Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz performing the Eid Al Fitr prayer at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca on April 10, 2024.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has a lung infection and was set to undergo medical tests on Sunday night, the Royal Court said in the latest update on the ageing monarch’s health.
King Salman “will undergo some medical tests this evening, …based on the recommendations of the royal clinics, due to a lung infection,” said the statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The 88-year-old king has been on the throne since 2015, though his son, Mohammed bin Salman, 39, was named crown prince in 2017 and acts as day-to-day ruler.
The monarch’s well-being is rarely discussed, but the Royal Court disclosed in May that he was undergoing a treatment programme involving antibiotics after he was admitted to hospital for tests. Soon after it announced he had recovered.
The previous month he was admitted for “routine examinations” and left later the same day.
Prior to that, he was hospitalised in May 2022, when he went in for a colonoscopy and stayed for just over a week for other tests and “some time to rest”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported at the time.
He was also admitted to hospital in March 2022 to undergo what state media described as “successful medical tests” and to change the battery of his pacemaker.
And in 2020 he underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder.
King Salman served as Riyadh governor for decades and also as defence minister.
His reign as king has been marked by ambitious social and economic reforms largely managed by his son, who is trying to position Saudi Arabia for an eventual post-oil future.
The Ministry of Health, following its accreditation as an American Heart Association (AHA) International Training Centre (ITC), hopes to train over 2,000 people in various lifesaving courses annually.
The ministry in a statement said that its ITC targets annual training for at least 480 people in First Aid, CPR, and AED through the Heartsaver course, about 1,600 healthcare staff in Basic Life Support (BLS), and around 360 in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).
Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar receives the certification from AHA Regional
Director for Asia Pacific and China Alina Zhuang. PHOTO: JAMES KON
According to the ministry, it received AHA accrediation early in February. On Monday, the ministry was inaugurated as an AHA ITC.
“This milestone enables the Ministry of Health, in partnership with AHA Regional Training Faculty, to launch its first Train-the-Trainers (ToT) Program, focusing on enhancing local resuscitation training capacity for healthcare professionals. The program includes essential courses, such as the Training Centre Faculty (TCF) Course and BLS & ACLS Provider and Instructor Essentials,” said the ministry.
Following Monday’s ceremony, 11 senior clinicians from various specialties will undergo TCF training to become the Ministry of Health ITC’s BLS and ACLS Faculty members.
This builds on their existing expertise by equipping them with advanced instructional methodologies tailored for AHA programs, enabling them to effectively conduct AHA BLS and ACLS Instructor Essentials courses and thereby expanding local instructor capacity, said the ministry.
Meanwhile, 17 healthcare professionals – mainly nurses and paramedics who currently serve as in-house instructors – will participate in BLS and ACLS Instructor Courses.
This aims to expand the team of AHA-certified Heartsaver, BLS, and ACLS instructors by training more professionals from the ministry’s healthcare staff, adding to the current 29 certified instructors.
The training will be held at the recently renovated National Resuscitation Centre, designed to support high-quality resuscitation education. Following the (ToT) programme, the Ministry of Health ITC will launch its first AHA-certified BLS and ACLS Provider Courses later this year, further certifying healthcare professionals as BLS and ACLS Providers, said the ministry.
Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Isham bin Haji Jaafar was the guest of honour for Monday’s ceremony.
The minister with a training prop. PHOTO: JAMES KON
BEIJING (ANN/KOREA HERALD) – As advancements in chip technology, algorithms, and large language models accelerate, artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasingly significant role in numerous industries. Below is a breakdown of the key areas where AI is making a transformative impact:
Customer Service
AI is revolutionising the customer service industry by offering efficient and consistent support. AI-powered chatbots, capable of handling large volumes of inquiries simultaneously, provide quick responses using natural language processing to mimic human interaction. These systems enhance the customer experience by personalising recommendations and offers, while also managing routine tasks like scheduling appointments and processing transactions.
For illusration purposes only. PHOTO: FREEPIK
AI systems continuously learn from interactions to improve performance, but some users feel that AI lacks empathy and struggles with complex or unusual queries, requiring human intervention.
Healthcare
AI plays a crucial role in hospitals, aiding diagnostics by analysing medical images such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. AI can detect subtle anomalies that may be missed by the human eye, facilitating early and accurate diagnoses. It also helps monitor patient data in real-time, predicting health issues and allowing for preemptive interventions that improve patient outcomes and reduce strain on hospital staff. Beyond clinical applications, AI optimizes administrative tasks like appointment scheduling, inventory management, and billing. Additionally, AI-powered telemedicine expands access to healthcare, especially in remote areas.
Travel
AI enhances travel experiences by simplifying the booking process for flights, hotels, and rentals through personalised algorithms. Travelers receive tailored suggestions for activities, dining, and attractions based on their preferences. AI also assists with real-time updates on traffic, weather, and flight statuses, ensuring a smooth journey. At destinations, AI-powered translation and navigation tools help travelers navigate unfamiliar environments, further enhancing convenience.
Smart Home Appliances
AI has revolutionised household appliances, making them smarter and more energy-efficient. AI-powered refrigerators can track food expiry dates and suggest recipes based on available ingredients, while AI-driven washing machines and dishwashers adjust their cleaning cycles to save water and energy. Smart thermostats learn user habits to efficiently manage heating and cooling systems, optimising energy use. These advancements not only improve appliance performance but also promote sustainability by reducing energy consumption.
Smartphones and Tablets
AI integration has significantly enhanced the capabilities of smartphones and tablets. AI-driven voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant enable users to perform tasks through voice commands, while AI-powered cameras offer features such as autofocus, image stabilisation, and facial recognition for improved photos and videos. Additionally, AI optimizes device performance by managing apps and memory usage, extending battery life, and providing personalised content recommendations.
Driving
AI is revolutionising transportation with autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems. These technologies rely on AI to process vast amounts of data from sensors, cameras, and GPS, enabling vehicles to make real-time decisions. AI-driven features like adaptive cruise control and emergency braking improve road safety, while connected vehicle technology enhances traffic management and route planning. In the future, fully autonomous vehicles could eliminate human error and transform mobility.
Security
AI is bolstering security in both cyber and physical domains. In cybersecurity, AI systems detect and respond to threats faster and more accurately than traditional systems. AI can learn from new attack patterns, adapt to evolving threats, and automate tasks such as vulnerability assessments. In physical security, AI-powered surveillance systems identify suspicious behavior and enhance biometric authentication systems. AI’s ability to monitor environmental factors in IoT devices also provides early warnings for security breaches or safety risks, enabling proactive risk management.
(FILES) A photo taken on September 25, 2024 shows portraits of individual laureates and the logos of prize-winning institutions and organisations on a wall of the committee meeting room at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway. Next week's Nobel prize announcements will crown achievements that made the world a better place, a glimmer of optimism as the world witnesses a spiralling Middle East conflict, protracted war in Ukraine, famine in Sudan and a collapsing climate. The prizes will be announced from October 7-14, 2024. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)
Portraits of individual laureates and the logos of prize-winning institutions and organisations on a wall of the committee meeting room at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway. PHOTO: AFP
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Cancer research or drugs treating cardiovascular illnesses could win a Nobel Prize on Monday when a week of laureate announcements kicks off, bringing a ray of optimism to a world beset by crises.
Awarded since 1901, the Nobel Prizes honour those who have, in the words of prize creator and scientist Alfred Nobel, “conferred the greatest benefit on humankind”, highlighting encouraging advances at a time when the world is witnessing devastating wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and a climate on the brink of collapse.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine is first out, announced on Monday around 11:30 am (0930 GMT) in Stockholm.
Among those seen as possible laureates is Kevan Shokat, an American biologist who figured out how to block the KRAS cancer gene behind a third of cancers, including challenging-to-treat lung, colon and pancreatic tumours.
“These are now being tested for new treatments thanks to his discovery,” said Annika Ostman, science reporter at Swedish public radio SR.
Research into how to treat cardiovascular illnesses could also get the nod, with the work of geneticists Jonathan Cohen and Helen Hobbs mentioned.
They identified genes that regulate the metabolism of essential lipids such as cholesterol, which has led to a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs, David Pendlebury, head of the Clarivate analytics group that identifies Nobel-worthy research, told AFP.
Hobbs won the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences in 2016, sharing the honour with Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo, who went on to win the Nobel in 2022.
Pendlebury also spotlighted a trio of neuroscientists who have researched the basal ganglia, a region in the brain important for motivation and reward, and how it regulates our behaviour.
The three are US neuroscientist Ann Graybiel, Okihide Hikosaka of Japan and German-born Wolfram Schultz.
Other potential winners are Davor Solter and Azim Surani for their study of epigenetics, which examines how cells control the activities of genes without changing the DNA.
Last year, the medicine prize went to researchers Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for their work on messenger RNA technology that paved the way for groundbreaking Covid-19 vaccines.
Atomic scale microscope
For the Nobel Prize in Physics, announced on Tuesday, SR’s science experts suggested the honour could go to Swiss physicist Christoph Gerber, a pioneer in the development of the atomic force microscope.
“This is a microscope that gives 3D images on such an incredibly small scale that they sometimes are even atomic resolution,” said SR science reporter Camilla Widebeck.
The tool has become indispensable in nanotechnology and nano research, she added.
Clarivate also mentioned Gerber as a possible winner, as well as David Deutsch and Peter Shor for their work on quantum algorithms and quantum computing.
Lars Brostrom at SR meanwhile said he hoped to see American-Jordanian Omar Yaghi win Wednesday’s chemistry prize.
Yaghi developed a type of customised porous material known as MOF (Metal-organic framework), now used in commercial products that can, among other things, absorb and decontaminate toxins, act as a catalyst or even absorb water from desert air.
Karl Deisseroth, a US psychiatrist and neurologist, has also been mentioned for the past decade as a possible laureate for developing the field of optogenetics, using light to control cells.
Speculation is also rife for the literature prize, to be announced on Thursday and perhaps the most highly anticipated Nobel after the peace prize.
Several pundits believe Chinese author Can Xue will be the Swedish Academy’s choice this year – and she has the lowest odds on several betting sites.
An avant-garde fiction writer often likened to Kafka, her experimental style flips between utopia and dystopia and transforms the mundane into the surreal.
“I think it will be a woman from a language zone outside Europe,” Bjorn Wiman, culture editor at Sweden’s newspaper of record, Dagens Nyheter, told AFP.
Others suggest it could go to Australian novelist Gerald Murnane, Britain’s Salman Rushdie or Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
Who deserves the Peace Prize?
The climax of the week comes Friday when the Peace Prize laureate is announced, but experts say predictions are harder than ever this year due to the growing number of crises in the world.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, the International Court of Justice and Afghan women’s rights activist Mahbouba Seraj have been mentioned as possibilities.
Given the existential risks to humanity posed by weapons systems that can operate autonomously without human control, several Nobel-watchers have also cited the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots as a potential laureate.
The economics prize wraps up the 2024 Nobel season on October 14.
It could go to research on the economics of child development, the integration of nature in the economy, or the effects of corruption on economic growth.
People await the setting sun by the edge of the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 9, 2024, some choosing to step into the water. In forty years, the Great Salt Lake has lost two-thirds of its surface area, a victim of an agricultural sector and a mining industry that consumes too much water, and of global warming which reduces the flow of the rivers that feed it, reaching a historic low in 2022. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
People await the setting sun by the edge of the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City, Utah. PHOTO: AFP
PARIS (AFP) – Global warming. Disappearing plant and animal species. Fertile land turning to desert. Plastic in the oceans, on land, and the air we breathe.
These urgent environmental challenges will be in the spotlight over the next few months as the United Nations hosts four major sessions to address key threats to the planet.
Biodiversity
First up is a “Conference of the Parties” – a COP – dedicated to biodiversity being held in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 to November 1.
These are called every two years to debate how the world can cooperate to better protect the rich variety of plant and animal life in the natural world.
The COP16 isn’t expected to break new ground but will take stock of progress since the last summit secured historic assurances for biodiversity.
In 2022 in Montreal, nations agreed to place 30 percent of the planet under environmental protection by 2030 in a landmark pact aimed at arresting biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems to health.
In Cali, countries will put forward national strategies to meet this global objective, and observers hope Colombia as host will provide a model for others to follow.
Climate
The world’s most important conference on climate change is this year being hosted by Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, from November 11 to 22.
While the last summit in Dubai in 2023 delivered a historic commitment to transition the world away from fossil fuels, supporting poorer countries with climate change will top this year’s agenda.
The summit, known as COP29, is expected to land a new agreement on “climate finance”: money from rich nations most responsible for global warming to developing countries vulnerable to climate change.
There isn’t an agreed figure yet, or even consensus on where the money should come from, who should receive it, and what form it could take.
But developing countries are pushing for much more than the $100 billion pledged in 2009. This was only reached for the first time in full in 2022.
The result of the US election, just six days before COP29 begins, could throw a last-minute curveball into the final negotiations, which have proved divisive so far.
It also remains to be seen how many world leaders travel to Baku, the capital on the Caspian Sea, with some expected to focus their energy on COP30 in Brazil next year.
Desertification
The least high profile of the three COPs, this session in Saudi Arabia addressing the loss of fertile land to desert is nonetheless critical.
Climate variation like droughts and human activities like overgrazing can result in desertification, a process mainly in dry areas where land degrades and becomes unproductive.
Experts hope the COP16 on desertification, scheduled to take place in Riyadh from December 2 to 13, can act as a turning point in addressing this problem.
“Discussions will focus on ways to restore 1.5 billion hectares of land by 2030, as well as putting in place agreements to manage the droughts that are already affecting many regions of the globe,” said Arona Diedhiou from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.
Plastic
In 2022, some 175 nations agreed to fast-track negotiations toward a world-first treaty on plastic pollution, and the final session gets underway on November 25 in South Korea.
The treaty aims to marshal an international response to the plastic trash choking the environment, from oceans and rivers to mountains and sea ice.
Some nations want the treaty to restrict how much plastic can be made while others — particularly oil and gas producing countries that provide the raw materials to make plastic — want a focus on recycling.
Hellen Kahaso Dena, head of Greenpeace’s Pan-African Plastics Project, hopes that countries “will agree on a treaty that prioritises reducing plastic production”.
“There is no time to waste with approaches that will not solve the problem,” the activist told AFP.
TOPSHOT - Security officials examine at the site of an explosion which occured near Karachi airport in Karachi, on late October 6, 2024. A massive blast rocked a road near the airport of Pakistan's largest city as a separatist militant group claimed on Monday an attack in the area. (Photo by Asif HASSAN / AFP)
Security officials examine at the site of an explosion which occured near Karachi airport. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI (AFP) – A massive blast on a road near the airport of Pakistan’s largest city killed two Chinese nationals, Beijing’s embassy said Monday, after a separatist militant group claimed an attack in the area.
An AFP journalist heard the explosion in Pakistan’s southern megacity of Karachi around 11 pm Sunday.
The regional government of southern Sindh province said on X that a “tanker” had exploded on the airport motorway.
Separatist militant group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said in a statement that it had “targeted a high-level convoy of Chinese engineers and investors” coming from Karachi’s airport.
Beijing’s embassy to Pakistan said in a statement on Monday that two Chinese citizens had been killed in a “terror attack” on a convoy of personnel from the Chinese-funded Port Qasim power project.
The attack also left one Chinese and several Pakistani citizens wounded, the embassy said.
The embassy urged authorities to “conduct a thorough investigation of the attack and severely punish the killers, while at the same time taking practical measures to fully ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, institutions and projects”.
The BLA is a separatist militant group advocating for autonomy of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, the largest but poorest region of the country.
The group has regularly targeted Chinese nationals, claiming ethnic Baloch locals are not receiving their fair share of wealth extracted by foreign investors.
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said flights from Karachi were continuing “as usual” and “agencies are investigating the cause at the scene of the accident/explosion”.
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan saves a penalty kick during the Serie A soccer match between Fiorentina and Milan, at Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, Sunday Oct. 6, 2024 (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)
Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan saves a penalty kick during the Serie A match between Fiorentina and Milan. PHOTO: AP
MILAN (AFP) – AC Milan slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina on Sunday after having two penalties saved by star man David De Gea, while Juventus fell further behind Serie A leaders Napoli on a day of spot-kick drama.
Albert Gudmundsson lashed home the decisive goal in the 73rd minute of a match in Florence which was packed with drama and featured three failed attempts from the penalty spot.
The 27-year-old’s winner was made possible by De Gea pulling off two incredible stops to deny Theo Hernandez and then Tammy Abraham from scoring penalties in a superb display from the former Spain goalkeeper.
Those saves contributed to Milan missing the chance to move second above champions Inter Milan and Juventus, with the latter held 1-1 by Cagliari due to Razvan Marin’s late penalty.
“We need to work out why we played the way we did because at times we did well but we couldn’t keep it up over the course of the match,” said Milan defender Matteo Gabbia, who received his first Italy call-up on Friday.
Instead Milan, who did level Yacine Aldi’s first-half opener for Fiorentina when Christian Pulisic deftly guided home Hernandez’s cross on the hour, sit sixth and five points behind Napoli.
Adli’s opener came in the 35th minute, after Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made the first penalty save of the evening, easily keeping out Moise Kean’s weak effort after Hernandez was penalised for kicking Dodo.
Italy international Kean had a tough night, missing a series of chances, having two goals rightly ruled out for offside and thumping the crossbar with a rocket in stoppage time, but he did provide the knockdown from which Gudmundsson won a thrilling contest.
Juve slip up
Marin lashed home the 88th-minute penalty which gave Cagliari a point at the Allianz Stadium after Roberto Piccoli was clumsily brought down by Douglas Luiz.
Romania midfielder Marin’s arrowed penalty levelled Dusan Vlahovic’s 15th-minute spot-kick and moved Cagliari a point above the relegation zone.
Juventus’ players. PHOTO: AP
It was the first goal conceded by Juve in Serie A this season and left Thiago Motta’s third-placed side three points behind Napoli.
“We created a few opportunities but there was always the feeling that Cagliari could get back into the game,” said Motta.
“What happened today is all our own fault.”
Cagliari could have even snatched a last-gasp win as Adam Obert thumped the post in the fifth minute of stoppage time, with Juve down to 10 men following Francisco Conceicao’s sending off almost immediately after Marin’s equaliser for trying to win a penalty by simulating a foul.
Juventus would have almost certainly had the full three points had Vlahovic not wasted a huge chance in the 78th minute in front of Paul Pogba, who was in the stands after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided on Friday to cut his doping ban from four years to 18 months.
France midfielder Pogba can return to action in March but sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli gave the impression that the 31-year-old has no future at Juve.
“We’ll make our decision once the CAS decision has been made official. He was a great footballer but he hasn’t played for a long time,” Giuntoli said pre-match.
Roma demand ‘respect’
Juve have been joined on 13 points by their next opponents Lazio, who are fourth after winning their fourth straight match in all competitions, 2-1 over Empoli.
Roma’s sporting director Florent Ghisolfi meanwhile demanded “respect” for his team after the capital club were denied a late penalty during their 1-1 draw at Monza.
Georgios Kyriakopoulos’ 87th-minute challenge on Tommaso Baldanzi, which was if anything worse than Douglas Luiz’s on Piccoli, sparked a furious reaction from Roma’s players on the pitch and Ghisolfi later vented his frustration to Sky.
“What happened today was unacceptable, it was a clear penalty. Why did VAR not intervene?” said the Frenchman.
“There is a huge amount of frustration in the dressing room. We demand respect.”
Bologna’s difficult start to life under Vincenzo Italiano continued with a goalless draw against 10-man Parma.
ANN/THE STAR – Inquire with any mother from Sarawak about her preferred confinement food, and it is highly likely that she will mention “ka chang ma chicken”.
This dish is a traditional Chinese confinement meal that has gradually gained popularity among individuals of various ethnic backgrounds.
According to Nur Hanie Mohammed, 42, who operates a confinement meal delivery service from her residence in Kuching, it has become an essential dish for new mothers during their confinement period.
The dish, which consists of chicken, ginger, and dried ka chang ma herbs (also known as motherwort), is particularly favored by her clientele.
Although ka chang ma is not indigenous to the region, having been introduced to Sarawak by the Hakka community from China, it has become a significant component of one of the unique culinary offerings of the hornbill state.
“I have Dayak and Malay clients who request for this dish during their confinement period, and I remember my late mother being served this dish after she gave birth to my younger brother,” said the home-based cook.
Nur Hanie Mohammed with her food. PHOTO: THE STAR
Confinement food delivery services are increasingly popular across the country for various reasons. They give new mothers one less thing to worry about and ensure they receive adequate nutrition to support their bodies throughout the healing process while they care for their newborns.
And for Nur Hanie, infusing her dishes with traditional elements comes naturally.
Growing up in Sarawak and surrounded by the aromatic spices and vibrant flavours of local dishes, Nur Hanie decided to specialise in Sarawakian cuisine for recovering new mothers because she believes that nourishing and traditional food hold stories, memories and promote emotional connections.
Her business, Ringkat Mama Confinement Meal, offers two daily meals (lunch and dinner), with an optional tea time snack. Each meal includes a protein (chicken or fish), vegetables and fruits for fibre and some carbohydrates.
“While these meals essentially provide nourishment for postpartum recovery, a delivery food service gives new mothers peace of mind, freeing them from worrying about their next meal and allowing them to spend more time with their babies,” she added.
A MODERN OPTION
Nur Hanie said confinement meal delivery is particularly valuable now since many new mothers lack the “village” – extended family members and friends who traditionally cared for them during this period.
Despite having only offered the service for two years, Nur Hanie, who is also a freelance illustrator, has received rave reviews about her food quality but she remains far from being complacent. A mother to a three-year-old daughter, she regularly exchanges notes with two confinement lady acquaintances from different backgrounds to find more about the types of food necessary for new mothers.
“One friend, who is medically trained, has a more of a modern outlook, while the other, who comes from a line of confinement ladies, sticks to more traditional practices,” she said.
The first confinement lady shares insights on the effects of certain traditional herbs, while the second one advises her on which foods have ‘cold’ or ‘heaty’ properties.
“It’s fascinating to learn these things and I’m always trying to reconcile the differences between these two postpartum practices, specifically about confinement meals. I aim to find a balance between them,” said Nur Hanie.
Despite the delivery cost of sending the meals out, Nur Hanie believes that confinement food delivery remains worthwhile due to the convenience it offers to new mothers and their families.
“My delivery cost depends on the location – the farther the delivery is, the higher the price.
But I find the cost is manageable when there are multiple customers in one area,” she said.
“But cost aside, I think this business ‘nourishes’ me too, because I get to ease the lives of women who are in this new and challenging phase. It feels good to be able to help fellow mothers,” she added.
Rescue officials evacuate residents affected by flooding in a boat in Chiang Mai, Thailand. PHOTO: AFP
BANGKOK (AFP) – Two elephants drowned during flash flooding in popular Thai tourist hotspot Chiang Mai, their sanctuary said yesterday, as local authorities evacuated visitors from their hotels and shops closed in the city centre.
More than 100 elephants at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai province were moved to higher ground to escape rapidly rising flood waters, an employee who gave her name as Dada, told AFP.
But two elephants – named in local media as 16-year-old Fahsai and 40-year-old Ploython, who was blind – were found dead on Saturday.
“My worst nightmare came true when I saw my elephants floating in the water,” director of the Elephant Nature Park in northern Thailand Saengduean Chailert told local media.
“I will not let this happen again, I will not make them run from such a flood again,” she said, vowing to move them to higher ground ahead of next year’s monsoon. In Chiang Mai city centre, people waded through muddy water close to knee height in the night bazaar, and water flowed into the central train station, which has now been closed.
Tourists were forced to evacuate hotels and a local TV station showed a monk carrying a coffin through floodwaters to a cremation site.
Major inundations have struck parts of northern Thailand as recent heavy downpours caused the Ping River to reach “critical” levels, according to the district office. The water level peaked on Saturday but had receded slightly yesterday.
Rescue officials evacuate residents affected by flooding in a boat in Chiang Mai, Thailand. PHOTO: AFP
Malaysian Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan reviewing the progress of the Pan Borneo Highway project. PHOTO: BERNAMA
KOTA KINABALU (BERNAMA) – The construction of Phase 1A of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway (LPB) is facing delays due to land acquisition issues and the extensive time required for utility relocation along the project alignment, said Malaysian Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
He noted that the landowners’ refusal to cooperate, with some taking the matter to court, has delayed the project, necessitating an extension of time (EOT).
“Therefore, we want to prevent this issue from arising in the implementation of Phase 1B of the Sabah LPB, where the contractor received the letter of acceptance just two days ago,” he said during an inspection of the project yesterday.
According to Ahmad, as of August, the progress of the 15 work packages in Phase 1A of the Sabah LPB stood at 79.48 per cent.
“Four work packages have been completed and are now open to road users, while the remaining packages are at various stages of construction.
“These are expected to be finished in phases by the first quarter of 2026. Phase 1A covers an estimated distance of 283 kilometres,” he said.
Malaysian Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan reviewing the progress of the Pan Borneo Highway project. PHOTO: BERNAMA
