While many are keen to find out how President Moon Jae-in’s new “diplomatic approach” to North Korea will take shape, his foreign minister nominee is drawing attention for her hair colour.

Kang Kyung-wha, a 62-year-old career diplomat set to become the first female foreign minister, arrived Thursday at Incheon Airport with her silver hair perfectly in shape.

She was returning here from New York, where she served as a special policy adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

As reporters flocked toward her for comments, her clean-cut navy suit contrasted visibly with her silver locks.

Her natural hair colour has attracted fans including current presidential chief of staff Lim Jong-seok.

“How amazing is Kang with her silver hair at the UN — so graceful and fluent while asking for global support on national topics such as candlelight vigils, nuclear disarmament, and peace and co-operation between the two Koreas,” Lim wrote on Facebook.

In South Korea, where many women try hard to look younger, Kang’s decision to allow her hair to reflect her age is uncommon, particularly for someone with a high-profile job.

In a 2012 interview with a local media outlet, Kang explained her choice to go against the norm.

“My mother begs me to dye my hair because she feels embarrassed about (my hair colour),” said Kang.

“One of my New Year’s resolutions in 2008 was not to dye my hair because I didn’t want to cover up my true form.”

She added that in Geneva, where she used to reside for work, people did not pay much attention to her hair colour.

Kang’s confirmation hearing is expected to be held in mid-June at the latest.

Her appointment does not require the consent of the parliament.

BMA officials admit they cannot cope with heavy rains as experts blame infrastructure and lack of preparedness.

BANGKOK WILL continue to experience flooding after heavy rains unless water-drainage problems including roads and canals are solved, water-management experts have said.

Heavy rain was to blame for yesterday’s floods in 25 areas around Bangkok after up to 170 millimetres of rain fell on the capital on Wednesday night, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) stated.

Bangkok faced the prospect of more flooding as the Meteorological Department predicted more heavy rains last night and this morning.

The heavy rains turned many streets of the city into canals and seriously worsened rush-hour traffic, causing many commuters to arrive late at work or school.

One of the worst flooded areas was the Lat Phrao intersection at Ratchadaphisek Road, where the floodwaters reached about 30 centimetres and seriously disrupted traffic.

BMA drainage and sewerage director Sompong Wiangkaew said the heavy rains were more than the city’s drainage system could cope with.

“We are trying our best to save our city from flooding, but the rain was far too heavy for our drainage system, which can accept around 100 to 120 millimetres.

Last night, total rainfall was about 170 millimetres,” Sompong said.

“Moreover, we could not drain the floodwater out of the street properly, because the canals were already full of water from the rains, even though we had decreased the water levels in the canals in advance.”

Sitang Pilailar, a lecturer at the Water Resources Engineering Department at Kasetsart University, said the reasons the BMA cited were chronic problems for the city.

“Bangkok will still flood every time after heavy rain, if the water cannot drain from the roads to the drainage pipes and to the canals properly,” Sitang said.

She said the first problem was that the drainage system mixed with the sewer system, so pipes were already full of wastewater.

Moreover, during the floods in 2011, sand was dumped into the drainage system that had not been cleared out completely, lessening the capacity of the city’s drainage pipes by half.

Another problem was lack of preparation before the rain, Sitang said, adding the BMA usually received weather predictions from the Meteorological Department so water levels in the canals could be lowered in advance, but this time the BMA had not performed well.

“In addition to these problems, we still have the issue that many old communities suffer from chronic flooding because their location is lower than street level, so the water from the road drains into their communities instead of into the drainage pipes.

The garbage in the drainage system is also significant, as many people still throw litter into drainage pipes and canals,” Sitang said.

“This is a task for all of us to tackle. The BMA has to be better prepared for flooding and maintain the drainage system to make sure that it can work properly, while the people also have to avoid clogging the drainage system with garbage if we want to sustainably solve the flooding problem in Bangkok.”

Following the military court’s conviction Wednesday of a gay soldier for having sex, many expatriates living in South Korea reacted with a mixture of shock, disappointment and anger toward what they said was a violation of basic human rights.

“These men are serving their country and their country repays them with prison?” said Amanda Melgarejo Bastos, a 28-year-old English teacher from the United States.

“Seeing how racism and sexism are big issues here, I can’t say I am surprised, but I am still angry about it. Shame on the Korean military,” she said.

The convict, an Army captain whose name was withheld, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for a year, for having consensual sex with a same-sex soldier in a private place.

He was charged with a violation of the Military Criminal Act, which is punishable by up to two years in prison.

The act outlaws sodomy or other “disgraceful acts” in the armed forces regardless of whether there was mutual consent.

“I’m beyond furious. How is this a fair ruling? They are forcing men to serve in the military, but they cannot be themselves — gay?” said Jacqueline Carrillo, who identifies as bisexual.

In South Korea, serving about two years in the military is mandatory for most able-bodied men to deter aggression from North Korea.

“What’s going to happen to them in jail? Will they be persecuted for being gay, too?” she asked.

The military, as well as conservative and Protestant groups, argue that homosexual acts in the barracks would undermine its readiness and discipline to fight North Korea’s 1.2 million-strong army.

Timothy Gitzen, an activist for Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights for Korea and a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the University of Minnesota, said that it was no different from “segregation.”

“Do not be mistaken. This is South Korea — the place where “the power of the people” can unseat corrupt presidents,” he said.

“But it’s state-sanctioned violence against its own people.”

“It is the same argument people would use in the US to talk about segregation in the military between people of colour and white soldiers,” Gitzen said.

“Soldiers only care about staying alive and finishing their service. The only people who care about it are military officials in power who want to impose their religious world view on the military and the state.”

In protest against the ruling, a group of 10 liberal lawmakers submitted a bill to scrap the controversial gay ban clause in the military criminal act.

“Punishing those having consensual sex outside the barracks is a violation of rights to self-determination and privacy,” said Rep.

Kim Jong-dae of the minor Justice Party in a press briefing Thursday.

“Sexual orientation is not subject to permission.”

“There are still clauses severely punishing forcible sexual contacts such as rape, so it is groundless fear that the lifting of the military gay ban will help spread sexual crimes.”

After the verdict was delivered Wednesday, human rights groups have strongly condemned the verdict.

“It is a shameful side of South Korea, which has been a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, that the government labelled an individual as a criminal just because he is gay,” said the Center for Military Human Rights Korea.

Amnesty International called for an end to the “bigoted hunt to root out gay personnel.”

“This unjust conviction should be immediately overturned. No one should be persecuted based on their sexual orientation, activity or gender identity alone. What counts is their service not their sexuality,” said Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International.

In April, the military human rights group claimed that Army chief of staff Gen. Jang Jun-gyu ordered a hunt to identify gay military soldiers.

The military put up to 50 soldiers on the list and set up fake profiles on dating apps to lure them into outing themselves, it said.

The Korean military denied the allegations, saying it only investigated those involved in a video of two servicemen having sex posted on social media.

Meanwhile, a Taiwanese court on Wednesday ruled in favour of same-sex marriage, paving the way for it to become the first Asian country to legalize same-sex unions.

The Supreme Court authorities were taking down the statue of the Greek Goddess of Justice Themis on the SC premises in the wee hours today.

Some five to seven workers were hammering at the base of the statue while four to five other people, including Mrinal Haque, the sculptor, were overseeing the work that began around 11:30pm yesterday.

There was a pick-up parked nearby. Journalists were not allowed inside the premises.

Contacted, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the chief justice (SK Sinha) had a meeting with the incumbent and former presidents and general secretaries of the Supreme Court Bar Association, including eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain. At the meeting, the CJ sought their opinion about removing the statue.

“They opined that it should be removed to avert any untoward situation,” he told The Daily Star, adding that the statue might be relocated to a place near the Supreme Court Museum, which is also on the SC premises.

Mrinal Haque, who was standing on the other side of the main gate of the apex court, told The Daily Star, “I have nothing to say. When will we become humans? It is a matter of great sorrow. When will the people of the country be educated?

“I do not know anything. The statue is being removed following pressure from high-ups. I have come here because they would damage it if they took it down without me.

“We have conceded defeat. It’s a slap on the face of the pro-liberation, cultural and freedom-loving people of the country. It seems Razakars, Al-Badrs are the winners.”

Contacted, Maruf Hossain Sardar, deputy commissioner of DMP (Ramna division), said they were not aware of the removal of the statue.

Around 2:00am, some 100 youths, under the banner of Bikkhubdo Nagorik (aggrieved citizens), gathered near the SC premises and blocked the road. They were chanting slogans like — “Joy Bangla, why surrender to Hefajat?”

Terming the statue “un-Islamic”, Hefajat-e Islam, Awami Olama League and some other Islamist organisations demanded its immediate removal. On April 21, Islami Andolan Bangladesh demanded that the government remove the statue before Ramadan.

Earlier on April 11, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting with the Alem and Ulema from Qawmi madrasas said she personally did like the statue on the SC premises either.

“Why would the statue of Greek Themis be set up in Bangladesh? The Greeks had a certain type of costume, but here a statue has been built and it is wearing a sari. It’s a funny incident. I don’t know why such an incident happened,” she said that time.

The premier also said she would soon discuss the matter with the chief justice and urged the Alem-Ulema to have patience. “Keep faith in me, I’ll do whatever necessary.”

Later on April 17, Hasina told her cabinet colleagues that she had asked the CJ either to remove the statue or reinstall it at another place so that it cannot be seen from the National Eidgah.

Taiwan’s largest travel hub is set for a major increase in capacity.

Construction of Terminal 3 is set to begin on Friday and scheduled for completion in 2020.

The terminal is set to service up to 45 million passengers a year, 10 million more than the combined capacity of Terminal 1 and 2.

According to airport authorities, construction will be busiest in the second half of 2018.

Following the terminal’s completion at the end of 2020, the 21-gate Terminal 3 will be ready for service in 2021.

The project has an estimated cost of NT$74.6 billion (S$3.44 billion).

An estimated 40 million passengers passed through the airport in 2016.

While the number of arriving Chinese tourists has fallen in the past year, the government expects passenger volume to continue increasing each year and believes Terminals 1 and 2 are insufficient to meet the growing demand.

Terminal 3’s architectural design includes curves and waves mirroring the island’s mountain ranges and surrounding ocean.

The terminal’s main concourse will include 130,000 dangling metal pipes that will act as sound absorbers and save power consumption by increasing natural lighting.