Day: January 23, 2017

Samsung says batteries caused Note 7 fires, delays new phone

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of – Samsung Electronics says flaws in the design and production of batteries used in its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, not its hardware or software, made it prone to catch fire. Samsung said Monday that it was responsible for not ensuring the design specifications given to its suppliers were failsafe but believed its investigation into the problem would help the entire industry counter overheating risks with lithium batteries.

The Latest: Dutch skaters ignoring thin ice warnings

Freezing fog covered the capital on Monday as cold weather conditions continued. . This frame made from a video released by the Italian Firefighters shows a firefighter passing through an opening in the snow during the rescue operations on the Hotel Rigopiano, near Farindola, central… .

Thief ordered to help police find stolen goods

A heartless thief was today ordered to help police fish a bag full of stolen medals from a river before he is handed a lengthy jail sentence for a string of “contemptible” break-ins. Ronald McKay broke into Dundee and Angus College and stole a haul of irreplaceable medallions that had been put on display at the institution after being loaned by an 80-year-old woman awarded them for her efforts in twinning Dundee with the city of Orleans in France.

Relegation fears real for Ranieri and struggling Leicester

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri looks on during the English Premier League soccer match between Southampton and Leicester City at St Mary’s, Southampton, England, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. LONDON – The momentum that carried Leicester to the Premier League title last season has been replaced by genuine worries of relegation.

Stanhope steps up in BU’s push for playoffs

John Paul of the Brandon University Bobcats leaps for a basket during Canada West men’s basketball action against the University of Regina Cougars at the Healthy Living Centre on Saturday evening. And it’s no coincidence that the fifth-year Brampton, Ont., product’s play has gone hand-in-hand with the recent success of the Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball team.

Iraq PM orders investigation into abuses reported in Mosul battle

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday ordered an investigation into allegations that members of Iraq’s security forces and a Shi’ite paramilitary group had kidnapped and abused civilians in the campaign to take back Mosul from Islamic State. Abadi also called on field commanders to make sure no human rights violations were committed under the cover of the war operations, according to an official statement.

Bobcat women look to learn from sweep at hands of Cougars

Kinsley Ransom recorded seven points and six rebounds in the Brando University Bobcats’ 75-55 loss to the University of Regina Cougars in Canada West women’s basketball action Saturday at the Healthy Living Centre. The Brandon University Bobcats women’s hoops team hopes the lessons they learned against the University of Regina Cougars will pay dividends next weekend against another tough Canada West foe.

Rivals at Astana talks agree on call for a ceasefire in Syria but differ on their political agendas

Syrian government and rebel delegates at the opening session of talks in the Kazakh capital Astana both called for a shaky ceasefire to be bolstered , but differed starkly on what purpose the truce would serve. The talks, sponsored by government allies Russia and Iran and opposition backer Turkey, should consolidate the ceasefire for a limited period, the head of the government delegation said in an opening statement reported by Syrian state news agency SANA.

Germany culls 48,000 turkeys after more bird flu found on farms

Germany completed the culling of 45,000 turkeys over the weekend and several thousand more are due to be destroyed after more cases of the contagious H5N8 strain of bird flu were identified on German farms, authorities said on Monday. The mass culling in the eastern state of Brandenburg was carried out after the virus was found on a farm in Dahme-Spreewald.

10 Things to Know for Today

Jake Hart, 13, plays in the rising floodwater during a storm in Seal Beach, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. The heavy downpour on Sunday drenched Orange County in one of the heaviest storms of the year.

Syria talks may signal shift in conflict dynamics

During the presidential inauguration Friday, which should be a day of celebration, three things happened – two that should have and one that shouldn’t have. On Jan. 7, the FBI released another 300 emails and the Hillary Clinton unauthorized server “saga” continued.

South Korean ministry apologizes for ‘blacklist’ of artists

South Korea’s culture ministry apologized on Monday for a blacklist of artists which excluded them from government support, admitting there was a systematic effort to sideline critics of scandal-plagued President Park Geun-hye. The apology was the clearest admission yet of the blacklist of cultural and media figures critical of the impeached leader that has led to the arrests of her former chief of staff and the culture minister at the weekend for abuse of power.

Wa State Suffers as Fewer Chinese Come to Party

In a remote casino in northeastern Burma, China’s pervasive campaign against graft has taken its toll. Hundreds of local traders and farmers place petty bets as low as 10 cents, outnumbering a few Chinese who were once the VIPs of a gambling hall decorated with chandeliers and Renaissance-style paintings.

Imagined Urban Futures of Rangoon

As a newcomer to the city earlier this year, I noticed that urban development and planning in Yangon was a topic that often came up in many discussions, be it with colleagues or during other informal encounters. The general sentiments among locals and foreigners were alike: the nearly undisputed consensus was that the old downtown should be preserved, that the traffic congestion and general infrastructure issues should be addressed, and that public space ought to be expanded.

Demonstration in Mandalay After Teacher’s Death

Some one hundred protestors led by the Myanmar Teachers’ Federation gathered in Mandalay on Sunday to demand the government investigate the murder of schoolteacher U Aung Zin Tun who was found dead in Hpakant Township, Kachin State on Wednesday. “Brutally killing a teacher is the worst thing one can do in this country,” said vice president of the MTF U Thuta.

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Burma is expected to see economic growth of 6.9 percent in 2017, down 1.5 points from a previous estimate, according to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report released earlier this month. The report said that real-term growth in 2016 was estimated to be 6.5 percent, down 1.3 percentage points from an earlier estimate in June last year, the Nikkei Asia Review reported.

Trump begins first week in office with outreach

President Donald Trump is set to meet with congressional leaders from both parties to discuss his agenda, as he enters his first official week in the White House and works to begin delivering on his ambitious campaign promises. Trump has said that he considers Monday to be his first real day in office.

A Hyperloop-esque plan is taking shape in South Korea

As the likes of Hyperloop One move toward implementing their technology, competitors around the world are showing an interest in similar high-speed transportation systems. Having apparently taken note of Elon Musk’s plan for a super-fast ” Hyperloop ” transportation system, engineers in South Korea are now working on their own remarkably similar technology.

Wanted Thai Muslim leader suspected of inspiring militant attacks

More than a decade ago, Sapae-ing Basor was one of Thailand’s most wanted, his face plastered on posters around the south offering 10 million baht, more than US$250,000, for his capture. But when the spiritual leader of many Muslims in insurgency-torn southern Thailand died at 81 in self-imposed exile in Malaysia January 10, it wasn’t just thousands of his followers mourning in mos… More than a decade ago, Sapae-ing Basor was one of Thailand’s most wanted, his face plastered on posters around the south offering 10 million baht, more than US$250,000, for his capture.

Abengoa Abengoa restarts activities in Spain after being awarded…

Abengoa , the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has been awarded three new electricity transmission and distribution projects in Spain. The first of these projects will be undertaken for the Department of the United States Air Force in Moron de la Frontera , while the other two will be performed in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Lugo for the Spanish Energy Grid .

School plans extension

Ryedale School, in Gale Lane, Nawton, is applying for planning permission to build a 921 square metre two-storey extension to the main school block, which will contain an additional nine classrooms, as well as more parking spaces and creation of a new footpath. In a statement, the school said it forecasts “a rise to approximately 700 students by 2020 to 25”.

Japanese body’s ID confirmed

The parents and girlfriend arrive at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok on Monday to confirm the identity of the body of Sonam Tsuboi, found in the Chao Phraya River on Dec 30. Relatives have confirmed the body found in the Chao Phraya River in late December was the missing Japanese tourist Sonam Tsuboi, 22, and said he would be cremated in Thailand. The parents, aged 57 and 47, as well as the 24-year-old girlfriend of the Japanese man, arrived at the riverside Siriraj hospital in Bangkok to identify the body found at the nearby Wang Lang pier on Dec 30. Accompanying them was Pisit Maiprasert, a consular assistant at the Japanese embassy, who said they were confident that the body was of Tsuboi.

Chao Phraya body ‘likely’ is Japanese suicide

The body of a man found in the Chao Phraya River is believed to be that of a Japanese tourist who went missing in Thailand late last year and is thought to have committed suicide, according to an initial police inspection. His loss of contact with his family since Dec 27 last year, described by his relatives as “unprecedented behaviour”, worried them for weeks until police investigators identified the man’s body Sunday following a preliminary autopsy as that of Sonam Tsuboi, aged 22. The discovery followed checks by investigators with police stations located near Khao San Road, where the man was last seen.

Crews to suppress bushfire

Forest Fire Management Victoria crews worked for two days to contain a blaze in rocky terrain at the Mount Cole State Park near Warrak on Sunday and Monday. The fire burnt eight hectares of bush along the Warrak-Branding Yard Track, while firefighters battled to create containment lines in tough conditions.

Rig builder Lamprell sees lower revenue, to tighten purse strings

Jan 23 Oil-rig builder Lamprell Plc said it would continue to maintain a tight reign on costs as it stuck to its guidance of lower 2017 revenue. The company, which mainly focuses on contracts around the United Arab Emirates, said it expected 2017 revenue to be between $400-$500 million, with the current market pointing towards the lower half of the range.

UPDATE 1-Japan’s JX, Petronas start Malaysia LNG train

Jan 23 JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp said its venture with Malaysian state oil firm Petronas has started commercial operations at the ninth liquefaction train at the Petronas LNG complex in Bintulu, Sarawak. The launch of the ninth train comes at a time when U.S. LNG exporters are sending tankers to Asia to fill a gap in the region’s demand as markets have tightened more-than-expected on surging consumption in China and Pakistan, and because of Australia’s struggles to ramp up production.

Soccer community shows support for Ryan Mason

Mason is in a stable condition in hospital after undergoing surgery at St Mary’s Hospital in London following a clash of heads with Gary Cahill during the first half of Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea. Players from across England and Europe used Twitter to send best wishes to Mason, while the England team’s account posted a message reading: “Stay strong, Ryan” alongside a picture of him earning his sole England cap to date.

On this day from Monday, January 23, 2017

Mr Bernard Newman, a British agent in the First World War and author of many spy novels, told real life spy stories at a lecture, arranged by the Town Council Library, Museum, Arts and Music committee, at the Art Centre as part of the Heritage of Britain festival. 1961: The annual staff dance held by the Swindon branch of the RAF Association has just obtained another celebrity signature by enrolling Bud Flanagan as a member of the Friends of the Association.

UPDATED: Pearson expansion will benefit Halton; no word on Oakville noise issues: GTAA

Toronto Pearson International is poised to become a mega-hub airport, creating jobs and economic investments for local municipalities, says Lorrie McKee, Director of Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority . And it’s left Oakville politicians, particularly those representing wards in the north, to ask what effect it will have on the already-contentious issue of airplane noise that’s become somewhat new, and annoying, to north Oakville residents.

UPDATED: Pearson expansion will benefit Halton; no word on Oakville noise issues: GTAA

Toronto Pearson International is poised to become a mega-hub airport, creating jobs and economic investments for local municipalities, says Lorrie McKee, Director of Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority . And it’s left Oakville politicians, particularly those representing wards in the north, to ask what effect it will have on the already-contentious issue of airplane noise that’s become somewhat new, and annoying, to north Oakville residents.