CBS News
Hunt underway for Sumatran tiger after screaming leads workers to man’s body, tiger footprints
A man has been found dead in western Indonesia after a suspected attack by a Sumatran tiger authorities were still hunting, a local official said Saturday, the latest case of conflict between humans and the critically endangered species.
There are only several hundred tigers on the western island of Sumatra left in the wild and they are often targeted by poachers for their body parts, while rampant deforestation has significantly reduced their habitat.
A team of conservationists was deployed to search for the big cat on Saturday after the 26-year-old male victim was found dead at a plantation in Riau province on Sumatra island on Thursday afternoon with wounds indicating a tiger attack.
“Our team has left this morning (to search for the tiger). Based on the report, the area is within the tiger habitat,” local conservation agency head Genman Suhefti Hasibuan told AFP Saturday.
Local police chief Budi Setiawan said late Friday they had received a report that two workers heard their friend screaming while they were spraying weeds in an acacia plantation.
The workers tried to look for their colleague but instead found tiger footprints on the ground.
They reported the incident to the plantation management who deployed more people to search for the victim.
The victim’s body was later found with a severed right hand as well as bite wounds on his neck, Setiawan said.
In February, at least four farmers in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh were attacked by Sumatran tigers in two separate incidents.
Sumatran tigers, which are a kind of Sunda Island tiger, are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild.
“The last of the Sunda island tigers are holding on for survival in the remaining patches of forest on the island of Sumatra,” according to WWF. “Accelerating deforestation and rampant poaching mean this noble creature could end up extinct like its Javan and Balinese counterparts.”
The attack in Indonesia marks at least the third time a tiger has killed a human in the past five months. In December, a Siberian tiger attacked a dog and then killed the pet’s owner after he followed its tracks in Russia. Also that month, a zoo in Pakistan was shut down after a man was mauled to death by tigers in an attack discovered during routine cleaning.
CBS News
Palestinians ordered to flee Khan Younis, signaling likely new Israeli assault on southern Gaza city
The Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from much of Khan Younis on Monday, a sign that troops are likely to launch a new ground assault in the Gaza Strip’s second largest city.
The order suggested Khan Younis will be the target in the latest of Israel’s repeated raids into parts of Gaza it had previously invaded during the past nearly nine months, pursuing Hamas militants as they regroup. Much of Khan Younis was already destroyed in a long assault earlier this year, but large numbers of Palestinians have since moved back in to escape another Israeli offensive in Gaza’s southern-most city, Rafah.
Monday’s evacuation call covered the entire eastern half of Khan Younis and a large swath of the Gaza Strip’s southeast corner. Earlier in the day, the army said a barrage of rockets out of Gaza was fired from Khan Younis.
The order suggested a new assault into the city was imminent. Israeli forces fought for weeks in Khan Younis earlier this year and withdrew, claiming to have destroyed Hamas battalions in the city. But in other places where the military made similar claims, renewed raids have underscored Hamas’ continued capabilities.
Thousands of Gazans had returned to Khan Younis in April after Israel’s withdrawal from the city. Malak, 13, was among those who returned, hoping to find any belongings that might have survived. She found nothing left.
“Everything is destroyed. There is no life here anymore,” she previously told CBS News. “Our dreams are gone and so is our childhood.”
Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
An evacuation and eruption of fighting in the Khan Younis area could further hamper Palestinians’ access to much-needed potable water. Included in the evacuation zone is a water line that Israel installed following criticism over its cutoff of water to the strip early in its campaign.
Also in the zone is the area surrounding the Kerem Shalom crossing, the major aid crossing to southern Gaza, as well as an aid route that Israel said it would safeguard to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter the strip. Very little aid has entered the strip due to lawlessness along the aid route, and a new offensive would risk further harming aid efforts.
The United Nations Human Rights Office in Palestine responded to the new evacuation order in a Monday social media post.
“Extremely concerned that thousands from Khan Younis have been asked to evacuate, which will likely result in huge mass displacement, suffering, & family separation, all when the population is facing severe shortage of food, water, shelter & other basic necessities,” the agency said.
World Central Kitchen operates a field kitchen out of Khan Younis. Operations began there in late June. The kitchen was named Zomi’s Kitchen to honor one seven aid workers killed by Israeli air strikes in April.
The order came as Israel released the director of Gaza’s main hospital after holding him for seven months without charge or trial over allegations the facility had been used as a Hamas command center. He said he and other detainees were held under harsh conditions and tortured. There was no immediate response from the prison service, which has previously denied similar accusations.
The decision to release Mohammed Abu Selmia raised questions over Israel’s claims surrounding Shifa Hospital, which Israeli forces have raided twice since the start of the nearly nine-month war with Hamas. Abu Selmia and other Palestinian health officials have denied the accusations.
His release triggered an uproar across Israel’s political spectrum. Government ministers and opposition leaders expressed outrage and insisted Abu Salmia played a role in Hamas’ alleged use of the hospital — though Israeli security services rarely unilaterally free prisoners if they have a suspicion of militant links. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu’s office called the release “a grave mistake.”
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and took another 250 hostage. In its campaign, Israel has killed at least 37,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths.
Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes, with many displaced multiple times. Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of public order have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fueling widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine.
The U.S. military constructed a pier to bring aid into Gaza, but it was removed late last month due to weather. U.S. officials on Friday said the Pentagon is considering not re-installing the pier unless the aid begins flowing out into the population again.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the military was “making progress toward ending the phase of the destruction of Hamas’ terror army.” But he said forces will continue to “target their remains going forward.”
Running sensation Quincy Wilson, 16, is going to the Paris Olympics, becoming the youngest American male to be part of the Olympic track team.
Wilson, who will be on the 4×400 relay pool, posted on his social media about the selection, with the caption: “WE GOING TO THE OLYMPICS.” On Monday, he posted a photo with the official uniform with the “USA” emblazoned on it on his Instagram Story.
/ Getty Images
A rising high school junior at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, Wilson made it all the way to the final of the 400-meter final at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, on June 24. He finished sixth in the race, which kept his Olympics hopes alive. Despite his final position, he said he was “so thankful” to be part of it.
Wilson will join track stars Quincy Hall, Michael Norman and Chris Bailey, who all finished ahead of him in the 400-meter final at U.S. trials, in Paris.
En route to the race, he beat the world’s under-18 400-meter record twice – surpassing his own record in the semifinal on June 23 and breaking the record two days earlier.
Bill Mallon, an Olympics historian, told CBS News that Wilson is the youngest male track Olympian to make the U.S. team. The youngest ever track and field American athlete is Esther Stroy, who competed at the age of 15 in the 1968 Olympics, Mallon told CBS News.
Wilson’s Olympic bid comes as big names in Team USA such as Simone Biles and Suni Lee punched their tickets to the City of Love over the weekend.
Amazon
Amazon’s biggest sales event of the year, Prime Day, is right around the corner. But you don’t have to wait for the highly anticipated sale to score deals. Amazon is offering plenty of early Prime Day deals that are available to shoppers right now, and the discounts are pretty solid.
One of our favorite early Prime Day deals is this $299 markdown on Eureka’s E10s robot vacuum and mop combo, a savings of up to 42%. This deal is a steal, as robot vacuums alone (not robot vacuum-mop combos) are quite expensive, with some models retailing for more than $1,000. To ensure you get the greatest savings on the Eureka E10, remember to add the $199 coupon before checkout at Amazon.
Thinking about becoming an Amazon Prime member? We’ve got all your Prime Day 2024 questions answered, with info on key dates and what you need to know to get the best prices on home, fitness gear, tech and more on Amazon.
Eureka E10s robot vacuum and mop: $400 (save $299)
Eureka
The Eureka E10s is a two-in-one cleaning device that will vacuum and mop your floors for you. The robot offers suction power strong enough to be able to lift dust, dirt and hair off the ground, making this a great option for people with pets. This Eureka model can vacuum and mop at the same time, with technology that can identify carpets and rugs. So when your robot vacuum senses that it’s approaching your rug, the mopping pad lifts up to prevent the rug from getting wet.
This robot vacuum can avoid obstacles and map out your home. For a more personalized cleaning, download the corresponding app, which allows you to set up cleaning schedules and no-go zones in your home. And if you have Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, you can control the vacuum with your voice.
The self-emptying Eureka E10s can hold up to 45 days worth of debris in its docking station. You can expect this to run for up to three hours before it needs to be charged back up again.
The Eureka E10s robot vacuum has a 4.1-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, “I have a black lab and got tired of how much hair was showing up on them despite constant sweeping. I’ve had 3 different robot vacs and this is BY FAR the best. My floors have never been cleaner. Highly recommend.”
Palestinians ordered to flee Khan Younis, signaling likely new Israeli assault on southern Gaza city
16-year-old Quincy Wilson becomes youngest American male track Olympian ever
Early Prime Day deal: This all-in-one robot vacuum and mop combo is $299 off
Palestinians ordered to flee Khan Younis, signaling likely new Israeli assault on southern Gaza city
16-year-old Quincy Wilson becomes youngest American male track Olympian ever