Avalanche buries three skiers near Anchorage, Alaska

World

March 7, 2025

AP – Three skiers who had flown by helicopter to a remote mountain range were swept away by an avalanche and likely killed under the weight of dozens of feet of snow, Alaska State Troopers said.

If the deaths are confirmed, it would be the deadliest United States (US) avalanche since three climbers were killed in a slide in Washington’s Cascade Range two years ago.

While Alaska State Troopers had been unable to assess the site, spokesperson Austin McDaniel said troopers do not believe the three skiers survived the avalanche.

The slide caught the heli-skiers in the Chugach Mountains near the skiing community of Girdwood, located about 64 kilometres (km) south of Anchorage, said McDaniel. Heli-skiers use helicopters to reach mountains in remote backcountry areas where there are no ski lifts, and then they either ski or snowboard down.

Guides from the heli-skiing company attempted to locate the trapped skiers using avalanche beacons and identified a probable area where they were buried, McDaniel said.

But the victims were unable to be immediately recovered because of how deep they were buried, McDaniel said.

The snow deposited by the avalanche was up to 30 metres (m) deep, and the skiers were likely buried at depths greater than 9m, according to Chugach Powder Guides, which was running the trip.

The victims, all men, were clients from out of state who had been skiing with a guide on a run that’s used regularly by the company, according to Chugach Powder Guides spokesperson Tracey Knutson.

As the slide began, Knutson said, witnesses saw the men deploy their avalanche air bags – inflatable vests meant to keep avalanche victims above or near the surface. A fourth person in the group was not caught in the avalanche, she said.

“Three guides on scene immediately issued a rescue alert and initiated rescue response,” Knutson said in a statement. As more guides and helicopters arrived to help, they picked up signals from the victims’ emergency beacons but decided there were not enough resources on site to safely recover them, Knutson said.

Poor weather conditions prevented helicopter flights, meaning troopers, avalanche experts and recovery teams couldn’t assess the site, McDaniel said. It was rainy, windy and foggy in Girdwood, with snow at higher elevations.

The avalanche site was 13km northeast of the airport in Girdwood, in an area along the Twentymile River, according to the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Centre.

File photo of the Portage Glacier near Girdwood, Alaska, United States. PHOTO: AP

Greek protests turn violent over train crash censure

World

March 7, 2025

ATHENS (AP) – Protesters launched gasoline bombs and fireworks in clashes with police outside Greece’s Parliament yesterday, in renewed nationwide protests calling for politicians to be held accountable for a 2023 rail disaster that claimed 57 lives.

Scores of youth set fire to trash bins in Syntagma Square in central Athens, and police in riot gear responded with tear gas and baton charges. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.

The fierce clashes erupted hours after opposition parties challenged Greece’s center-right government with a no-confidence motion in parliament. Days earlier, a general strike and much larger protests, some violent, marked the second anniversary of the February 28, 2023, tragedy.

Many of the victims of the head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train at Tempe in northern Greece were university students returning from a long weekend holiday. Dozens of people were injured in the crash.

Victims’ relatives called for the mass mobilisation in recent weeks, saying politicians should be held accountable for failures that led to the collision. So far, only rail officials have been charged.

The censure motion – led by the main opposition Socialist party and backed by three smaller left-wing parties – is unlikely to threaten the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which holds 156 seats in the 300-member parliament. A vote is expected late Friday. Presenting the motion on Wednesday, Socialist party leader Nikos Androulakis accused the government of shielding officials from accountability for the tragedy.

“Why do you remain so unrepentant, continuing down this road of insults and arrogance?” Androulakis asked lawmakers. “That’s why we are submitting a motion of no confidence today.”

Mitsotakis described the censure motion as a political stunt and insisted it poses no threat to his second term, which is due to end in 2027. “Parties from different vantage points have come together in a common anti-government front,” Mitsotakis told lawmakers.

“It’s not the truth that you are interested in. But you have collapsed in opinion polls and are looking for a reason to exist.”

A hooded protester throws a smoke flare against riot police during clashes in Athens, Greece. PHOTO: AP

Slovak president swears in new minister in a reshuffle to stabilise the government

World

March 7, 2025

BRATISLAVA (AP) – Slovakia’s President Peter Pellegrini swore in a new minister of tourism and sports in a reshuffle aimed to stabilise the government.

The appointment of Rudolf Huliak came two weeks after the three parties in the governing coalition agreed on a move to increase the power of the Smer (Direction) party of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Under the agreement, the coalition’s two junior partners – the Hlas (Voice) party and the ultranationalist and Slovak National Party – gave up control of one ministry each to Smer. With the addition of the ministries overseeing investments, regional development and information, and tourism and sports, Smer now controls nine ministries, Hlas six and the Slovak National Party two.

The deal was a result of a recent crisis in the coalition that risked its parliamentary majority.

The coalition had 79 seats in the 150-seat Parliament known as the National Council before four Hlas lawmakers and three others, including Huliak, in the Slovak National Party parted with their parliamentary factions.

The lawmakers did not join the opposition but have demanded posts in the government, parliament and state institutions in exchange for their loyalty.

That has made it difficult for the government to advance its agenda.

Huliak is not a member of the Slovak National Party but heads a fringe, far-right National Coalition party. Pellegrini’s predecessor, Zuzana Čaputová, refused to accept Huliak’s nomination for the post of environment minister after the 2023 parliamentary election.

Čaputová said she would not appoint as minister someone who doesn’t believe in the threat of climate change.

She also cited Huliak’s advocacy of violence against environmentalists as a reason not to swear him in. Huliak, the mayor of Očová town in central Slovakia for his controversial attacks against a group of minorities.

Fico has yet to announce his plans with the Investments, Regional Development and Information Ministry.

Fico’s government has faced vocal protests against its pro-Russian and other policies.

Protesters hold a rally during the Slovakian election in Bratislava, Slovakia. PHOTO: AFP

Mother of jailed Egyptian-UK activist eases hunger strike amid ‘hope’

World

March 7, 2025

LONDON (AFP) – The mother of jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah is easing her hunger strike after nearly 160 days due to “developments” that have given her “hope”, a campaign group said on Wednesday.

Laila Soueif, 68, has been in a London hospital for over a week, where her doctors had deemed her condition life-threatening.

Soueif launched her hunger strike to protest Egypt’s detention of her son, Alaa Abdel Fattah, a prominent activist who has been held for over five years.

As she nears 160 days of being on hunger strike Soueif said she would switch to a partial hunger strike of 300 calories “consumed as liquids and not solid food”, the Free Alaa campaign group announced on X.

“There have been developments that have given me hope,” Soueif said according to the group, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer phoned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week to press her son’s case.

Soueif has lived on only coffee, tea and rehydration sachets since September 29, 2024 – the date that marked five years in detention for her son. Fattah, 43, a pro-democracy and rights campaigner, was arrested by Egyptian authorities in September 2019 and given a five-year sentence for “spreading false news”.

Fattah was a key figure in the 2011 revolt that toppled Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak and was given UK citizenship in 2022 through his British-born mother.

Soueif will remain under observation at London’s St Thomas’s Hospital to see how her body responds to being given a nutritional supplement.

“When Laila started her hunger strike, she didn’t have much hope that Alaa would be released in her lifetime. Now she is cautiously optimistic,” the Free Alaa statement said.

Protesters gather near the British embassy in the Lebanese capital of Beirut to demand the release of jailed British-Egyptian political dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah. PHOTO: AFP

Syria FM vows end to chemical arms

World

March 7, 2025

AFP – Syria’s foreign minister pledged to destroy the chemical weapons stockpiles built up under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, in a historic speech to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) global watchdog.

Asaad al-Shaibani was the first ever Syrian representative to address the executive council of the OPCW in The Hague.

Former president Assad was repeatedly accused of using chemical weapons during Syria’s 13-year civil war, and there has been widespread concern about the fate of Syria’s stocks since his December 8 ouster.

“The Assad regime chemical weapons programme represents one of the darkest chapters in both Syria and the world’s history,” Shaibani told delegates.

More than a decade ago, Syria agreed to hand over its declared stockpile for destruction, but the OPCW believes the declaration was incomplete and more weapons remain unaccounted for.Shaibani vowed to “rebuild Syria’s future for a foundation of transparency, justice, cooperation with the international community”.

“This chemical weapons programme, created under the Assad era, is not our programme… Nevertheless, our commitment is to dismantle whatever may be left from it, to put an end to this painful legacy,” he said.

Assad’s ouster has offered a “new and historic opportunity” to finally document and destroy the chemical weapons stockpile in Syria, OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias told delegates in an opening speech.

Last month, Arias met Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in a first visit to Damascus since rebels toppled Assad.

“With this visit, we started to lay the foundation for cooperation with the new Syrian authorities based on trust and transparency,” said Arias.

Unlocking dream memory

Lifestyle

March 7, 2025

AFP – For some, dreams fade into the background as soon as they wake, while others can recall every vivid detail with perfect clarity. Why do some people remember their dreams so easily, while others can’t seem to hold onto a single image?

This baffling question has captivated scientists for decades, and now, a new study published in the journal Communications Psychology is shedding light on the mysterious mechanics behind dream memory.Previous research pointed to factors like age, gender, and a tendency to daydream as possible influencers, but the role of personality and cognitive abilities remained unclear. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, however, dreams became a hot topic again, with many people reporting more intense and frequent dreams, sparking renewed interest in what truly governs our ability to remember them.

To explore this phenomenon in more detail, researchers at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy, conducted a study involving over 200 participants aged between 18 and 70 between 2020 and 2024. For 15 days, they recorded their dream memories on waking daily using a voice recorder. At the same time, the researchers used wearable devices to analyse the quality of the participants’ sleep, and subjected them to psychometric tests to assess their cognitive function.

Each morning, the volunteers were asked to state whether they clearly remembered a dream, whether they retained a vague impression of it with no precise details, or whether they had no recollection of their dreams. The results of the study show that the ability to remember dreams varies considerably according to a number of factors. State of mind plays a key role, as people with a positive attitude to their dreams and a propensity for mind-wandering were more likely to remember them.

The structure of sleep also has a direct impact, particularly when light sleep phases are longer, which favours waking up in the middle of a dream sequence. The age of the participants also seems to play a decisive role. Younger adults retain their dreams more easily, while older people are more likely to experience a dream impression without retaining its content, a phenomenon scientists call “white dreams”.

Finally, seasonality also influences dream memory. The study reveals that dream memories are more frequent in spring than in winter, a difference that could be linked to circadian rhythms and environmental variations. In other words, remembering your dreams is not just a coincidence, “but a reflection of how personal attitudes, cognitive traits, and sleep dynamics interact”, explained study lead author and Professor in General Psychology Dr Giulio Bernardi in a news release.

This study serves as a reminder that dreaming is a multifaceted phenomenon, influenced by our psyche and biology. Beyond its scientific interest, this research sheds light on new clinical perspectives. “Data collected within this project will serve as a reference for future comparisons with clinical populations,” added author and researcher Dr Valentina Elce.

Understanding these alterations could make it possible to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of dreams in certain diseases. So can we train ourselves to remember our dreams? Some specialists think so. Before going to sleep, it’s advisable to mentally repeat to yourself the intention of remembering your dreams, making this the last thought of the day.

When you wake up, it is best to avoid getting out of bed abruptly or allowing yourself to be distracted immediately – with your phone, for example. Instead, sit still and try to recall the sensations or images that cross your mind.

Keeping a dream diary can help. Writing down your impressions as soon as you wake up, in the form of keywords or images, helps to anchor memories to focus on these fleeting moments. Even if no specific dream seems to be present, a simple detail can be enough to revive the memory of a buried dream.

Israeli drone strikes wound two in Lebanon

World

March 7, 2025

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanese official media said two people were wounded when Israeli drones attacked a vehicle in the south, a day after a deadly raid and despite an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

“Israeli drones carried out more than one strike on a vehicle in Ras Naqura, near a rubbish dump” south of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping position, the National News Agency (NNA) said.

“Two siblings who were collecting scrap metal” were wounded and taken to hospital, it added.

Israel’s military said it carried out a strike on Lebanon that targeted people it alleged were engaged in activities that violated the ceasefire deal.

“Earlier today, a number of suspects were identified loading weapons onto vehicles in the area of Naqoura in southern Lebanon,” it said, adding that the Israeli Air Force “struck one of the vehicles in order to remove the threat”.

“The activity of the suspects constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” it said in a statement.

The strikes come a day after Israel’s military said it killed a Hezbollah navy commander in the south, accusing the slain militant of violating the November 27 ceasefire.

A man walks past the rubble of buildings that were destroyed in Israeli strikes during the latest war in the southern Lebanese village of Ramia near the southern border. PHOTO: AFP

Tilapia skin offers groundbreaking treatment for burn injury

Lifestyle

March 7, 2025

ANN/THE DAILY STAR – Imagine a world where the solution to treating severe burns is found not in the latest high-tech medicine, but in something as humble as fish skin. Tilapia skin, rich in collagen types I and III, has emerged as a ground-breaking treatment for burn injuries, offering a natural, biocompatible dressing that accelerates healing.

First pioneered in Brazil, this innovative technique has proven so effective that hospitals are seeing faster recovery times, fewer complications, and reduced scarring in burn patients.

The discovery is not just transforming the way burns are treated – it is also significantly cutting healthcare costs, showing the immense potential of turning an unlikely by-product into a life-saving remedy.

Unlike synthetic dressings, the skin of tilapia fish is biocompatible, meaning it integrates seamlessly with human tissue without causing adverse reactions. It also provides a natural barrier against infections, retains moisture to prevent the wound from drying out, and reduces the pain associated with exposed nerve endings.

Additionally, the tensile strength and elasticity allow it to conform to the contours of a wound, ensuring better coverage and adherence than traditional dressings. The method is now gaining traction in countries like India, and China, where researchers are exploring its application in other forms of wound care, such as diabetic ulcers and surgical incisions.

While tilapia skin offers immense promise, challenges remain. These include scaling up production, ensuring consistent sterilisation processes, and addressing regulatory approvals in different countries. However, ongoing research and technological advancements are expected to overcome these hurdles, making this treatment more accessible globally.

The use of tilapia fish skin for burn treatment is proof of how innovative thinking and sustainable practices can revolutionise healthcare. By transforming an underutilised by-product into a lifesaving resource, this approach has the potential to set a new standard in wound care, offering hope and improved outcomes for burn victims worldwide.

As research and innovation progresses, tilapia skin may become an integral and vital part of modern medicine, extending its benefits to a broader range of patients and conditions.

Truth, trauma and tradition

Entertainment

March 7, 2025

AP – Shula is driving home from a fancy dress party one night when she encounters an unusual sight in the middle of a country road: her Uncle Fred’s dead body.

But Shula, portrayed by Susan Chardy, does not behave in a way that we would expect. She doesn’t cry out in horror or appear the least bit upset or shocked by the sight. Instead, we sit there with her in silence, her in sunglasses and a silver helmeted mask adorned with sparkling rhinestones. Shula looks straight out of a music video as she stares off into the distance. This, we realise quickly, is going to be a thing. At the very least, it’s an inconvenience, ripping her out of her independent life and back into the throes of her traditional family, their patriarchal ways and all their crippling secrets.

This is the opening scene of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Rungano Nyoni’s darkly comedic, stylish and hauntingly bizarre portrait of a Zambian family funeral. It is perhaps the first great film of 2025 – though it’s technically been awaiting its moment in the United States (US) since 2024. It premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival and has already had a run in the United Kingdom (UK).

And it’s a post-Oscars treat to have something this great in the cinemas to shake audiences out of their end-of-the-road awards contender boredom. What better way to do it than with something so different, so vibrant and so unforgettable as On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, only the second feature from the self-taught filmmaker.

Nyoni centres this story around a days-long funeral for this predominately Bemba family.

Shula is in the middle of the generations involved, a reluctant but obedient participant in the rituals of the elders. The women organise all the things, make all the food, and then serve all the men who are sitting around doing nothing. Eventually, they’ll all gather for a climactic, distressing scene in which they divide up Fred’s assets and place blame for his death. It is, like everything else, deeply unfair and misogynistic, coming down to whomever shouts loudest.

Photos show scenes from the movie. PHOTO: AP

The elder women cry and wail and are cruel to Uncle Fred’s widow for not taking care of him. But there is an open secret that’s bubbling up to the surface now that Fred is dead: He was a predator whose abuse of the young women in his family stretches back decades.

This is, most of the elders agree, something that should just be forgotten and buried along with Fred.

“Do you want me to dig up the corpse and ask it what happened?” Shula’s dad asks when she confronts him with the truth. This is a society that remains bound to protecting the reputation and memory of a man whose actions continue to affect the women he violated: His wife; his young niece; Shula’s grown cousin (Elizabeth Chisela). The women are just supposed to compartmentalise and move on – something the matriarchs seem largely on board with.

Shula reads one of her auntie’s words, presumably for an obituary, “You were not just a brother, but also a father figure. Ever jovial and joyous. A person who was fair.” Done in quick succession with her young cousin Bupe’s confession that she too was a victim of the deceased, words like “father figure” and “jovial” echo with malice.

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl shares some spiritual DNA with Women Talking, in which mothers pass on traumas and secrets and the cycle goes on, despite even the best of intentions. Nyoni and her cinematographer David Gallego make this a transportive, stylish and unforgettable experience that powerfully transcends the specifics of its setting, while also taking audiences into an culture that’s likely unfamiliar.

The ending is not what one might call conclusive, but perhaps a litmus test for the individual viewer as to whether or not they’ll exit with hope or dread for what’s to come. And regardless, when you take a step back, Guinea Fowl cements the exciting arrival of a true filmmaker. – Lindsey Bahr

Skydiving dolphin?

World

March 7, 2025

WELLINGTON (AP) – A placid fishing trip turned “berserk” for three New Zealand men when a dolphin weighing more than 400 kilogrammes appeared to fall out of the sky before crash-landing in their small boat.

No one was badly hurt when the 3.4 metre bottlenose dolphin jumped aboard the open-top boat last Friday, said Dean Harrison, the owner of the nearly 16-foot vessel.

Harrison and two companions were fishing near the Hole in the Rock, a picturesque spot off the far north coast of New Zealand’s North Island, while dolphins frolicked ahead. The men saw a shadow across the bright summer sun and heard an almighty boom – before chaos unfolded.

“This one decided to jump on board and say hello,” Harrison said. “One minute everything was fine and then just like lightning striking, there’s a big dolphin in our boat thrashing around and breaking everything.” The creature’s flailing snapped “every single fishing rod we had in the boat” and severely damaged the bow as the trio clung to the sides of the vessel, said Harrison. One man had minor injuries to his arm where the juvenile male dolphin grazed his back and shoulder, but all three fishermen and the dolphin were otherwise uninjured.

But returning the majestic creature to the sea was not an option for the trio due to its size.

“We looked at the dolphin still alive and breathing and we thought, we’ve got to start looking after him and figure out what to do,” Harrison said. “Because he’s stuck in the boat for now, so he’s coming along for the ride.”

The men alerted New Zealand’s conservation agency and were directed to a boat ramp an hour away, where workers waited to help the dolphin. On the way, the trio used a hose to keep the creature wet and protected it from the sun using a damp towel depicting players from the All Blacks rugby team.

On shore, members of a local Māori tribe prayed for the dolphin before it was returned to the ocean using a tractor. Helpers gave the two-to-three-year-old creature a name: Tohu, which means “sign” in the Māori language.

Tohu is now also the name of Dean Harrison’s boat. “The dolphin got to swim away and we got to walk away and we’ve all got a story to tell,” he said. “It’s a good ending in a situation that could have been very different.”

Borneo Bulletin OnlineThe Independent Newspaper in Brunei Darussalam, Sabah and Sarawak

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