16/07/2025

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Malaysian Paper

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Torres Strait islanders lose landmark court case

RESCUED BACKPACKER NEEDS TO GAIN BACK 12KG SYDNEY: A German backpacker who survived 12 days lost in the Australian outback says she lost more than 12kg during

the ordeal. Carolina Wilga (pic) , from her hospital bed in Perth, shared photos on Instagram showing her surrounded by snacks, including chocolate and pastries sent by the German Consulate. The post read: “When you need to gain 12 kilograms back.” The 26

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SYDNEY: Indigenous Australians living on a string of low-lying islands lost a landmark court bid yesterday to hold the government responsible for lacklustre emissions targets. Scattered through the warm waters off Australia’s northernmost tip, the sparsely populated Torres Strait Islands are threatened by seas rising much faster than the global average. Torres Strait elders have spent the past four years fighting through the courts to prove the government failed to protect them. Australia’s Federal Court found the government was not obliged to shield the Torres Strait Islands from climate change. “I thought that the decision would be in our favour, and I’m in shock,” said Torres Strait islander Paul Kabai, who helped to bring the o Emission targets have little impact on global temperature rise, court finds

mainland and Papua New Guinea. Lawyers for traditional land owners from Boigu and Saibai, among the worst affected islands, asked the court to order the government “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that will prevent Torres Strait islanders from becoming climate refugees”. Sea levels in some parts of the archipelago are rising almost three times faster than the global average, according to official figures. Rising tides have washed away graves, eaten through huge chunks of exposed coastline, and poisoned once-fertile soils with salt. The lawsuit argued some islands would soon become uninhabitable if global temperatures rose more than 1.5º Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The World Meteorological Organisation has warned this threshold could be breached before the end of the decade. While Australia’s emissions pale in comparison to the likes of China and the United States, the fossil fuel powerhouse is one of the largest coal exporters in the world. – AFP

case. “What do any of us say to our families now?” Fellow plaintiff Pabai Pabai said: “My heart is broken for my family and my community.” Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney criticised the government for setting emissions targets between 2015 and 2021 that failed to consider the “best available science”. But these targets would have had little impact on global temperature rise, he found. “Any additional greenhouse gases that might have been released by Australia as a result of low emissions targets would have caused no more than an almost immeasurable increase in global average temperatures,” Wigney said. Australia’s previous conservative government sought to cut emissions by around 26% before 2030. The incumbent left-leaning government in 2022 adopted new plans to slash emissions by 40% before the end of the decade, and reach net zero by 2050. Fewer than 5,000 people live in the Torres Strait, a collection of about 274 mud islands and coral cays wedged between Australia’s

Some airlines begin checking fuel switches NEW DELHI: India has ordered its airlines to examine fuel switches on several Boeing models, while South Korea said it would order a similar measure. The precautionary moves by India, South Korea and some airlines in other countries came despite the planemaker and the Federal Aviation Administration telling airlines and regulators in recent days that the fuel switch locks on Boeing jets are safe. The locks have come under scrutiny following last month’s crash of an Air India jet, which killed 260 people. A preliminary report found that the switches had flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. One pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report said. The report noted a 2018 advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models to inspect the locking feature of fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had issued an order to investigate locks on several Boeing models including 787s and 737s, after several Indian and international airlines began making their own inspections. Some airlines around the world said they had been checking relevant switches since 2018 in accordance with the FAA advisory, including Australia’s Qantas Airways and Japan’s ANA. Others said they had been making additional or new checks since the release of the preliminary report into the crash. – Reuters FRANKFURT: German customs officers have discovered a massive haul of about 1,500 tarantulas hidden inside a shipment disguised as cookies, authorities said on Monday. The 7kg shipment from Vietnam was intercepted at Cologne-Bonn airport and emitted a strange smell when opened, customs officials said. They found the venomous arachnids packed into plastic tubes and said that many had not survived the flight, with the remaining spiders placed into professional care. “This unusual discovery left even the most experienced officers speechless,” customs spokesman Jens Ahland said. It was “deeply troubling what some people do to animals purely for profit”, he said. – AFP year-old went missing in Western Australia for 12 days before a passer-by discovered her by chance in the outback on Friday. Her van was discovered on Thursday in the dense bushland of the vast Karroun Hill Nature Reserve, some 310km northeast of Perth, but there was no trace of her. Wilga said in a statement shared by police that she left the vehicle after crashing and suffering a head injury, which left her disoriented. During her time in the bush, she drank rainwater and water from puddles, slept in caves, and endured cold nights and scorching daytime heat. – Bernama CUSTOMS NET TARANTULAS IN COOKIE SHIPMENT

POIGNANT FAREWELL ... Revellers hold up red scarves and candles, as they gather in front of Pamplona’s city hall to sing the traditional farewell song Pobre de mi (Poor me) that symbolises their sadness for the end of the San Fermin festival, in Spain, yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

China drafts new climate change targets BEIJING: Chinese officials have told the European Union the country will produce a new national plan to tackle climate change in the autumn, the European Commission’s green chief Teresa Ribera said on Monday. the UN COP30 climate summit in November. “They have committed to an NDC that is comprehensive in terms of the whole economy being under the scope, taking into consideration all greenhouse gases,” said Teresa Ribera, who oversees the EU’s climate policies. “They will come up, later on, with their concrete update during the fall,” she said.

announce its new goal before COP30. No dates were specified. COP30 summit host Brazil has sought to persuade major economies to set ambitious targets – and reaffirm their commitment to tackle climate change, despite US President Donald Trump pulling his country out of global climate talks and cutting US support for clean energy. So far, most nations have still not announced their new climate plans. The EU this month proposed a 2040 climate target, which will now be negotiated by its 27 member countries and the European Parliament. The EU has yet to confirm its 2035 climate goal. – Reuters

China and the EU each missed a February deadline to submit new national climate change targets to the United Nations, which set out how much a country will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 – and will be used to assess global progress towards averting disastrous levels of warming. Speaking to reporters after talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, Ribera said both sides were working on their targets, known as nationally determined contributions, ahead of

China’s Foreign Ministry said the country has been actively implementing the UN climate change framework and Paris Agreement, promoting green and low-carbon development. On China’s NDC timeline, the ministry spokesperson referred to President Xi Jinping’s remarks in April that the country would