Even the heavens appeared to celebrate the long-awaited resurfacing of the sunken ferry Sewol.

As authorities on Wednesday kicked off the salvage operation of Sewol, the internet buzzed with a photo of a cloud seen in Wonju, Gangwon Province.

The cloud seemed to take the form of the yellow ribbon used to symbolize those who lost their lives in the Sewol tragedy.

“It was sent by my brother-in-law in Wonju. What does it remind you of? I wish success for the salvage operation!!” said a netizen who posted the photo.

The sinking of the ferry on April 16, 2014 left 304 dead or missing, most of whom were students of Danwon High School on a field trip to Jeju Island.

The tragic accident left the nation in shock.

Messages and videos of the victims — some of which showed students playfully joking as they were unaware of how grave the situation was — were posthumously revealed.

Bereaved families have been calling for the ship to be salvaged, mainly to recover the bodies of the nine people who remain missing.

The ghostly exterior of the ship started to resurface Thursday morning.

HONG Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, said that he would cast his vote at this Sunday’s chief executive election for the candidate who has both Beijing’s support and a deep understanding of Hong Kong, but stopped short of endorsing one of the three contenders by name.

The 88-year-old chairman of CK Hutchison Holdings, which has around 10 votes in the 1,194-strong Election Committee that will help pick Hong Kong’s next leader, was speaking at his company’s annual results announcement on Wednesday.

He said that he “put the ability to co-operate with the mainland government in a very important place”, and that he would “fully support the chief executive who has a deep understanding and knowledge of Hong Kong”.

The committee, which is largely pro-establishment, will pick by secret ballot between former city finance chief John Tsang, retired judge Woo Kwok-hing and former chief secretary Carrie Lam who is widely perceived as Beijing’s favoured choice.

Read also: Wife of tycoon Joseph Lau becomes Hong Kong’s richest woman with S$9 billion fortune

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The Chinese central government will have the final say on who is ultimately appointed as Hong Kong’s next chief executive regardless of the election results.

“My personal view is that in Hong Kong’s current environment, we absolutely need a chief executive who can communicate with the central government and increase the cooperative relationship,” Mr Li told reporters, noting that Beijing also wants Hong Kong to do well. “If the chief executive has a better working relationship and co-operation with the central government, it will create miracles for Hong Kong. It will reduce a lot of unnecessary disputes.”

The Hong Kong billionaire declined to name his pick, telling reporters that all three candidates are his friends and that he did not want to say anything that could be detrimental to any of them.

Read also: Taiwanese actress Ady An marries Macau tycoon

He also dismissed questions about how he and his sons Victor, 52, and Richard, 50, both of whom also sit on the Election Committee, might be coordinating their votes.

“Do you still listen to your dad when you reach 50? If you think we make plans like that, then your assessment of me is too low,” he said.

The older Mr Li’s comments came just days after his Mr Richard Li openly endorsed Mrs Lam for the top job in the wake of speculation that the family might be throwing their weight behind Mr Tsang, who has been leading popularity polls.

Mr Li backed eventual 2002 and 2007 chief executive election winners Tung Chee-hwa and Donald Tsang, but in 2012 endorsed Henry Tang who ended up losing to current leader Leung Chun-ying.

This article was first published on Mar 23, 2017.
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The Korean government on Wednesday announced that it will start issuing electronic visas to Southeast Asian tourists in May, as part of its plan to aid the local tourism industry which has been hit by tension between Seoul and Beijing.

In opposition of last year’s joint decision by the Korea-US alliance to station the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system here, China has been curbing Chinese tours to Korea.

This includes the reported order by Beijing to ban its tourism agencies from selling Korea-related programs.

To counter fallout from the diplomatic spat, the government plans to attract visitors from countries other than China through promotion, boost tourism targeting locals and provide financial support for the tourism industry.

Read Also: S.Korea’s favourite for president demands China stop retaliation over THAAD

“We will tend to the needs of the local tourism industry, which is suffering from THAAD-related measures by China, and bring changes to the industry’s overdependence on China,” said Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho in a ministerial-level meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex.

According to the Korea Tourism Organisation, 8.05 million of 17 million foreigners who visited the country were Chinese last year.

The KTO said it has seen a considerable surge in visitors from other regions such as Southeast Asia, but tourists from those countries only amounted to a little over 200,000 last year.

The government had initially planned to start issuing electronic visas for tourists from Southeast Asian countries in the second half of the year, however, it decided to move up the date in the wake of souring relations with China.

Read Also: Xinhua warns S.Korea’s Lotte over THAAD

The government also plans to provide a five-day visa-free stay for transferring Southeast Asian tourist groups headed to Jeju Island via the Incheon or Gimhae airports, which is expected to provide them with the chance to visit Incheon, Seoul and other neighbouring cities.

The government also plans to provide an emergency loan of 125 billion won (S$157 million) for companies related to tourism on a 1.5 per cent interest rate, along with a surety bond of up to 100 billion won.

According to Minister Yoo, a total of 375 billion won will be allocated in support of local tourism companies.

Local companies have sought countermeasures for the THAAD fallout as well.

Read Also: South Korea PM egged in protest at US Thaad anti-missile system

“Although China is virtually irreplaceable, we’re sure that there is potential to bring in more tourists (from other countries) through more aggressive marketing. We’ve been mulling such measures since the THAAD situation last year,” said an official in the tourism industry.

Korean industries have been hit hard by China’s reaction toward the THAAD deployment here, ranging from tourism and entertainment to across the business sectors.

A report by the state-run Korea Development Bank showed that the Korean economy may end up losing up to $20 billion in trade with China this year if the dispute between the two countries continues to escalate.

WASHINGTON – The next round of India-Pakistan water talks – that the World Bank offered to hold in Washington next month – may be delayed or cancelled because of India’s refusal to accept arbitration.

Pakistan not only wants the talks to be held as scheduled but is also seeking the World Bank’s arbitration as the guarantor of the Indus Waters Treaty.

But Indian officials told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday that India was against such arbitration and preferred negotiations within the framework of the treaty.

Pakistan too recognises the treaty’s pivotal role but disagrees with the Indian interpretation, which seeks to minimise arbitration.

The proposed talks will focus on two controversial hydropower projects – Kishanganga and Ratle – over which Pakistan is seeking International Court of Arbitration through the World Bank.

Indian and Pakistani officials met in Islamabad and Lahore this week to discuss three Indian projects on the Chenab River that Pakistan fears would decrease the flow of water into its territory.

After the meetings, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters that talks on the Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric schemes would be held in Washington next month, with the World Bank as the mediator.

But officials in New Delhi told the Indian media that they had not received any formal communication about the Washington meeting. They also said that India opposed Pakistan’s proposal for the bank’s mediation or arbitration and would prefer a neutral expert to review the two projects and give his or her opinion.

Pakistan says it wants a decision that is legally binding on both India and Pakistan and such a decision can only come from a court of arbitration and not from a neutral expert.

Late last year, New Delhi suspended talks on the treaty, which distributes the eastern tributaries of the Indus – Sutlej, Beas and Ravi to India and the western tributaries – Jhelum, Indus and Chenab – to Pakistan.

In September 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi threatened to scrap the treaty after a terrorist attack killed 19 Indian soldiers. Pakistan warned that any such move would be a “declaration of war”.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of violating the treaty by building dams on the western rivers. India says that the treaty unduly favours Pakistan by giving it a greater share of water.

“Pakistan wants the World Bank to continue to play its role as the guarantor of the treaty,” an official source told Dawn in Washington. “The Pakistanis fear that India is trying to undermine the bank’s role as the repository of this treaty.”

The World Bank first seemed interested in Pakistan’s proposal for arbitration over Kishanganga and Ratle projects “but may opt out under India’s pressure”, the source added.

Pakistan has also said that it wants a resolution “through the provisions of the treaty, in their letter and spirit”, and “not through India’s interpretation of the agreement”.

A similar meeting, held in November 2016, made little progress as India rejected the World Bank’s terms of reference because, it claimed, the terms favoured Pakistan’s demand for arbitration.

Sunflowers add joy to any landscape. The sunflower fields of Pirojpur are painting the district bright. And beyond their visual beauty, to farmers sunflower cultivation brings good profits.

“We can make around Tk 10,000 (S$175) per bigha of land from sunflowers,” says grower Amulya Ranjon Mondal from Raghunathpur village in Nazirpur upazila. He has been growing sunflowers for the past three years.

“Sunflowers aren’t difficult to grow,” says another farmer, Kishore Mondal from the same village. “They need only sufficient water. The only risk is from natural calamity. And sunflower oil is healthy. It has good demand and besides, we use it at home.”

Separating the oil from the sunflowers is easier than other oilseeds, farmers say.

In addition, where after the aman paddy season fields used to remain fallow, sunflowers now provide an extra income source. The flowers are sown in December, with seeds collected towards the end of April. “We get extra profit from growing sunflowers as well as paddy,” says Mojibor Sheikh, a grower from Shekhmatia in Nazirpur upazila.

According to the Department of Agriculture Extension, sunflowers in Pirojpur are cultivated on 178 hectares across the district, especially in Mathbaria and Nazirpur upazilas.

Various NGOs had been encouraging the crop by providing sunflower seeds free of cost, but from this year for the first time farmers are not receiving any such assistance.