US Officially Asks Thailand To Recall Her Contaminated Apples

BANGKOK : The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has formally notified Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of contaminated apple from the US and asked Thai authorities to re-call apple imports from the markets  due to bacterial contamination. 

 

However the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has inspected the cargos from the USA and has not found any contamination in the shipments to Thailand.

Deputy director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Mr Wimol Jantarothai disclosed the US notification after inspecting the apple shipments from the USA from six importers namely Fiesta Fruit, MB Fresh International, Paramount Export, United Fruit, Voita Systas and Dovax Export.

According to the Ministry, none of the mentioned companies had imported the two brands of apples that were reported to contain bacterial contamination.

He also declared that the Thai public may continue consuming apples worry free.

Meanwhile with regard to the shipment of apples that have been impounded at the Laem Chabang Warehouse, the Ministry has confirmed that this cargo also did not include the two brands (Granny Smith and Gala) but is pending formal testing by the Thai FDA.

Thai Food and Drug Administration deputy secretary-general Prapon Angtrakoon stated that the ground bacteria which contaminated apples as announced by the US FDA causes Listeriosis; a bacterial infection which primarily causes infections of the central nervous system (meningitis, meningoencephalitis, brain abscess, cerebritis) and bacteremia in those who are immunocompromised,[2] pregnant women, and those at the extremes of age (newborns and the elderly), as well as gastroenteritis in healthy persons. Symptoms of Listeriosis are muscle aches, fever and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Mr Prapon, however, commented that the possibility of infection of Listeriosis in the Kingdom is low as most Thai consumers wash and peel apples before consumption which minimises infection.

To be on the safe side, it is recommended that apples be washed with clean water for 2-3 minutes and peeled.

He  also stated that although the impounded cargo does not include the two brand of apples, the shipment will still be inspected for any disease and bacterial contamination per the Thai FDA’s policy.

It is expected that the results of the inspection will be available within 3-7 days.

Suspects Held In Greece As European Terror Crackdown Widens

BRUSSELS (AP) — With Europe on edge, soldiers fanned out to guard possible terror targets in Belgium Saturday while police in Greece detained at least two suspects as part of a widening counterterrorism dragnet across the continent.

In France, one of the terrorists behind last week's attacks in Paris was given a secret burial as authorities sought to head off glorification of terrorism and civil unrest amid a groundswell of popular antagonism across Europe against radical Islam, and protests against caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad across the Muslim world that have underscored vast cultural differences.

For the first time in three decades, authorities used paratroopers to reinforce police in Belgium's cities, guarding buildings within the Jewish quarter of the port city of Antwerp and some Belgian embassies. The move came a day after anti-terror raids netted dozens of suspects across Western Europe and increased anxiety across big swathes of the region.

Belgium has increased its terror warning to 3, the second-highest, following the anti-terror raids of Thursday which left two suspects dead. Police believe the cell they largely dismantled was on the verge of a major attack.

Authorities said that even though they had broken up the alleged terror cell they were still looking for some suspects abroad and briefly hoped Greece could have clinched the breakthrough by detaining one remaining key suspect.

A Greek police official earlier Saturday said the men were detained separately in Athens, some 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) from Brussels, and included an individual who at first sight matched the description of a key terror suspect in Belgium.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation.

After careful vetting in Brussels of ID information, federal magistrate Eric Van der Sypt said there was no positive match with any individual they sought and said "they had nothing to do with the Belgian case."

With some suspects still at large, it was an uneasy calm in Belgium, and paratroopers on the street did not necessarily help.

"You know, when people see the soldiers on streets they will get scared. That could make more problems than solutions," said student Greg Verhoeven in Antwerp.

France tried to stave off unrest there when Said Kouachi, one of the gunmen who attacked the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, was quietly buried.

After an initial refusal to provide a burial place for Kouachi, the mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet, said he was forced to backtrack. Robinet said the government had insisted he allow the elder brother to be buried in Reims because according to French law residents of a town have the right to be buried there.

"He was buried last night, in the most discrete, anonymous way possible," Robinet said.

Kouachi and his brother Cherif were killed by French counter-terrorism police Jan. 9 after they killed 12 people at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. Cherif Kouachi is to be buried in Gennevilliers, a suburb of Paris where he lived.

Authorities said a third gunman, Amedy Coulibaly, killed five people including four hostages at a kosher market in Paris before he was killed by police. There has been no word of plans for his burial.

French authorities also banned an anti-Islamist demonstration in Paris, arguing it might incite civil unrest.

"We are one country, one people, one France — without distinction by religion, belief or sensibility," President Francois Hollande said Saturday in south-central France. "An ardent France against those who want to instill among us who-knows-what war of religion."

400 Million Baht Of Redundancy Money Not Paid To Workers

BANGKOK, 8 January 2015 (NNT)-The Department of Labor Protection and Welfare will propose to the cabinet a budget allocation of 130 million baht to help workers being laid off.

Many workers have reportedly been laid off without being paid the redundancy payment by their employers. The total amount of money the employers owe to their employees has now amounted to 400 million baht.

The department was obligated to spend the Employee Aid Fund to relieve hardship of those workers. The employers involved would be contacted later to repay the compensated amount.

The sum of 130 million baht will be sought from the cabinet to refill the Employee Aid Fund that only has 170 million baht left at present.BANGKOK, 7 January 2015 (NNT)-The Department of Labor Protection and Welfare will propose to the cabinet a budget allocation of 130 million baht to help workers being laid off.

Many workers have reportedly been laid off without being paid the redundancy payment by their employers. The total amount of money the employers owe to their employees has now amounted to 400 million baht.

The department was obligated to spend the Employee Aid Fund to relieve hardship of those workers. The employers involved would be contacted later to repay the compensated amount.

The sum of 130 million baht will be sought from the cabinet to refill the Employee Aid Fund that only has 170 million baht left at present.The additional sum will be spent on assisting more workers that could be laid off in the future.

British Ebola Patient Remains In Critical Condition

LONDON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- British Ebola patient Pauline Cafferkey remains in critical condition, officials in Britain confirmed Tuesday.

Cafferkey, a 39-year-old female health care worker, tested positive for the Ebola virus in late December after returning to Glasgow, Scotland from Sierra Leone.

The Royal Free Hospital in London, where she is currently being treated, said she was "in a high level isolation unit."

"There is no danger to patients or staff during this time. The Royal Free Hospital is open for business as usual, with in-patient, out-patient and emergency care continuing as normal," the hospital said in its latest statement.

On Saturday, the hospital announced that the condition of Cafferkey had "gradually deteriorated" over the past two days and was "critical."

Last week, she agreed to be treated with a new anti-viral drug to help her fight the disease, British doctors at the London hospital said.

Shell, Villagers Agree To $ 83.5 Million For Huge Oil Spill

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Oil giant Shell has agreed to pay a Nigerian fishing community 55 million pounds (about $83.5 million) for the worst oil spill ever suffered in Nigeria.

Wednesday's agreement ends a three-year legal battle in Britain over two spills in 2008 that destroyed thousands of hectares (acres) of mangroves and the fish and shellfish that sustained villagers of the Bodo community in Nigeria's southern Niger Delta.

It "is thought to be one of the largest payouts to an entire community following environmental damage," the claimants' London lawyers, Leigh Day, said.

Shell said it is paying 35 million pounds ($53.1 million) to 15,600 fishermen and farmers and 20 million pounds ($30.4 million) to their Bodo community.

"We've always wanted to compensate the community fairly," said Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director of Shell Nigeria, which is 55 percent owned by the Nigerian government.

Shell originally offered 4,000 pounds ($6,000) to the entire community, Leigh Day said.

Sunmonu said Shell also has agreed and is "fully committed" to a cleanup.

Chief Sylvester Kogbara, chairman of the Bodo Council of Chiefs and Elders, said he hoped "that Shell will take their host communities seriously now" and embark on a cleanup of all of Ogoniland.

A U.N. Environment Program report has estimated it could take up to 30 years to fully rehabilitate Ogoniland, an area where villagers have been in conflict with Shell for decades.

Kogbara said the community money will be used to provide needed basic services. "We have no health facilities, our schools are very basic, there's no clean water supply," he told The Associated Press.

Individually, he said villagers are discussing setting up as petty traders and other small businesses until their environment is restored. Each person gets 2,200 pounds ($3,340) in a country where the minimum monthly wage is less than $100.

Shell's Sunmonu insisted that oil theft and illegal refining remain "the real tragedy of the Niger Delta" and "areas that are cleaned up will simply become re-impacted."

Amnesty International said Shell continues to blame oil theft for spills — which means it does not have to pay compensation — when the company's own documents state its aging oil pipelines present a "major risk and hazard."

Shell had argued that only 4,000 barrels of oil were spilled in Bodo while Amnesty International used an independent assessor who put it at over 100,000 barrels — considered the largest ever oil spill in mangroves.

"Oil pollution in the Niger Delta is one of the biggest corporate scandals of our time," said Audrey Gaughran of Amnesty International. She said thousands more people remain at risk because of Shell's failure to fix aging and dilapidated pipelines.

AirAsia Crashed Insurance To Be Paid

JAKARTA: -- Insurance firms covering AirAsia flight QZ8501 are still obligated to pay out insurance claims for flight passengers in spite of permit lapses, Indonesia’s financial regulator has said, The Jakarta Globe reported.

“Based on what I’ve read, there is nothing in the insurance policies that said the change of schedule or the lack of permit of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 excludes insurers from paying for the claims,” said Firdaus Djaelani, a commissioner at the Financial Services Authority (OJK) overseeing non-banking financial institutions, during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Firdaus was addressing speculation surrounding Flight QZ8501, which crashed in to the Java Sea en route to Singapore from Surabaya on Dec 28, in particular AirAsia’s lack of a permit to fly that route on a Sunday, which might void insurance claims.

During the investigation of the crash, authorities had discovered that Indonesia AirAsia, the local affiliate of Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, only had a license to fly the route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The flight took off on a Sunday.

According to a Reuters report, Singapore’s civil aviation authorities said the AirAsia flight was authorized to fly on that day and AirAsia officials have said they are fully cooperating with any investigation from the authorities.

“The cause [of the accident] is still under investigation […] Still, the probable cause of the crash isn’t the permit, but because of the bad weather or damaged engine. This means that it’s still claimable,” Firdaus said.

Missing AirAsia Plane Discovered In Java Sea

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia (AP) — Divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle spotted the tail of the missing AirAsia plane in the Java Sea on Wednesday, the first confirmed sighting of any major wreckage 11 days after Flight 8501 disappeared with 162 people on board, an official said.

Powerful currents and murky water continue to hinder the operation, but searchers managed to get a photograph of the debris after it was detected by an Indonesian survey ship, National Search and Rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo told reporters. One released image appears to show an upside down "A'' painted on a piece of metal.

The find is particularly important because the all-important cockpit voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes, are located in the aircraft's tail. Smaller pieces of the plane, such as seats and an emergency door, had previously been collected from the surface.

"Today we successfully discovered the part of the plane that became the main aim since yesterday," Soelistyo said. "I can ensure that this is part of the tail with the AirAsia mark on it."

He stressed the top priority remains recovering more bodies along with the black boxes. So far, 40 corpses have been found, including an additional one announced Wednesday, but time is running out.

At two weeks, most corpses will sink, said Anton Castilani, head of the country's disaster identification victim unit, and there are already signs of serious decomposition. Officials are hopeful many of the more than 120 bodies still unaccounted for will be found entombed in the fuselage.

The Airbus A320 went down Dec. 28, halfway through a two-hour flight between Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya and Singapore, killing everyone on board. It is not clear what caused the crash, but bad weather is believed to be a contributing factor.

Just before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic. No distress signal was issued.

Finding the black boxes will be key to the investigation. They provide essential information including the plane's vertical and horizontal speeds along with engine temperature and final conversations between the captain and co-pilot. The ping-emitting beacons still have about 20 days before their batteries go dead, but high surf had prevented the deployment of ships that drag "ping" locators.

Sonar-equipped ships involved in the massive international hunt have also identified what they believe to be the fuselage of the plane. Several other big chunks have been found though no visual confirmation has been received yet.

The search area for bodies and debris was expanded this week to allow for the strong currents that have been pushing debris around, said Indonesian search and rescue operation coordinator Tatang Zainudin.

In addition to heavy rain and wind, the monsoon weather has turned the Java Sea into a slush bowl.

But in some ways, it is one of the best places to look for a missing plane, especially when compared to the extreme depths of the Indian Ocean where searchers continue to hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared last March with 239 people aboard.

Some AirAsia Victims Found Belted In Seats

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia (AP) — After nearly a week of searching for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501, rescue teams battling monsoon rains had their most successful day yet on Friday, more than tripling the number of bodies pulled from the Java Sea, some still strapped to their seats.

Of the 30 corpses recovered so far, 21 were found on Friday, many of them by a U.S. Navy ship, according to officials.

The Airbus A320 carrying 162 passengers and crew went down Sunday, halfway into a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore. Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air-traffic control he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.

It remains unclear what caused the plane to plunge into the sea. The accident was AirAsia's first since it began operations in 2001, quickly becoming one of the region's most popular low-cost carriers.

In addition to looking for victims, Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said ships from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S. are scouring the ocean floor as they try to pinpoint wreckage and the all-important black boxes.

The data recorder contains crucial information like engine temperature and vertical and horizontal speed; the voice recorder saves conversations between pilots and other sounds coming from inside the cockpit.

Toos Saniotoso, an Indonesian air safety investigator, said investigators "are looking at every aspect" as they try to determine why the plane crashed. "From the operational side, the human factor, the technical side, the ATC (air-traffic control) — everything is valuable to us."

Bad weather, which has hindered the search for the past several days, remained a worry. A drizzle and light clouds covered the area Friday morning, but rain, strong winds and high waves up to 4 meters (13 feet) were forecast until Sunday. Strong sea currents have also kept debris moving.

That has severely slowed recovery efforts, as well, as bodies drift farther and farther away.

Col. Yayan Sofiyan, commander of the warship Bung Tomo, told MetroTV his vessel managed to pull seven bodies from the choppy waters on Friday, five still fastened in their seats.

Soelistyo, who was only able to confirm two victims in their seats, said a total of 30 bodies have been recovered.

More than a third have been pulled out by a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Sampson.

Soelistyo pledged to recover the bodies of "our brothers and sisters ... whatever conditions we face."

Four crash victims have been identified and returned to their families, including a flight attendant and a 12-year-old boy.

After prayers on Friday, the holiest day of the week for Muslims, more than 200 people gathered at a mosque in Surabaya to remember the victims.

Thousands Flee Homes As Australian Wildfires Rage

SYDNEY (AP) — Thousands of Australians fled their homes as wildfires raged across the nation's south on Saturday, with firefighters struggling to contain the blazes fanned by strong winds.

Six homes were destroyed by the fires in South Australia and Victoria states, officials said, though no serious injuries have been reported.

Dry conditions and temperatures in the upper 30s Celsius (around 100 degrees Fahrenheit) were causing headaches for firefighters battling the blazes. Officials said it would likely take days to get the fires under control.

The worst of the fires was in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, where the flames had destroyed five homes and put hundreds of others at risk, state Country Fire Service spokesman Daniel Hamilton said. Residents of 19 communities had been asked to evacuate as a predicted shift in the winds later Saturday prompted fears the flames could worsen.

The forecast was also calling for increased humidity, which could slow the fire's progress Saturday night, Hamilton said.

"There should be no sense of relief because the temperatures are somewhat lower, or that there are spots of rain about," South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill told reporters in Adelaide. "The situation remains extremely dangerous and our warnings that were issued earlier today must be heeded."

Up to 2,000 firefighters were battling the blazes across the state from the ground and the air, with more than a dozen aircraft dumping water onto the flames. Six firefighters were treated for minor conditions, mainly smoke inhalation, Country Fire Service Chief Officer Greg Nettleton said.

In neighboring Victoria state, firefighters had controlled more than 300 fires since Friday, with only one still considered a danger. One home was destroyed in the blaze in the western Victoria town of Moyston, state Country Fire Service spokesman Mario Xuereb said.

A shift in the weather Saturday afternoon was expected to bring light rain, wind and lightning to the area, which could exacerbate the blaze. The rain wouldn't be enough to quell the flames, and the lightning could spark fresh fires, Xuereb said.

Destructive wildfires are common across much of Australia during the summer months. In 2009, wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria.

Imprisoned Al-Jazeera Reporters Face Egypt Appeal

CAIRO (AP) — Three Al-Jazeera English journalists imprisoned in Egypt for over a year will appear in court Thursday to appeal their convictions, as thawing relations between Egypt and Qatar have raised hope they could be freed.

Egypt's Court of Cassation will hear the appeal by Canadian-Egyptian Mohammed Fahmy, Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohammed, all held since December 2013. Their arrests came after the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member.

Authorities accused Qatar-based Al-Jazeera of acting as a mouthpiece for the Brotherhood. The station denied the accusations and said the journalists were doing their job.

At trial, prosecutors offered no evidence backing accusations the three falsified footage to foment unrest. Instead, they showed edited news reports by the journalists, including Islamist protests and interviews with politicians. Other footage submitted as evidence had nothing to do with the case, including a report on a veterinary hospital and Greste's past reports out of Africa.

Fahmy and Greste were sentenced to seven years in prison, while Mohammed got 10 years — three more because he was found with a spent bullet casing. Rights groups dismissed the trial as a sham and foreign countries, including the U.S., expressed their concern over the journalists' detention.

The Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest appeal tribunal, will review the lower court's proceedings, not the case itself. It can uphold the previous verdict or order a retrial.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also has the power to pardon or deport the foreigners under a new law, whether or not the court grants the appeal. That would allow Greste to go home and would allow Fahmy to go to Canada if he drops his Egyptian nationality. Mohammed's case would remain more uncertain as he holds only Egyptian citizenship.

A recent thaw in relations between Qatar and Egypt has seen Al-Jazeera shut down its Egyptian affiliate, which dedicated much of its coverage to Islamist protests since Morsi's overthrow. El-Sissi said last month a presidential pardon for the three was being "examined" and would be granted only if it was "appropriate for Egyptian national security."

1st Of 9 Bodies From AirAsia Crash Identified

SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — A passenger aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 became the first victim of the crash to be returned to her family Thursday, one of many painful reunions to come, as search crews struggled against wind and heavy rain to find more than 150 people still missing.

Hayati Lutfiah Hamid's identity was confirmed by fingerprints and other means, said Col. Budiyono of East Java's Disaster Victim Identification Unit.

Her body, in a dark casket topped with flowers, was handed over to family members during a brief ceremony at a police hospital in Surabaya, the Indonesian city where the plane took off. A relative cried as she placed both hands against the polished wood.

The coffin was then taken to a village and lowered into a muddy grave, following Muslim obligations requiring bodies to be buried quickly. An imam said a simple prayer as about 150 people gathered in the drizzling rain, and red flowers were sprinkled over the mound of wet dirt topped by a small white tombstone.

The Airbus A320 crashed into the Java Sea on Sunday with 162 people on board. Nine bodies have been recovered so far, including two on Thursday. Remains are being sent initially to Pangkalan Bun, the closest town on Borneo island, before being transported to Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, where Flight 8501 had taken off.

In the thick of Indonesia's rainy season, the weather has frequently prevented helicopters and divers from operating while strong sea currents have kept debris moving.

Singapore's navy sent an unmanned underwater vehicle capable of surveying the seabed to try to pinpoint the wreckage and the all-important "black boxes" — flight data and cockpit voice recorders. More than 50 ships, mostly from Indonesia, were scouring the area with high-tech detection equipment. Aircraft with metal detectors also were deployed.

We are "focusing on finding the body of the plane," Indonesia air force spokesman Rear Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto told reporters. "There was something like a dark shadow once seen from a plane, but it cannot yet be proven as wreckage."

Sonar images have identified what appeared to be large parts of the plane.

"It's possible the bodies are in the fuselage," said Vice Air Marshal Sunarbowo Sandi, search and rescue coordinator in Pangkalan Bun. "So it's a race now against time and weather."

The longer the search takes, the more corpses will decompose and debris scatter.

Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas in Australia said there's a good chance the plane hit the water largely intact, and that many passengers remain inside it.

He added that bodies recovered so far would have come out with a breach in the fuselage. "But most passengers still should have had their seat belts on, particularly as the plane was going into weather. The captain would have still had the seat belt sign on."

It is unclear what brought the plane down about halfway into its two-hour flight from Surabaya to Singapore. The jet's last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds but were denied because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the airliner disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.

The black boxes hold data that will help investigators determine the cause of the crash but have yet to be recovered. Items found so far include a life jacket, an emergency exit door, an inflatable slide, children's shoes, a blue suitcase and backpacks filled with food.

Relatives have given blood for DNA tests and submitted photos of their loved ones, along with identifying information such as tattoos or birthmarks that could help make the process easier.

The long wait, with its starts and stops, has been frustrating for Sugiarti. Her 40-year-old sister, Susiyah, was a nanny traveling to Singapore for a vacation with her employers and their 2-year-old daughter.

"I hope that they can find her body soon. I feel sorry for my sister because it has already been five days," she told reporters at a crisis center set up at a Surabaya police station. "I am trying very hard to be patient."

Nearly all the passengers were Indonesian, and many were Christians of Chinese descent. The country is predominantly Muslim, but sizeable pockets of people of other faiths are found throughout the sprawling archipelago.