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Senin, 18 Maret 2024

Famine expected by May in Gaza, says UN-backed report - CNA

SKIPPING MEALS

The study also said the number of people deemed at risk of catastrophic hunger across Gaza was nearly double the figure reported in December, when the last report was issued and there was already record hunger.

"From mid-March to mid-July, in the most likely scenario and under the assumption of an escalation of the conflict including a ground offensive in Rafah (city), half of the population of the Gaza Strip (1.11 million people) is expected to face catastrophic conditions," the IPC said.

Because of a lack of aid, almost all households were skipping meals every day and adults were reducing their meals so children could eat, the report said.

In northern Gaza, in nearly two-thirds of households people went entire days and nights without eating at least 10 times in the last 30 days, it added. In southern areas, that applied to one-third of the households.

Israel has said it has a plan to assault Rafah, the southern Gaza city bordering Egypt, to root out Hamas fighters, but it is also involved in mediation talks about a possible truce.

The IPC analysis said famine could still be avoided if Israel and Hamas stop fighting and aid organisations gain increased access.

"But in order to do that, we must act and we must act now," chief economist of the World Food Programme, Arif Husain, told Reuters following the release of the IPC report.

"We need full access, we need large quantities of food, and we need the ability to reach people where they are and provide them with this food as soon as possible. If we can do this, our hope is we can still avert a full-fledged famine. But the window is shutting, and it is shutting very, very fast."

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2024-03-18 11:58:00Z
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Russia-China relations will become stronger, Putin says in victory speech - South China Morning Post

The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87 per cent. First official results indicated the polls were accurate.

“The relations between Russia and China are a stabilising factor, while good personal relations between the leaders of the two nations allow to develop ties even further,” Putin said at his campaign headquarters, according to Tass news agency.

“Our relations have been taking shape over the past two decades. They are very strong and we are complementing each other.”

Referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Putin said: “I’m sure that this relationship will be maintained, including, to a great extent, thanks to our good personal relationship with the president of the People’s Republic of China.

“But the most important thing is that our national interests coincide, and this creates a favourable environment for resolving our common tasks and in the sphere of international relations, where relations between Russia and China serve as a factor of stability,” he added.

Though not a formal alliance, China and Russia have forged a partnership with “no limits”.

Tensions with the United States and its allies over the Ukraine war have pushed the two countries closer.

China has replaced Europe as Russia’s biggest energy buyer, while Russia’s reliance on Chinese products has also increased.

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2024-03-17 23:10:56Z
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Chinese embassy urges its citizens in Singapore to 'stay away' from gambling - The Straits Times

China, through its embassies, has previously reminded its citizens in countries including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and South Korea that travelling abroad to gamble is illegal. PHOTO: REUTERS

SINGAPORE – The Chinese embassy in Singapore on March 18 asked its citizens in the Republic to “stay away” from gambling, adding that cross-border gambling violates Chinese laws.

The embassy, in a statement on its official WeChat account, “solemnly reminded” Chinese citizens in Singapore to raise their legal know-how and steer clear of gambling, which is strictly prohibited by law in China.

“Even if overseas casinos are opened legally, cross-border gambling by Chinese citizens is suspected of violating the laws of our country and face the risk of punitive actions,” said the embassy, warning that embassies may not be able to provide consular protection for illegal gambling violations.

Using a Chinese idiom to describe how 10 out of 10 bets lead to cheating incidents or losses, the embassy said in its notice that people who gamble face the risk of running up debts, financial ruin and the destruction of their families.

Cross-border gambling may also be related to illegal activities not limited to scams, money laundering, kidnapping and smuggling, the embassy added.

Those who know of Chinese citizens operating casinos overseas or approaching fellow Chinese to gamble were also urged to report it through official reporting platforms or the Singapore police.

The Straits Times has contacted the Chinese embassy for comment.

Cross-border gambling banned

Apart from state-sanctioned lotteries, gambling is banned in China. But that has prompted organisations such as the Guangdong Club, which operates an online gambling platform, to register itself overseas in Costa Rica.

Special administrative region Macau is the only part of China where gambling activities are legal.

China, through its embassies, has previously reminded its citizens in countries including Malaysia, Italy, Angola, Sri Lanka and South Korea that travelling abroad to gamble is illegal.

China has been working with countries in South-east Asia to deter cross-border gambling.

In September 2023, six Asean member nations – Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines – signed an agreement to collaborate on combatting transnational gambling crime in the region.

The agreement notably targeted organised crime groups that have lured thousands of people to work in casinos or scam compounds under the guise of jobs paying lucrative wages.

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2024-03-18 05:54:00Z
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Minggu, 17 Maret 2024

Moscow polling station protesters pay tribute to Navalny - CNA

"SYMBOLIC ACTION"

Images shared on social media by Navalny's team showed larger queues of voters at other polling stations in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia.

At another polling station in southwest Moscow, Leonid, an 18-year-old student, said there were "not that many people" taking part in the protest but he was "just happy that some people came".

The polling station in a school was where Navalny scored his highest result – 70 per cent – in his failed bid to become Moscow mayor in 2013.

Navalny later attempted to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election but his candidacy was rejected.

Olga Mironenko, a 33-year-old IT worker, said she had never voted for Putin but it was difficult to express her views in a country where "you can't even express your opinion on social media".

She said it had felt good to come to the polling station and be "with people who are on the side of light and truth".

Denis, 21, who works in advertising, said: "I came to express solidarity with a very important person. It's a symbolic action."

"This election is a way to honour Navalny's memory," he said.

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2024-03-17 12:56:00Z
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'Cold play': Taiwanese man goes for leg amputation in scam to claim million-dollar payout - The Straits Times

Evidence of Chang sinking his feet into a pail of dry ice taken by his fraud accomplice and obtained by the Taiwanese authorities. PHOTO: TAIWAN'S CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION BUREAU

A Taiwanese university student was hoping to pocket over NT$41 million (S$1.7 million) in insurance payouts by claiming that he lost his feet to frostbite.

But his frosty fraud has instead landed him in hot water, after investigators found out he had soaked his feet in dry ice for over 10 hours in order to feign frostbite severe enough to warrant a double amputation.

Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau said the student, surnamed Chang, conspired with his former high school classmate, surnamed Liao, to orchestrate the fraud.

First, Chang took out policies covering disabilities, injuries, health and travel safety from at least five insurers.

Then, on Jan 26, 2023, both men rode around several locations in northern Taipei, including Yangmingshan and Tamsui.

They wanted to create the impression that Chang had suffered frostbite after riding on a motorcycle on a wintry night.

To make his injuries more believable, Liao instigated Chang to soak his feet in a pail of dry ice for more than 10 hours. He reportedly tied Chang to a chair at his home so that the latter had no choice but to put up with the pain of the ice burn.

Chang’s legs were swollen after the long ordeal. He was hospitalised on Jan 28, 2023, and on Feb 6, he had a below-the-knee amputation.

He later filed claims and managed to get NT$230,000 from one insurer.

However, the dates of his policy purchases and his injury raised suspicions among other insurers, who reported the case to the local authorities.

Investigators from Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office found that Chang had frostbite injuries that were abnormally symmetrical and without imprint from his shoes or socks.

Data from meteorological agencies also showed that the temperature on Jan 26, 2023, ranged between 6 deg C and 17 deg C. It was not cold enough to cause frostbite.

Among the items investigators retrieved from the two men’s possessions were medical records, insurance policy documents, eight mobile phones as well as a styrofoam box to hold dry ice and a green plastic bucket Chang soaked his feet in.

Further investigations found that Liao was facing financial problems due to cryptocurrency losses. He duped Chang into signing a promissory note worth NT$25 million – a substantial portion of the potential payout, and masterminded the amputation ruse.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau said on March 14 that both men will be charged with fraud. Liao was also charged with causing serious injuries. Their illicit gains were confiscated.

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2024-03-17 00:00:00Z
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Woman exhibited drastic change in behaviour before allegedly killing toddler son - New Straits Times

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Woman exhibited drastic change in behaviour before allegedly killing toddler son New Straits Times
Woman in JB slits toddler’s throat & sends photos to husband, gets arrested MS News
Mother allegedly slits toddler’s throat in Pasir Gudang Malay Mail
Johor cops arrest mother for allegedly murdering her one-year-old son The Star Online
Mother slashes toddler's throat, sends bloodied pictures to husband New Straits Times

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2024-03-17 06:28:14Z
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Sabtu, 16 Maret 2024

Critics not wild about private zoo set up by Indian billionaire Ambani's youngest son - The Straits Times

Mr Anant Ambani refers to the zoo as an “animal shelter” with 43 species “rescued from around India and the world”. PHOTO: RELIANCE FOUNDATION/X

BENGALURU – A new private zoo in Jamnagar, the pre-wedding celebrations venue of Mr Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia’s richest person, has drawn attention over how it is sourcing its animals.

The zoo in India’s western state of Gujarat is a personal project of the 28-year-old, whose father, Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani, has a personal wealth of US$114 billion (S$152 billion).

Mr Anant Ambani refers to the zoo as an “animal shelter” with 43 species “rescued from around India and the world”.

The Ambani family, who own conglomerate Reliance Industries, launched the 1,214ha zoo and animal rescue sanctuary on Feb 26.

Officially called “Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom”, it will be run by the conglomerate’s non-profit trust in the green belt of the Reliance petroleum refinery, the world’s largest.

A company statement said the zoo, dubbed Vantara, which means “Star of the Forest”, has more than 200 elephants and over 300 large cats such as leopards, tigers, lions and jaguars. There are more than 3,000 herbivores such as deer, and over 1,200 reptiles including crocodiles, snakes and turtles.

The zoo was the site of Mr Anant Ambani’s grand pre-wedding bash from March 1 to 3. The board member of Jio, Reliance’s telecoms company, said in a video interview with India Today that no wildlife would be “exposed for entertainment” for his guests, and that safaris would be “solely for educational purposes”. It is not clear what sort of visitors will be allowed.

But a photo of Ms Ivanka Trump with a decorated Asian elephant in the background has revived concerns of his use of wildlife for personal entertainment.

A photo of Ms Ivanka Trump with a decorated Asian elephant in the background has revived concerns of Mr Anant Ambani’s use of wildlife for personal entertainment. PHOTO: IVANKA TRUMP/INSTAGRAM

The daughter of former US president Donald Trump was one of over 1,000 celebrity guests, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and pop icon Rihanna, who flew to Jamnagar for the pre-wedding festivities, including an evening with a jungle theme.

Sharing Ms Trump’s photo on Instagram, Indian actress Maria Goretti wrote: “I’m appalled at this picture of the Ambani celebration. I don’t think this should happen to any animal, specially not to animals that are being rescued and rehabilitated. Heartbreaking, just heartbreaking that this elephant was made to stand like a prop, in the middle of noise and people.”

On Feb 12, the Delhi High Court rejected a petition by lawyer Rahul Narula seeking a prohibition on “displaying or exhibiting the animals” at the Jamnagar zoo, saying no law prohibits the hosts from inviting guests to view non-commercial facilities set up for animals.

The zoo is also facing allegations of illegal transfer of forest elephants from different parts of India and undue influence on state zoos. There is also scrutiny of India’s wildlife authorities.

Reliance Group did not answer queries from The Straits Times.

The zoo’s master layout plan shows enclosures for a wide variety of species, including Asian elephant, African lion, Bengal tiger and crocodile.

The company statement and many Indian media reports call the zoo “the world’s largest” but its 101ha zoo area is smaller than many shelters in India. Chennai’s state-run Aringnar Anna Zoological Park, for example, is 603ha in size.

The Jamnagar zoo’s novelty lies in the billionaire scion’s efforts to source animals. The wildest coup might be if hippos from late drug lord Pablo Escobar’s private zoo in Colombia find their way to India.

Indian environment officials have confirmed that Mr Anant Ambani’s zoo has applied for import permits. The Colombian government has said an Indian facility will import 60 hippos that are descendants of the four that Escobar illegally transferred from Africa.

First referred to as “cocaine hippos” by US news media, they have long flummoxed the Colombian authorities since they have been reproducing rapidly in the 30 years since they broke out of Escobar’s estate.

The Jamnagar zoo reportedly also has permits from India’s zoo authorities to import wildlife from Mexico. It can transfer 286 animals of 17 species, many of them endangered, from a zoo in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon.

In February 2021, the Jamnagar zoo took a pair of black panthers from Assam State Zoo in return for sourcing four zebras from Israel for the government zoo. According to Indian newspaper The Telegraph, the transfer sparked protests by members of the Chiriakhana Suraksha Mancha, an organisation formed to safeguard the Assam zoo, the only breeding centre for black panthers in the country.

Villagers of Gadchiroli district in the western state of Maharashtra, backed by the parliamentarian in the area, opposed the transfer of 13 elephants by forest officials to Jamnagar in September 2022. The residents said the animals were a tourist attraction, and a source of direct and indirect employment.

The Jamnagar zoo’s master layout plan shows enclosures for a wide variety of species. PHOTO: RELIANCE FOUNDATION/X

The forest department of eastern state Odisha in June 2022 reported eight attempts to allegedly smuggle some captive elephants from Assam to Jamnagar using forged certificates.

Although Indian law forbids the private sale of Asian elephants, those already in captivity can be “leased” or gifted, which has led many elephants, revered in Hinduism, to be used by temple trusts to give blessings, and tourism companies for rides.

In 2021, the Indian government proposed amending the Wildlife Protection Act to effectively pave the way for the legalised commercial trade of live elephants. But after much criticism by conservationists, who said it would open the floodgates to trading of wild elephants, the law did not go through.

Several conservationists suggested that the change in legislation was for the benefit of Mr Anant Ambani, whose father has close links to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The young Ambani, however, maintains that his zoo is “a beacon of hope” where animals can thrive. He will also build a 25,000 sq ft elephant hospital there.

He told Indian channel CNN-IBN that he was 12 when he helped rescue his first animal – a captive elephant calf walking with its mahout on a road in hot Rajasthan.

“I told my mum, we want to rescue it,” he said.

He hopes to go beyond Jamnagar, by partnering India’s zoo authorities in improving all the 150-plus zoos in the country in terms of training, capacity building and animal care infrastructure, he said in the company statement.

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2024-03-16 12:05:00Z
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