27/08/2025

WEDNESDAY | AUG 27, 2025

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Vietnam typhoon death toll rises

COLOMBO: Tourists have long flocked to Sri Lanka for its pristine beaches, wildlife safaris and ancient Buddhist sites. Now, its first Marxist president is betting on casinos to attract high rollers from India and China and usher in the next wave of foreign inflows. The success of the casino strategy is crucial for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who completes one year in office next month and has vowed to improve the lives of ordinary Sri Lankans after the devastating economic collapse of 2022 and 2023. Sri Lanka had a handful of small casinos but earlier this month, Dissanayake inaugurated a US$1.2 billion (RM5.05 billion) City of Dreams casino complex in Colombo, a joint venture between John Keells Holdings and Macau based Melco Resorts & Entertainment. Dissanayake has also got legislation passed Opposition leaders and critics have alleged that large-scale rigging of elections is impacting the overall results of the vote. The ECI has denied all charges, the first against it in India’s history. Heading the charge is the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party, who previously alleged that electronic voting machines are flawed. Now Gandhi has accused the ECI of refusing to share digital voter records, detailing what he said was a list of errors after his supporters spent weeks combing through vast piles of registration lists by hand. Gandhi, 55, said his party lost dozens of seats in the parliamentary elections last year because of vote rigging. The largest democratic exercise in human history across the country of 1.4 billion people was staggered over six weeks. Gandhi claimed that the ECI manipulated voter rolls to favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Modi, 74, won a historic third term last year but fell short of a majority. The alleged rigging involved a string of tactics, according to Gandhi. “The wind was so strong. The sound from trees twisting and the noise of the flying steel panels were all over the place,” said Vinh resident Nguyen Thi Hoa, 60. “We are used to heavy rain and floods but I think I have never experienced that strong wind.” Flooding has cut off 27 villages in mountainous areas inland, authorities said, while more than 44,000 people were evacuated as the storm approached. Further north in Hanoi, the heavy rains left many streets under water, bringing traffic chaos yesterday morning. After hitting Vietnam and weakening to a tropical depression, Kajiki swept westwards over northern Laos, bringing intense rains. The high-speed Laos-China railway halted all services on Monday and yesterday, and some roads have been cut, but there were no immediate reports of deaths. In Vietnam, more than 100 people have been killed or left missing from natural disasters in the first seven months of this year, according to the Agriculture Ministry. In September last year Typhoon Yagi battered northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, triggering floods and landslides that left more than 700 people dead and causing billions of dollars’ worth of economic losses. – AFP

Ambani wildlife rescue park under probe NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into a wildlife rescue park run by Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s group, although it said allegations of unlawful animal acquisitions and mistreatment were not supported by evidence. Vanatara is a marquee project of the Ambani family located in western Gujarat state and led by the billionaire’s son, Anant Ambani. Its website says it has rescued and treated thousands of animals, and built the largest elephant hospital. The Supreme Court late on Monday ordered an inquiry as it ruled on public interest litigations that referred to complaints by non profit and wildlife groups alleging mistreatment of animals at Vantara and how they were taken in, and alleging the Central Zoo Authority failed in its duties. In a written order, the court said although the allegations were without proof, an independent investigation was needed given the petitions allege authorities were unwilling to discharge their duties. “We consider it appropriate in the ends of justice to call for an independent factual appraisal,” the court said in its order. A Vantara spokesperson said in a statement, it remains committed to transparency and legal compliance. Vantara said it will extend full cooperation to the investigation panel, and its “mission and focus continues to be the rescue, rehabilitation and care of animals”. The Central Zoo Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The panel will be led by a former judge of the Supreme Court and will submit a report on the acquisition of animals, look at complaints regarding creation of a vanity or private collection, as well as check for compliances with India’s Wild Life Protection Act. The panel needs to submit a report to the court by Sept 12. Located in Jamnagar, Gujarat, Vantara is home to more than 150,000 animals across more than 2,000 species. It also has an elephant welfare trust spread across 404ha which it says is the world’s largest care facility for rescued elephants. – Reuters “A huge steel roof was blown down from the eighth floor of a building, landing right in the middle of the street,” said Tran Van Hung, 65. Vietnam has long been affected by seasonal typhoons. VINH: The death toll from Typhoon Kajiki rose to three in Vietnam yesterday, as rescue workers battled uprooted trees and downed power lines and widespread flooding brought chaos to the streets of the capital Hanoi. The typhoon hit central Vietnam on Monday with winds of up to 130kph, tearing roofs off thousands of homes and knocking out power to more than 1.6 million people. Authorities yesterday said three people had been killed and 13 injured, and warned of possible flash floods and landslides in eight provinces as Kajiki’s torrential rains continue to wreak havoc. On the streets of Vinh, in central Vietnam, AFP journalists saw soldiers and rescue workers using cutting equipment to clear dozens of trees and roof panels that had blocked the roads. o Downed trees, power lines hamper rescuers

An equestrian statue blown down by Kajiki lies at the convention centre in Vinh city. – AFPPIC

India Election Commission under fire NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India is facing unprecedented scrutiny over its credibility and independence.

million tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka last year, while Chinese visitors accounted for 7%. Sri Lanka maintains close economic ties with both New Delhi and Beijing, and citizens of both countries benefit from visa-free entry. To boost revenue collection and encourage responsible gambling, Sri Lanka’s parliament last week approved legislation to create a Gambling Regulatory Authority. The legislation, however, has drawn criticism from experts for granting extensive powers to the finance minister, excluding state run lotteries from oversight, omitting tourism industry representation in the authority and imposing low penalties for violations. The government defends the legislation as vital to reduce social harm and raise employment, while it works to promote the industry. – Reuters constituency his party narrowly lost as an “open and shut” example of the alleged irregularities. Over 100,000 “fake” votes were cast in the constituency, he said, courtesy of duplicate voters. His Congress party lost the seat by just over 30,000 votes. “Our demand from the ECI is clear – be transparent and release digital voter rolls so that people and parties can audit them,” Gandhi said. The ECI has called Gandhi’s accusation “false and misleading”. Its chief election commissioner said they would “never” back down from their constitutional duties. “Politics is being done using the Election Commission ... as a tool to target voters,” Gyanesh Kumar told a news conference this month. “The Election Commission wants to make it clear that it stands with all voters ... without any discrimination and will continue to do so.” Kumar also said those alleging fraud either need to “An affidavit must be submitted or an apology to the nation must be made – there is no third option.” – AFP

He said some people voted multiple times, citing bulk registrations from one dwelling and seemingly bogus addresses. In a presentation to reporters on Aug 7, Gandhi pointed to a parliamentary Furnish proof under oath or apologise, Chief Election Commissioner Kumar tells detractors. – AFPPIC

Sri Lanka rolls the dice on casinos to power tourism boom

in parliament to regulate gambling including in casinos, reflecting the importance he is placing on the industry. The push is part of Sri Lanka’s aim to raise tourist arrivals by 50% to 3 million this year, potentially lifting revenues from the industry to US$5 billion from US$3.7 billion last year, said Deputy Tourism Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe. “Tourism plays a very significant role for us to get out of these economic issues that we have,“ he said. “So these couple of years we are working more on short-term targets and getting traffic, but in the long run, our plan is to go for quality, more sustainable, and high-end tourism and casinos and gambling will be a segment of that.” Indians made up nearly a quarter of the 2