17/08/2025

theSun on Sunday AUG 17, 2025

WORLD 7

Pakistan floods wreak havoc, at least 320 killed

Cuba taps Vietnam rice expertise

LOS PALACIOS: Outside Havana, a firm belonging to a Vietnamese company is harvesting rice, directly farming Cuban land to help address acute food shortages. The Cuban government has granted Agri VAM, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s Fujinuco Group, 1,000ha of arable land in Los Palacios, 118km west of the capital. Vietnam has advised Cuba on rice cultivation in the past but this is the first time a private firm has done the farming itself. The government approved the move after a 52% plunge in overall agricultural production between 2018 and 2023, according to data from the Centre for the Study of the Cuban Economy at the University of Havana. The rice numbers are even worse. Total rice production dropped from 300,000 tonnes in 2018 to 55,000 tonnes in 2021. Rice is a staple of the local diet, with Cubans consuming 60kg of rice per person per year. During a media visit to its rice fields in May, an Agri VAM representative said the harvest yield to date is seven tonnes per hectare, “but we want more”. “The weather and the temperature are very good for agriculture,” but Cuban growers lack necessary farming products such as fertilisers, the Agri VAM representative told reporters. – AFP Diplomat seen after report of questioning BEIJING: A Chinese diplomat, who Reuters reported had been taken for questioning, appeared at a diplomatic event here on Friday evening. Sun Haiyan, a senior Chinese diplomat and former ambassador to Singapore, appeared as a guest at an event organised by India’s embassy in Beijing. In response to a question from Reuters at the event, Sun did not comment directly on whether authorities had detained or questioned her, saying: “Well, I’m here.” She called the Reuters report “irresponsible”. Reuters had reported on Friday that Sun had been taken for questioning by authorities earlier this month, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Reuters could not determine the matters the questioning related to. Chinese authorities questioned Sun around the same time they questioned Liu Jianchao, widely seen as a potential foreign minister candidate, two of the three sources told Reuters.

PESHAWAR: Rescuers were struggling to retrieve bodies from debris after flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across northern Pakistan killed at least 320 people. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said 307 deaths were reported in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Most were killed in flash floods and collapsed houses, with the dead including 15 women and 13 children. At least 23 others were injured. The provincial rescue agency said yesterday about 2,000 rescue workers were engaged in recovering bodies from the debris and carrying out relief operations in nine affected districts where rain was still hampering efforts. “Heavy rainfall, landslides in several areas and washed-out roads are causing significant challenges in delivering aid, particularly in transporting heavy machinery and ambulances,” said Bilal Ahmed Faizi, spokesman for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rescue agency. “Due to road closures in most areas, rescue workers are Rescuers delayed by landslides, damaged roads

Mingora city residents gather near a damaged vehicle and debris after a flash flood. – AFPPIC

South Asia about three-quarters of its annual rainfall. Landslides and flash floods are common during the season, which begins in June and eases by the end of September. Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah, a representative of the national disaster agency, said this year’s monsoon came earlier than usual and was expected to end later. He said over the next 15 days, the intensity of the monsoon may make matters worse. – AFP

rain alert for Pakistan’s northwest, urging people to take “precautionary measures”. Nine more people were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while five died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, said the national disaster authority. Another five people, including two pilots, were killed when a local government helicopter crashed due to bad weather on Friday. The monsoon season brings

travelling on foot to conduct operations in remote regions. “They are trying to evacuate survivors, but very few people are relocating due to the deaths of their relatives or loved ones being trapped in the debris.” The provincial government has declared the severely affected mountainous districts of Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra and Battagram as disaster zones. The Meteorological Department has issued a heavy

Thai-Cambodia talks inch forward

to Cambodia Col Nazlee Abdul Rahim concluded their two-day mission to check security along the border areas. Other Asean states are part of the team that inspected checkpoints in Banteay Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces. Cambodia and Thailand are striving to maintain and bolster the ceasefire deal that was achieved on July 28 in Malaysia, after a border dispute led to five days of conflict in northern Cambodia. Asean chair Malaysia, United States and China (as observers) managed to bring the situation under control. Cambodia and Thailand agreed to discuss issues based on a 13-point agreement reached during the extraordinary general border committee meeting held on Aug 7 in Kuala Lumpur with the three countries present.

PHNOM PENH: Security along the Thai-Cambodia border remains stable, as both parties continue talks to resolve differences. The National Defence Ministry of Cambodia told a news briefing here yesterday that the situation in Preah Vihear, Oddar Meanchey and Banteay Meanchey provinces was normal. Ministry spokesperson Lt-Gen Maly Socheata said the Regional Boundary Commission meeting held in Thailand’s Trat province on Friday had made some progress, but gave no details, Bernama reported. “The meeting hopes to achieve more positive results that allow both sides to push for a ceasefire that brings peace, stability and normalcy,” Maly said. She said the Asean Interim Observers Team, led by Defence Attache

DOUBLE JOY ... Hong Kong’s first locally born giant pandas Jia Jia and De De celebrating their first birthday at Ocean Park on Friday. – REUTERSPIC