First trilateral meet on haze - Peninsula On

JAKARTA: Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have held the first trilateral meeting on trans-boundary haze in Jakarta. Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said its Permanent Secretary Chee Wee Kiong led an inter-agency delegation comprising officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, National Environment Agency and Attorney General’s Chambers to the meeting. Officials were updated on Indonesia’s efforts to address the fires that caused the haze, and considered future areas for cooperation. Singapore and Malaysia acknowledged Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to combat the haze, including the mobilisation of national resources to tackle the issue.

Airasia to cancel flights

TOKYO: AirAsia Japan has said the budget carrier will cancel hundreds of flights over two months before it ceases operations under the current brand at the end of October. AirAsia Japan, operated jointly by Malaysia-based AirAsia and major Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA), will suspend 14 daily flights from September 1 to October 26, according to a company statement. The carrier said the cancellations, which will reportedly affect 14,000 passengers, was because of a lack of planes to service all its routes. The affected routes include flights linking Seoul to the central Japanese city of Nagoya and Tokyo to the northern city of Sapporo.

Restaurant blast claims six lives

CAGAYAN DE ORO: Six people were killed and at least 48 wounded in the Philippines when a bomb struck a restaurant filled with doctors after a national convention, police said yesterday. The improvised explosive device went off around midnight at the restaurant in the southern port city of Cagayan de Oro. Most of the victims were doctors and pharmaceutical salesmen who had just attended a convention of lung-disease specialists at a nearby hotel. “This is one of the busiest areas of Cagayan de Oro…. somebody left a bomb on a chair at the bistro,” police said.

New gun law   in September

MANILA: A new law on gun control requires gunsmiths to have licences to repair registered firearms. This is one of the salient features of the new Republic Act 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) which takes effect in September, four months after President Aquino signed it on May 29. The Firearms and Explosives Office will monitor gunsmiths. “When we say gunsmiths, they are people who repair guns, not manufacturers of firearms. The manufacturers in Danao are not considered different, but they are not mentioned in the act,” police said. AGENCIES

First trilateral meet on haze - Peninsula On