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The Star
a day ago
- General
- The Star
Thailand credits prey releases for 'extraordinary' tiger recovery
This screengrab from handout trail cam footage captured on April 30, 2024 shows a tiger walking in Khlong Lan National Park in Thailand's upper central Khampaeng Phet province. - AFP PHOTO/ DNP/WWF-THAILAND KAMPHAENG PHET, Thailand: In the thick, steamy forests of western Thailand, 20 skittish sambar deer dart from an enclosure into the undergrowth -- unaware they may find themselves in the jaws of one of the habitat's 200 or so endangered tigers. The release is part of a project run by the government and conservation group WWF to provide tigers with prey to hunt and eat, which has helped the big cat make a remarkable recovery in Thailand. The wild tiger population in Thailand's Western Forest Complex, near the border with Myanmar, has increased almost five-fold in the last 15 years from about 40 in 2007 to between 179 and 223 last year, according to the kingdom's Department of National Parks (DNP). It is an uptick that WWF's Tigers Alive initiative leader Stuart Chapman calls "extraordinary", especially as no other country in South-East Asia has seen tiger numbers pick up at all. The DNP and the WWF have been breeding sambar, which are native to Thailand but classed as vulnerable, and releasing them as prey. Now in its fifth year, the prey release is a "very good activity," says the DNP's Chaiya Danpho, as it addresses the ecosystem's lack of large ungulates for tigers to eat. Worrapan Phumanee, a research manager for WWF Thailand, says that deer were previously scarce in the area, impacting the tiger population. But "since starting the project, we've seen tigers become regular residents here and successfully breed," he says. Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have all lost their native populations of Indochinese tigers, while Myanmar is thought to have just 23 left in the wild, in large part due to poaching and wildlife trafficking. Over the past century numbers worldwide have fallen from about 100,000 individuals to an estimated 5,500, according to the IUCN, which classifies tigers as endangered due to habitat loss and overhunting of the species and their natural prey. But major tiger recoveries have been recorded in India and Nepal, where in recent years numbers of Bengal tigers have grown to 3,600 and 355 respectively thanks to conservation measures. In a forest clearing in Khlong Lan National Park, DNP staff open the gate of the sambar deer enclosure where 10 males and 10 females have been grazing. Sambar deer in an enclosure before being released as part of a joint operation between the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Thailand to increase the number of tiger prey in the wild, in the Khlong Lan National Park in Thailand. - AFP The deer watch cautiously as one brave individual darts out, before the rest follow at speed and disappear into the trees. Worrapan says prey release programmes -- now also happening in Cambodia and Malaysia -- are part of wider restoration efforts to "rebuild ecosystems" in South-East Asia, where they have been adapted for local purposes from similar initiatives that have existed for years in Africa. The breeding and releases also aim to solve the problem of the sambar deer's own population decline due to hunting, says Worrapan. "The purpose of releasing deer is not solely to serve as tiger prey but also to restore the deer population," he says, adding that GPS collar-monitoring has allowed researchers to track their lives after release. He says despite having only known captivity, the deer show a strong ability to adapt to outside threats. "(They) don't simply wait passively. They try to evade predators and choose safe areas to thrive." Chaiya says only a small number of the released deer end up as predator dinner, with most going on to reproduce. The sambar deer and their offspring "play a role in the food chain within the ecosystem, serving as prey for predators," he says. - AFP
Forbes
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Taylor Swift's Massive Chart Comeback Begins As Fans Respond To Her Good News
Taylor Swift sees a dozen albums chart in the U.K. after reclaiming her catalog rights, with 1989, ... More Reputation, and more reentering multiple tallies. TOPSHOT - American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift performs on stage as part of her Eras Tour in Lisbon on May 24, 2024. (Photo by ANDRE DIAS NOBRE / AFP) (Photo by ANDRE DIAS NOBRE/AFP via Getty Images) This week on the music charts in the United Kingdom, Taylor Swift sees a dozen of her albums appear, which is a rare sight for any name. Her entire catalog is surging in terms of both sales and streaming activity after she revealed that she has finally acquired the rights to her full discography. That announcement led many of her fans to rush to consume her earlier efforts, which some had been avoiding for years. Instead, they had focused their listening on the Taylor's Version equivalents of several titles, when available – but now they can love both. Half of Swift's charting albums this week return to the U.K. rankings. Many hadn't found a place on any tally just days ago, but now almost all her projects come flooding back. 1989 manages the most impressive comeback among Swift's catalog — at least when looking at the number of charts it reappears on. The full-length returns to five tallies, including a top 40 restart on the Official Albums ranking. Reputation finds its way back to four rankings it missed just last week. It reenters the top 10 on all but one of them, narrowly missing out on hitting No. 1 on the Official Album Downloads chart. It's blocked only by Something Beautiful, the latest full-length by Miley Cyrus, which opens in first place. The project now lives on a total of six tallies, but only returns to four this frame. It surges dozens of spaces on the other two, and even manages to break back into the highest tier on the Official Albums chart, vaulting from No. 70 to No. 7. Three titles break back onto a trio of charts apiece, as Taylor Swift, Fearless, and Speak Now all accomplish the feat. The first two projects reach new high points on at least one ranking. Swift's self-titled debut also nearly reconquers the Official Country Artists Albums chart, but the singer-songwriter couldn't topple I'm the Problem by Morgan Wallen. Only Red finds its way back to just two rankings in the U.K. For some time now, fans have been buying and streaming Red (Taylor's Version) instead of the original. This time around, the decade-plus-old collection narrowly finds space in the lower reaches of both the Official Physical Albums and Official Albums Sales charts, while its recreated take is nowhere to be seen.
The Citizen
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Pope Leo XIV receives US VP Vance
The US Vice President is in The Vatican. This photo taken and handout on May 19, 2025 by The Vatican Media shows US Vice President JD Vance during a private audience with Pope Leo XIV in The Vatican. (Picture: AFP PHOTO / VATICAN MEDIA Pope Leo XIV received US Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican Monday, Vance's spokesperson said, a day after attending the new US pontiff's inauguration mass. The Vatican released photographs of a smiling Vance meeting the Chicago-born pope, along with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. © Agence France-Presse
RNZ News
29-04-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
PNG project rolling out safe spaces for kids
Children of the Andai tribe in Kaiam village in the remote East Sepik Province. (file image) Photo: AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD A program supporting safe spaces for children has been rolled out in Papua New Guinea. The Child-Friendly Spaces Toolkit supports setting up and managing safe community spaces, and has a focus on embedding protection into existing community structures, from churches and schools to ward offices and aid posts. It was rolled out during a training workshop in Port Moresby, where 18 organisations gathered to learn how to establish and manage child-friendly spaces in their own communities. HIV/AIDS charity Links of Hope national operations manager Seruma Numa said children in local communities face a lot of physical and emotional abuse. "We see how stigma silences them. Many can't speak up about what's happening in their homes," she said. "A child-friendly space gives them a voice, a space to talk, to feel safe, and to be heard." The spaces also serve as entry points for access to legal, medical, and counselling services. Unicef said up to 80 percent of children in Papua New Guinea experience physical or emotional violence and widespread neglect. Numa said by working through trusted community spaces, help can be there when a child on the street is ready to reach out. "Children are on the streets. We see it every day," she said. "By working through trusted community spaces, we can be there when a child is finally ready to reach out. The support must be there, waiting." CARE International's peace project Manager Benoni Masalo said child negligence is everywhere in PNG. "Parents often do not realise the importance of emotional and educational support. "A child-friendly space offers something simple but powerful: safety." Masalo emphasised how trained facilitators use creative methods, like storytelling, drawing, and play, as bridges to healing. "Children express their pain through play. When you create that environment, it helps them open up. "And it also helps communities see that healing starts with connection. That's when referral systems and community support become essential." Masalo said they've had policies and awareness campaigns "but very little that reaches the grassroots in a practical way". "This toolkit changes that." The Child-Friendly Spaces Toolkit has been developed with the National Office of Child and Family Services and UNICEF, in partnership with several other organisations.
Irish Daily Mirror
21-04-2025
- General
- Irish Daily Mirror
Pope Francis' life in pictures: From humble start to leader of Catholic Church
Millions of people worldwide are mourning the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, after news of his passing was announced by the Vatican. Known for being passionate about climate change and critical of consumerism, Pope Francis became the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics in 2013, after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. The Bishop of Rome died on Easter Monday, aged 88, not long after he had addressed crowds in St Peter's Square in the Vatican. Prayers have poured in for Pope Francis, the first pontiff from Latin America, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina on December 17, 1936, following the news of his passing, with Michael D Higgins leading the tributes in Ireland. Mourners worldwide have also gathered in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to pay their respects to the late Pope Francis, as the great bells of St. Peter's Basilica tolled in his honor. Today, we remember the life of Pope Francis and look back over the photos that captured each and every moment of his defining moments. Meanwhile get live updates on this developing story in our live blog. Undated picture taken in Buenos Aires, released by Clarin's journalist Sergio Rubin, of the then child Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Image: HANDOUT/Courtesy Sergio Rubin/CLARIN/AFP via Getty Images) 1 of 18 Handout picture released by Bergoglio's family of Argentine Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis (L), his mother Maria Regina Sivori (C) and his father Mario Jose Bergoglio pictured during 1958 in Buenos Aires (Image: AFP PHOTO/HO/Bergoglio Family) 2 of 18 Undated handout picture released by his family of Argentine Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, serving a meal in Buenos Aires. (Image: AFP PHOTO/HO/Bergoglio Family) 3 of 18 The late pope when he was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, seen here aged 68, officiating a holy mass for the eternal rest of Pope John Paul II April 4, 2005 at Buenos Aires' cathedral (Image: AFP via Getty Images) 4 of 18 The late pope, seen here as a cardinal, was reportedly a fan of San Lorenzo Futbol Club (Image: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) 5 of 18 Pope Francis (R) exchanges gifts with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a private audience at the Vatican, on November 25, 2013. (Image: AFP PHOTO POOL / CLAUDIO PERICLAUDIO PERI/AFP/Getty Images) 6 of 18
