Tiger mauls man to death
MALAYSIAN authorities expanded the search yesterday for six people, including five Chinese tourists, still missing two days after their boat sank off Borneo island. Twenty- two people were rescued, but three Chinese tourists died.
Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency said in a statement that the search area has been expanded by about four times. It said Brunei has also deployed a plane to search in its waters.
The 20 Chinese tourists rescued were weak, shivering and sunburnt but had sustained no serious injuries. The survivors were brought ashore and taken to hospital.
Officials earlier said the Chinese tourists had huddled together in groups, forming human chains, and were wearing life vests when they were rescued by fishermen after more than 10 hours adrift in the sea. A TIGER- MAULING death at a Chinese zoo is under investigation by local authorities who say the victim climbed a fence into the tiger’s enclosure. The attack occurred at a resort on Dongqian Lake in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. A local government statement says the victim, identified only by his surname of Zhang, climbed a fence with a friend instead of buying tickets. Zhang’s wife and two children, as well as his friend’s wife, bought tickets to enter the zoo. Zhang allegedly passed through a wire netting and eventually climbed a wall to enter the tiger enclosure, while his friend stayed back, the statement said. A tiger attacked him inside the enclosure, as visitors to the park apparently watched from a distance. One tiger was shot dead by police, and three others nearby were dispersed using firecrackers. SIX people were killed and eight injured at a Quebec City mosque yesterday after gunmen stormed the place of worship during evening prayers and opened fire.
Authorities said two arrests had been made in what Quebec’s premier and Canada’s prime minister called an act of terrorism.
Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre president Mohamed Yangui said the shooting happened in the men’s section of the mosque. He said five males had died and he worried that some were children.
Mr Yangui wasn’t at the centre when the attack occurred, but got some details from people on the scene.
He said an estimated 60 to 100 people would have been there at the time of the shooting. “We are sad for the families,” Mr Yangui said.
Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard characterised the attack as a terrorist act, which came amid heightened tensions over US President Donald Trump’s travel ban on certain Muslim countries.
“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge,” Mr Trudeau said in a statement.
“It is heart- wrenching to see such senseless violence. Muslim- Canadians are an important part of our nation- al fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country,” he added.
Mr Couillard termed the mosque attack as “barbaric violence” and expressed solidarity with the victims’ families.
The mayor of Gatineau, Quebec, near Canada’s capital of Ottawa, said there would be increased police presence at m o s q u e s around his city following the attack.
The New York Police Department said it was stepping up patrols at mosques and other houses of worships in its city. The scene of yesterday’s massacre, considered to be Quebec’s main mosque, has been targeted by extremists before. In 2016, a pig’s head was left on the doorstep. The incident occurred in the middle of R a m a d a n , when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. P r a c t i s i n g M u s l i m s do not eat pork.
Francois Deschamps, an organiser of a refugee support group in Quebec City, said the motive was unknown, but right wing groups were very organised in Quebec City and distributed flyers at the university and stickers around town.
Mr Deschamps said he personally received death threats after he started a refugee support group on Facebook and people had posted his address online.
“I’m not very surprised about the event,” Mr Deschamps said.
“Canada is generally welcoming toward immigrants and all religions, but it’s less so in the French- speaking province of Quebec.”