MALAYSIA
Bleaching hits 50% of reefs
More than 50 percent of the coral reefs in the nation’s marine parks have been affected by mass bleaching caused by rising sea temperatures, the Department of Fisheries said in a statement on Sunday, citing a study conducted from April to this month. Severe or prolonged heat stress leads to corals dying off, though there is a possibility for recovery if temperatures drop and other stressors such as overfishing and pollution are reduced. The department urged tour operators to control the number of tourists involved in recreation activities to reduce pressure on reefs. “If bleaching is greater than 80 percent, further management interventions may include temporary access restrictions to protect affected reefs,” it said.
KOREAS
Parasites found in balloons
Parasites from human feces and defaced Western clothing were found in the bags of garbage carried by North Korean balloons into the South, Seoul said yesterday. Pyongyang has sent more than 1,000 trash-carrying balloons into the South in recent weeks, in retaliation for leaflets sent northward by activists opposed to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. An analysis of the contents of some 70 of the balloons found that they contained soil in which “numerous parasites, such as roundworms, whipworms and threadworms” were detected, the Ministry of Unification said in a statement. This is likely because human feces was used in the soil instead of chemical fertilizers, it said, adding that there was “no risk of land pollution [or] infectious diseases” from the balloons, as the volume of soil sent was relatively low.
NETHERLANDS
Man honored for honesty
A homeless man found a wallet containing about 2,000 euros (US$2,140) on an empty train at Amsterdam station and handed it to the police, receiving a gift voucher for his honesty. Hadjer al-Ali, who has been homeless for 18 months, found the wallet at Amsterdam central station while he was “doing his rounds” looking for empty plastic bottles to exchange for cash. Police said the 33-year-old turned in the wallet with “approximately 2,000 euros ... but unfortunately no identity papers or anything that would allow us to contact the owner.” Authorities said that “because we think that honesty should pay, he got a ‘silver thumb’ prize that we sometimes give to citizens and a gift voucher worth 50 euros.” If the money is not claimed within one year, it will go to the finder. “No matter what I find, I always give it back,” al-Ali said in a video posted on local media De Stentor, adding: “Maybe the owner has a business and can give me work, maybe a building I can live it. You never know what can happen.”
AUSTRALIA
‘Bicycle bandit’ gets jail
A bank robber known as the “bicycle bandit” was yesterday sentenced to 35 years in jail — though he reportedly has advanced cancer and is seeking an imminent voluntary assisted death. Kym Allen Parsons, 73, admitted to a string of aggravated robbery charges, documents from the South Australian Supreme Court in Adelaide showed. Parsons earned his moniker for fleeing some of his hold-ups on a bicycle. Justice Sandi McDonald ordered him to serve 35 years, with a minimum period of 28 years before being eligible for parole, court papers showed. Parsons carried out the robberies over a decade until 2014, often brandishing a rifle and wearing a balaclava or motorcycle helmet, public broadcaster ABC said. He reportedly got away with more than A$350,000 (US$233,000).
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
China has built a land-based prototype nuclear reactor for a large surface warship, in the clearest sign yet Beijing is advancing toward producing the nation’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery and Chinese government documents provided to The Associated Press. There have long been rumors that China is planning to build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, but the research by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California is the first to confirm it is working on a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a carrier-sized surface warship. Why is China’s pursuit of nuclear-powered carriers significant? China’s navy is already
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) launched a week-long diplomatic blitz of South America on Thursday by inaugurating a massive deep-water port in Peru, a US$1.3 billion investment by Beijing as it seeks to expand trade and influence on the continent. With China’s demand for agricultural goods and metals from Latin America growing, Xi will participate in the APEC summit in Lima then head to the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week, where he will also make a state visit to Brazil. Xi and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte participated on Thursday by video link in the opening
IT’S A DEAL? Including the phrase ‘overlapping claims’ in a Chinese-Indonesian joint statement over the weekend puts Jakarta’s national interests at risk, critics say Indonesia yesterday said it does not recognize China’s claims over the South China Sea, despite signing a maritime development deal with Beijing, as some analysts warned the pact risked compromising its sovereign rights. Beijing has long clashed with Southeast Asian neighbors over the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety, based on a “nine-dash line” on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of several countries. Joint agreements with China in the strategic waterway have been sensitive for years, with some nations wary of deals they fear could be interpreted as legitimizing Beijing’s vast claims. In 2016,