01/10/2025

WEDNESDAY | OCT 1, 2025

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Rescuers search for missing after school collapses

CHEMICAL LEAK KILLS FIVE IN CHINA ZHENGZHOU: Five people were killed and three others were hospitalised after toxic gas leaked in a factory restroom in Hebi, central China’s Henan Province, said local authorities, reported Xinhua. The incident occurred at 7am on Monday at the Hexin Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. in Shancheng District, when a suspected leak from a sulfuric-acid storage tank sent acid into the plant’s stormwater system and then into a septic tank, where it reacted to produce hydrogen sulfide gas. One of the injured is in serious but stable condition while the others sustained minor injuries, the district’s emergency management bureau said yesterday. Operations have been suspended and all personnel have been evacuated from the site while a full investigation is underway. – Bernama-Xinhua N. KOREA TO BOOST TIES WITH BEIJING SEOUL: North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said the country’s unwavering position is to further strengthen ties with China, state media KCNA reported yesterday. During her visit to China, she met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, KCNA said. Li told Choe that China has highly valued relations with North Korea, reaffirming its position to promote bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, KCNA reported. – Reuters

BR I E F S

demand, APTERR rice is limited based on the amount of contributions,” said Choomjet. Humanitarian information portal ReliefWeb, in its regional summary posted on Monday, said 29 disasters were reported across the Asean region this year. Tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, storms and wind-related events affected Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. “The world is facing extreme weather events and the growing impacts of climate change, which bring seasonal fluctuations and unpredictable calamities. Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more destructive, threatening our livelihoods and food systems,” said Choomjet. – Bernama Earlier this month, at least three people were killed and dozens injured after a building hosting a prayer recital collapsed in West Java. In a separate case, teenagers rehearsing for a musical show were among seven people killed in Cirebon, east of Jakarta in 2018 when the building they were in collapsed. In addition, at least 75 people were injured the same year when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia’s stock exchange building in Jakarta collapsed into the lobby. – AFP with relevant parties, including the Islamic boarding school, to determine the exact number of victims who are still or may still be trapped in the rubble.” Video images from news channel KompasTV showed families of students clustered around a whiteboard looking at a list of survivors. The agency said the building’s foundations allegedly could not support the weight of construction. One of the boarding school heads Abdus Salam Mujib said the building had collapsed after workers poured concrete for the third floor of the building. “The building only had three floors. The plan was to have four floors with a flat roof,” he told reporters. “Upper levels of the building were planned to be used for classrooms and student activities while the lower floor was already used as a prayer room.” Lax construction standards have raised widespread concerns about building safety in Indonesia.

“This sudden occurrence caused building material to fall on dozens of students and workers,” said agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari. He said a bulldozer was among the heavy equipment that searchers were using to shift the rubble, and nearly 80 injured individuals were taken to hospital. Earlier, East Java police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said authorities were working to establish how many victims were still at the scene. “We, along with relevant stakeholders, are communicating

o Three killed, nearly 80 taken to hospital: Indonesian disaster mitigation agency

JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers were scrambling yesterday to locate at least 38 people feared trapped under rubble after an Islamic boarding school collapsed in the province of East Java, disaster mitigation authorities said. More than 100 students had gathered to perform afternoon prayers when the multistorey

building suddenly collapsed, state news agency Antara reported, citing a witness. Three were killed and about 100 were evacuated in Monday’s incident at the Al Khoziny school in the town of Sidoarjo when the unstable building collapsed during construction, the disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.

Vietnam mobilises aid after typhoon and storm HANOI: Vietnamese Prime Minister Ph ˼ m Minh Chính has directed ministries, sectors and provincial authorities to take immediate action to support people in storm-hit areas as the country grapples with the aftermath of Typhoon Bualoi, Storm No. 10 and severe flooding, Vietnam News Agency reported. The typhoon swept into the mainland with powerful winds and heavy rain over a prolonged period, leaving widespread destruction. According to preliminary figures from the Agriculture and Environment Ministry, at least 19 people have died, 13 remain missing, eight are out of contact and 88 others have been injured. More than 105,000 homes were unroofed or destroyed, with the central province of Hà T ǡ nh suffering nearly 79,000 cases and Ngh̏ An Province close to 20,000. Thousands of houses were inundated and nearly 3,000 households have been cut off. Over 9,400ha of rice and crops and 1,700ha of aquaculture farms were lost to flooding. Infrastructure, including roads, irrigation systems, embankments and production facilities, has also been badly damaged. – Bernama-VNA

Rescue personnel inspecting the site after the building collapsed. – AFPPIC

Asean provides support to flood-hit countries PHNOM PENH: Asean diplomacy is transcending beyond its traditional contours of trade and politics, with the bloc’s “rice diplomacy” extending support to thousands of flood-affected individuals across the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar. The Asean Plus Three APTERR General Manager Dr Choomjet Karnjanakesorn told Bernama from Bangkok on Monday. The rice handover ceremony was held in Vientiane on Sept 16. namely China, Japan and South Korea, collectively contributed 1,050 metric tonnes of rice to Laos. According to APTERR, South Korea contributed 750 metric tonnes while China and Japan provided 150 metric tonnes each, and the aid is expected to help nearly 170,000 people affected by severe floods and landslides.

Thousands of villagers in remote Laos are grappling with floods this year, especially after two major tropical cyclones, namely Tropical Storm Wutip in June and Tropical Storm Wipha in July, hit the tiny nation. In late August, Tropical Storm Kajiki caused flash floods in several provinces in the tourist nation. The Laotian Times reported that Wutip and Wipha damaged 527 villages, 24,500ha of agricultural land and 14 schools while 19 people perished in the floods. Under the APTERR pre-position arrangement, the Plus Three countries,

Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) is mobilising humanitarian support for flood-affected countries in Southeast Asia as rough weather continues to batter the region. Its latest assistance was to Laos, which has been suffering from back-to-back natural disasters. “APTERR is ready to support Laos and we are working hand in hand to safeguard food security and build greater resilience against the growing challenges of climate change,”

APTERR was established in 2011 as part of an Asean initiative to ensure food security and alleviate poverty during emergencies among member countries. “The total amount of rice donation is fixed at around 11,620 metric tonnes of milled rice annually, which would be allocated to four recipient countries, namely Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines. “Although there is more

‘Vapes in Philippines may contain cannabinoid’ MANILA: The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)

confirmed, PDEA would request the DDB to issue a corresponding board resolution. DDB Executive Director Undersecretary Earl Saavedra and Officer-In-Charge Chairperson Undersecretary Armando Ramolete said the chemical mimics cannabis and is dangerous. – Bernama-PNA

Board’s (DDB) classification of prohibited substances. “Since we released our advisory, its circulation here has lessened. But now, we found out that the cannabinoid is present in vape products,” he said, adding that further research is ongoing to verify the link. Nerez assured the senate that once

hearing of the agency, its chief undersecretary Isagani Nerez said laboratory tests conducted in the Philippines and Singapore confirmed that “Tuklaw” cigarettes contained a harmful chemical listed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He said the harmful chemical was also included in the Dangerous Drugs

yesterday cautioned that some vape products circulating in the country may contain the same synthetic cannabinoid components earlier found in “Tuklaw” cigarettes. The Philippine News Agency reported that during the budget