File photo of a former teacher teaching children about animal conservation with cardboard puppets at Cemara Kulon village in Indramayu, Indonesia. PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA (AFP) – In 2023, a newborn Javan rhino in Indonesia raised hopes for the highly endangered species. Now, conservationists fear poachers have killed up to a third of the surviving population, possibly with inside help.
Since last year, authorities have arrested six alleged poachers. But eight remain on the run, including one who managed to flee his home hours before police arrived.
The fugitive reportedly had recent data on rhinos in Java’s Ujung Kulon national park, the only place in the world the species is still found, sparking fears he had inside assistance.
The poachers claim two gangs have killed 26 rhinos since 2018 – between a third and a quarter of the species’ estimated population. “It’s a huge number,” said director of the International Rhino Foundation, Nina Fascione, adding that she was “shocked and devastated”.
The suspects reportedly said they killed the rhinos for their horns, which command huge sums from black market buyers in China.
File photo of a former teacher teaching children about animal conservation with cardboard puppets at Cemara Kulon village in Indramayu, Indonesia. PHOTO: AFP
A waterfront littered with debris after Hurricae Ian in Florida, United States. PHOTO: AP
AP – The strong El Nino weather condition that added a bit of extra heat to already record warm global temperatures is gone. It’s cool flip side La Nina is likely to breeze in just in time for peak Atlantic hurricane season, federal meteorologists said.
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pronounced dead the El Nino that warms parts of the central Pacific. The El Nino, while not quite a record breaker in strength, formed a year ago has been blamed, along with human-caused climate change and overall ocean warmth, for a wild 12 months of heat waves and extreme weather.
The world is now in a neutral condition when it comes to the important natural El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which warps weather systems worldwide. Neutral is when weather gets closer to long-term averages or normal, something that hasn’t happened as much recently as it used to, said NOAA physical scientist Michelle L’Heureux, who is the lead forecaster of the agency’s ENSO team. But it likely won’t last, she added.
She said there’s a 65 per cent chance that a La Nina, a cooling of the same parts of the Pacific that often has opposite effects, will form in the July, August and September time period. One of the biggest effects of La Nina is that it tends to make Atlantic hurricane season more active, and that storm season starts its peak in August.
“The likelihood of a La Nina coupled with record warm sea surface temperatures is the reason the National Hurricane Center is forecasting an extraordinary hurricane season,” said North Carolina’s state climatologist Kathie Dello. “States from Texas to Maine are making preparations for an active year”.
A waterfront littered with debris after Hurricae Ian in Florida, United States. PHOTO: APABOVE & BELOW: A resident carry food and drinking water in Amazonas state, Brazil; and flooded homes following Hurricane Ida in Louisina, United States. PHOTO: APPHOTO: APABOVE & BELOW: Children walk in a flooded field Mandera county, Kenya; and a fish near coral showing signs of bleaching at Cheeca Rocks, Florida. PHOTO: APPHOTO: AP
Both El Nino and La Nina create “potential hot spots” for extreme weather but in different places and of different types, L’Heureux said.
“La Nina tends to, in the winter, bring drier conditions across the southern tier of the United States (US) and if you put global warming on top of that, that could also mean those drier conditions could intensify into droughts,” L’Heureux said.
That’s because storm systems, mostly in the winter, move slightly northward with a shift in the jet stream during La Nina years, bringing more rain and snow north, L’Heureux said.
Even though a La Nina tends to be cooler, there will likely be a residual effect of the exiting El Nino on global temperatures, L’Heureux said. This year has seen each month breaking global records so far.
No more than eight per cent of last year’s record heat could be attributed to El Nino and other natural variability, a panel of 57 scientists concluded earlier this month. The rest was from human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas.
A 1999 economic study found that drought from La Nina cost the US agriculture between USD2.2 billion to USD6.5 billion, which is far more than the USD1.5 billion cost of El Nino. A neutral ENSO is best for agriculture. Given La Nina’s connection to Atlantic hurricanes and drought in the US it makes sense that they are generally costlier, but every El Nino and La Nina is different, so people and governments should prepare for them, said meteorologist and economist Michael Ferrari, chief scientific officer of AlphaGeo, a firm that works on financial investments and climate.
The El Nino that just ended “wasn’t a record-breaker in anybody’s book, but it was probably about top five”, L’Heureux said.
And it added to overall global temperature and brought more moisture to the southern US this year, along with drier conditions in parts of South America and Central America, she said. The Horn of Africa got wetter.
Coral reef experts said the combination of record ocean temperatures and the boost of heating from El Nino have led to a major global bleaching event threatening and at times killing vulnerable coral.
Before this year’s El Nino, the world had back-to-back-to-back La Ninas, which is unusual, L’Heureux said. – Seth Borenstein
A mysterious monolith appeared in Nevada, United States. PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A mysterious shiny monolith has appeared in a Nevada desert, the latest other-worldly installation to materialise in recent years across North America and Europe.
Las Vegas police spotted the reflective shape during a search and rescue mission over the weekend in a hiking area an hour north of Sin City.
“We see a lot of weird things… but check this out!” the force posted Monday on social media.
The rectangular structure is the latest to baffle the internet after they began appearing in places around the globe in 2020.
The first monolith, which was discovered in the Utah desert as the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, quickly caught international media attention.
Many noted the object’s similarity to alien monoliths that trigger huge leaps in human progress in Stanley Kubrick’s classic sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
There have since been sightings in the Netherlands, in Poland, Romania, Canada and Britain, sparking the inevitable websites dedicated to tracking them.
The Nevada find generated comments ranging from awestruck speculation to the downright dismissive.
“Clearly Aliens!” wrote user @NWK1WAYS.
“Let’s crack it open may be prizes inside,” suggested @Nstynick.
A mysterious monolith appeared in Nevada, United States. PHOTO: AFP
A screengrab image shows Spencer Warren and a police officer helping a baby moose that was trapped between the floats of a plane at Beluga Lake in Alaska, United States. PHOTO: AP
ALASKA (AP) – An Alaska man and two police officers rescued a baby moose from what police described as “a sure demise” after it fell into a lake and got stuck in a narrow space between a floatplane and a dock.
Spencer Warren, who works for the outdoor tourism company Destination Alaska Adventure Co, had arrived at work about 6.30am on Friday to prepare a floatplane for the day’s trip when he heard what he thought was an odd-sounding bird.
He quickly spotted the moose calf stuck between the floats of the plane and the dock at Beluga Lake in Homer, a Kenai Peninsula community about 350 kilometres south of Anchorage. The floats replace the wheels on a plane, allowing it to take off and land on water.
He immediately thought, “Oh, man, where is mama? I know she’s nearby,” before spotting the worried mother about 1.2 metres away with another calf. Mother moose can be dangerously protective of their calves – a photographer was killed by a mama moose protecting her young just last month in Homer.
The baby moose tried to get out of the lake, but couldn’t get its footing on the top of the metal float with its hooves. Its wary mother was keeping Warren, the would-be rescuer, from getting too close as it struggled.
“It’s like an ice rink for the moose and its hooves,” Warren said of Friday’s rescue. “So he just kept slipping and slipping and could not get up.”
Warren checked in with his boss, who called Homer police.
One officer eventually positioned his police cruiser between the mama moose and the floatplane to allow another officer and Warren to rescue the calf, Homer Police Lt Ryan Browning told The Associated Press.
The calf had one leg outstretched across the top of the plane’s float, where it was stuck.
“You know, kind of thankfully, he wasn’t moving so that it made the rescue a little bit easier,” Warren said. “We just lifted him straight out and, put him on the dock there.”
The exhausted calf splayed out on the boardwalk until an officer helped it stand. The calf reunited with its mother and she licked the water off its body – all of it caught on camera by Warren.
A screengrab image shows Spencer Warren and a police officer helping a baby moose that was trapped between the floats of a plane at Beluga Lake in Alaska, United States. PHOTO: AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, North Korea. PHOTO: AP
SEOUL (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defence agreement with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un yesterday.
The pledge of military cooperation was part of a strategic treaty signed during a summit in Pyongyang, where Putin was making his visit in 24 years.
“It is really a breakthrough document,” Putin said at a press conference in the North Korean capital, adding that it provided, “among other things, for mutual assistance in case of aggression against one of the parties to this treaty”, Russian news agencies reported.
Putin also said Russia “does not rule out military-technical cooperation with the DPRK in connection with the treaty that was signed”, referring to the North by its official name.
Kim called Putin the “dearest friend of the Korean people” and said his country “expresses full support and solidarity to the Russian government”.
Putin, in turn, thanked his host Kim saying Moscow appreciated the “consistent and unwavering support”.
Putin arrived in Pyongyang yesterday to be greeted by Kim on a red carpet where the pair embraced and smiled. They then attended a welcoming ceremony in Kim Il Sung square, featuring a military band and mass synchronised dancing, afer which Putin invited his host to visit Moscow.
The summit, which included a lengthy one-on-one chat between the leaders, was their second meeting in a year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, North Korea. PHOTO: AP
Jinhwa, Sya, Chris, Juhan, Wooju and Lutan of Blitzers. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD
ANN/KOREA HERALD – Blitzers has made a bold comeback with a new album, returning from appearing on a globally esteemed audition programme Britain’s Got Talent (BGT).
Blitzers’ new album Lunch-box, released yesterday, includes six tracks: The title song Superpower, Race Up, Ring Ring, Fxxking Spring, and English versions of Superpower and Macarena, a single dropped last year.
“Lunch-box is our fourth travel-themed album. Like in-flight meals or special dinners during a trip, this album is filled with happiness and excitement,” said Lutan.
“Each song is of a different genre, like a lunch box with a variety of dishes,” added Sya.
Wooju described the title track Superpower as an empowering song about finding one’s strength.
Sya and Chris contributed to the choreography. “We tried to make the second verse hook dance fun and energetic. We got exhausted during practice, but we’re confident it will be a great performance,” said Sya.
The members also contributed to the lyrics of the B-side tracks. Chris wrote the lyrics for the English version of Superpower, drawing from his childhood in the United States, and participated in lyrics writing for Race Up, incorporating his signature sound for the first time.
Blitzers perform at the British ITV entertainment programme ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALDJinhwa, Sya, Chris, Juhan, Wooju and Lutan of Blitzers. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD
Juhan wrote Ring Ring, a song about youthful love.
Before the album’s release, Blitzers had an unforgettable experience.
They became the first K-pop idols to appear on BGT and advanced to the semi-finals.
Because they were preparing for the album and appearing on BGT simultaneously, the music video was filmed in the United Kingdom.
“Due to limited shooting time, we used diverse techniques to make the music video fun, including using a GoPro and using rewind effects. I’m excited to see the final result,” said Wooju.
Leader Jinhwa reflected on overcoming his shyness while shooting in busy streets.
“I usually get really shy, but for the music video, I had to dance in a crowded street to portray a nerdy character who doesn’t care about the surroundings. Doing that gave me more confidence.”
The members recalled the surreal experience of shuttling between the UK and Korea for the BGT stage.
Since 2007, BGT has searched for talented individuals, and Blitzers were invited to appear on the show by the producers.
“We were contacted while on our Japan tour. Initially, we declined due to our tour and comeback schedule, but decided to take the chance for a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Jinhwa.
The sextet delivered a charming and lively performance of Shawn Mendes’ There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back for the preliminaries, advancing to the semi-finals with “All Yes.”
In the semi-finals, they appeared in all-black outfits, showcasing charisma in their rendition of War*Hall’s Bring That Fire.
“For the preliminaries, BGT suggested a song that would resonate with the audience and viewers, but we chose the song for the semi-finals,” said Sya, adding that members planned and conceptualised the grand stage set with two-story structures and large flags, and conveyed their ideas to the BGT production team.
“We rehearsed seven times for the semi-finals to coordinate the complex stage setups and synchronise with the dancers,” recalled Wooju.
Jinhwa explained that they chose Bring That Fire to convey the members’ determination.
“We wanted to perform a song that matched our situation and chose a confident, bold song. BGT suggested a more familiar song to the local audience, but we trusted our choice and were proud of the praise we received.”
“All the comments were touching. What stuck with me the most was when Simon Cowell said, ‘I liked this performance much better than the last one. Your individuality shone through on stage, and it’s clear that you’ve found your team’s unique colour,’” said Chris.
Juhan thanked the artists who helped with the choreography.
“For the auditions, we received choreography from the globally recognised domestic dance team DokTeuk Crew, and for the semi-finals, we received choreography from Team Same, led by choreographer Choi Young-joon.”
Having debuted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group is now in its fourth year and feels a sense of responsibility as idols.
“Debuting during the pandemic, we didn’t have opportunities to meet audiences in the early days. Performing and interacting with the crowd gave us a sense of responsibility and made us realise what it means to be a K-pop idol,” said Jinhwa.
“We usually release two to three albums a year, but this time the gap was a bit longer. Our short-term goal is to release another album within this year,” added Juhan with a smile.
AFP – French President Emmanuel Macron on yesterday faced accusations after lashing out at the snap election manifesto of a new left-wing coalition, while the far-right party leader insisted he would not question France’s international commitments including on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
With less than two weeks before the first round of polling in the snap elections called by Macron in response to his party’s defeat by the far right in European polls, the president is struggling to make up ground.
His ruling alliance is forecast by opinion polls to come only third in the legislative elections on June 30 – followed by a second round on July 7 – behind the far-right National Rally (RN) and a new left-wing alliance.
This could put RN leader Jordan Bardella in a position to become prime minister in an awkward “cohabitation” with Macron, although the 28-year-old has insisted he will only accept this if his party and allies win an absolute majority of seats.
Visiting a major defence show outside Paris, Bardella insisted that he “doesn’t plan to question the commitments France has made on the international stage” on defence if he takes power.
French President Emmanuel Macron. PHOTO: AP
“Our credibility towards our European partners and NATO allies is at stake,” he said at the Eurosatory arms trade show outside Paris, moderating the far right’s historic hostility to the Atlantic alliance.
The RN’s three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said in 2022 that if she were elected, France would quit NATO’s integrated command in the name of “independence”.
A massive loan the RN received from a Russian bank in 2014, which it has since repaid, became a stick for its opponents to beat the RN with and point to the past warm relationship between Le Pen and the Kremlin.
The emergence of the New Popular Front, which groups left-wingers from Socialists to Communists, has been an unwelcome development for Macron since he called the snap elections in the hope of rallying moderates across the spectrum.
But Macron said Tuesday on a visit to western France that he had “confidence in the French” not to choose either extreme on the left and right.
“They see well what is on offer. The RN and its allies offer things which may make people happy but in the end we are talking EUR100 billion a year,” he said.
“And on the other side, with the extreme left it’s four times worse – there is no more secularism, they will go back on the immigration law and there are things that are completely farcical like changing your gender at the town hall,” he added.
The left-wing coalition’s programme includes a proposal allowing the change of civil status.
Macron’s remarks appeared to cause disquiet even in the ranks of his own ruling Renaissance party.
Macron’s comments also sparked an immediate counter-attack from left-wing opponents.
“We were waiting for Jupiter but we got Nero,” sniped Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure.
Macron, before he became head of state in 2017, once said France needed a “Jupiterian” presidency in reference to the Roman king of the gods. Nero was one of the Roman emperors most notorious for tyrannical rule.
AP – You may have seen advertisements claiming to eliminate the need for eyeglasses through vision therapy or vision training – basically, eye exercises.
These exercises include putting pressure on or palming the eye; eye movement exercises; or straining to read by using the wrong prescription glasses to “train” the eyes.
As a professor of ophthalmology – and as an eye doctor who has seen thousands of patients – I can tell you that no study to date shows strong evidence that these exercises eliminate the need for glasses or offer any long-term significant benefits. The science simply isn’t there.
The lack of evidence holds true for virtually all eye conditions and diseases, including common afflictions such as myopia, or nearsightedness, which refers to when closer objects are clear, but distant objects are blurry.
It’s also true for farsightedness – also called hyperopia – which happens when objects are clear in the distance but blurry up close.
Nor do these eye exercises help with presbyopia, or the need for reading glasses, which generally begins at around age 40.
With presbyopia, the patient is neither nearsighted nor farsighted and requires no glasses for distance vision.
PHOTO: ENVATOPHOTO: ENVATOPHOTO: ENVATO
Yet as the lens of the eye becomes stiffer over time, the eye struggles to focus on fine print and smaller text. This decline will continue with age – and, with it, the need for stronger reading glasses will increase.
Although some methods claim to alleviate the need for reading glasses, there is limited if any evidence to suggest benefit.
That said, here are some things everyone can do to maintain healthy eyes:
VISION DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN
All children should have a baseline eye exam during infancy and then again between six and 12 months of age. They should have a third exam between ages one to three, and then a more formal exam between ages three to five to check for eye misalignment, ocular health and the potential need for glasses.
Failing to address eye misalignment, or to provide glasses for a child who needs them, may lead to abnormal visual development or amblyopia, which is a weak, lazy eye.
Progression of nearsightedness in children can be slowed by taking breaks and avoiding hour after hour on the phone or computer.
Limiting up-close reading time outside of school – screen time or otherwise – may help slow the progression of nearsightedness in children.
Prolonged screen time can cause eye strain and dryness. I suggest following the 20-20-20 rule: Take 20-second breaks every 20 minutes to look 20 feet away from your device.
Focus on relaxing the eyes and blinking. The occasional use of artificial tears, which can be bought over the counter at drugstores, may help with dry eye.
Spending more time outdoors is good for your eyes.
It has been correlated with a reduced incidence of nearsightedness in childhood. One caution: Staring directly into the Sun, even briefly, is dangerous and can cause permanent retinal damage.
BLUE LIGHT BLOCKERS AND SUPPLEMENTS
Ads for blue-light-blocking glasses claim they prevent headaches and eye strain and improve sleep.
But some studies, including a large, randomised control trial, found that blue-blocking lenses did not alter symptoms of eye strain. Additionally, there is only limited evidence to show that these glasses improve circadian rhythm. Be wary of supplements or natural remedies that claim to be a cure-all for any eye condition.
These assertions are not backed by rigorous scientific evidence, and there is no proof they improve vision, reduce eye floaters or eliminate the need for glasses.
The same is true for claims that essential oils or other topical substances may improve vision.
While omega-3s have been previously touted for dry eye symptoms, there is no strong evidence that they help, although this does not discount their many other health benefits.
One study did demonstrate that progression of intermediate age-related macular degeneration slowed in some patients after using over-the-counter vitamins; specifically, the AREDS2 formula. However, these vitamins were not beneficial in patients with early or no signs of the disease.
WHAT DOES WORK
There are some ocular conditions where vision therapy may be recommended, including issues such as misalignment of the eyes and trouble converging on objects up close, which can result in symptoms such as diplopia, or “double vision”.
Ultimately, these conditions are best addressed by your eye doctor and are unrelated to the need for reading or distance glasses.For overall eye health, a diet rich in vegetables and other healthy foods may help reduce the incidence of some eye diseases.
Some studies also show that exercise is associated with a reduction in risk for developing glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration.Cigarette smoking is associated with several eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, so quitting or avoiding smoking is critical. Finally, don’t rub your eyes; it can lead to increased irritation. Removing makeup at nighttime helps minimise eyelid irritation. And don’t sleep with contact lenses in – it can lead to corneal infections and other conditions that could damage your eyesight. – Benjamin Botsford
Lisa has garnered worldwide fame both as a member of Blackpink and as a solo artiste. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD
ANN/THE KOREA HERALD – Lisa of Blackpink will return with a new single, Rockstar, at 9am on June 28, according to a statement from her distributor, Sony Music Entertainment Korea.
The previous day, Lisa revealed the artwork for Rockstar on the official Instagram of her label, Lloud Company.
Rockstar is the first song to be released in partnership between Lisa’s newly established Lloud Company and RCA Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music, one of the top three major music distributors in the US.
This is Lisa’s first individual release since her solo album LaLisa, which came out in September 2021.
The singer opened a TikTok account and released the first teaser clip, generating immense interest from fans. The account surpassed one million followers within two hours of its creation, setting a new world record.
Lisa has garnered worldwide fame both as a member of Blackpink and as a solo artiste.
Her solo track LaLisa peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Money charted on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. She also won the Best K-pop award at the MTV Video Music Awards and MTV Europe Music Awards in 2022. While Lisa established her own label, Lloud Company, in February 2024, for her solo activities, Blackpink’s group activities will be with YG Entertainment.
In April, she signed a partnership with RCA Records, which houses several global artistes like A$AP Rocky and Doja Cat.
Lisa will expand her career by appearing in season three of the HBO original series The White Lotus.
Lisa has garnered worldwide fame both as a member of Blackpink and as a solo artiste. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD
Police wait for the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron at the central police station in Noumea, New Caledonia. PHOTO: AP
AFP – French police arrested eight people in Pacific territory New Caledonia yesterday, prosecutors said, including one of the leaders of the pro-independence Field Action Co-ordination Cell (CCAT) movement that organised weeks of sometimes deadly unrest last month.
CCAT chief Christian Tein was the only detainee named by Yves Dupas, chief prosecutor in New Caledonia’s capital Noumea, as being arrested for “organised crime” offences, under which they can be held for up to 96 hours.
Violence erupted in New Caledonia, around 1,300 kilometres (km) northeast of Australia, on May 13 over French plans to update the electoral roll to include people with more than 10 years’ residency. Indigenous Kanak people feared that the move would leave them in a permanent minority in the territory and put independence definitively out of reach.
Nine people including two police officers have been killed, hundreds wounded, and around EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) of damage inflicted.
France responded by sending more than 3,000 troops and police to New Caledonia – almost 17,000km from Paris.
Since then, the constitutional reform needed to change the territory’s electoral law has de facto been abandoned, after French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved Parliament for a snap election on June 30 and July 7.
Pro-independence activist group CCAT was created in November last year to oppose the electoral reform plans.
Police wait for the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron at the central police station in Noumea, New Caledonia. PHOTO: AP
