19/05/2025

MONDAY | MAY 19, 2025

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Mexican ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge, two killed

subject will again come up as the Philippines hosts the Asean summit in 2026,” she said. The tourism chief underscored the potential of enhanced regional cooperation despite competition among Asean countries. “Competition is healthy, but collaboration is healthier in a sense that Asean coming together to work as a force for good for the world would benefit all our countries.” She cited the Philippines’ partnership with Thailand as an example, pointing to the implementation of their “Two Countries, One Destination” campaign. Frasco also highlighted the Philippines’ cultural and culinary diversity as key selling points to Asean tourists. “What we bring to the table is a story of a proud people ... the result of generations of influence. You arrive in the Philippines as a guest, but you leave as family.” – Bernama Duo held for blackmailing Spurs star Son SEOUL: A South Korean court issued arrest warrants on Saturday for two people accused of blackmailing Tottenham Hotspurs captain Son Heung-min. The accused – a woman in her 20s surnamed Yang and a man in his 40s surnamed Yong – were taken into custody earlier last week with police seeking court approval for their formal detention. According to Seoul’s Yonhap news agency and other local media, Yang is reportedly Son’s former girlfriend and is alleged to have received 300 million won (RM919,733) last year in exchange for “staying silent” after claiming she was pregnant with his child. She is said to have sent Son an ultrasound image of the alleged foetus. The Seoul Central District Court issued warrants for the duo late on Saturday, citing risks of them “fleeing and destroying evidence”, its spokesperson said. Yang is suspected of extortion and Yong of attempted extortion. Yong, believed to be Yang’s romantic partner, stands accused of attempting to extort 70 million won from Son this year. Son refused to pay and filed a complaint against the pair. The duo appeared in court earlier on Saturday, both bound with a rope for the hearing. Yang – wearing a tracksuit and a face mask – only responded to one question after the hearing, saying “No” when asked whether she had conspired in the blackmail. The footballer’s agency, Son & Football Limited, alleged earlier this week that the duo “threatened the player (Son) by saying they would spread false information”, and that Son is “unequivocally the victim” in the case. Police are still investigating the case, including the authenticity of the ultrasound image Yang reportedly sent to Son, based on mobile phones and other items seized during the suspects’ arrest, Yonhap reported. – AFP

Brooklyn resident Nick Corso, 23, who was standing near the water. He had been poised to take a photo, but when he realised what was happening he switched to video. “Lots of screaming, some sailors hanging from the masts, looked like panic happening on the ship. “I didn’t see anyone fall into the water but lots of people up top. People ran back and were screaming!” said Corso, who does marketing for an entertainment company. “The one thing that stood out to me was the panic on the ship, and there was a guy at the back waving for people to move away from the walkway we were on,” he said. The bridge, a popular tourist attraction and a main conduit between Manhattan and Brooklyn, was completed in 1883. It was once the largest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge sustained no major damage, a New York City transport official said. Traffic reopened in both directions after a preliminary inspection. Earlier, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said Mexico’s ambassador to the US and other officials were assisting affected cadets and had been in contact with local authorities. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X that she was “deeply saddened” by the two crew members’ deaths. The training ship Cuauhtemoc was built at the Celaya Shipyards in Bilbao, Spain, in 1981, according to the South Street Seaport Museum, which said on its website that it was co-hosting the vessel’s visit to New York that was scheduled to conclude on Saturday evening. The public was invited to come aboard the ship during its visit. The ship was disembarking from New York and heading to Iceland, the New York police official said. – Reuters/AFP

Kenton Cool, 51, climbed the 8,849m peak in the morning and was descending to lower camps, said Rajan Bhattarai of Himalayan Guides, a company that organises expeditions. Fellow climbers hailed the record as “legendary”. “His experience, charisma, and strength make him a valuable part of the Everest community,” said Adrian Ballinger of US-based Alpenglow Expeditions. “He’s just a great person to share stories from two decades on the mountain,” Ballinger, a nine-time summiteer of Everest now leading an expedition on the Chinese side of the mountain, said in a text message. Cool first climbed Everest in 2004 and has since repeated the feat almost every year. He was accompanied yesterday by NEW YORK: A Mexican Navy sailing ship festooned with lights and a giant flag crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday night, shearing the top of its masts, killing two people and injuring 17 others, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. Videos online showed the training vessel Cuauhtemoc as it approached the iconic bridge over the East River, close to the Manhattan side of the span, which connects the borough with Brooklyn. Its 45m masts were too tall to clear the arched bridge at that point and toppled when the vessel, named after the last Aztec emperor, sailed underneath. The Mexican Navy said on social media late on Saturday that 22 people were injured on board the ship, of which 19 were receiving medical attention in hospitals, and of those, three were seriously injured. No rescue operations were needed because none fell into the water. Early yesterday, Adams said on X that two of the 277 people on board at the time had died and two others remained in critical condition. Cadets dressed in white uniforms could be seen dangling from the ship’s crossbeams after the crash. “No one fell into the water; they were all hurt inside the ship,” a police official said. The official said mechanical issues had probably caused the crash, without providing further details. At one of the suspension bridge’s bases, located near New York City’s South Street Seaport, online video showed bystanders running in terror as the massive vessel hit the bridge and veered toward the dock. There was “panic on the ship”, said o 17 others injured, two of them critically

The training ship slamming into the bridge in New York. – AFPPIC

British climber makes 19th Everest ascent KATHMANDU: A British climber beat his own record yesterday for the most climbs of Mount Everest by a non Sherpa, making his 19th ascent of the world’s highest mountain. a Sherpa, Dorji Gyaljen, who logged his 23rd climb. Another Nepali Sherpa, Kami Rita, holds the record for the greatest number of ascents of Everest by any person at 30.

Philippines backs Asean-wide visa MANILA: The Philippine

Department of Tourism (DOT) has expressed strong support for a unified Asean visa, saying it could help position the region as a powerhouse tourism destination. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco made the statement during the SKIFT Asia Forum 2025 in Bangkok on Thursday, where she was a key speaker. The proposal, inspired by the European Schengen visa and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s joint visa, is gaining traction among Asean member states. “The Asean tagline is ‘A destination for every dream.’And the Asean visa is part of that dream,” Frasco said in a DOT news release. “To be able to unify Asean as a destination ... is one that is aspirational for us in the Philippines.” She said there’s “similar interest” from other Southeast Asian nations about the unified visa system. “We are very hopeful that the

Cool used the Southeast Ridge route, also known as South Col, which is the standard route to the summit pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The route remains the most popular path among climbers. Everest has been climbed by more than 8,000 people, many of them multiple times, since it was first scaled by Hillary and Norgay more than 70 years ago. Mountain climbing is a major tourism activity and a source of income as well as employment for Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest peaks, including Everest. Nepal has issued 468 permits, each costing climbers US$11,000 (RM47,251), for the climbing season that ends this month. – Reuters

Cool in Kathmandu after his 17th ascent in May 2023. – REUTERSPIC