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Myanmar military targets rare earth zones

YANGON: Myanmar’s military has launched renewed offensives into several border regions, including a frontier area with critical rare earth deposits and other vital trade routes. New military chief Ye Win Oo, who took office in March after his predecessor stepped down to become president, is making an aggressive push to reclaim strategic border strongholds from ethnic armies. The military’s recent offensives have focused on Kachin State, a region rich in heavy rare-earth elements that abuts China, as well as Chin State on the Indian border o Offensive to regain control of key routes

Ganges shark found in Kalimantan JAKARTA: The critically endangered Ganges shark ( Glyphis gangeticus ), one of the world’s rarest freshwater shark species, has been found in North Kalimantan province. The discovery in the Sesayap River in Tana Tidung regency was announced by a research team from Hasanuddin University, James Cook University and Universitas Borneo Tarakan. Hasanuddin representative Prof Rohani Ambo Rappe described the finding as significant not only for species conservation but also for strengthening conservation efforts involving local communities. “This finding is not only about saving one species but also about how we build a conservation model that is fair, collaborative and acceptable to the community,” she said. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species is regarded as one of the world’s rarest sharks and can grow up to 1.8m in length. Rohani said 43 specimens were recorded in less than three weeks during field surveys, making the river one of the species’ most significant known habitats globally. She noted that the IUCN classifies the Ganges shark as critically endangered, with fewer than 10 recorded sightings across its historical range from Pakistan to Myanmar since 2000. Researcher Michael Grant from James Cook said the Sesayap River was designated an Important Shark and Ray Area in 2024, underscoring its importance as a nursery ground. The researchers also called for the establishment of a shark and ray research consortium in Kalimantan. – Bernama with the barrels of our guns.” Simultaneously, the military has launched an intensified offensive on the western front in Chin State, bordering India, which could disrupt a key cross-border logistics route that supports opposition groups inside Myanmar. Resistance fighters have undertaken strategic retreats from Falam and Tonzong towns in the state, as the military uses heavy aerial bombings to recover lost territory, said Chin National Front spokesperson Salai Van. The military has also launched an offensive to control the Myawaddy-Kawkareik highway near Thailand, a key trade route around which fighting has raged on since the Karen National Union ethnic army pushed into the border town of Myawaddy in 2024. – Reuters

President Min Aung Hlaing last month asked rebel groups to enter into peace talks within 100 days – a proposal that many ethnic armies immediately rejected. Myanmar’s conflict was sparked in 2021, when the military staged a coup. The takeover triggered a nationwide uprising that escalated into an armed resistance, with ethnic armies and rebel groups pushing the military out of several regions. The military is seeking to drive deeper into northern Kachin State, with an eye to retake mining belts along the Chinese border that produce roughly half of the world’s heavy rare earths. Naw Bu, spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army that took control of the area in October 2024, said: “We will welcome them

and a key trade corridor in Karen State, next to Thailand. At a meeting last week, Ye Win Oo told soldiers that the military had secured Falam town in Chin State and an arterial route between Mandalay and Myitkyina in Kachin State, the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. “The military’s strategic rationale is that they need to regain control over the primary communication and trade routes in Myanmar,” said Myanmar analyst Sai Kyi Zin Soe. An official from Myanmar’s presidential office, reached via phone, declined to comment. Reuters could not independently verify details of military offensives and their early successes across parts of Myanmar, where media access remains restricted. The offensives come after

Rubio, wife tour Taj Mahal AGRA: Top US diplomat Marco Rubio flew to Agra yesterday and spent 45 minutes at the Taj Mahal with his wife Jeanette. “It’s one of the wonders of the world,” Rubio said of the Taj Mahal. “I think it’s important to show respect to the culture of the countries that you visit.” Under a blazing sun in 40ºC heat, Rubio removed the tie from his navy-blue suit, put his arm around Jeanette, who wore a flowing dress with elegant heels. The couple posed for pictures on the bench from where Princess Diana was photographed alone in an iconic 1992 shot. The US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, a high-octane former aide to President Donald Trump, smiled and eagerly joined some of the couple’s pictures. The normally teeming streets leading to the Taj Mahal were cleared for Rubio, with other tourists kept 100m away from him, although it was only a partial shut down unlike when Vice-President JD Vance visited. Rubio was not entirely away from Iranian influence at the Taj Mahal, whose domes and four-way charbagh gardens are influenced by Persian architecture. The Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century on orders of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in childbirth. The excursion is unusual for Rubio, who in nearly a year and a half on the job has preferred short, business-like trips and rarely done events outside of government meetings. – AFP Rubio and Jeanette try out the bench Diana sat on in 1992. – AFPPIC

RAW POWER ... A farmer riding a cart pulled by two bulls during the traditional Karapan Sapi Brujul bull racing event in Probolinggo, East Java yesterday.– AFPPIC

Philippine building collapse toll hits four ANGELES CITY: The death toll rose to four yesterday in the collapse of a building under construction near the Philippine capital, with more than a dozen people still believed missing. Two workers pinned beneath the wreckage were found alive after the nine-storey structure gave way on Sunday, hitting a nearby hotel and killing a Malaysian guest. “The other one suffered a cardiac arrest. Doctors could not attend to him as he was still pinned down.” Crews pulled another corpse from the rubble yesterday, but it was not clear if the body belonged to a person listed among the missing. Due to the uncertainty, authorities said approximately 17 other people were still considered missing, mostly construction workers. uncertain,” 47-year-old Casilao said, crying as she recounted how she slept alone at a local government building on Sunday night.

September 2024 over violations of occupational safety standards. “Our labour inspectors had monitored poor working conditions, a violation that would put our workers at risk,” she told DZMM radio. The construction workers “lacked safety gear” like hardhats, boots, safety belts and lifelines, and worked under poor lighting and with no visible safety signs, she said. Construction resumed a month later after the building contractor complied with requirements, Panlilio said. Officials said up to 70 people were employed at the construction site, though most had gone home for the weekend. – AFP

Stephanie Batar and her mother Noby said they only learnt about the accident on social media from their home in nearby Bulacan province early yesterday and have been unable to contact her 64-year-old father who had been hired only weeks earlier at the job site on a six-month contract. “It’s very painful and we did not know what to do,” the daughter said. The cause of the collapse is not known. Regional labour department director Geraldine Panlilio said she had briefly shut the project down in

But the two workers trapped at the site in Angeles died despite rescue efforts. “The first of the two was pulled out alive, but unfortunately, his body gave out and he did not survive. Doctors could not resuscitate him,” said fire bureau spokeswoman Maria Leah Sajili.

Lea Casilao, girlfriend of a missing worker, said she had taken a bus from her northern Manila home to Angeles with rice and canned goods for her mate on Sunday, unaware of the pre dawn accident on the same day. “It’s very difficult, it is breaking my heart to wait for something