Category: Uncategorized

Japan Princess Announces Engagement With A Commoner: Forfeits Her Royal Status According To Law

Japan’s Princess Mako and her fiance — a commoner — announced their engagement on Sunday, a match which will cost the princess her royal status according to a law that highlights the male-dominated nature of Japan’s monarchy.

Like all female imperial family members, Mako, who is Emperor Akihito’s eldest granddaughter, forfeits her status upon marriage to a commoner under a controversial tradition. The law does not apply to royal males.

But at a televised press conference held to announce her engagement, she told the nation that she felt “really happy”.

“I was aware since my childhood that I’ll leave a royal status once I marry,” she said. “While I worked to help the emperor and fulfill duties as a royal family member as much as I can, I’ve been cherishing my own life.”

Her fiancé, Kei Komuro, a telegenic 25-year-old who works at a law firm and once won a tourism promotion contest to be crowned “Prince of the Sea”, said he had proposed to her more than three years ago.

He described Mako as someone who quietly watches over him “like the moon”. The princess said his smile was “like the sun”.
The announcement had originally been planned for July but the couple decided to postpone it out of consideration for a southern region hit by heavy rains and flooding in the month.

An official of the Imperial Household Agency said their wedding will take place after the summer of 2018. Mako, 25, is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino, Akihito’s second son.

The law removing her royal status upon marriage does not apply to male royals, with Akihito and both his sons wedded to commoners, who are now part of the monarchy.

The news of the engagement has intensified a debate on whether the law should be changed so women born into the imperial family can continue in their royal roles.

That could help increase the number of potential male heirs to a monarchy that does not allow females to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Traditionalists, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, strenuously oppose such changes, even though Japan has occasionally been ruled by female sovereigns in past centuries.

In June, the parliament enacted legislation to allow Akihito, 83, to step down in favour of Naruhito, his eldest son. Emperor Akihito’s retirement will be the first imperial abdication in more than two centuries.

That will put his younger brother Akishino next in line, followed by Hisahito, Akishino’s son.

But after that there are no more eligible males, meaning the centuries-old succession would be broken if Hisahito fails to have a son in the future.

Some have suggested returning royal status to families who were stripped of it under a sweeping reform during the US occupation of Japan after World War II.

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/

September 4, 2017
[Jakarta] Blue Bird Taxi Driver Disciplined After Scolding Foreign Motorist Using Indonesian And Broken English

Blue Bird taxi company has disciplined one of its drivers after a video recording him scolding a foreigner went viral on Monday.

The driver’s anger was apparently triggered by an accident involving the taxi and the foreigner’s car, which caused damage to the taxi’s front fender.

The details of the accident remain unknown. The foreigner vehicle’s plate indicated that it was a diplomatic car.

In the video, the taxi driver cursed the foreigner using Indonesian and broken English.

“Do you think I am afraid with you? This is Indonesia you know, think, think, think,” the driver shouted.

The driver also asked the foreigner to do something about the damage to his car.

“You must compensate it, the bumper is broken, you must replace it, this one, Indonesia,” he said.

Meanwhile, the foreigner looked busy on his cell phone. “No England, no USA, you know. I am no crazy, you crazy. I am not afraid with the police,” he added.

Blue Bird spokesperson Teguh Wijayanto said the incident occurred on Saturday in the Senayan area, South Jakarta.

“We have tried to resolve the problem,”Teguh said Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.

The taxi driver, Teguh added, had been disciplined but he declined to give further details about the matter.

“If we look at the damage, it might have been caused by grazing because the [foreigner’s] car is higher. The damage is on the right side. Compensation will be handled internally. We regret this incident but it can be resolved with care,” Teguh said.

Source: http://www.asiaone.com

August 30, 2017
Indian Man Says His Xiaomi Smartphone Burst Into Flames Inside His Pocket

An Indian man claims that while he was riding his bike on Sunday, his Xiaomi smartphone suddenly exploded into flames inside his pocket.

Bhavana Suryakiran, the former owner of a Redmi Note, told the local Sakshi Post that because of the intense heat and flames he wasn’t able to pull his pants off until helpful onlookers arrived with a bucket of water. Even after being doused, Suryakiran says that the phone was still smoking and on fire.

The incident, which occurred in Ravulapalem in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, left Suryakiran with some nasty burns on his thigh. He said that he had bought the phone only 20 days before through Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart, adding that he planned to sue the company for compensation.

Xiaomi is one of China’s biggest business success stories, growing into the world’s largest smartphone startup in a matter of years, besting Apple in its home country while also expanding abroad, particularly to India where the company’s CEO gave an infamous speech in Chinglish in 2015.

During its rise to success, Xiaomi has been known to take ideas liberally from its competitors. When it launched its Redmi Note, the company was accused of stealing the name from the popular Samsung Galaxy Note. It now appears that they may have been inspired by the phone’s combustibility as well.

Xiaomi has acknowledged the incident, explaining that they are trying to get in contact with Suryakiran to get to the bottom of the matter. “We take such matters seriously as customer safety is of utmost importance for Xiaomi. All of our devices go through stringent quality tests,” a company spokesperson said.

Source: http://shanghaiist.com

August 17, 2017
Sebahagian Minuman Ribena Di Malaysia Ditarik Balik Selepas “Kesilapan Perkilangan”

Syarikat minuman Jepun, Suntory, menarik balik sebahagian minuman kordial Ribena yang dijual di Malaysia.

Menerusi kenyataan media yang dikeluarkan pada Jumaat (11 Ogos), Pengurus Besar Serantau Suntory bagi Malaysia, Hong Kong dan Singapura, Lee Hon Tong, berkata: “Kami mahu memaklumkan bahawa semasa menjalankan pemeriksaan rutin terhadap mutu minuman itu di kilang kami, kami mendapati terdapat kesilapan pada proses perkilangan.”

Suntory bagaimanapun tidak mendedahkan perinciannya.

Menurut syarikat itu, ia sudahpun “secara sukarela membuat keputusan” untuk menarik balik semua minuman kordial Ribena dengan tarikh luput dari 12 Ogos.

Berikut adalah jenama Ribena dengan tarikh luput masing-masing, yang sudah ditarik balik:

Ribena Cordial Blackcurrant (Mei sehingga Ogos 2018); Ribena Cordial Blackcurrant and Glucose (Mei sehingga Ogos 2018); Ribena Cordial Blackcurrant and Strawberry (Februari sehingga Mac 2018); Ribena Cordial Blackcurrant and Blueberry (Februari sehingga Mac 2018); Ribena Cordial Blackcurrant and Apple (April sehingga Mei 2018).

Menurut Suntory lagi, ia juga sudah menghentikan buat sementara penghantaran semua minuman kordial Ribena, dari kilang di Shah Alam sehingga ke pengedar dan rakan perdagangannya.

Syarikat itu menambah keselamatan para pelanggannya menjadi keutamaan dan ia “sentiasa memantau dan memeriksa semua maklumat berkaitan produk menerusi cara yang selamat dan berkesan”.

“Kami memberi jaminan bahawa kami akan berusaha sebaik mungkin untuk menghuraikan isu ini dan mengumumkannya sebaik sahaja kami dapat meneruskan proses perkilangan dan penghantaran produk,” tambah Encik Lee.

Mediacorp sudahpun menghubungi penguasa kesihatan di Malaysia dan Singapura bagi mendapatkan komen.

Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg/

August 14, 2017
Man Dies After Car Slams Into F1 Barrier; First Crash Incident Involving Member Of Public

A 29-year-old man died after his car crashed into a Formula One barrier along Raffles Boulevard near Marina Square yesterday morning.

Mr Ng Phing Keen, who owns a car accessories business and had been set to be part of F1’s hospitality team, was believed to have lost control of his Honda Civic, which skidded and crashed into the concrete barrier.

He was taken to hospital but later died from his injuries.

Photos of the incident which happened around 2.50am showed the white car lodged in the barrier with its front badly damaged. Singapore Civil Defence Force officers found Mr Ng trapped in his vehicle and used hydraulic tools to extricate him.

His long-time friend, events organiser Charleston Li, said he first heard of Mr Ng’s death yesterday morning but thought it was a joke.

“I even scolded (the friend) for saying such things. But when I tried calling Keen (Mr Ng), his phone was turned off and I knew something must be wrong because he seldom had it off,” said the 31-year-old.

Mr Li, who has known Mr Ng for nearly 10 years, added: “He was somewhat of a best friend and brother to me. He has helped me a lot with my business and it’s really painful to lose him.”

Yesterday, several friends posted online tributes to Mr Ng, with many expressing shock at news of his death and sharing fond memories of him.

Mr Ng was a car enthusiast who had, according to his Facebook page, raced for the first time on a track in Melaka late last month.

Speaking to The Straits Times at his wake last night, Mr Ng’s younger brother, who declined to be named, said his brother was a joyful and happy-go-lucky person.

He declined to say more, but had earlier told Shin Min Daily News that it was not clear what the cause of death was. Mr Ng was believed to have suffered a heart attack but it is not known if it happened before or after the accident.

Singapore GP, which organises the F1 race here, offered its condolences and said Mr Ng had been scheduled to work at the grand prix for two weeks as a contract facility director next month and had been a valued member of the hospitality team for the past three races.

Mr Ng was not on duty with Singapore GP at the time of the crash, it added. The incident is believed to be the first time that a member of the public had crashed into a Singapore Formula One Grand Prix barrier since the first race in 2008. The latest barriers are in place for the event next month.

Speaking in general about such accidents, safety driving expert Gerald Pereira said normal cars, unlike F1 race cars, are not made to withstand great impact.

The Singapore Safety Driving Centre training manager also said: “Such accidents can be avoided if drivers are more aware of the barriers around them, and, more importantly, they should not speed.

“So slow down and even if you crash, perhaps the impact won’t be so great.”

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/

August 11, 2017