These rare £1 coins could be worth more than £200 due to Royal Mint ‘mistake’

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz Leave a Comment

It looks like a new set of error coins have been released, and in the past week three examples have already been spotted, according to coin expert site changechecker.org

The first one sold for £205 on eBay, after receiving 22 bids, and a second will go on auction next month, reports the Daily Mirror .

On his Changechecker blog Luke Hearn wrote: “Now another £1 coin ‘error’ has been discovered and this one is very interesting indeed. It would appear that a 12-sided £1 coin die has been struck on an old round £1 coin blank.”

ChangeChecker is advising people to send off their coins to The Royal Mint Museum, which offers a free verification service .

What is an error coin?

The first error coin sold for £205 on eBay

An error coin is one that has been manufactured incorrectly, they come in scores of shapes, sizes and types.

They can be a result of deterioration of the minting equipment, accidents or malfunctions during the making of the coin.

Due to their irregularity, these coins are rare and therefore are of high worth to collectors.

What to do if you find one

This is one of the latest error coins (Image: ChangeChecker)

In order to send off your coin to the Royal Mint’s verification service, you will first need to fill out an online form , it can take up to 28 days for one of the advisors to get back to you.

Add a description of your coin, as well as a photograph, before submitting the form. However, even though the Royal Mint might be able to tell you if it’s a rare £1, it does not provide valuations.

These are done by a numismatic dealer, you can find reputable ones on the members page of the British Numismatic Trade Association website .

I have an ‘error coin’ – what should I do?

Here’s what the coin experts at Chards say you should do if you suspect you’ve been handed an ‘error coin’:

Wrap it in some tissue or pop it in a bag or envelope to protect the coin.
Check specifications for the coin (diameter, weight, design)
Get the coin authenticated, you can also send coins to the Royal Mint Museum for verification
Look online for similar coins to see what prices they may achieve.

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A report reveals the expected damage Brexit will do to the Welsh economy

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz 1 Comment

Wales would suffer a 9.5% hit to GDP if the UK leaves the European Union without an exit deal, according to leaked figures from a UK Government analysis of the consequences of Brexit.

The nation would see a 5.5% reduction in GDP even if the UK leaves with a free trade deal under this assessment – and there would still be a 1.5% blow if the country stayed in the single market.

The predicted losses are understood to cover a 15-year period.

The effect on jobs, businesses, livelihoods and property values of a 9.5%% drop in GDP would be immense.

The leak comes as Theresa May and senior cabinet ministers meet to hammer out an agreed end-goal for the Brexit negotiations.

The predicted losses are understood to cover a 15-year period.

The effect on jobs, businesses, livelihoods and property values of a 9.5%% drop in GDP would be immense.

The leak comes as Theresa May and senior cabinet ministers meet to hammer out an agreed end-goal for the Brexit negotiations.

The areas of the UK which would take the worst hit from a no-deal Brexit would be the Northeast of England (-16%) and the West Midlands (-13%).

According to this analysis, there is no part of the UK that would not see a reduction in GDP under any of the three scenarios.

Overall, UK GDP is expected to go down by 2% if the UK stays in the single market, by 5% if a free trade agreement is secured, and by 8% if there is no deal.

The analysis suggests London would suffer the least

The UK capital would only see its GDP go down by 1% if the country stayed in the single market; by 2% if there is a free trade deal; and by 3.5% if there is no deal.

Vaughan Gething, the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, said: “This is not remoaners or enemies of the people – this is the UK Government’s own view of the damage done by a hard Brexit. Damage done to my communities that I represent.

“My duty to my constituents must be to stand up against the disaster of a hard Brexit.”

Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MP Stephen Doughty MP said on Twitter: “People in every corner of the United Kingdom will be shocked to see the Government’s own assessment of the damage Brexit will do to their communities. It is utterly shameful that people all across this country are having to rely on leaks to find out how much damage a hard, destructive Brexit will do to their local economies and the country as a whole.”

How a no-deal Brexit could hit GDP

-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-20% Reduction in GDPJS chart by amCharts

North East: -16West Midlands: -13Northern Ireland: -12North West: -12Wales: -9.5Scotland: -9East Midland: -8.5Eastern: -8South East: -7.5Yorks and Humber: -7South West: -5London: -3.5

Mr Doughty, who is a leading supporter of Open Britain campaign which favours close links with the EU, called for the full publication of the UK Government’s research, saying: “The Government cannot continue to try and hide taxpayer funded analysis from the public, just because they’re afraid of the political consequences. The full Brexit impact assessments, along with any other economic analysis of Brexit outcomes, must be published in full, now.

“And as people learn new facts about the costs of Brexit for their communities and their industries, everyone is entitled to keep an open mind about whether or not it’s the right path for the country.”

Swansea West Labour MP Geraint Davies said: “Wales has been hard hit by austerity – with public sector pay freezes, cuts in services and a benefit squeeze on the most vulnerable. Now Brexit, with reduced trade and us paying for the EU Divorce Bill, means vital infrastructure projects in South Wales like rail electrification and the Swansea Tidal Lagoon are being cut…

“These ground-breaking leaked documents show that the government know the true cost of Brexit, but have tried to keep us in the dark.”

However, DUP Brexit supporting MP Ian Paisley said the predictions were as “reliable as astrology”.

Plaid Cymru’s response: Keep Wales in the single market

Plaid Cymru Brexit spokesman Hywel Williams said: “These sobering statistics lay bare the devastating impact a hard Brexit would have on our economy. Just as Plaid Cymru has argued all along, remaining in the single market would be the most favourable option if we are to defend Welsh jobs and industries.

“Yet again, Wales is set to be worse off than the UK as a whole as a result of disastrous decisions taken by the Tories and unopposed by Labour in Westminster. Members of all parties should be uniting in the national interest to present the resounding case for Wales to remain in the single market and customs union.”

Mid and West Wales Plaid AM Simon Thomas said the figures showed Wales would be “shafted under any realistic scenario”.

Lib Dems say this is a ‘damning outlook for Britain’

Liz Saville Roberts and Hywel Williams both voted against triggering Brexit

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “This is a damning outlook for Britain. The Tories are putting everything on the line because they do not care about the lives and livelihoods of the people of the UK.

“The Government need to start being clear what they are fighting for. They are still keeping no deal on the table despite how crippling it would be to the regional economy.

“People did not vote to make themselves poorer. They should be allowed a vote on the final deal and a chance to exit from Brexit.”

The Welsh Government response:

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Our Brexit trade paper, supported by a Cardiff Business School impact study, shows the Welsh economy is best protected by retaining full and unfettered access to the European Single Market and membership of a customs union.

“This report suggests UK Government research confirms our analysis that a hard Brexit would have a catastrophic impact on Welsh jobs and the economy; reducing the economy by 8 – 10%, which is the equivalent of between £1,500 and £2,000 per person in Wales.

“We have tried wherever possible to base our Brexit policies on evidence and to publish the evidence we have. We call on the UK Government to do likewise. We do not believe the UK Government has any sound economic evidence to support its policy choices as to the sort of Brexit it is pursuing.”

Here is how the UK’s GDP is predicted to be hit by Brexit

East Midlands:

Single Market – 1.8%
Free Trade – 5.0%
No Deal – 8.5%

Eastern:

Single Market – 1.8%
Free Trade – 5.0%
No Deal – 8.0%

London:

Single Market 1.0%
Free Trade 2.0%
No Deal 3.5%

North East:

Single Market – 3.0%
Free Trade – 11.0%
No Deal – 16.0%

North West:

Single Market – 2.5%
Free Trade – 8.0%
No Deal – 12.0%

South East:

Single Market – 1.5%
Free Trade – 4.5%
No Deal – 7.5%

South West:

Single Market – 1.0%
Free Trade – 2.0%
No Deal – 5.0%

West Midlands:

Single Market – 2.5%
Free Trade – 8.0%
No Deal – 13.0%

Yorkshire & Humber:

Single Market – 1.5%
Free Trade – 5.0%
No Deal – 7.0%

Northern Ireland:

Single Market – 2.5%
Free Trade – 8.0%
No Deal – 12.0%

Scotland:

Single Market – 2.5%
Free Trade – 6.0%
No Deal – 9.0%

Wales:

Single Market – 1.5%
Free Trade – 5.5%
No Deal – 9.5%

UK:

Single Market – 2.0%
Free Trade – 5.0%
No Deal – 8.0%

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National After S. Korea visit, Pence insists ‘no daylight’ on North

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz Leave a Comment

United States’ Vice President Mike Pence and South Korean President Moon Jae-in laugh during the ladies’ 500 meters short-track speedskating in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. (Julie Jacobson/Associated Press)

By Zeke Miller | AP February 10 at 7:24 PM

ABOARD AIR FORCE TWO — Vice President Mike Pence’s efforts to keep North Korea from stealing the show at the Winter Olympics proved short-lived, drowned out by images of the two Koreas marching and competing as one.

And as the South appeared to look favorably on warming ties on the Korean Peninsula, Pence insisted Saturday “there is no daylight” among the United States and allies South Korea and Japan in intensifying pressure on the North over its nuclear and missile programs.

Pence spent the days leading up to the Pyeongchang Olympics warning that the North was trying to “hijack the message and imagery” of the event with its “propaganda.” But the North was welcomed with open arms to what South Korean President Moon Jae-in called “Olympic games of peace.”

It was the U.S. that appeared to be the one left in the cold, especially after the sister of the North Korean dictator extended an invitation from her brother for Moon to visit the North. That was the clearest sign yet of an expanding diplomatic opening opposed by the Trump administration.

Pence said Moon updated him about the meeting he had with North Korean officials and “both of us reiterated to each other tonight that we will continue to stand strong and work in a coordinated way to bring maximum economic and diplomatic pressure to bear on North Korea.”

Moon was all smiles as he greeted Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Yong Nam, the country’s 90-year-old nominal head of state, for lunch at the presidential residence.

Pence said Friday that the U.S. would oppose talks between the two Koreas until the North agreed to open negotiations on ending its nuclear program.

On his flight to Alaska on Saturday, the vice president said he left Asia “encouraged that we will continue to work very closely to continue and intensify the maximum pressure campaign” against North Korea.

He said war had forged “the core of the bond” between the U.S. and South Korea and that helps explains “why there is no daylight and there will be no daylight” between the two.

At the opening ceremonies Friday, Pence sat stone-faced in his seat as Moon and North Korean officials stood together with much of the stadium to applaud their joint team of athletes. White House officials stressed that Pence had applauded only for the American team, but Asia experts said the vice president’s refusal to stand could be seen as disrespectful to the hosts.

U.S. officials have been urging South Korea to be cautious in its rapprochement with the North. But North Korea’s record on human rights and the growing threat from its nuclear weapons program appeared out of mind.

Even Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has shared the American skepticism of warming North-South relations and pressed Moon against falling for the North’s “smile diplomacy,” greeted Kim Yong Nam.

At a Friday VIP reception for delegation leaders, Pence arrived late and stayed for just five minutes — and did not interact with the delegation from the North.

“The Koreans will think it’s a mood kill,” said Frank Jannuzi, an expert on East Asia at the Mansfield Foundation in Washington. He criticized the Trump administration for straining too hard to signal disgust of Kim Jong Un’s government.

“The grievances that the world has about North Korea are very legitimate. But the Olympic moment that President Moon is trying to generate here is not a time to nurse those grievances,” Jannuzi said. “It’s a time to focus on messages of reconciliation and peace.”

As it turned out, with the two Koreas celebrating a moment of unity, the United States was left outmaneuvered by an adversary and out of step with an ally.

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Hong Kong double-decker bus crash kills 18

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz Leave a Comment

HONG KONG — A double-decker bus crashed in a Hong Kong suburb on Saturday evening, killing 18 people and injuring dozens more, authorities in the southern Chinese city said. Local media reports said the bus tipped over, and quoted passengers as saying the bus was full and traveling very fast.

The death toll included 15 men and three women, a police spokeswoman said on customary condition of anonymity.

Another 47 people were injured and taken to hospitals, including 19 in serious condition, the Hospital Authority said.

An executive with The Kowloon Motor Bus Co said the company would investigate the crash and offer financial assistance to the families of each victim, Reuters news agency reports.

Photos and videos published by local media or posted by users on social media showed the gold-colored bus lying on its side while emergency workers treat injured passengers nearby.

Local TV channels broadcast footage of rescue workers cutting open the roof of the bus, operated by the Kowloon Motor Bus Co., and bodies of dead passengers laid out on the ground, covered in white sheets.

Multiple passengers interviewed by the TVB and Cable TV news channels said the bus was moving at a high rate of speed when the accident happened. The passengers were not identified by name.

The South China Morning Post newspaper said it was the Asian financial center’s deadliest traffic accident since a 2003 bus accident that killed 21 people.

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U.S. Spies, Seeking to Retrieve Cyberweapons, Paid Russian Peddling Trump Secrets

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz Leave a Comment

BERLIN — After months of secret negotiations, a shadowy Russian bilked American spies out of $100,000 last year, promising to deliver stolen National Security Agency cyberweapons in a deal that he insisted would also include compromising material on President Trump, according to American and European intelligence officials.

The cash, delivered in a suitcase to a Berlin hotel room in September, was intended as the first installment of a $1 million payout, according to American officials, the Russian and communications reviewed by The New York Times. The theft of the secret hacking tools had been devastating to the N.S.A., and the agency was struggling to get a full inventory of what was missing.

Several American intelligence officials said they made clear that they did not want the Trump material from the Russian, who was suspected of having murky ties to Russian intelligence and to Eastern European cybercriminals. He claimed the information would link the president and his associates to Russia. Instead of providing the hacking tools, the Russian produced unverified and possibly fabricated information involving Mr. Trump and others, including bank records, emails and purported Russian intelligence data.

The United States intelligence officials said they cut off the deal because they were wary of being entangled in a Russian operation to create discord inside the American government. They were also fearful of political fallout in Washington if they were seen to be buying scurrilous information on the president.

The Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment on the negotiations with the Russian seller. The N.S.A., which produced the bulk of the hacking tools that the Americans sought to recover, said only that “all N.S.A. employees have a lifetime obligation to protect classified information.”

The negotiations in Europe last year were described by American and European intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a clandestine operation, and the Russian. The United States officials worked through an intermediary — an American businessman based in Germany — to preserve deniability. There were meetings in provincial German towns where John l e Carré set his early spy novels, and data handoffs in five-star Berlin hotels. American intelligence agencies spent months tracking the Russian’s flights to Berlin, his rendezvous with a mistress in Vienna and his trips home to St. Petersburg, the officials said.

The N.S.A. even used its official Twitter account to send coded messages to the Russian nearly a dozen times.

The episode ended this year with American spies chasing the Russian out of Western Europe, warning him not to return if he valued his freedom, the American businessman said. The Trump material was left with the American, who has secured it in Europe.

The Russian claimed to have access to a staggering collection of secrets that included everything from the computer code for the cyberweapons stolen from the N.S.A. and C.I.A. to what he said was a video of Mr. Trump consorting with prostitutes in a Moscow hotel room in 2013, according to American and European officials and the Russian, who agreed to be interviewed in Germany on the condition of anonymity. There remains no evidence that such a video exists.

The Russian was known to American and European officials for his ties to Russian intelligence and cybercriminals — two groups suspected in the theft of the N.S.A. and C.I.A. hacking tools.

But his apparent eagerness to sell the Trump “kompromat” — a Russian term for information used to gain leverage over someone — to American spies raised suspicions among officials that he was part of an operation to feed the information to United States intelligence agencies and pit them against Mr. Trump. Early in the negotiations, for instance, he dropped his asking price from about $10 million to just over $1 million. Then, a few months later, he showed the American businessman a 15-second clip of a video showing a man in a room talking to two women.

No audio could be heard on the video, and there was no way to verify if the man was Mr. Trump, as the Russian claimed. But the choice of venue for showing the clip heightened American suspicions of a Russian operation: The viewing took place at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, the businessman said.

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Canadian PM Trudeau and LA mayor toast friendship with hike

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz Leave a Comment

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take a hike in the Hollywood hills after a news conference at the Griffith Observatory, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

By Associated Press February 10 at 3:48 PM

LOS ANGELES — Capping off a three-day swing through California that’s mostly been focused on business and trade, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau toasted his country’s friendship with Los Angeles on Saturday by taking a brisk morning hike with Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Dressed in shorts and athletic shirts, the two men spoke with reporters before walking through Griffith Park. The appearance came the morning after Trudeau gave a speech about the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

A California Highway Patrol officer accompanying the prime minister was injured in a crash that happened shortly after Trudeau’s motorcade left the library Friday night. Garcetti said Saturday that the officer is expected to recover from a broken clavicle.

Trudeau’s vehicle was not involved and he was not injured.

Asked by a reporter if the officer’s injury was overshadowing the purpose of his trip, Trudeau said the message that the two countries share close ties has not been lost.

“That emphasis that we are working together for the betterment of our citizens is a message that does continue and does resonate,” he said.

The two men made statements in English, French and Spanish.

Garcetti warmly welcomed Trudeau to Los Angeles and said that Canada was a major trading partner for the city.

“It’s very important for us in this moment, when there is so much supposed division in the world to reinsure that there is friendship and strength,” Garcetti said. “We see friendship as a strength and conflict as a weakness.”

The two men, both in their 40s, then set off at a brisk pace. They chatted with other hikers and posed for a “selfie” with one group.

Trudeau said the hike was “awesome” and “beautiful.”

Trudeau came with an unambiguous message that NAFTA is a success that needs to be modernized and not abandoned. The next round of talks over the trade pact is set to begin in Mexico later this month

President Donald Trump called the 24-year-old agreement a job-killing “disaster” on the campaign trail, and he has threatened to pull out unless the deal requires more auto production in the U.S., while shifting additional government contracts to U.S. companies.

Trudeau argued that the deal has sent benefits both ways across the border.

But he added: “President Trump and I agree about this: Too many people have been left behind, even as our economies surged.”

Trudeau was in San Francisco Thursday, where he picked up promises of investments and jobs during his first official visit to the city. Among them, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations.

Friday’s speech was a centerpiece on his swing in which he warned Canada won’t be muscled into a trade deal that is unfavorable to his country, while promoting the country as a destination for California technology firms uneasy with shifting U.S. immigration policy.

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Here’s What North Korea Lets You See When You Travel There

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz 1 Comment

North Koreans pay their respects at the Mansudae Grand monument in Pyongyang.

Fabian Muir is an Australian photographer whose documentary work aims to develop humanistic narratives in otherwise politically isolated regions of the world. After years documenting places like the former Soviet Union, Iran, and Cuba, his next series focuses on a country that epitomizes the phrase “hermit kingdom”: North Korea.

Since 2015, Fabian Muir has traveled to the isolated nation of North Korea five times to capture a side of life that many Americans may be surprised to see as nonconfrontational and somewhat relatable.

Here, Muir shares with BuzzFeed News the story of his journey and his thoughts on the pictures he walked away with:

The series began with many of the same expectations that anyone would have before going there — bleak cityscapes, expressionless people, soldiers everywhere. It’s difficult not to have such preconceptions since the dominant visual narrative pushes these tropes. I had hardly ever seen an image of a smiling North Korean before visiting.

So to start, I was also looking for things to confirm these expectations, no doubt exacerbated by the fact that my first visit took place in winter, which is excruciatingly cold there. After several days, however, various unexpected layers began revealing themselves, not least the way in which I observed North Koreans interacting among themselves and the fact that they can actually be very warm.

Schoolchildren make their way from the leaders' statues in central Hamhung.

Traditional female Korean haircuts and a customer at a Pyongyang hair salon.

A cyclist rides through rural North Korea.

With repeated visits the project became increasingly personal as I realized how limited most people’s understanding is of the country, making me feel a kind of obligation to tell the story. I’m not talking about the understanding of the political dimension, but rather of ordinary North Koreans in day-to-day contexts.

It’s estimated that up to 200,000 people are incarcerated in North Korea’s prisons, which are constantly in the media spotlight, but what about the other 25 million there, who are leading “normal” lives? These are the people I wanted to discover: What is a normal life in North Korea? How do they relax? What does family life look like? What do they read? What music do they like? What do they know about the outside world? How do they operate within their political framework? How do they respond to foreigners? What are the similarities and differences between us and them?

There are so many questions in this vein, and the fact that the answers at times ran counter to popular assumptions meant that the work initially hit brick walls in some quarters. At times, people were unwilling to entertain the notion of a “human” North Korean and instead suspected I had fallen for elaborate setups or that the North Koreans had stage-managed my photography. Occasionally things are indeed set up, but this is rather rare and very obvious when it does occur.

Nervous anticipation as locals prepare for the launch of a ride in Kaeson Youth Park in Pyongyang.

Pyongyangites play volleyball at Munsu Water Park in Pyongyang.

It’s important to mention that any foreigner who goes to North Korea is assigned at least two guides/minders, who will almost always accompany you whenever you leave your hotel. They are trained as guides, usually charming, and do provide a lot of information, but part of their role is also to control your movements. This means that by definition there are significant constraints, so the possibility of an absolutely definitive survey of North Korea does not currently exist, even though one can indeed travel through large parts of the country and photograph quite freely.

This doesn’t mean there was someone on my shoulder every time I took a picture, but they were rarely more than 50 meters away other than the relatively few occasions when I was allowed to roam free for an hour or two. That said, my own experience was that the guides are also in a position to facilitate a great deal if you simply treat them normally, and I was frequently surprised by the access I was given considering the circumstances.

They generally offer frank responses to questions. It’s clearly not the ideal arrangement, but if one tries to understand their own sensitivities and thinks of them as fixers it’s possible to work quite effectively even within these parameters. As mentioned earlier, I’ve not experienced intervention in my photography there, nor did they ever try to prevent me from interacting with locals.

North Korean fast food and US '50s outfits in Munsu Water Park in Pyongyang.

Locals enjoy a picnic on Moran Hill in Pyongyang.

Locals admire Kimjongilia (red) and Kimilsungia (purple) flowers at a flower festival in Pyongyang.

It has occurred to me that perhaps some people feel certain images are contrived because their composition makes them feel like tableaux. Such skepticism riles me since it’s difficult not to take it personally when an individual who has never even visited North Korea believes they know more on the topic than someone who has completed a two-year project and studied every text available. So it certainly became a personal mission on two levels: first to supplement the established narrative through a balanced survey of ordinary North Koreans and, as it turned out, lending them a dignity that has previously been lacking; and second, the task of convincing armchair skeptics that the images are truly candid.

The image of people laughing at a picnic is important to me since it is the last thing most viewers might expect to see in a body of work on North Korea. I’ve occasionally been challenged on this photo by people thinking it was staged, yet it was a completely spontaneous moment. Since it was a national holiday, there must have been thousands of picnickers in the park, and this particular group were laughing when a man in a neighboring gathering, who had evidently had one soju too many, stood up and began swaying in the breeze while singing painfully out of tune.

North Koreans never interfered with my image-making, deleted photos, or instructed me on what to shoot. The conviction that the whole thing is a huge Truman Show for visitors can take on extremes — for example many Westerners genuinely believe that the Pyongyang Metro only actually runs when a foreigner is on it!

Students participate in a mass dance on Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang.

A newlywed couple outside Pyongyang Folklore Park.

A guide translates a female soldier's comments about the Wangjaesan Monument in North Hamgyong province.

People in provincial North Korea pass before a mural of the leaders standing upon the North Korean "sacred mountain" of Mount Paektu.

As mentioned, it was my experience of North Koreans as thoughtful, kind, and humorous people, in many ways not different from us, that I found most illuminating. Children are cheeky and fun. Obviously the people are indoctrinated, but the automatic conclusion that they have all been completely desensitized to become unthinking cogs in the state apparatus is an exceedingly simplistic analysis and typical of the kind of assumption one makes without having been there — I had made it too.

I hope that the images open up unexpected perspectives on the country and particularly its people, and help viewers to attach a different face to North Korea from the bombastic version the state tends to project on the world stage.

A man runs past monumental mosaics at Pyongyang film studios.

A child sings at a kindergarten performance in Chongjin, North Korea. Talented children are trained to a very high level from an early age.

Young girls perform at a kindergarten in Chongjin.

A nurse tends infants in an orphanage in Nampo.

Children line up in an orphanage in Nampo on North Korea's west coast.

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China’s Su-35 fighter jets, J-20 stealth jets to maintain airspace safety

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz 1 Comment

BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) — China’s Su-35 fighter jets for a joint combat patrol mission in the South China Sea area and its latest J-20 stealth fighters’ commission in combat service will maintain airspace safety in the new era, a military expert said Saturday.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force announced on Wednesday that China has recently sent Su-35 fighter jets for a joint combat patrol mission in the South China Sea area.

The deployment is expected to improve the air force’s adaptive capacity in complicated situation in the air and on the sea, and enhance its ability to maintain national sovereignty and security and maritime interests in the South China Sea area, said Wang Mingzhi, a professor with the PLA Air Force Command Academy.

The patrol mission is an annual training of combat readiness, embodying the air force’s resolution to implement mission in the new era and firmly maintain national sovereignty and security and maritime interests, Wang said in an interview with Xinhua.

The air force will further increase real combat training on the sea and enhance the real combat capability especially under long-distance and high-sea conditions, he said.

Wang said that the air force will often carry out patrol missions and normalize the patrol in the South China Sea area.

On Friday, the air force also announced that China’s latest J-20 stealth fighters have been commissioned into air force combat service.

The J-20 signals that China’s air force has greatly increased its ability to deal with new security threats in airspace, and made steady progress in the aero equipment system, Wang said.

The stealth jets will enable the air force to improve ability to tackle conventional threat and enhance real combat capacity, he added.

The J-20 is China’s fourth-generation medium and long-range fighter jet. It made its maiden flight in 2011 and was first shown to the public at the 11th Airshow China in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, in November 2016.

The fighters made their parade debut when the PLA marked its 90th anniversary in July 2017 at Zhurihe military training base in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

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Entrepreneurship Beyond Boundaries Closing Ceremony

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz 5 Comments

Entrepreneurship Beyond Boundaries (EBB) program is a five-year initiative, launched in October 2017 to develop innovative and entrepreneurial leaders in the global markets under the collaboration of Azman Hashim International Business School, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Azman Hashim IBS) and Yayasan Muhibah Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Paduka Fng Ah Seng. The program is under the flagship of Tan Sri Dr. Fng has an absolute vision to enhance society well-being, reduce poverty, and uplift economy.

To drive the program forward, two phases are put in place. Firstly, entrepreneurs were selected to undergo a series of business development course and entrepreneurial training. To begin with, 30 entrepreneurs were selected from Malaysia to join the program from October 2017 to January 2018. azman Hashim IBS has successfully completed the pilot phase in Malaysia and trained 30 entrepreneurs with the advance modules for entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurial business pitching session was organized to test their business model and refine it to launch in the market. The closing ceremony of the pilot phase was held on 7th February 2018.

During the closing ceremony, Tan Sri Fng has announced another RM 100,000.00 funds for 2018 to scale-up the entrepreneurship activities locally and internationally. Azman Hashim IBS hopes to achieve the vision to enhance social well-being, reduce poverty, and the uplift economy via similar but more streamlined efforts in the future programs and make a significant contribution to sustainable development goals. Entrepreneurship beyond boundaries goal for 2018 is to train entrepreneurs in Malaysia, Iran and Turkey.

Azman Hashim IBS would like to thank Professor Tan Sri Dato’ Paduka Dr. Fng Ah Seng, Jp for his continuous support and generosity towards Entrepreneurship Beyond Boundaries program.

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Embassy of the United States of America Visit UTM Kuala Lumpur

February 11, 2018 by wanfahminfaiz Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, 7 February 2018 – UTM Kuala Lumpur received a courtesy visit from Mr. Michael Quinlan, Cultural Affairs Officer and Ms. Fiona Teo, Education USA Coordinator from the Embassy of the United States of America.

Their meeting with UTMKL is to raise awareness and understanding on higher education in the U.S. They intend to provide information for interested students on all aspects about American tertiary education, such as the most appropriate schools to study, academic life in America, and grants and scholarships for Malaysian students. They are also looking for other education institutions to establish partnership and cooperation.

Their discussion with UTM also touched on the involvement of women in STEM and to celebrate the upcoming event, International Women Day, in March. They are planning to hold a program by bringing known figures from the U.S. to give a talk and to have a dialogue session with the local panelists. Mr. Quinlan hopes to see outstanding female UTM staff to participate in the program this year.

UTM will also invite Education USA to give a talk to students and staff on opportunities to study in the U.S. For visiting scholars, financial assistance will be given. UTM is also looking forward to having an opportunity to invite H.E. US Ambassador to UTM for knowledge sharing session.

It is hoped that the short visit will lead to a close and strong collaboration between the Embassy of USA and UTM in the future.

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Filed Under: UTM, UTM News

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Embassy of the United States of America Visit UTM Kuala Lumpur

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