What sustainable tourism

ISLAMABAD: The newly appointed envoys of the United States of America (USA), Turkiye, Australia, European Union (EU), Bhutan, and Sudan presented their credentials to President Dr Arif Alvi in a ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Following the presentation of the credentials, US Ambassador Donald Armin Blome, Turkish Ambassador Dr Mehmet Pacaci, Australian High Commissioner Neil Hawkins, EU Ambassador Riina Kionka, Sudanese Ambassador Salih Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Siddig, and non-resident Ambassador of Bhutan Rinchen Kuentsyl separately called on the president.

Talking to the US ambassador, the president emphasised that a constructive and sustained engagement between the two countries on the principles of mutual respect and mutual interest was vital to promote peace, development and security in the region.

He said that this year would mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Pak-USA diplomatic ties which would be celebrated befittingly.

The president noted that there had been a healthy momentum of engagement between Pakistan and the USA through dialogues on the climate change, health, energy, Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

“We encourage US companies to invest in Pakistan and reap dividends from the lucrative benefits offered by Pakistan’s special economic zones”, he said.

President Alvi highlighted that Pakistan was actively involved in engagement with its diaspora in the USA in the tech sector and was desirous of more tech sector investments from the US companies.

Talking to the Turkish ambassador, the president noted with satisfaction the convergence between the two countries on critical issues, including Kashmir, Northern Cyprus, Islamophobia, and Afghanistan.

He said that both countries would celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two brotherly countries, on November 30, this year.

He further underlined that Pakistan remained committed to furthering bilateral trade and investment ties with Turkiye.

In a meeting with the Australian high commissioner, the president said that Pakistan offered attractive investment opportunities in different sectors.

“The Australian companies can invest in infrastructure development, agriculture, renewable energy, mining, manufacturing, water and waste management”, the president said.

He stated that Pakistan offered a large pool of highly skilled human resources in many areas with professionals qualified from top Pakistani and Western Universities.

He also expressed satisfaction over the ample educational opportunities being offered in Australia for Pakistani students.

Talking to the EU ambassador, the president stated that Pakistan valued its relations with the regional bloc and was satisfied that Pak-EU relations were moving in a positive direction in all spheres of coordination.

“Economic and trade ties are the key feature of Pakistan and EU multidimensional relationship”, the president said.

He highlighted that GSP+ had been a mutually beneficial scheme and had played an important role in the expansion of Pak-EU bilateral trade.

He further said that Pakistan saw the GSP+ scheme as a constructive engagement for the betterment of its economy and promoting its economic agenda.

Talking to the Sudanese ambassador, the president appreciated the historically fraternal ties, bilateral cooperation, and coordination at OIC and UN between the two countries.

In a meeting with non-resident ambassador of Bhutan, the president said that Pakistan took immense pride in its rich Buddhist heritage.

“Pakistan is home to the second most sacred site in Buddhism in Swat, which is the birthplace of Guru Padmasambhawa (better known as the second Buddha)”, he highlighted.

The president said that Pakistan would welcome religious tourism from Bhutan, which would help promote people-to-people contact between the two countries.

He reassured the ambassador that Pakistan would continue to assist Bhutan in the development of its human resources by offering courses in Pakistan’s professional institutions. President Alvi congratulated the envoys on their appointments and expressed the hope that they would make efforts to further broaden bilateral relations with Pakistan in different fields.

The competition, part of the Taste of Australia event, was organised by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and supported by Vietnam’s Graduates from Australia Club (VGAC).

It had two rounds – an online one held from May 12-June 4; and a final round held on June 25 in Ho Chi Minh City.

All contestants registered for the online round submitted video clips with two cups with two different patterns from four subjects – Heart, Tulip, Rosetta and Swan.

Sixteen submissions competed in the final round and the top three winners were chosen by a panel of judges featuring: Dang The Lan (Alumnus of Central Queensland University; Founder and Managing Director, The Lovely Cup O’ Coffee; 3rd Place Winner of the Southern Region Latte Art Championship in 2013 Australia); and Pham Minh Luan (Alumnus of RMIT Vietnam; Founder, Hyper Coffee).

The three guest judges for the competition were: Rebecall Ball, Senior Commissioner of Austrade; MasterChef Ngo Thanh Hoa; and Art Director Le Quy Duong.

The final round of competition was held on June 25 in Ho Chi Minh City

The competition was supported by many Australian institutions, importers and associations with many prizes including hospitality courses with international certificates.

It aimed to: promote training in F&B and hospitality through alumni and Australian training providers; raise awareness of Australian coffee culture; and connect businesses between Australia and Vietnam for education and import opportunities.

Rebecca Ball, Austrade’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, said: “Australia is home to top universities specializing in Hospitality and Tourism Management in the world rankings and its vocational system and qualifications are highly respected around the world. Our education and training providers have significant expertise in equipping employees with the skills and knowledge to service customers that are increasingly global and more discerning. This is important because a better trained workforce will deliver greater customer satisfaction, higher spending, and most importantly, repeat visits to Vietnam.”

The competition offered the opportunity to experience Australian culture through the showcasing of imported products, tasting Australian meat pie and offering new experiences with AR interaction.

Taste of Australia is an annual celebration of Australia’s world class food and beverages in Vietnam. Its objective is to promote premium Australian produce to Vietnamese industry and consumers through business, trade and public events and via social and traditional media activities. It also seeks to reinforce Australia’s reputation as a supplier of high quality, safe and sustainable food and beverages.

PV

MANILA, Philippines – Consumer advocacy groups urged government to empower telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to work with all sectors to stop child pornography instead of more sanctions and regulations.

In reaction to government moves to impose sanctions for failure to fulfill duties mandated under Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, CitizenWatch Philippines Co-Convenor Atty. Tim Abejo said, “The government should empower the telcos and ISPs as allies in fighting the societal menace of Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children (OSEAC) instead of imposing more sanctions and even more regulations.”

Abejo said, “The best approach would be to work together in a systemic, whole-of-society approach that will harness all the technology and resources of government, law enforcement agencies, the academe, global and local NGOs, and technology experts to develop the responsive policies, and digital tools, in developing and implementing safety programs.”

“Harmonizing government laws to give telcos, ISPs and other online platforms enough authority to hunt down and purge harmful websites while protecting the data privacy of individual consumers will be more constructive,” Abejo said.

The President and his Cabinet has directed legislators to prioritize bills that would expand the inter-agency council on child pornography, exempt trafficking of persons from the Anti-Wiretapping Law, and impose more responsibilities on tourism establishments and ISPs to stop child pornography.

Globe Telecom has reported ongoing investments reaching US$2.7 million in their content filtering system which blocked a total of 2,521 domains with child porn related content as part of its ‘PlayItRight’ advocacy program targeting online child pornography and illegal content. Globe is also a partner of the “Kabataang Digital” project of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) to provide age-appropriate support and help children understand the nature of privacy and the implications of the digital environment on their privacy rights.

Globe’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto said, “As a company whose business is connecting many Filipinos to the internet, Globe sees paramount importance in keeping its customers, particularly children, safe online.”

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. for its part installed a firewall system and Secure Domain Name Solution to block websites with child pornography material and malicious content. The broadband provider coordinates with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, The National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of social Welfare and Development to implement their Child Online Safeguarding Policy.

In a separate statement, Bantay Konsyumer, Kalsada, Kuryente (BK3) Convenor Louie Montemar said, “All consumers must unite to eliminate all lascivious sites destroying the lives of our children. We must remove this evil from cyberspace and must be vigilant every time we and our children go online.”

“As netizens, we have a responsibility to report child-pornography or other sites instigating terrorism, disinformation, and piracy of intellectual property,” Montemar said.

“We believe that civil society and government combining forces with the telcos and ISPs is the optimal strategy to attack the OSEAC problem,” Montemar said.

ADVT

Jeremy Clarkson has faced yet another blow to his plans for an extension on his Diddly Squat Farm Shop where he films his Amazon Prime Video show Clarkson’s Farm.

The former Top Gear presenter has had his latest plan to extend his shop’s car park from ten to 70 spaces has been refused by councillors on the grounds that it would be a ‘visually intrusive and harmful impact’ on the surrounding countryside.

Clarkson , 62, was met with approximately 30 objection comments from nearby neighbours who were concerned that the extension could lead to traffic chaos around the Oxford village of Chadlington.

Despite the objection from several of his neighbours an equal number were in support of The Grand Tour presenter’s application before it was refused on Friday 6 May.

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The council’s development manager Abbey Fettes explained the decision for refusal, she said: “By reason of its location, size and design the proposed development would not be sustainable and would not be compatible or consistent in scale with the existing farming business or its open countryside location.

“[It] would have a visually intrusive and harmful impact on the rural character, scenic beauty and tranquillity of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Wychwood Project Area.”

The setback for Clarkson is the second application he has had refused by the council this year, he had also planned on converting his lambing shed into a café with car park spaces but this was also rejected in January.

Clarkson’s hit Amazon Prime TV show, which first aired last June, has seen the location of his Diddly Squat Farm become a popular spot and the presenter outlined in his application for the car park extension that the extra spaces were needed to meet the demand of visitors.

Some locals have come out in support for the extension to prevent visitors from parking elsewhere on streets around the village as the spaces at Clarkson’s farm shop fill quickly.

Others, however, have called Clarskon out for what they believe is him trying to create ‘a major tourist attraction’ in the rural Oxfordshire village.

The Daily Mail reported that one resident, Nigel Winser, from the peaceful Oxford village wrote in their letter of objection: “If the Farm Shop was loyal to selling local farm produce, the small car park is appropriate.

“Alas the shop is already selling souvenirs, that attract large number of buyers from all corners of the UK.

“This trend will continue to grow year on year, with increasing number of national and international buyers. Good for tourism, but not for sustainable farming in a beautiful area of national importance, for nature.

“Permission for this car park, will be the thin end of wedge, known as “planning creep”.

“Visitor numbers will grow, a large restaurant will be established, high lighting will have to be added and before long, this will become a major UK visitor attraction, bringing increased road safety and environmental risks to the whole valley.”

The presenter’s plans proposed the creation of a new parking area marked out by straw bales that would also be obscured from view by native hedgerow species and a fenced paddock.

The parish council, who objected to Clarkson’s proposal, said that the increased parking spaces ”would remove some, but not all, vehicles from the road given the visitor numbers experienced, and would not reduce the current number of vehicle movements in the area which is a safety concern’.

Another resident of the village which is home to Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm, Michael Cooper, claimed in his comments on the plans that: “The planned entrance and exit will not necessarily improve road safety and traffic flow. With an extra ‘pinch point’ and being so close together there is the potential for additional issues and accidents.”

Jeremy made the move to Amazon Prime Video following being dropped from the BBC show Top Gear after an incident involving an “unprovoked physical attack” on a producer from the hit car show he presented alongside Richard Hammond and James May.

Jeremy’s other show Clarkson’s Farm follows his journey in learning how to run a farm with no prior experience and has been a big hit for the former Top Gear presenter.

The show has been confirmed for a second series but the release date is yet to be announced as fans wait with baited breath for the updates from Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm.

Do you think Jeremy Clarkson is in the right in extending his Oxfordshire based Diddly Squat Farm? Comment your thoughts below.