23/07/2025

WEDNESDAY | JULY 23, 2025

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Cambodia denies planting new landmines near border

Shandong storm leaves two dead

HONG KONG: Heavy rain in China’s eastern province of Shandong killed two people and left 10 people missing after half a year’s worth of rain fell in five hours, drenching the Laiwu district in the city of Jinan, the local government reported. The area saw maximum precipitation of 364mm that fell from midnight till 5am local time, half of Jinan’s average yearly precipitation of 733mm. Flash floods occurred near Jinan’s mountainous villages of Shiwuzi and Zhujiayu, washing away or damaging 19 houses. Rescue efforts are underway and all efforts were being deployed to rescue missing people, authorities said. The deluge is part of a broader pattern of extreme weather across the country due to the East Asia monsoon which has caused disruptions in the world’s second largest economy. Southern regions have also been inundated with heavy rain after Typhoon Wipha pounded Hong Kong on Sunday. Extreme rainfall and severe flooding increasingly pose major challenges as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions and wreak havoc on a US$2.8 trillion (RM11.8 trillion) agricultural sector. – Reuters KHAPLU: A landslide triggered by monsoon rains swept away cars on a mountainous highway in northern Pakistan, killing at least three people, with more cars buried under the debris. Flash floods, collapsed buildings and electrocutions have killed more than 180 people since monsoon season arrived in late June. More than eight vehicles were swept away on Monday when heavy rains triggered a landslide on a highway in Diamer district of Gilgit Baltistan, said district police officer Abdul Hameed. “Three dead bodies have been recovered and more than 15 are still missing,” he said, adding at least 10 vehicles were buried under the debris. Floods on Monday damaged 50 houses, four bridges, a hotel, a school and blocked major highways and damaged communication signals. “Hundreds of trapped tourists have been brought to safety; government teams cleared debris and escorted them off the mountain road, while local villagers provided emergency shelter and assistance,” Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said. – AFP HANOI: Tropical storm Wipha was set to cross Vietnam’s northern coastline yesterday morning, with almost 350,000 soldiers on standby as the state weather agency forecast up to 50cm of rainfall that could cause flooding and mudslides. As of 6am, Wipha was 60km off the coast of Haiphong City with wind speeds of up to 102 kph, and was moving southwest at a speed of 15 kph, according to the national weather agency. After making landfall in Hung Yen and Ninh Binh provinces, Wipha is forecast to weaken to a low-pressure event at night, the agency said. No casualties or damage have been reported so far. Witnesses in Haiphong, an industrial base that is home to key ports, said the wind and rain were moderate yesterday morning. “We are able to go outdoors this morning as the wind is not too strong,” said a resident of Cat Ba Island in Haiphong. On Sunday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh put coastal provinces on emergency footing for Wipha . Airlines have cancelled and rescheduled dozens of flights, and some airport, port and train services have been suspended. – Reuters Vietnam battens down for Wipha Pakistan landslide sweeps away cars

o Three soldiers injured in blast, says Thailand

six million landmines scattered across the country, show five people were killed and a dozen injured by mines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia in the first four months of this year. The area where the Thai soldiers were injured is near where a Cambodian soldier was killed in May. The shooting has since flared into a diplomatic dispute that has destabilised the Thai government and seen the prime minister suspended from office. Thailand said it will issue a formal condemnation and call for accountability from Cambodia for breaching the landmine treaty and the army will also increase vigilance during border patrols. Cambodia said the incident showed the need for both countries to settle the border dispute at the International Court of Justice. Bangkok has previously said it has never recognised the court’s jurisdiction on the issue and prefers to settle the dispute through bilateral mechanisms. – Reuters

contain unexploded landmines. The country is littered with landmines laid during decades of war. “The Royal Government of Cambodia categorically denies these baseless and unfounded allegations,” the ministry said. It added the country was fully committed to the Ottawa Convention, an international agreement banning antipersonnel landmines. The Thai army said on Monday that 10 freshly laid Russian-made PMN-2 type landmines, which are not used or stockpiled by Thailand, were found between July 18 and July 20 in areas near where the soldiers were injured. “This is a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Thailand and an outright breach of principles that are fundamental to international law,” said Foreign Ministry deputy spokesperson Maratee Nalita Andamo on Monday. Figures from the Cambodia Mine Action Centre, which estimates there are still four to

BANGKOK: Thailand has accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed border area after three soldiers were injured, but Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war. Thai authorities said the three soldiers were injured, with one losing a foot, by a landmine while on a patrol on July 16 on the Thai side of the disputed border area between Ubon Ratchathani and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province. Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry denied that new mines had been planted and said in a statement on Monday night that the Thai soldiers deviated from agreed patrol routes into Cambodian territory and into areas that

Manila residents wading through a flooded street on Monday. – AFPPIC

Philippines flooding displaces thousands MANILA: Floodwaters driven by torrential rains ground life in the Philippine capital to a halt yesterday with tens of thousands evacuated from their homes and at least two people believed missing. river),” according to Wilmer Tan of the Marikina rescue office, who said the river had reached 18m in height.

people and left another seven missing in the central and southern Philippines since Tropical Storm Wipha skirted the country on Friday, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. At least 20 storms or typhoons strike or come near the Philippines each year, with the country’s poorest regions typically the hardest hit. Deadly and destructive storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change. “This is hard, because if the rain will continue ... the river will swell,” said Manila street sweeper Avelina Lumangtad, 61, as she stood next to a flooded thoroughfare. “The floods are dangerous.” – AFP

An elderly woman and her driver were swept down a swollen creek as they attempted to cross a bridge in Caloocan, said John Paul Nietes, an emergency operations centre assistant supervisor. “Their car was recovered last night. The rescue operation is continuing, but as of today, they haven’t found either of them,” he said. “The car window was broken, so the hope is that they were able to escape.” Floodwaters were receding yesterday, though thousands of people remained unable to return to their homes. Monsoon rains have killed at least three

Schools and government offices in Manila and the surrounding provinces were closed after a night of rain that saw the region’s Marikina River burst its banks. More than 23,000 people living along the river were evacuated overnight, sheltering in schools, village halls and covered courtyards. Another 25,000 more were evacuated in the metropolitan area’s Quezon and Caloocan cities. “Usually these people are from low-lying areas like beside creeks (feeding into the