POKHARA (AFP) – With Nepal’s snowy Himalayan peaks as a backdrop, the sky above Pokhara transformed into a vibrant canvas of colours for the country’s first hot-air balloon festival.
Tourism is a major earner for Nepal, which saw over a million foreign visitors this year after a post-pandemic bounceback, and investments are being made in hotels and airports to cater to travellers.
“We felt that we must bring a balloon festival like this to Nepal,” organiser of the event Sabin Maharjan told AFP.
Hot-air balloons from more than 10 countries participated in the festival.
“A ride here can be very exciting as you can see mountains, hills and lakes,” Maharjan added.
“All passengers tell us that they are very happy – such a festival will boost our tourism.”
The balloons created a mesmerising display against a stunning sight of the snow-capped Annapurna range.
ABOVE & BELOW: Photos show colourful hot-air balloons during Nepal’s first hot-air balloon festival. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFP
“It is spectacular,” American balloon pilot Derek Hamcock, 67, said.
“As soon as you go above the small range here you see all the Himalayas. Unbelievable, every time you see them it is unbelievable.”
Balloons shaped as a rat and a frog from were among those joining in the fun, slowly drifting with the breeze.
“You never know where you are going,” said Diego Criado del Rey, 29, a balloon pilot from Spain.
“So it is pretty much you and the nature – not fighting, but being together. You go where the nature tells you.”
Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority issued a notice for the skies over Pokhara for a duration of nine days to allow balloon flights.
Although more than two centuries have passed since France’s Montgolfier brothers made the first manned flight, ballooning can still capture the imagination.
XINHUA – The global success of China’s acclaimed game Black Myth: Wukong has introduced the enchanting tale of Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, to audiences worldwide.
But for Ghaffar Pourazar, a British-American dual citizen living in California, this legendary figure has been a part of his identity for decades. Seated before the backstage mirror at Beijing’s Liyuan Theatre, an old Peking Opera venue especially popular among foreign travellers, Pourazar deftly applies white, red and black paint to his face, transforming it into the vibrant likeness of the mischievous Monkey King. “How time flies! Look at you, an old monkey now!” remarked an elderly from the opera troupe. “Indeed, I am now a white-haired Monkey King,” Pourazar, 63, replied in Mandarin, his distinctive Beijing accent evident. Pourazar has spent the past three decades mastering Peking Opera, establishing himself as a rare foreign performer excelling in this traditional Chinese art, and earning the nickname “Western Monkey King” for his exceptional portrayal of the Chinese superhero from the classic novel Journey to the West.
Currently, he travels between China and the United States (US), serving as a cultural ambassador, introducing the art of Peking Opera to Western audiences, and offering a unique perspective of the art to Chinese audiences. “I want to be a bridge between cultures,” he said, reflecting on his multicultural background.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Pourazar’s lifelong passion for Peking Opera began by chance. In 1993, 32-year-old Pourazar, then a computer animator, attended a performance at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and was instantly captivated. “I was crying,” he recalled. I previously had a passion for various art forms, including acting, dancing, mime, and movement. But at that moment, everything else faded away. I saw the convergence of all these arts in Peking Opera.” He went to the backstage right after the show and made friends with the Chinese performers.
“We didn’t speak each other’s language, but they could see my passion,” Pourazar said.
With the help of the head of the Chinese troupe, Pourazar was enrolled at an opera school in Beijing. Just three months after his first exposure to Peking Opera, he left his life in Britain behind and moved to Beijing to train in the martial roles of the art.
ABOVE & BELOW: Photos show Ghaffar Pourazar putting on make-up for his shows. PHOTO: XINHUAPHOTO: XINHUAABOVE & BELOW: Pourazar dons his costume for the show; and during a perfomance. PHOTO: XINHUAPHOTO: XINHUA
Starting as an adult was not easy, as Peking Opera is a complex blend of vocal performance, mime, martial arts, dance and acrobatics. “My classmates were all children,” he said. “As an adult without any basic skills, it is very hard for you to practice the movements.” In addition to the physical demands, mastering the Chinese language posed another hurdle.
“I was constantly reciting the subtitles and songs, whether I was eating, bathing, walking, or even dreaming,” Pourazar added. “Though there were some extremely painful days, I enjoyed every moment,” he said.
Initially, he focused on portraying ancient soldiers and generals like Wu Song and Lin Chong, before eventually transitioning to the iconic role of the Monkey King.
LIFELONG COMMITMENT
Pourazar believes that great art transcends languages. Over the years, he has devoted himself to introducing Peking Opera and Sun Wukong to international audiences, taking Chinese performers to perform in countries such as the US, Britain and Malaysia.
He has also been teaching courses and organising workshops in the US, bringing Peking Opera to curious Western learners.
To better connect with Western audiences and learners, he adapted some classic plays such as The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven into English versions. “I changed the spoken parts into English and kept the original songs, and it became a success on the international stage,” he said. “I am the most powerful spirit in heaven and earth,” Pourazar exclaims, dressed in a signature yellow costume reminiscent of the Monkey King.
As he recited the dialogues in English with the distinctive intonation of Peking Opera, he leaps, flips and executes movements that capture the playful nature of the mischievous monkey. Despite not being Chinese, his efforts bring the essence of the Monkey King to life.
Over the past two decades, his captivating performances have introduced the enchanting character to numerous international audiences. “My young nephew, who lives in Turkiye, has become so enamoured with the Monkey King that he taught himself to perform this character,” Pourazar said.
“I love the Monkey King for his simplicity and the inner child that defines his character. His love for freedom and quest for longevity are also qualities that I respect,” he said.
“I believe this character resonates with people of different cultures.” With an aim to enhance communication with Western audiences, he also adapted Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream into Peking Opera.
“By presenting a story that the Western audiences are already familiar with, I hope to more effectively introduce them to the charm of Peking Opera,” he said.
In recognition of his contributions, Pourazar received the Great Wall Friendship Award from the Beijing government in 2014.
Over the years, Pourazar has accumulated numerous injuries and health issues. His right knee now suffers from arthritis and edema due to excessive exertion during a recent Peking Opera workshop in California, yet he continues his efforts undeterred. “I rely on traditional Chinese medicine when I am unwell or injured,” he said while sipping Chinese green tea from an insulated bottle.
He said his love for Chinese culture extends well beyond the Peking Opera, encompassing Chinese calligraphy, painting, cuisine and Kung Fu. Despite his health challenges and advancing age, Pourazar remains committed to his artistic pursuits.He is currently working on two Broadway-style musical projects, both influenced by the performance traditions of Peking Opera.
The first, Dream of Wukong, explores his personal journey of mastering Peking Opera, while the second, Dr Jane Goodall, tells the story of the renowned ecologist and her extensive work with chimpanzees. “Cultural exchange should be reciprocal. I aim to blend my expertise in opera with my multicultural background to create enriching artistic experiences for the audiences,” Pourazar said.
URUMQI (XINHUA) – For decades, Xu Shuangmin had barely ventured beyond her community, confined to a comfortable five-kilometre (km) radius in the central city of Wuhan. But at the age of 67, and fresh off her retirement, she stunned everyone with a decision to travel 4,000km northwest, embarking on a new chapter as a volunteer teacher.
In September 2021, Xu joined a national silver-age teacher action plan, an initiative launched by China’s Ministry of Education to tap into the wealth of experience and knowledge of retired educators to boost the educational quality of universities in the western regions. Retiring from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Xu started volunteering at the Karamay campus of China University of Petroleum-Beijing in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which has drawn 140 retired teachers like Xu from around the country.
The plan comes as China’s population continues to age rapidly. According to the ministry, by 2025, the number of people over 60 in China will exceed 300 million, coinciding with a peak in teacher retirements. Most of the retired teachers come from the economically developed large cities in the central and eastern regions. However, they were not afraid of Xinjiang’s dry climate, sandy weather, and relatively modest living facilities. Xu made just one request: to be allowed to cook in the dormitory, because she likes light meals and cannot eat strong-flavoured local dishes.
Despite being volunteers, the teachers work with great energy, rivaling those half their age. Take 63-year-old Zhong Dakang, for instance. He works overtime and is frequently seen engrossed at his office computer throughout the day. Due to his dedication, he often forgets to take his blood-pressure pills.
Chen Xiaohe, 70, is a retired teacher at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
Having difficulty walking following a car accident, he still enjoys standing in front of a class.
Chen even stayed at the Karamay campus during the winter and summer vacations, preparing lessons and teaching materials. He has extended his initial one-year volunteering contract to three years. The praise he received from his students might be the reason behind his decision to extend his stay. The course he teaches – “Socialist Market Economy” – has often been lauded for its “clarity” and being “easy to comprehend.”
ABOVE & BELOW: Volunteer teachers Chen Xiaohe; and Dai Xilong deliver lectures at the Karamay campus of China University of Petroleum-Beijing in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. PHOTO: XINHUAPHOTO: XINHUA
The petroleum university has a history of over 70 years, but its Karamay campus in Xinjiang is relatively new, having only started admitting undergraduates in 2016. When Sun Xudong, a retired English teacher from the university’s Beijing campus, arrived in 2020, the Karamay campus had just begun recruiting English majors.
“At that time, the courses, materials, and teams were all started from scratch,” said 64-year-old Sun, recalling the early busy days in Karamay. He took the lead in making the teaching syllabus, setting up the translation discipline, and managing the recruitment and training of master’s students.
“I hope to contribute my efforts to the education here and help more students realise their dreams,” Sun said. “Go where your country needs you the most.” This slogan, once a call for the educated youth after the founding of New China in 1949, resonates anew with today’s silver-haired educators.
“I initially came to Karamay with the goal of educating students, but over the past three years, I’ve come to realise that I, too, am learning and growing,” Xu said. The city of Karamay was once a typical desert settlement, but in the past decades, it has been transformed into a thriving oil hub. This achievement can be attributed to the dedication of several generations of oil workers who persevered through supply shortages and harsh weather conditions, devoting their lives to the country’s oil industry and local development.
Xu recalled a letter to her elder sister, in which she said that, amidst the strong force-10 winds, and inspired by the determination of the oil workers, she had gained a true understanding of the slogan about going where the country needs you the most.
The term “Silver-haired Power” has emerged as one of China’s top 10 buzzwords this year.
It means that the vitality of the elderly should not be hindered by ageing, as they deserve care and happiness, as well as opportunities to continue making contributions to society. Xu and other retired teachers are the shining examples of such silver-haired power. While many elderly Chinese people choose to spend their retirement looking after their grandchildren or travelling around the world, they have chosen a different path. By volunteering in Xinjiang, they are employing their wealth of experience and dedication to aid the development and talent cultivation of this remote region.
In the run-up to International Volunteer Day on December5, the silver-age volunteer teachers have come under the spotlight. In September, China’s National Working Commission on Ageing has proposed the establishment of a national team of silver-age volunteers, integrating it into the coordinated development of the country’s eastern and western regions, while guiding elderly intellectuals to contribute to the economic and social development of less-developed areas.
“I believe that if our parents were alive today and knew that I am volunteering in Xinjiang, they would feel proud of me,” Xu said in the letter to her sister.
TAZNAKHT (AFP) – In southern Morocco, women are the guardians of the age-old craft of carpet weaving, an intricate art form that often leaves them with meagre earnings.
Women like Ijja Benchri, who creates carpets on a wooden weaving loom outside her small home in the village of Taznakht, follows traditions going back many generations.
“I started when I was 11 or 12, imitating the women I saw weaving,” said Benchri, 60.
“Little by little, I learnt, and it became my life’s work.”
Known for their bold geometric patterns and vibrant colours, the handwoven rugs are a fixture in local markets and a favourite among tourists.
In 2022, traditional carpets accounted for nearly 22 per cent of the kingdom’s artisan exports, according to government data.
The mountain villages around Taznakht are famous for their Ait Ouaouzguite carpets, named after a native Amazigh tribe, one among a grouping of several communities indigenous to North Africa long referred to as Berbers. The carpets are woven by the women on small traditional looms, either at home or in specialised workshops.
Amazigh women process wool as others weave a carpet, during the seventh edition of the annual Ouaouzguit Carpet Festival, in the town of Tazenakht in MOrocco’s Ouarzazat province. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPABOVE & BELOW: A man washes carpets; and women roll wool on a loom. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPA woman displays carpets that she wove. PHOTO: AFP
They are then categorised into various styles, depending on their region of origin and their designs.
Some of Morocco’s finest rugs are crafted from high-quality sheep wool in Jbel Sirwa just south of the Atlas Mountains, and dyed using natural pigments from plants like henna, pomegranate peels, or indigo.
Though industrial dyes have replaced natural ones for most weavers because they are cheaper and can be produced more quickly.
“This tradition has been handed down for centuries, from mothers to daughters,” said Safia Imnoutres, who leads a local women’s weaving cooperative.
She was one of the women showcasing their creations at a recent festival in Taznakht dedicated to safeguarding the heritage.
Creating a single carpet can take two to four weeks depending on its size, said Benchri, speaking in Tamazight, the community’s language recognised as an official language alongside Arabic in Morocco.
“I choose the colours as I go, according to my feelings,” she added.
Imnoutres also described the process as “instinctive”, guided by emotion rather than a predetermined design.
“Weaving is an expression of the women’s feelings, when they are joyful, when they are melancholic,” she added. “It’s an art that comes from within.” But beyond its artistic value, weaving is a vital source of income.
Every Thursday, many travel to a weekly market to sell their rugs, often to middlemen who set the prices.
On average, a large rug sells for just MAD250 (around USD24), with its final price later raking astronomical profits.
In cities like Marrakech, some 250 kilometres north of Taznakht, they are sold in bazaars for up to ten times the original price.
Other rugs are listed at up to USD6,000 on online platforms.
“We earn very little,” said Benchri. “The intermediaries decide the price, and we have no choice but to accept it because this is our livelihood.”
These diminishing returns, she added, have contributed to making the craft less attractive for younger women and jeopardising the handcraft tradition.
Additionally, the influx of cheaper, machine-made rugs has deepened competition.
To address these challenges, a new exhibition space in Taznakht allows some weavers to sell their work directly to buyers, cutting out middlemen.
The centre also tries to open new avenues for these women to sell their products independently through courses in digital marketing.
“If this heritage isn’t made financially viable, we risk losing it,” Imnoutres warned.
XINHUA – A new study has revealed that groups of ants, in some cases, outperform humans in team-based tasks, such as navigating a maze challenge. The study, conducted by the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS), was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) recently.
The new study was based on a trait shared by humans and ants: their ability to consistently cooperate while transporting large loads that greatly exceed the body size.
This unique trait provided the basis for a competition to assess who could better maneuver a large load through a maze. To compare ants and humans, the researchers adapted the “piano movers puzzle” problem from motion planning and robotics, using a large T-shaped object instead of a piano. The object had to be moved across a space with three chambers and narrow slits.
Two sets of mazes were created to match the sizes of ants, humans, and different group sizes. The ants, Paratrechina longicornis, were tricked into thinking the load was food.
For a fair comparison, human groups were instructed to avoid verbal or gestural communication. Unsurprisingly, humans outperformed ants in the individual challenge due to their cognitive abilities.
However, in the team challenge, ants worked strategically, using collective memory to stay on course and avoid mistakes.
Humans, on the contrary, failed to significantly improve their performance when acting in groups. When communication between group members was restricted to resemble that of ants, their performance even dropped compared to that of individuals. They tended to opt for “greedy” solutions, which were not beneficial in the long term, and chose the lowest common denominator.
The researchers explained that the findings validate the vision of an ant colony as a family, with all members having common interests, where cooperation greatly outweighs competition.
AP – A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country’s capital, Damascus, said the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day.
The August 21, 2013 attack targeted several Damascus suburbs, including Zamalka, where the Arbeeni family lives. Government forces of then-President Bashar Assad were blamed for the attack.
The Arbeenis remember how they locked themselves inside a windowless room in their home for hours, escaping the fate of dozens of their neighbours who perished in what was one of the deadliest moments of Syria’s civil war.
The gas that was used – sarin, an extremely toxic nerve agent – can kill in minutes.
The Syrian government denied it was behind the attack and blamed opposition fighters, an accusation the opposition rejected as Assad’s forces were the only side in the brutal civil war to posses sarin. The United States subsequently threatened military retaliation, with then-President Barack Obama saying Assad’s use of chemical weapons would be Washington’s “red line”.
“It was a horrifying night,” Hussein Arbeeni, 41, told The Associated Press.
The surface-to-surface missiles fell close to his family’s home without exploding, instead leaking the poisonous gas. Shortly after that, he said the family members had difficulties breathing, their eyes started to ache and they hearts beat faster and faster.
Hassan Arbeeni shows a crater where a surface-to-surface missile loaded with sarin struck during a 2013 chemical weapons attack in Damascus, Syria. PHOTO: APABOVE & BELOW: Hussein stands with his brother Hassan outside their house; and a Syrian family passes an alley that was hit by a sarin attack. PHOTO: APPHOTO: APABOVE & BELOW: Hussein sits with his family; and explain how people locked themselves inside a room during the sarin attack. PHOTO: APPHOTO: AP
Arbeeni, his parents, his siblings and their families, as well as a neighbour – 23 people in all – rushed into the only room in their home without windows and closed the door.
He said he taped all around the door, soaked some clothes in water and rolled them up under the door to prevent the gas from coming in. “I even taped the key hole,” he said.
A few months earlier, Arbeeni said, the local first responders of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as White Helmets, had instructed residents in the opposition-held suburbs of Damascus what to do in case of a chemical attack.
He remembers them saying they should cover their nose and mouth with a cloth soaked in water with white vinegar, and breathe through that.
They huddled for three hours inside the room – time that seemed endless that night. Outside, many people were dying.
“It is all because of Allah the Almighty and this locked room,” Arbeeni said of their survival.
Around daybreak, the White Helmets members rushed into their house, found the family inside the room on the ground floor and told them to leave the area immediately.
They ran into the street and saw dead bodies lying all around. A passing truck took the family on and gave them a ride. Their neighbour, who had fainted from the shock of the horrific scene, was taken away by paramedics.
“I was scared to look,” said Arbeeni’s mother, Khadija Dabbas, 66.
The family stayed for a few weeks some miles away from Zamalka but then came back. Despite Obama’s threat, in the end, Washington settled for a deal with Moscow to give up his chemical weapons’ stockpile.
But Assad’s government was widely believed to have kept some of the weapons and was accused of using them again – including a 2018 chlorine gas attack over Douma, another Damascus suburb, that killed 43 people.
Today, Arbeeni – remembering all the neighbors, friends and townspeople who perished – said he wants the “harshest punishment” for those behind the attack in Zamalka.
“All those children and innocent people who were killed should get justice,” he said, looking at his 12-year-old son, Laith, a baby at the time of the attack.
The new authorities in Syria are led by the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which late last month launched a stunning offensive from its northwestern stronghold that blitzed across large swaths of Syria and toppled Assad. They have vowed to bring to justice former Syrian government officials blamed for atrocities.
But times are still unsettled – a few short weeks after Assad’s ouster, no one knows what Syria’s future will look like.
“The overthrow of the Assad government creates the possibility of justice for thousands of victims of atrocities, including those killed by chemical and other banned weapons,” said Deputy Director Adam Coogle with the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch.
“But justice will only happen if the new authorities prioritise it and urgently act to preserve evidence,” Coogle added. He urged for immediate access for United Nations agencies and international experts who would create a comprehensive plan to ensure that Syrians can seek justice and accountability.
BANDA ACEH (AFP) – Tearful mourners prayed yesterday as ceremonies began across Asia to remember the 220,000 people who died two decades ago when a tsunami hit coastlines around the Indian Ocean, in one of the world’s worst natural disasters.
On December 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia’s western tip generated a series of massive waves that pummelled the coastline of 14 countries from Indonesia to Somalia.
In Indonesia’s Aceh Province where more than 100,000 people were killed, a siren rang out at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque to kick off a series of memorials around the region including in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, which the tsunami hit hours later.
“I thought it was doomsday,” said Hasnawati, a 54-year-old teacher who goes by one name, at the Indonesian mosque which was damaged by the tsunami.
“On a Sunday morning where our family were all laughing together, suddenly a disaster struck and everything’s gone. I can’t describe it with words.”
Some mourners sat and cried at Aceh’s Ulee Lheue mass grave, where around 14,000 are buried, while some villages held their own prayers around the province as they remembered the tragedy that devastated entire communities.
A man prays at a mass grave for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. PHOTO: AP
Indonesians later visited a larger mass grave and held a communal prayer in provincial capital Banda Aceh, while beachside memorials and religious ceremonies were starting in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, some of the worst-hit countries.
Victims of waves as high as 30 metres included many foreign tourists celebrating year-end festivities on the region’s sun-kissed beaches, bringing the tragedy into homes around the globe.
The seabed being ripped open pushed waves at double the speed of a bullet train, crossing the Indian Ocean within hours.
In Thailand, where half of the more than 5,000 dead were foreign tourists, commemorations began early in Ban Nam Khem, the country’s worst hit village.
Tearful relatives of the dead laid flowers and wreaths at a curved wall in the shape of a tsunami wave with plaques bearing victims’ names.
Napaporn Pakawan, 55, lost her older sister and a niece in the tragedy.
“I feel dismay. I come here every year,” she told AFP in the village.
“Times flies but time is slow in our mind.”
Unofficial beachside vigils were also expected to accompany a Thai government memorial ceremony.
A total of 226,408 people died as a result of the tsunami, according to EM-DAT, a recognised global disaster database.
BELGIUM (AFP) – Panniers strapped to their haunches, a team of horses waded collar-deep through North Sea waters – hauling wide nets along the Belgian coast as cawing seagulls swirled all around.
In the saddle, clad head to toe in yellow oilskins, riders steered them parallel with the beach in Oostduinkerke – the last place on Earth, they say, where the tradition of shrimp-fishing on horseback lives on.
Once practised throughout Europe, the custom has all but died out – but a community of enthusiasts has kept the flame going in this coastal town, earning a spot on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list.
They do not fish for profit, but the rare spectacle they offer has become a tourist draw for the small town, situated half an hour from the French border.
Back in the day, historians explain, poor farmers used to ride to the coast to fish – as a way to supplement their diet.
A fisherman rides on horseback as he drags a net while he fishes for grey shrimps in Oostduinkerke, Belgium. PHOTO: AFPABOVE & BELOW: Photos show fishermen sorting out their catch after a fishing session on horseback and dragging their nets in the sea to fish for grey shrimps. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFP
At first they pulled their nets by hand, later using mules then eventually workhorses able to haul much larger, heavier loads. The method was used in Belgium, the Netherlands, northern France and the south of England.
On this sunny day in late October, a group of five headed out at low tide to fish for grey shrimp.
“This is the only place in the world where shrimp-fishing is still practiced with horses,” fisherman Gunther Vanbleu told AFP as he sorted his catch on the beach – surrounded by a curious crowd of smartphone-wielding onlookers.
“You’re working with your horse, you’re in the sea and the combination of everything at the same time – the pleasure of catching fish or catching shrimp, all of that together makes it fun,” he said.
This time around, some 200 people gathered – in rubber boots or barefoot – to watch the afternoon show under crisp blue skies.
“There is always a lot of interest from people, because it is unique,” Vanbleu said.
The day’s catch – a few kilogrammes of shrimp – is not for sale: it will be cooked up by the dozen families who keep the tradition going and shared among friends. But the sight alone continues to draw tourists from April to October.
“I think that this will always exist in the municipality,” said Vanbleu.
After the custom won UNESCO recognition in 2013, a committee was set up whose purpose is to ensure it is kept alive, he explained.
“I think that it will continue forever,” he said. Asked about the possible impact of climate change, Vanbleu said he has seen some shifts over the years. “We do notice that something has changed a little, such as the temperature of the water – it’s maybe a little warmer than usual.”
“And we are seeing other animal species arrive here,” he said. “Maybe if the water gets too warm, the shrimp will move to colder water… in 30 or 40 years. If it comes to that, we will see,” said Vanbleu – who for now, come rain or shine, plans to keep riding out to sea.
ANN/THE STAR – Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio is facing three impeachment complaints over her refusal to account for over USD10 million in “confidential funds” her offices distributed to unknown entities, including those seemingly using aliases derived from popular snack and restaurant brands.
Observers said the scandal reflects broader concerns over the growing use of and lack of oversight on such government expenditures.
The impeachment complaints, lodged this month by civic groups, left-wing activists and lawyers, accuse Duterte-Carpio of refusing to account for the substantial sums handed out by her offices to recipients bearing dubious identities.
State auditors reported last month that, between 2022 and 2023, the Office of the Vice-President (OVP) and the Department of Education, which Duterte-Carpio led until resigning from the role in June, spent PHP612.5 million (USD10.5 million) in confidential funds.
Both offices issued substantial checks to hundreds of people, later producing as proof acknowledgement receipts (ARs) signed by individuals using names that appear to be related to famous snacks and restaurant chains.
Congressional investigators highlighted how some signatories’ purported monikers appeared to be cobbled together from these brand names. One that transfixed the public – “Mary Grace (a popular cafe) Piattos (a potato crisp brand)” – was given PHP70,000 for medicines in December 2022. Several others, such as “Chippy (corn chips) McDonald” and “Carlos Miguel Oishi (the surname, a famous snack brand)”, also raised eyebrows.
The Philippine Statistics Authority told investigating congressmen it found zero records supporting the existence of a person named Mary Grace Piattos, adding that out of the 677 ARs provided, 405 of the signatories had no proof of existence or birth certificates.
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio. PHOTO: THE STAR
AP – Football star Cristiano Ronaldo said it was “just a little cold” as he posed bare-chested in the snow before taking an icy dip in a pool during a vacation in Finland’s Lapland region.
The 39-year-old Portuguese international travelled with partner Georgina Rodriguez and their children, who met Santa Claus in a 10-minute video posted online by Ronaldo on Tuesday.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United great appeared to decline to ski with his family. He wished his followers – including 645 million on Instagram – a joyous holiday in Spanish.
The Al-Nassr striker is on a winter break from the Saudi Pro League until January 9.
File photo shows Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of the Champions League final match against Atletico Madrid. PHOTO: AP
