Tightly-ruled Singapore was rocked by an unprecedented political drama Wednesday when a feud between the children of the late founding leader Lee Kuan Yew over his legacy burst into the open.
The founder's oldest child, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, came under attack online before dawn from his younger brother Lee Hsien Yang, and younger sister Lee Wei Ling. They accused him of exploiting their father's legacy for his own political agenda, a charge the premier quickly denied.
The pair also claimed that their brother had abused his powers to harass them -- and Hsien Yang said he had decided to leave the country as a result.
The feud had simmered following the death in March 2015 of the elder Lee, who ruled Singapore with an iron hand but transformed the city-state from a relatively poor British colony into one of the world’s wealthiest and most stable societies.
But the quarrel intensified in the small hours of Wednesday with the issuance of the extraordinary statement, which immediately went viral in a country where tough laws against protests and curbs on press freedom have stifled political dissent.
Lee Hsien Loong's wife Ho Ching is the chief executive of state investment firm Temasek Holdings, which had global assets worth Sg$242 billion ($180 billion) as of March 2016.
"We have felt threatened by Hsien Loong’s misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda," read the statement posted online by his siblings.
Described as the world's biggest infrastructure project, China is estimated to be investing £115 billion ($150 billion) each year in the Belt and Road scheme, with £692 billion ($900 billion) already spent.
Under the Silk Road plan, China and Pakistan are planning to build $57 billion worth of power plants, port facilities, railway lines and roads in Pakistan.
During a meeting in Bejing last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the plan would be accelerated.
Kyauk Pyu, Myanmar. Days before the first supertanker carrying 140,000 tons of Chinese-bound crude oil arrived in Myanmar's Kyauk Pyu port, local officials confiscated Nyein Aye's fishing nets.
The 36-year-old fisherman was among hundreds banned from fishing a stretch of water near the entry point for a pipeline that pumps oil 770 kilometers across Myanmar to southwest China and forms a crucial part of Beijing's "Belt and Road" project to deepen its economic links with Asia and beyond. The Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone will cover more than 17 square kilometers. It includes the $7.3 billion deep sea port and a $2.3 billion industrial park, with plans to attract industries such as textiles and oil refining.
Thailand's prime minister will invoke an executive order to allow construction to start on a $5.5 billion railway project with China, which forms part of Beijing's regional infrastructure drive but has been beset by delays. The $5.5 billion first phase of the railway will be a 250-kilometer line between Bangkok and the northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima.
Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said last month that construction would begin in August or September.
Thailand will largely fund the project and China will provide technical assistance under terms agreed so far.
Including later phases, the project intends to build a 873-kilometer rail line linking Thailand's border with Laos to eastern ports and industrial zones.
China wants to connect its cities to trade centers in Southeast Asia, including Thailand's eastern industrial zones, as part of its "One Belt, One Road" project, while Thailand needs to revamp its aging rail network and boost trade.
its 2-22 pm in afternoon here, night night thanks for the chat. enjoy my web you can locate half doz Google Picasa album links half way down homepage, opens to thousands of my pictures
just worked out somehow i posted in other threat than intended
mails all honest today, first thing i got this message
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mails all honest today, first thing i got this message
hello robplum how are you
do you want afghan girl
it is so lovely
if yes massage me
then i received this one
How are you today, my name is Mrs Benita Joe. i got your contact on Facebook and due to the nature of the business i wish to discuss with you will change our both lives and i will need your full corporation to get it successfully done.
As banker in the Cape town, I have in the bank am working in an existence of a big amount of money that belongs to a customer, who happen to have the same name as yours.
The fund is now without any claim because Mr. chris ward who died in a deadly earthquake in Japan 2011. I want your cooperation so as to make the bank send you the fund as the beneficiary and next of kin to the fund. This transaction will be of a great mutual assistance to us and i am willing to give you a verifiable proof of fund. Send me your reply of interest so that I will give you the details.
At the receipt of your reply, I will provide you details of the transaction and copies of the certificates of the company that generated the fund.
Good photos i photo graphed 14 deer the other day to. It looks like its feeding a fawn, pretty sure i see teats in second image, did you look for it? your welcome An older photo of Doe and Fawn
Up to 600 people are believed to have been inside 120 flats in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower when the blaze began. At least 50 injured people were taken to hospital - it is unclear how many managed to get out safely.
A man who lived on the 17th floor of the block, identified as Methrob, told LBC Radio: "I heard the fire trucks and so I was alerted that something was going on.
"There was no fire alarm in the building, we don't have an integrated fire alarm system. I went outside my house and I could smell the smoke. I looked out my window, I leaned over and I could see the fire blazing up.
"I woke up my auntie who was sleeping, it was about 1.15am, and we started to make our way down. I warned a couple of my neighbours, the ones nearest to me, and we basically went as fast as we could."
He said the fire was inside one apartment, but added the "real issue was when it caught fire to the cladding outside. That's when I noticed the fire from outside when I looked out the window.
"By the time that we got downstairs, the fire had gone all the way up and it was just about reaching our windows on the 17th floor. The whole one side of the building was on fire. The cladding went up like a matchstick."
"I saw jumpers. I saw one jumper jump out, he landed on a fire patrol officer. His leg was dismembered from his body and there was another guy who died in the fire exit.
"Afterwards I spoke to the fire officer, the same one. He had been working right through the night and he said they could only get to the 11th floor, that was as far as they got.
"So in my opinion everyone north of the 11th floor had real trouble getting out."
Many people on social media have been quick to blame cladding which was recently placed on the building as part of a major £8.7million refurbishment for the reason the fire was able to take hold so quickly.
He added: "We can see how quick the fire spreads via the external panels.
Meanwhile it's emerged residents had issued a chilling warning about fire safety just months before this morning’s blaze.
In a series of blog posts since 2013, a residents’ group called the Grenfell Action Group repeatedly criticised Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) - the company which manages the tower block - over its fire safety record.
Nearby resident Celeste Thomas says it’s well known in the area that there have been safety concerns about the building.
“There are quite a lot of families in that building, quite a mixed community,” she told Macquarie National News.
“It is very full, so there would be a lot of people.” The tower block was built in the 1970s as part of the Lancaster West Estate project. It recently underwent a £10m refurbishment, which included installing exterior cladding, double glazing and a new communal heating system.
We’ve been unable to give anyone our names. It’s been five hours. There’s people here who don’t have a clue if their relatives are alive or dead.”
Ahmed Chellat had come to the Rugby Portobello centre with his wife to look for his brother-in-law, his wife and three children. “We don’t know what’s happened,” he told the Guardian. “I asked him to come out and he couldn’t. He was advised to put towels under the doors and he said they will come for him. We’ve heard nothing.
“Last time we spoke to them was about 2.30am – he said the fire brigade’s coming up to me.”
Chellat continued: “The whole issue here is for five hours we’ve been here with my sister-in-law and some tenants. There’s no councillors, no TMO [the tenants’ organisation] to say exactly what’s going on.
Grenfell residents said their warnings fell on "deaf ears" after highlighting safety concerns about the block.
The group said there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during improvement works at the block in Latimer Road and it had issues with evacuation procedures at the building.
There were reports of a strong smell of burning plastic, thought to be white cladding that was installed on the building last year as part of a £10million refurbishment.
A sizeable number of the block’s residents are Muslim, and many might have been out of the building as it is during the holy month of Ramadan, Ali suggested. However, many others were still reportedly inside when the fire started, he added.
A residential tower in west London is feared to be on the verge of collapse as a massive fire continues to burn through the building.
Up to 200 firefighters and emergency services have for been battling the blaze for several house at Grenfell Tower, on the Lancaster West Estate in North Kensington, with people believed to remain trapped inside.
Forty fire engines were called to the 27-storey apartment building just after 1.15am local time after the blaze broke out on the 26th floor.
its a wildlife thread that good folks on CS can post there very own wildlife photos in...its a wildlife thread that will only last until 50 pages of posts have been reached...yesterday i processed all the 1407 photos taken yesterday so i share some in this thread Lookin because some member have expressed enjoyment viewing photos members have taken and posted in the thread lookin
online today!robplum Forum Posts (12,032)
sadly that true
A look at the Chinese grand-plan-1 (a) the Belt and Road
Singapore rocked by open feud in Lee familyTightly-ruled Singapore was rocked by an unprecedented political drama Wednesday when a feud between the children of the late founding leader Lee Kuan Yew over his legacy burst into the open.
The founder's oldest child, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, came under attack online before dawn from his younger brother Lee Hsien Yang, and younger sister Lee Wei Ling. They accused him of exploiting their father's legacy for his own political agenda, a charge the premier quickly denied.
The pair also claimed that their brother had abused his powers to harass them -- and Hsien Yang said he had decided to leave the country as a result.
The feud had simmered following the death in March 2015 of the elder Lee, who ruled Singapore with an iron hand but transformed the city-state from a relatively poor British colony into one of the world’s wealthiest and most stable societies.
But the quarrel intensified in the small hours of Wednesday with the issuance of the extraordinary statement, which immediately went viral in a country where tough laws against protests and curbs on press freedom have stifled political dissent.
Lee Hsien Loong's wife Ho Ching is the chief executive of state investment firm Temasek Holdings, which had global assets worth Sg$242 billion ($180 billion) as of March 2016.
"We have felt threatened by Hsien Loong’s misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda," read the statement posted online by his siblings.