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Malaysian Paper

/thesundaily /

Hawaii island of Oahu faces worst flooding in 20 years

Japan mulls deploying minesweepers TOKYO: Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, if a ceasefire is reached in the US-Israeli war on Iran, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said yesterday. “If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up,” Motegi said during a Fuji TV programme. “This is purely hypothetical, but if a ceasefire were established and naval mines were creating an obstacle, then I think that would be something to consider.” Japan’s military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but 2015 security legislation allows Japan to use its Self-Defence Forces overseas if an attack, including on a close security partner, threatens Japan’s survival and no other means are available to address it. Tokyo has no immediate plans to seek arrangements to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz for stranded Japanese vessels, Motegi said, adding it was “extremely important” to create conditions that allow all ships to navigate through the narrow waterway, the conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil shipments. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Kyodo news agency on Friday that he had spoken to Motegi about potentially letting Japanese-related vessels pass through the strait. Japan gets around 90% of its oil shipments via the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the war, now in its fourth week. A spike in global oil prices has prompted Japan and other countries to release oil from their reserves. President Donald Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday, urging her to “step up” as he presses allies, so far unsuccessfully, to send warships to help open the strait. Takaichi told reporters after the Washington summit that she had briefed Trump on what support Japan could and could not provide in the strait under its laws. – Reuters

o Over 5,500 evacuated amid threat of dam collapse

LOS ANGELES: More than 5,500 people have been evacuated as the Hawaiian island of Oahu suffered its worst flooding in over 20 years, authorities said on Saturday. Heavy rain and thunderstorms will continue to pass over Hawaii, posing major risks to Oahu and Maui County, local officials warned. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said in a video on X that more rain is expected over the weekend. “The storm will deliver another 4in to 6in (10cm to 15cm) of rain on Oahu throughout this weekend, but it’s now moving to Maui, where we expect somewhere between 4in to 8in and as much as 12in in some areas,” said Green. “No loss of life so far. A few serious injuries. But don’t take this storm lightly.” The governor said conditions remain dangerous because the ground is already saturated, meaning it will take much less rain to trigger flooding, road closures and damage. He told the media on Friday that the cost of the storm could top US$1 billion (RM3.9 billion) in estimated damages to private and public property. While confirming that more than 230 people have been rescued during the storm, officials cautioned that a 120-year-old dam could fail. Authorities told ordered some 4,000 people to leave the area downstream of the Wahiawa dam, a 120-year-old dam on Oahu, warning it was “at risk of imminent failure”. The dam located in the north of Hawaii’s third

A flooded neighbourhood in Waialua on the north shore of Oahu. – US COAST GUARD HANDOUT/AFPPIC

recommending that people carpool to ease traffic congestion. Much of the US state, a remote archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, remains under a flood watch or warning, according to the National Weather Service. – Bernama/AFP

largest island, which is home to the state capital Honolulu, “is at imminent risk of failure”, the local emergency management agency warned. There is “potential life-threatening flooding” in areas below the dam, it said. “Leave downstream area now!” it said,

Taiwan to take delivery of advanced F-16s TAIPEI: Deliveries of delayed F-16V fighter jets for Taiwan will begin this year with production at “full capacity”, the island’s Defence Ministry said after senior defence officials visited the United States.

was committed to “delivering advanced deterrence capabilities to support Taiwan’s security goals”. “We continue to work closely with the US government to accelerate delivery where possible,” it said. Because the F-16V is a new model specially designed for Taiwan, continued test flights are still needed to fine-tune its systems, and tests must be carefully carried out, the ministry said. Taiwan has converted 141 older F-16A/B jets into the F-16V type and has ordered 66 new F-16Vs, which have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems to better face down the Chinese air force, including its stealthy J-20 fighters. – Reuters

software problems. Deputy Minister Hsu Szu-chien, accompanied by Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff Tien Chung-yi, visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16V assembly line in South Carolina on Monday to view the first aircraft, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement late on Saturday. Deliveries will begin this year, the ministry said, without elaborating. Lockheed Martin has assigned several hundred personnel to assemble the remaining aircraft, and “there are no bottlenecks in either parts supply or manpower; production is proceeding at full capacity on a two-shift schedule”, it said. Lockheed Martin said in a statement that it

Taiwan, which faces a rising military threat from China, has complained of repeated delays to weapons ordered from the US, the most important international backer and arms supplier for the island, which Beijing claims as its territory. The United States in 2019 approved an US$8 billion (RM31.5 billion) sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, but the project has been hit by issues including

Kenya, Uganda open key rail extension NAIROBI: The presidents of Kenya and Uganda met near their shared border on Saturday to mark the multi billion-dollar, long-delayed extension of a Chinese-built railway that has left Kenya heavily in debt. generates in revenue, around US$165 million last year, even if passenger and cargo numbers have been growing strongly over the past year. logistics costs that “undermine competitiveness” in east Africa. If the ambitious building schedule is to be believed, the line is due to reach Kisumu by June next year. The next phase will then take the line to Malaba, a town on the border.

A report by Kenya’s auditor general last year found more than US$260 million had been wasted on penalties and interest from late debt payments. Yet despite the controversy over the cost, Kenya has been keen to finish the line. Kenyan President William Ruto said the rail link will “define generations”, speaking at a ceremony in grand pomp and circumstance with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Kisumu, near the border. Ruto argued the line would slash

The standard gauge railway, built from 2013 to 2019, connects the Kenyan port of Mombasa to its capital Nairobi, and on to the lake town of Naivasha, but China refused further lending before it could be extended to Uganda as planned. Kenya now spends roughly US$1 billion (RM3.9 billion) a year servicing Chinese debt, most of it borrowed to build the railway. That is far more than the line

“Cargo takes an average of 80 hours to move from Mombasa to Malaba and more than 100 hours to reach Kampala,” Ruto said. “We cannot build prosperity on inefficiency.” Museveni said the line would reduce the inefficiencies in his own country’s infrastructure. “The railway is part of the rationalisation of our transport

Ruto (right) and Museveni unveil a commemorative plaque at Kisumu. – AFPPIC

shifting bulk cargo from roads to rail and pipelines, we reduce transport costs, protect infrastructure and improve efficiency”. – AFP

system, especially on the Uganda side, which is irrational and wasteful,” he said. Later, he posted on X that “by