LAHORE: The remains of a teenager who had been missing for two days have found in the lions’ enclosure at a safari park in Pakistan, officials said.
The skull and bones of 18-year-old Muhammad Bilal were discovered when staff went to feed the animals on Wednesday, Chaudhry Shafqat, deputy director general of Lahore Safari Park, said.
His family later ransacked parts of the attraction to protest at what they said was incompetence by park authorities, police said. Members of Bilal’s family declined to comment to Reuters at the park, too upset to speak to reporters.
Shafqat told Reuters the park had “more than enough safety measures in place,” and questioned whether Bilal had been killed before his body ended up in the enclosure.
“We are still wondering how he crossed the protective fence which is quite high and entered the lions’ field,” he said, adding the young man had been missing for the past two days.
“I think the police will also investigate whether the man himself climbed the fence and went inside or someone threw his dead body inside for the lions to eat.”
He said Bilal’s family told him and the police he had gone to the park to see one of his uncles who worked there.
Police official Najeeb Awan said they were investigating the incident. Awan said Bilal’s family and neighbors attacked offices at the attraction, smashed windows and damaged vehicles.
They also blocked a main highway and demanded the government initiate criminal proceedings against the park’s management, Awan said.
Remains of teenager found in lion enclosure at Pakistan safari park
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Remains of teenager found in lion enclosure at Pakistan safari park
- The skull and bones of 18-year-old Muhammad Bilal were discovered when staff went to feed the animals
White House to present plans for Trump’s East Wing ballroom in January
- The new ballroom, which Trump has said would cost $400 million and would dwarf the adjacent White House building
PALM BEACH, Florida: The White House will unveil new details on President Donald Trump’s planned East Wing ballroom during a hearing early next month, according to a federal commission tasked with reviewing the project.
The new ballroom, which Trump has said would cost $400 million and would dwarf the adjacent White House building, has been challenged in court by preservationists, while Democratic lawmakers have called it an abuse of power and are investigating which donors are supporting it.
The National Capital Planning Commission, chartered by Congress to manage planning for Washington-area federal lands, said on its website that the White House will provide an “information presentation” on plans to rebuild the East Wing during a commission meeting on January 8.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The commission, chaired by a White House aide and onetime personal lawyer to Trump, Will Scharf, has declined to review the demolition of the former East Wing, preparation activities at the site, or potential effects to historic properties, in what would mark the biggest change to the historic property in decades.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress, is suing to halt the construction, arguing that the proposed 90,000 square foot (8,360 square meter) ballroom would dwarf the rest of the White House, at 55,000 square feet.
The judge in the case earlier this month declined to issue a temporary restraining order against work on the project, noting among other things that the size, scale and other specifications had not been finalized. Another hearing is scheduled for next month. The president, a one-time real estate developer, has taken a hands-on role in what he has described as sprucing up the White House and the US capital city ahead of celebrations next year marking the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary.
He has also proposed a new grand arch near Washington, while decorating the Oval Office extensively in gold leaf and installing plaques there offering his personal take on his predecessors’ legacies.
The former East Wing was largely demolished in October, with comparatively little public notice or consultation.
In a recent notice posted online, the planning commission said a formal review taking place this coming spring will consider topics including lines of sight, public space and landscapes. Members of the public will be allowed to submit comments or testify during the review, it said.
