14/04/2025

MONDAY | APR 14, 2025

8 Myanmar marks new year mourning quake losses

residence and returned to his private home in Seoul, greeting supporters along the way. “Now, I return to being an ordinary citizen of the Republic of Korea, and I will seek a new path in service of our country and our people,” he said in a statement. With Yoon’s removal, South Korea is set to hold a snap election on June 3 to elect his successor. Until then, the country is governed by Acting President Han Duck-soo. – AFP Dwindling vulture population could harm human health, environment PHNOM PENH: The often-shunned vultures play a crucial role in disease prevention and ecological cleanup, but their declining population could impact the environment, caution conservationists. Chris Bowden, advisor to SAVE (Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction) group, says South Asia and Southeast Asia were once hotbeds for vultures. But they have been decimated over the decades. “Vultures have important ecosystem services that they provide. With thousands of the vultures here, tonnes of millions of rotting meat were consumed by vultures,” he said in an interview from his office in Bangalore, India. These long-necked, stern-looking birds roam rural fields in search of food and remain the custodians of nature – cleaning up what others cannot and playing a critical role in sustaining biodiversity. India is central to the vulture population, home to nine species found in the region – the Himalayan vulture, Indian vulture, slender-billed vulture, Egyptian vulture, red headed vulture, white-rumped vulture, griffon vulture, cinereous vulture and the bearded vulture. In Southeast Asia, a 2022 census recorded 134 vultures in Cambodia – 71 grey vultures, 44 brown vultures and 19 fire vultures. The white-rumped vulture, slender-billed vulture and red-headed vulture are native to Cambodia and found in the north and northeastern parts of the country. All three are considered critically endangered species. The Cambodia Vulture Action Plan 2016 to 2025 reported: “The populations of all three species have been declining throughout their range during the 20th century and have been at an extremely low level in Cambodia for more than 15 years.” Vultures are beneficial to human health because they help dispose of carrion, thereby preventing the spread of diseases such as anthrax and rabies, which can affect both wildlife and humans, according to conservationists. Ironically, they are a dwindling species, like many other endangered birds in recent decades. The scavenging birds are also suffering from habitat loss, victims of poison baits used to kill other animals, carcass shortages, destruction of nesting trees, and the dangers posed by power transmission lines. These birds are also falling victim to pharmaceutical poisoning – particularly from diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat pain and inflammation in cattle, according to experts. Bowden stressed that vultures are keystone species and that their population should be restored to benefit the ecology and human safety. – Bernama

It has issued an emergency plea for US$275 million (RM1.2 billion), following US President Donald Trump’s evisceration of Washington’s aid budget which has already hobbled some UN operations in Myanmar. The World Food Programme says it is being forced to cut off one million people from vital aid this month because donations have dried up. Myanmar has been riven by a civil war following a 2021 coup which spurred mass poverty and displacement even before the quake. The tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok, where a high-rise under construction collapsed and trapped dozens of workers. Despite an announced ceasefire, monitors say Myanmar’s military has continued air strikes, while the government has accused anti-coup guerillas and ethnic armed groups of maintaining their offensives. “At a moment when the sole focus should be on ensuring humanitarian aid gets to disaster zones, the military is launching attacks,” said UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani in a statement this week. – AFP

o No music or dance for five-day festival

MANDALAY: Thousands marked the start of Myanmar’s water festival yesterday in the ruins of last month’s earthquake, with the country’s most raucous holiday muted by the tragedy of the tremor. The “Thingyan” festival typically celebrates Myanmar’s new year with water-splashing rituals symbolising cleansing and renewal, but the central cities of Mandalay and Sagaing lie devastated from the 7.7-magnitude quake. Two weeks on from the disaster which killed more than 3,600, hundreds are still living in tent encampments peppered among pancaked apartment blocks, razed tea shops and demolished hotels. Many still lack working latrines and need to queue for drinking water, and the weather forecast for heavy rains has them fretting over their makeshift homes. Early yesterday families were buying clay pots and plant sprigs customarily placed inside homes to welcome the new year. Highlights at the show in Osaka until mid-October include a Mars meteorite, a beating artificial heart grown from stem cells and Hello Kitty figures in algae form. Surrounding most of the pavilions, a chance for architects’ fancies to run wild, is the world’s largest wooden structure, the “Grand Ring”. Its creator Sou Fujimoto said the Expo is a “precious opportunity where so many different cultures ... and countries come together in one place to create diversity and unity”. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the event would help bring a sense of unity in a “divided society”. “Through the Expo, we would like to restore a sense of unity in the world once again,” Ishiba told reporters. The US pavilion has the theme “America the Beautiful” and focuses on the country’s landscapes, AI tech and space, including a simulated rocket launch where dry-ice blasters appear to ignite above visitors’ heads. The nearby Chinese pavilion, evoking a calligraphy scroll, focuses on green technology and lunar samples brought by the Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 probes. After enjoying the view and sea breeze atop the Grand Ring’s “skywalk”, hungry visitors can stop by the world’s longest sushi conveyor belt or meet many-eyed Expo 2025 mascot Myaku-Myaku .

“Everyone is in trouble this year,” said 55-year-old Ma Phyu, camping with nine family members north of Mandalay’s quake-damaged Royal Palace. “I have to prepare the pot with the flowers because it is our tradition. But my heart is heavy.” The children in her family had been ordered not to splash water in the street for fear their neighbours would criticise them for celebrating as the city mourns. The government has commanded the five-day festival to have no music or dance. Since the March 28 quake Mandalay temperatures have soared up to a parching 44° Celsius while at night tent-dwellers are needled by mosquitos before rising at dawn to line up for aid. More than 5,200 buildings have been destroyed according to official figures, while more than two million people are in need as a result of the earthquake, the UN says.

World Expo opens in rocky times OSAKA: World Expo opened yesterday with 160 countries and regions showcasing their technology, culture and food, with host Japan hoping to provide the world with some much-needed hope.

Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku strolls past the Gundam pavilion. – AFPPIC

Themes of sustainability run through the Expo, including at the bauble-like Swiss pavilion, which aims to have the smallest ecological footprint. Expo is also known as a World’s Fair, and the phenomenon, which brought the Eiffel Tower to Paris, began with London’s 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition and is held every five years. Osaka last hosted the Expo in 1970 when Japan was booming and its technology the envy of the world. – AFP

Among the more bizarre displays are 32 sculptures of Hello Kitty dressed as different types of algae – to symbolise the plant’s many uses – and a “human washing machine” that shows imagery based on the bather’s heart rate. Elsewhere are demonstrations of drone-like flying vehicles and the tiny artificial heart made from induced pluripotent stem cells shown in public for the first time. “It has an actual pulse,” said Byron Russel of Pasona Group, which runs the exhibit.

Former president Yoon to face insurrection trial SEOUL: Former South Korean The disastrous attempt led to Yoon’s impeachment by the National

flawed, an argument accepted by the court, leading to his release 52 days after his arrest. He was detained in January in a dawn raid after holding out against police and prosecutors for weeks, becoming the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested. If convicted, Yoon could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty. On Friday, the 64-year-old former leader vacated the presidential

president Yoon Suk Yeol (pic) will face his first criminal trial today for insurrection after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, which plunged the democratic country into political turmoil. Yoon sought to impose military rule on the country when he ordered the suspension of political activity and the censorship of media on Dec 3. The decree lasted just six hours as it was voted down by opposition MPs.

Assembly shortly thereafter, with the Constitutional Court fully stripping him of his presidential duties on April 4. Although he has lost all presidential privileges, Yoon still faces a criminal trial on insurrection charges, which will kick off today. During a preliminary hearing in February, Yoon’s lawyers argued that his detention had been procedurally