Cambodia has found and safely removed another war-left US-made M117 aerial bomb in southern Kandal province, a mine clearance chief said.

Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC)’s Director-General Heng Ratana said on Tuesday that the massive bomb was spotted buried at a paddy field in Kandal Steung district, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Today, August 13, 2024, CMAC’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) experts safely neutralised an aerial bomb type M117 from Kandal Steung district, Kandal Province,” Ratana wrote on social media, with photographs of the bomb.

“This M117 bomb with a total weight of around 340 kg and extensively used during the Vietnam-America war, commonly dropped by B-52G aircraft,” he said.

According to the official, since the start of the year, the EOD team had unearthed and safely removed 10 MK-82 aerial bombs and two M117 aerial bombs in different provinces, including Kampong Cham, Kampong Speu, Kandal, Preah Sihanouk, and Svay Rieng, as well as the capital Phnom Penh.

Ratana wrote on social media in February that an estimated more than four million tonnes of aerial bombs and 27 million cluster bombs had been dropped on nearly 115,273 locations throughout Cambodia by more than 500,000 US bombing missions between mid-1965 and 1973.

Cambodia is one of the world’s worst countries suffered from mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) as the results of three decades of war and internal conflicts from the mid-1960s until 1998.

An estimated four to six million landmines and other munitions left over from the conflicts.

From 1979 to June 2024, landmine and UXO explosions had claimed 19,830 human lives and either injured or amputated 45,242 others in the Southeast Asian country, according to an official report. AGENCIES

California Governor Gavin Newsom urged all school districts in the state to implement restrictions on smartphone use in classrooms as the new academic year begins.

In a letter addressed to school leaders on Tuesday, Newsom emphasised the need to create the best learning environment for students while addressing the growing concerns surrounding excessive smartphone use among youth, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Excessive smartphone use among youth is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues,” he said, urging school districts to “act now” to help students focus at school by restricting their smartphone use.

The Governor’s call to action comes in the wake of mounting evidence linking smartphone use to various mental health issues in young people. According to a Pew Research Center survey cited by Newsom, 72 per cent of high school and 33 per cent of middle school teachers reported cell phone distractions as a major problem.

Additionally, research from Common Sense Media found that 97 per cent of students in the US use their phones during the school day for a median of 43 minutes.

Newsom’s letter referenced AB 272, a law he signed in 2019 that grants school districts the authority to regulate smartphone use during school hours.

He encouraged districts to take full advantage of this legislation, stating that “reducing phone use in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes, and enhanced social interactions”.

The Governor also praised districts already implementing smartphone restrictions, such as Los Angeles Unified School District, Santa Barbara Unified District, and Bullard High School in Fresno.

These schools have reported positive outcomes, including higher test scores, improved grades, increased student engagement, and reduced bullying, according to the governor.

While Newsom is currently working with the California legislature to further limit student smartphone use on campuses, he stressed that there is no reason for schools to delay action.

The Governor’s initiative aligns with recent warnings from US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy about the risks of social media use among youth. In June, Murthy called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms. AGENCIES

Starbucks has said that Brian Niccol, chief executive at Chipotle, would be the coffee chain’s new CEO — just over a year after current boss Laxman Narasimhan took over the role.

Narasimhan steps down as chief executive and as a member of the Starbucks board “with immediate effect,” said the company on Tuesday in a statement.

The leadership shifts come as Starbucks pushes to turn around its business, while contending with broad-based sales declines in its most recent financial results.

Starbucks has cited weakening consumer sentiment and difficult market conditions in China as factors in its troubles.

“Brian is a culture carrier who brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of driving innovation and growth,” said Starbucks board chair Mellody Hobson in a statement as the comapny announced the leadership changes.

Niccol has served as Chipotle’s CEO since 2018.

In naming him Starbucks’ new CEO, the company noted that his work at Chipotle had “driven significant growth and value creation,” citing revenue that has nearly doubled and rising profit.

Narasimhan, a veteran of PepsiCo and other consumer brands, had taken over the top spot in 2023 after a period working with longtime Starbucks CEO and interim boss Howard Schultz.

The statement noted that Narasimhan, during his tenure, drove innovation in the brand’s supply chains and boosted its store operations.

Niccol will start in his new role on September 9, with Starbucks chief financial officer Rachel Ruggeri serving as interim CEO until then. AGENCIES

The Australian National University (ANU) has announced that it will no longer invest in weapons companies following pro-Palestine student protests.

Genevieve Bell, Vice-Chancellor of ANU, said on Tuesday night that the 15-member ANU Council has resolved that the university’s long-term investment pool will not invest in weapons manufacturers and civilian small arms manufacturers, Xinhua news agency reported.

It comes after ANU students in April set up a pro-Palestine encampment at the university’s main campus in Canberra as an act of protest against ANU’s ties with Israeli institutions and weapons companies amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Among the demands of the protesters at the encampment — one of several set up at universities around the country — was that ANU divest from arms manufacturers including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and the Northrop Grumman Corporation.

Bell said in June that the ANU Council would review the university’s socially responsible investment policy.

On Tuesday night, she said in a statement that the review attracted almost 900 submissions from staff, students and alumni.

“Our university community has recently drawn attention to investment in companies that derive revenue from arms manufacture and sales. We have listened to that feedback from our community,” Bell said.

“Determining where we seek to invest is something we will review regularly moving forward. This is a significant decision, but we must continue to think about how we reflect our values in our actions.”

It adds to the university’s existing investment screens relating to coal, tobacco, pornography and gambling. AGENCIES

 Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has launched two rockets from Gaza at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

“We launched two rockets of M-90 at the Israeli city of Tel Aviv in response to the Israeli violations against civilians in Gaza,” said al-Qassam on Tuesday in a press statement.

Avichai Adraee, Spokesman of the Israeli army, said in a press statement that a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip and fell into the sea in central Israel. No alerts were activated.

At the same time, another shell was detected being fired, but it did not violate Israeli sovereignty, Adraee added.

The last time Hamas targeted central Israel with rockets was in May, Xinhua news agency reported.

The media reported that explosions were heard in Tel Aviv, but Israeli media reported no casualties.

Hamas continues to insist that truce talks concerning Gaza should focus on a deal already discussed with Israel and mediators. In response, Israeli airstrikes killed 19 Palestinians in the central and southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, according to medical sources.

The US indicated on Monday that it expects the peace talks scheduled for Thursday to proceed as planned and that a ceasefire agreement remains a possibility. The media reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel on Tuesday for discussions in Qatar, Egypt, and Israel.

The Israeli government has confirmed it will send a delegation to Thursday’s talks. However, Hamas has requested a viable plan to implement a previously accepted proposal, rather than engaging in further negotiations. AGENCIES

New York: On November 5, Kamala Harris may be elected as the first South Asian President of the US. If the Donald Trump-JD Vance ticket wins, Usha Vance will become the first Hindu Second Lady.

Indian diaspora has dazzled the world by reaching the top echelons — and not just in politics. India has become a global power player, earning the sobriquet, ‘Vishwabandhu’ (friend of the world), particularly after supplying vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic to many nations.

Indians themselves would not be surprised by this welcome shift, however. Independent India may be only 77 years old, but it has, at its back, many millennia of civilisational wisdom rooted in the ancient texts of the Vedas and Upanishads, and the philosophical traditions of Buddhism and Jainism. This was elaborated by the eminent people in India and America invited to comment on the eve of India’s 78th Independence Day.

Another running strain in their comments is that India has antidotes to many of the world’s ills. Its perennial moral principles of ahimsa and vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one family), underscoring the importance of compassion, tolerance and unity in diversity, are a beacon for addressing global challenges, promoting interfaith harmony and world peace, and fostering a sustainable and inclusive future.

It will not be an exaggeration to say that India is embracing its destined role and emerging as ‘Vishwaguru’, not just ‘Vishwabandhu’.

Rajiv Mehrotra, Secretary and Trustee of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of H.H. The Dalai Lama in New Delhi, told New York-based ALotusInTheMud.com, “India’s rich civilisational heritage is a diverse blend of cultural, philosophical, religious, and scientific contributions. This heritage continues to evolve and adapt while inspiring and responding to present-day challenges.”

Swati Arun, Director of Social Media for the Hindu American Foundation in Washington, DC, pointed out that India’s contributions are not just historical footnotes but living elements of today’s modern life. “The zero, an Indian invention, is the cornerstone of the digital age. Yoga and Ayurveda, India’s holistic health systems, have revolutionised wellness.”

Calling India a model for pluralism in the world, Srinivas Reddy, a scholar on a Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship at IIT Gandhinagar, said, “The world faces unprecedented challenges related to war, famine, linguistic diversity, and cultural plurality. Much of the Western approach to diversity has been through assimilation. The Indian approach has always been — live and let live.”

Citing the stellar example of Bharat in Ramayana, Anil Bhatnagar, an IITian, author, and corporate trainer, said, “Instead of coveting what belongs to others or converting others to our faith, India’s story is that of the relentless and ongoing message of love, kindness, peace, compassion, tolerance, acceptance, ahimsa, and harmonious living propagated through an unbroken chain of avatars and gurus such as Krishna, the Buddha, Mahavir, Nanak, and Swami Vivekananda.”

Preity Upala, who is on the Advisory Board of the Europe India Chamber of Commerce and Industry and has appeared on CNN and Forbes as a political and cultural expert, said, “In the current state of affairs globally, with polywars, unending conflicts, and a very divided world, Bharat has demonstrated much-needed pragmatism, diplomacy, holistic leadership, and global empathy.”

Suma Varughese, the former editor of ‘Society’ and ‘Life Positive’ magazines, agreed that Indian civilisation could show the way out of the multiple crises afflicting the world. “From our systems like Ayurveda and Siddhi, architectural models like Vaastu Shastra, the gurukul education model, our art and dance traditions, our approach to astrology, our four-fold goals of human life – dharma (ethical conduct), artha (wealth), kama (fulfillment of desires) and moksha (liberation), and the four stages of human life from bachelorhood to renunciate, the world will learn how to live, heal, relate, eat, create, love and look after others.”

Aditi Banerjee, a young attorney at a Fortune 500 financial services company who writes and speaks about Hinduism, said that India has an antidote for the younger generation suffering from an overload of information. “Counterbalance this by going within through silence and meditation, reflection and study of the self, through worship and reverence for nature, through yoga and chanting.”

Narayani Ganesh, former editor of The Speaking Tree and Sacred Space columns in The Times of India, and daughter of Gemini Ganesan, the Tamil cinema stalwart, pointed to the formidable but often ignored contribution of Dravidian India. “Dravidian India’s contributions to spirituality and wisdom have certain distinctive features evident in Sangam literature, the Bhakti movement, and the richness of the world’s oldest language, Tamil, and its scriptures, some of which date back to pre-Vedic times.”

Saket Bhatia, who has a PhD in Electrical Engineering and astrology-numerology and has founded two companies in the Bay Area, explained that Indians excel globally due to their strong emphasis on education, family values, and adaptability.” It is not just Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, he argued. “Thousands of other Indian technologists and entrepreneurs are pioneering trends in artificial intelligence, IT, education, and healthcare. Indians have also made significant contributions globally in medicine, academia, arts, and humanities.”

In concrete terms, India has emerged as a force for good, enhancing cultural enrichment and global advancement. AGENCIES

About 40 per cent of “the biggest US manufacturing investments” announced in the first year of US President Joe Biden’s acts to strengthen its cleantech and semiconductor supply chain have been delayed or paused, a media report said.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Chips and Science Act, launched in 2022, offered more than $400 billion in tax credits, loans and grants to boost the US cleantech and semiconductor manufacturing development, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Financial Times report.

In the first year of the program, more than $220 billion were announced. Yet, $84 billion has been delayed for two months to several years or paused indefinitely, a Financial Times investigation found.

“Slow government rollout of Chips Act funding for semiconductor projects and lack of clarity on IRA rules have left several projects at a standstill,” it said.

Due to uncertainty over tax credit rules for hydrogen, Nel Hydrogen, an electrolyser manufacturer, has paused its $400-million factory project in Michigan. Due to the lack of clarity over the IRA’s electric vehicle regulations, Anovion, a battery parts manufacturer in Georgia, delayed its $800-million factory by more than a year.

The delays raised doubts on Biden’s ability to keep his promise to deliver jobs, the report said. AGENCIES

The performance of manufacturing production in the Philippines sustained its growth in June 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.

Based on the preliminary results of a monthly survey, the PSA said the year-on-year value of production index (VaPI) and the volume of production index (VoPI) increased by 2.2 per cent and 2.5 per cent in June, respectively.

The PSA said the VaPI rose at a slowed annual rate of 2.2 per cent in June 2024 from a yearly increase of 2.3 per cent in May, bringing the average VaPI growth rate from January to June this year to 0.5 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported .

In June 2023, the VaPI yearly growth rose 2.7 per cent.

The PSA attributed the slower annual increase in the VaPI in June to the decline in the manufacture of basic metals, which decreased to 17.5 per cent during the month from an annual decrease of 3.1 per cent in May.

The manufacture of basic metals contributed 28.5 per cent to the downtrend of VaPI for the manufacturing section in June.

Other primary contributors to the slower increase of VaPI were the annual decrease in the manufacture of transport equipment, and the slower annual increase in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products.

Meanwhile, the PSA said the VoPI registered an annual growth of 2.5 per cent in June 2024, slower than its annual increase of 3.2 per cent in May 2024. This brings the average growth rate of VoPI from January to June to 1.3 per cent.

In June 2023, VoPI recorded an annual increase of 2.1 per cent.

The PSA said the downtrend in the year-on-year growth rate of VoPI for manufacturing was primarily driven by the same top three industry divisions that contributed to the slower annual increase of VaPI for manufacturing in June.

These are the manufacture of basic metals, the manufacture of transport equipment, and the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products. AGENCIES

South Korea’s Forest Service helicopter crash landed on a hill in the southern county of Hadong on Wednesday and its lone pilot sustained a non-life threatening injury, officials said.

The AS 350 aircraft made by Airbus Helicopters, formerly known as Eurocopter Group, was carrying out pest control on chestnut trees when it went down on the hill in Hadong, some 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul, 9:39 in the morning, Yonhap news agency reported.

The pilot in his 40s was taken to a hospital with a bruise on the chest. No others were aboard.

Fire authorities suspect the crash happened after the helicopter was caught in an electric wire. Authorities were retrieving the remains of the chopper while the Korea Forest Service is looking into the exact cause of the crash.

Following the accident, the Korea Electric Power Corporation brought down the power lines in the region to prevent secondary accidents.

The Korea Forest Service introduced the helicopter in 2003. It is equipped with a tank, which allows it to carry water and medicines aboard.

Helicopters of the same model operated by civilian firms crashed in March and October last year. AGENCIES

President Droupadi Murmu received a warm send-off from Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad at Nadi airport as she concluded her state visit to Fiji on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, President Murmu paid her respects at the Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple in Nadi, which is one of the largest Hindu temples in the Pacific.

She was warmly welcomed by members of the Fijian Indian community at the temple.

This visit by the President was focused on further strengthening the cultural ties between the two nations.

On Tuesday, President Murmu was accorded a ceremonial welcome by Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister, Viliame Gavoka, the Indian High Commissioner to Fiji, P. S. Karthikeyan, and other government officials at the airport as she arrived in Suva on the first leg of her three-nation visit.

Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere conferred the ‘Companion of the Order of Fiji’, the highest civilian award in the country, upon the Indian President.

President Murmu expressed her gratitude for the conferment, saying it is a “reflection of the deep ties between the two nations.” She also thanked President Katonivere for inviting her on her first visit to Fiji.

Later, addressing the Fijian Parliament, she reiterated India’s commitment as a “powerful voice of the Global South” to climate justice, promising to push for climate finance and technology for developing countries.

“We will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Fiji and other ocean states for climate justice,” she added.

During her visit, she also announced new projects, including a Super Specialty Cardiology Hospital in Suva, to meet the needs of the Fijian people and the wider Pacific region.

President Murmu has now left for Auckland for a three-day state visit to New Zealand at the invitation of Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro.

She will hold bilateral meetings with the Governor General and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. AGENCIES