12/09/2025

FRIDAY | SEPT 12, 2025

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Filipinos battle rising sea on sinking island

Safari park lions maul Thai keeper to death BANGKOK: A zookeeper was killed in a lion attack in Thailand, officials said on Wednesday, raising questions over safety and the legitimacy of the safari park’s lion ownership. The mauling happened at Safari World Bangkok, which calls itself one of Asia’s largest open-air zoos and offers lion and tiger-feeding trips for around 1,200 baht (RM156) a person. “The deceased is a zoo staff member who usually fed the lions,” said Sadudee Punpugdee, wildlife protection director of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The man was apparently mauled by six or seven of the big cats when he stepped out of his car, he said. Safari World confirmed the staff member’s death and said in a statement, “we will urgently review and strengthen safety measures to prevent such incidents from happening again”. Tavatchai Kanchanarin, a doctor and zoo visitor who witnessed the attack, said “a man got off an uncovered car and stood alone with his back turned to the animals, which I thought was weird”. “He stood for about three minutes, then a lion walked slowly and grabbed him from the back. He did not scream,” he told Thairath television. Edwin Wiek from conservation group Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand said: “This incident should serve as a stark reminder that these animals, even when raised by humans from birth, still pose a serious threat to human life that can be triggered without warning.” A senior zoo official said all of the park’s lions were licensed. – AFP MANILA: The Philippine Foreign Ministry said yesterday it “strongly protests” against China’s plan to create a national nature reserve in the Scarborough Shoal. “The Philippines will be issuing a formal diplomatic protest against this unlawful action as it infringes upon its rights and interests in accordance with international law,” the ministry said. It said Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction over Scarborough Shoal, which it calls “Bajo de Masinloc”. The Philippines’ comments came after China approved the creation of a national nature reserve in the disputed region. The shoal, named Huangyan Island by Beijing and also known in the Philippines as the Panatag Shoal, has been occupied by China since 2012. Both countries claim sovereignty over the shoal, a strategically located atoll and prime fishing patch close to major shipping lanes. The shoal falls inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and is coveted for its bountiful fish stocks as well as a lagoon that provides safe haven for fishermen during storms. China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to the statement about the nature reserve plan. A 2016 arbitral tribunal did not rule on sovereignty over the shoal, noting that it had long been traditional fishing grounds for many nations, including Vietnam. However, it declared that China had unlawfully prevented the Philippines from fishing there. – Reuters Manila protests nature reserve plan for reef

o National strategy not in place

Homes have been raised on stilts to keep floors dry, while small business owners use high tables to keep their wares above murky water that can rise to 1.5m on heavy flooding days. Sea levels across the Philippines are already rising three times faster than the global average of 3.6mm a year, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has said this could accelerate to 13mm annually. DENR geosciences chief Karlo Queano said coastal areas could disappear without large-scale intervention. While piecemeal efforts are in place in some areas – groundwater extraction has been banned in parts of Bulacan since 2004 – a broad national strategy has yet to take shape. A government study on the path forward was not expected until 2028, Queano said. Pugad village captain Jaime Gregorio said roads were being raised every three years to keep the community viable, but leadership changes meant the implementation of long-term flood mitigation projects was rarely consistent. For Tamayo, the constant adjustment to the tide has drained what little money her family has scraped together. Since 2022, they have been elevating their house each year, adding more gravel and concrete to stay above water, so far spending 200,000 pesos (RM14,778). Her boatman husband, Rodolfo Tamayo, insists their livelihood depends on staying. “We can’t go to other places, we won’t have jobs there.” – AFP President Ramchandra Paudel should invite the leader of the largest parliamentary party to form a government. But much of the political old guard has vanished from view. The protesters’ backing of Karki is not unanimous. In a virtual meeting on platform Discord that was attended by thousands on Wednesday, activists debated who should represent them, with several names floated. Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old former engineer and rapper, was also among the names suggested as potential interim leader. But Shah said in a post on Facebook that he “fully supports the proposal” to push Karki as the candidate. “The job of this interim government is to hold elections, to give a new mandate,” he said. – AFP

made worse by climate change, Lagmay said. “The rates of subsidence (on Pugad Island) are quite high,” he said, adding that while studies specific to the tiny island were lacking, data on surrounding areas told the story clearly. With high tides flooding the streets at least three times a week, the sea already dictates the rhythm of daily life on Pugad. Class schedules are adjusted daily based on tide charts to prevent children from contracting flood borne diseases.

7ha speck of land in danger of sinking completely underwater. Tamayo, 65, is one of 2,500 people living in Pugad’s only village. The island is not the only one at risk in coastal Bulacan. Parts of the province are sinking at a rate of almost 11cm a year, the fastest in the Philippines, according to a study led by geologist Mahar Lagmay. The gradual sinking, known as land subsidence, is an “alarming” phenomenon caused by the overextraction of groundwater and exacerbated by rising sea levels

BULACAN: On the Philippine island of Pugad, food vendor Maria Tamayo wakes before her grandchildren to begin the backbreaking work of removing seawater from her home scoop by scoop. The routine has been the same ever since the rising tides of Manila Bay began swallowing the island – a

Pugad island is sinking at a rate of 11cm a year. – AFPPIC

Nepal ex-chief justice tipped to lead political transition KATHMANDU: Nepal’s former chief justice Sushila Karki is the leading choice for interim leader, a representative of the protesters said yesterday, after demonstrations toppled the prime minister. The army has imposed a curfew to restore order in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people, after the worst violence in two decades ousted the government and left parliament ablaze on Tuesday. Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel held talks with key figures and representatives of protesters on Wednesday, a military spokesperson said. Karki, an academic and Nepal’s first woman Supreme Court chief justice, said “experts need to come together to figure out the way forward”, and that “the parliament still stands”. Constitutionally, 80-year-old

“Right now, Sushila Karki’s name is coming up to lead the interim government – we are now waiting for the president to make a move,” said Rakshya Bam, an activist who was among those at the meeting. Karki has given her consent, but efforts are being made to find a constitutional route to appoint her. Demonstrations began on Monday in Kathmandu against the government’s short-lived ban on social media and over corruption, with at least 19 people killed in the crackdown. A day later, protests escalated into an outpouring of rage, with government offices, a major hotel and other buildings set on fire. In the chaos, more than 13,500 prisoners broke out of jail. “We discussed with the army chief about the future,” Bam said. “The conversation was about how we can move forward, keeping the peace and security of the country.”

Efforts are being made for a constitutional route to appoint Karki. – REUTERSPIC