23/04/2026

THURSDAY | APR 23, 2026

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Thailand backs Myanmar bid to normalise Asean ties

Delhi orders water bells to beat heat NEW DELHI: Schools here must ring regular bells to remind schoolchildren to drink water as the megacity gears up to face heatwave conditions, a new city order has said. Summer heat in India can be brutal – putting millions of people at risk, with nearly 11,000 people dying due to heat stroke between 2012 and 2021. A heatwave in May 2024 in New Delhi saw temperatures match the capital’s previous record high: 49.2ºC clocked in 2022. That year was India’s hottest year since thorough records began in 1901. The temperature yesterday morning in New Delhi and the wider sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents was a relatively balmy 29.4ºC. But weather forecasters predict temperatures will hit 41-43ºC later in the day, and rise to 42-44ºC later in the week. The Meteorological Department has issued a “yellow alert” for Delhi, indicating the likelihood of a heatwave later in the week. Guidelines issued by the Delhi education directorate asked schools in the city to adopt a plethora of steps to shield students. They included avoiding “outdoor physical activities” and conducting “awareness sessions” to remind them of the importance of hydration. “Outdoor assemblies to be curtailed or conducted in shaded/indoor areas with minimal duration,” the note read. “No open air classes to be conducted.” Quirkier directions are also on offer: schools have been asked to start a “water bell” initiative to prevent dehydration and also implement a“buddy system”for students to look out for each other. “Schools shall implement a ‘Water Bell’ system, whereby a bell is rung at regular intervals (every 45-60 minutes) reminding students to drink water to prevent dehydration,” the circular notes. “Each student may be paired up with another student during school hours to monitor and take care of each other.” – AFP China, Taiwan in overflight tiff BEIJING: China heaped praise yesterday on three African countries that denied overflight permission for the aircraft of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, forcing him to cancel a trip to Eswatini, while Taipei denounced their “servitude” to Beijing. It is the first instance of a Taiwan president having to cancel a foreign trip due to denial of access to airspace, as lack of diplomatic ties with the island does not normally pose a problem for countries. Lai had been due to leave for the small African kingdom, one of 12 countries with diplomatic ties to Taiwan, but the previous night, Taiwan said his visit had to be delayed. Lai’s office accused China of having coerced the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar into revoking permission for Lai’s aircraft to fly over their territories. In Beijing, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office denied Taipei’s claim that Beijing had used economic “coercion” to ensure the flight was blocked. The spokesperson expressed appreciation for the position and “practice” of those countries in adhering to the one-China principle. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry described the comments by Seychelles and Madagascar as being “in servitude of China”. “The Republic of China is a sovereign state with the right to engage with the world and no country has the standing to obstruct,” it said in a statement. The Kuomintang, which is often at odds with Lai’s government, called on China to exercise restraint and give Taiwan sufficient diplomatic space. – Reuters

week for thousands of prisoners, which included the release of ousted former president Win Myint and a small sentence reduction for

“But certainly, for them to return to Asean, they must be able to proceed and respond to the concerns from Asean.” The conflict in Myanmar has long frustrated Asean, with some

o Leaders to meet in Manila

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was Myanmar’s de facto leader at the time of the coup. “We hope that these kinds of actions will take place more going forward, particularly the reduction of violence,” he said. “Secondly, we know that there is a demand for humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, how they can open a space for Asean or international organisations to go in.”

BANGKOK: Thailand wants to play a leading role in Myanmar’s bid to normalise its ties with Asean after five years on the sidelines, the Thai foreign minister said ahead of a meeting yesterday with new President Min Aung Hlaing. Former military chief Min Aung Hlaing led a 2021 coup that ended a decade of tentative democracy in Myanmar and sparked chaos and a civil war, prompting an intervention by Asean and the exclusion of the then ruling generals from its summits. Min Aung Hlaing, 69, was chosen as president by parliament on April 3, formalising his grip on power after a recent election that was dominated by an army-backed party in the absence of viable opposition. “We want to support their return to Asean. Our policy is to have steps in our interactions to bring them back,” Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow (pic) told reporters.

members openly critical of the generals for paying only lip service to the bloc’s demands for progress on a peace plan that requires all sides to cease hostilities and start dialogue. Myanmar remains part of Asean has been represented at top-level meetings by ministerial officials. Few countries have endorsed Myanmar’s election or the new

In his inauguration address, Min Aung Hlaing said his priority was to promote peace and reconciliation in Myanmar and he would seek to improve international relations and normalise ties with Asean. This week he invited opposition armed groups to start dialogue by the end of July, but two key rebel groups rejected the offer on Tuesday. – Reuters

military-backed government, with some western nations dismissing the process as a sham designed to entrench the army’s control under the guise of civilian rule. The 11-member Asean bloc has yet to formally recognise the new government. Asean leaders will hold a summit next month in the Philippines. Sihasak welcomed Myanmar’s amnesty last

Supplier dropped over alleged deforestation links BANGKOK: Pharmaceutical giant Haleon said it has dropped a supplier of “carbon-neutral” packaging after an AFP and The Gecko Project investigation yesterday revealed links to the clearing of Indonesian rainforest that is home to critically endangered orangutans. timber from plantations in Indonesia to Asia Symbol factories in China. Asia Symbol has a no-deforestation policy and its parent company, Singapore headquartered conglomerate Royal Golden Eagle, has committed to a deforestation-free supply chain since 2015. MONUMENTAL MASTERPIECE ... A visitor admiring a sand sculpture by Taiwanese artist Chou Sheng-Chiang at the Australian Sand Sculpting Championships in Melbourne yesterday. More than 400 tonnes of sand was used by artists to carve 18 large sculptures.– AFPPIC

Asia Symbol said it had placed the mill supplying the pulp under “enhanced due diligence”, but insisted the material used for packaging supplied to Haleon did not come from plantations linked to deforestation. It did not provide evidence for how it separated supply chains. Haleon said its own investigation found no evidence that “deforestation-linked material” entered its supply chain, but it was nonetheless “very concerned”. “We have therefore asked our suppliers to ensure that any material supplied to Haleon is not sourced from Asia Symbol” or plantation companies“associated with risk of deforestation”.

Its bid to win back the environmental seal of approval granted by the Forest Stewardship Council has stalled over allegations of rights violations against indigenous people by another of its subsidiaries. Indonesia has lost vast tracts of rainforest to plantations, mining and fires, threatening biodiverse landscapes. Forest loss has also been blamed for worsening natural disasters like last year’s flooding in Sumatra, which killed over 1,000 people. – AFP

The investigation found wood from plantations that cut down tens of thousands of hectares of forest was processed at an Indonesian mill supplying packaging firm Asia Symbol. It supplied UK-based Haleon with “carbon neutral” packaging for its China operations. AFP and investigative newsroom The Gecko Project used satellite imagery, government audit documents, trade data, ship-tracking information and open source material to trace