Asia Briefs: Fans mourn death of India's famous tigress

Fans mourn death of India's famous tigress

NEW DELHI • India's most famous tiger, photographed by thousands of tourists over the years, has died days after the ageing animal stopped eating.

Machli, the longest-surviving tigress in Ranthambore National Park at the age of 20, had been its star attraction for years, and even had its own Facebook page.

The tiger's death yesterday made national headlines, while saddened fans took to social media to pay their respects to the "lady of the lake" and the "queen of Ranthambore". Ranthambore tiger project director Yogesh Kumar Sahu said it had died of old age.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Vietnam allows Aussie war commemoration

SYDNEY • Vietnam allowed an Australian war commemoration to go ahead on the site of the Battle of Long Tan, reversing an earlier ban, a minister said.

Canberra announced on Wednesday that Vietnam had cancelled the ceremonies at the last minute. But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had appealed to his Vietnamese counterpart to let more than 1,000 veterans and their families remember the 50th anniversary yesterday of the most costly single battle fought in the Vietnam War by Australian soldiers, 18 of whom died as a result of the encounter.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


Xi seeks to ease fears over Silk Road plan

BEIJING • Chinese President Xi Jinping is seeking to assuage global concern that his initiative to revive an ancient trading route linking China and Europe is only about serving China's interests.

Speaking on Wednesday at a conference on the "One Belt, One Road" initiative in Beijing , Mr Xi called for a step up in the implementation of projects to provide "a solid sense of gain" to the countries involved. He also urged better risk assessment and security for the projects along the "Silk Road" route. He is set to seek its wider recognition at the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou next month.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 19, 2016, with the headline Asia Briefs: Fans mourn death of India's famous tigress. Subscribe