06 MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019 world

Death toll from Malaysia’s king Philippine storm, Sisi to inaugurate landslides climbs abdicates: palace to 126 Manila, Philippines

he death toll from a Coptic cathedral Tstorm that devastated the Philippines shortly af- AFP | Cairo, Egypt ter Christmas rose to 126, authorities said yesterday, adding landslides caused gypt’s president will in- by torrential rain were the augurate the country’s top cause. Ebiggest cathedral on The storm hit central and Coptic Christmas Eve, a day eastern Philippine islands after a deadly bomb blast near on December 29 and caused a church in a country where massive flooding and land- jihadists have repeatedly tar- slides. More than 100 peo- geted Christians. ple died in the mountainous There was no immediate Bicol region southeast of The 15th king of Malaysia, Sultan Muhammad V, saluting a royal guard of claim of responsibility for Sat- Manila, regional disaster honour urday’s explosion on the east- officials said. ern edge of Cairo that killed a While the Bicol region Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia tion mark over the reign of policeman who was trying to A general view of the newly-built al-Fattah al-Alim mosque in Egypt’s new is often hit by deadly ty - the king, who ascended to defuse the device and wounded administrative capital, 45 kilometres east of Cairo. phoons, many people failed the throne in December 2016, two other officers. to take necessary precau- alaysia’s king has ab - since he took a leave of absence It had been hidden inside a tions because the storm Mdicated, royal officials for medical treatment in No- bag that was searched by police. was not strong enough said yesterday, ending weeks vember. The policeman who was killed, to be rated as a typhoon of speculation about his future Reports then circulated on- Mustafa Abid, was a specialist under the government’s after he took a leave of absence line that he had married a for- in mine clearance. storm alert system, ac - and amid rumours he mar - mer Miss Moscow in Russia The Grand Mufti of Egypt, cording to civil defence ried a Russian former beau- -- although royal officials in Shawki Allam, denounced “the officials. ty queen. Sultan Muhammad Malaysia have so far not com- terrorist operation that target- Officials also said that V’s decision marks the first mented on the rumours. ed... the church in the Ezzbat many residents were reluc- time a king has abdicated in Speculation intensified al-Haggan neighbourhood of tant to leave their homes the Muslim-majority country about his future this week Nasr City”, on his official Face- during the Christmas hol- since it gained independence when the country’s Islamic book page. More than 100 Copts idays. from Britain in 1957. royals reportedly held a special have been killed in jihadist at- “In two days alone, Us- “The National Palace in - meeting. tacks since December 2016. man poured more than a forms that his majesty has Malaysia is a constitutional On Sunday evening Presi - month’s worth of rainfall in resigned as the 15th king ef- monarchy, with an unique ar- dent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was the Bicol region,” national fective January 6,” said a state- rangement where the throne due to inaugurate the Cathe- Workers walk outside the newly-built Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Egypt’s disaster agency spokesman ment from the palace. changes hands every five years dral of Nativity in Egypt’s new administrative capital, 45 kilometres east of Cairo Edgar Posadas told AFP, us- It did not give any reason for between rulers of the nine Ma- new administrative capital, 45 ing the local name for the the 49-year-old royal’s move. laysian states headed by centu- kilometres (28 miles) east of The president will also in- mosque in the new administra- storm which had weakened But there had been a ques- ries-old Islamic royalty. Cairo. augurate the Al-Fattah al-Alim tive capital. into a low pressure area. Three dead during 30 killed in gold mine Masked warriors cold snap in Greece collapse in Afghanistan

Picture courtesy of anews Caci fighters with whips in Surabaya, East Java province “At least 30 people have been People take pictures next to the sculpture “Umbrellas”, by late Greek Kunduz, Afghanistan killed and seven wounded.” Surabaya, sculptor George Zongolopoulos, during a heavy snowfall in Thessaloniki It was not clear why the t least 30 people were shaft collapsed, but the pro- ressed in bright colours and lunging at each other with Celsius (-0.4 Fahrenheit) in killed when a gold mine vincial governor’s spokes- long, looping whips, fighters in Indonesia Athens, Greece A D some areas and covered parts collapsed in northeastern Af- man Nik Mohammad Naz - were cheered by spectators as they dueled during a traditional of the country in snow. ghanistan on Sunday, officials ari said the miners were not festival yesterday. hree people have died in The rescue services have re- said, in the latest tragedy to professionals. A martial art practised by the from south- TGreece as stormy weath- ceived dozens of calls-outs to the war-torn country. “The villagers have been in- ern Indonesia, Caci bouts typically involve two men wearing er and freezing temperatures help people trapped in their Another seven were injured volved in this business for dec- masks while wielding shields and whips made out of . gripped most of the country, cars or homes by heavy snow- in the incident in Kohistan dis- ades with no government con- A fighter wins by hitting his opponent in the face or the head. officials said yesterday. fall. On Saturday, firefighters trict of Badakhshan province, trol over them,” Nazari said. The are full of symbolism -- the leather-handled whips The bodies of two elderly rescued a pair of French hikers district governor Mohammad “We have sent a rescue team represent masculinity and the sky, while the round shields stand men were found Sunday, two stranded in a forest on the is- Rustam Raghi said. to the area, but villagers have for femininity, the womb and the earth. days after their car was swept land of Lesbos. Villagers had dug a 60-metre already started removing bod- The festival -- which took place in Subaya, Indonesia’s sec- away by flood waters near Ath- The poor weather has also (200-feet) deep shaft in a river ies from the site.” ond largest city -- aims to preserve and promote Caci and the ens, the fire department said. disrupted travel, forcing high- bed to search for gold. They Badakhshan is a remote, Manggarai culture, the organiser said. A day earlier, rescue crews way closures and coastal ferry were inside when the walls mountainous province in It is held so “the tradition won’t be eroded by time and the had found a 66-year-old wom- and intercity train cancella- fell in. northeast Afghanistan bor- modern life”, said organiser Tarius, who like many Indonesians an dead inside the same car in tions. On Friday, a Ryanair “The people were using an dering Tajikistan, China and goes by one name. the rural area of Keratea. flight bound for Thessaloniki excavator to dig a big hole in Pakistan. The region is prone In ancient times, the fighters -- in the Manggarai peoples’ Greece is battling a pro - was rerouted to Timisoara, the river when it collapsed, to landslides, particularly in province of province -- were men from longed cold snap that has seen Romania, because of poor vis- trapping dozens of workers,” the colder months when heavy different villages who competed against each other to celebrate temperatures fall to below -18 ibility. Raghi said. snow blankets the province. the harvest season.