Pope Francis lands in Singapore, final stop on Asia-Pacific tour

Update Pope Francis lands in Singapore, final stop on Asia-Pacific tour
People wait for Pope Francis on the day of his visit to Singapore, during the last leg of his apostolic visit to Asia, in Singapore on Sept. 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 11 September 2024
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Pope Francis lands in Singapore, final stop on Asia-Pacific tour

Pope Francis lands in Singapore, final stop on Asia-Pacific tour
  • The marathon four-nation tour has already taken in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
  • In Singapore he is set to meet the city-state’s leaders, deliver a state address and hold a mass at its national stadium

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE: Pope Francis touched down in Singapore Wednesday, the last stop of a four-nation Asia-Pacific trip aimed at boosting the Catholic Church’s standing in the world’s most populous region.

Crowds waved Vatican and Singapore flags as Francis’s plane arrived at the city-state’s Changi Airport, on the last leg of a 12-day tour to the region.

The marathon tour has already taken in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea but the 87-year-old pontiff has appeared in good spirits throughout despite fears over his health.

A formal leaving ceremony was held at the airport in capital Dili, where the pope’s plane took off for the Southeast Asian city-state shortly after 12:25 p.m. local time (0325 GMT).

The main event of this leg was an open-air mass to what the Vatican said was an estimated 600,000 people on Tuesday in stifling tropical heat, rallying nearly half of the Catholic-majority country.

“I am so very happy, this is the first time he is here. But we are sad because he was only here for three days — we wanted him to be here for one week,” said 28-year-old banker Namaseo Xavier.

“The message that Papa Francisco gives us, that’s peace for my country.”

On Wednesday he spoke to young people before driving through the seaside city where thousands of people lined the streets, screaming as he drove by.

In Singapore he is set to meet the city-state’s leaders, deliver a state address and hold a mass at its national stadium.

His visit was only the second papal trip to East Timor, where around 98 percent of the population is Catholic, after John Paul II in 1989.

He will stay in Singapore until Friday when he heads back to Europe after wrapping up the longest and farthest tour of his 11-year papacy.

The country, independent since 1965, is one of the most developed in Asia but has been criticized by rights groups over the severity of its justice system, which still applies the death penalty.

It is home to a Chinese majority and significant Malay and Indian minorities.

Christians make up about 19 percent of the population, but majority religion is Buddhism.


Tens of thousands flee Nigeria floods

Tens of thousands flee Nigeria floods
Updated 58 min 2 sec ago
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Tens of thousands flee Nigeria floods

Tens of thousands flee Nigeria floods
  • The floods have been mounting for the past month, hitting densely populated areas, including parts of the state capital Lokoja

LAGOS: Two major rivers have flooded across central Nigeria displacing tens of thousands of people, the Red Cross told AFP.
Rescue workers in Kogi State have been helping residents move away from the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers to displacement camps or nearby villages.
Umar Y Mahmud, the Red Cross disaster management officer in Kogi, said Friday there were more than 60,000 people displaced and about 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of land under water.
“The situation is very bad now as the Niger river is increasing,” Mahmud said.
Kogi state’s information commissioner Kingsley Femi Fanwo said displacement camps were becoming “overwhelmed” and estimated that more than one million people could be in the affected areas.
The floods have been mounting for the past month, hitting densely populated areas, including parts of the state capital Lokoja.
In Ibaji district, more than three-quarters of the land has been inundated, Fanwo said.
Nigeria often sees floods during the May-to-November rainy season but there are fears this year’s could be worse than 2022 when more than 500 people died. No deaths have been reported this time.
Floods in Maiduguri, capital of the northeastern state of Borno, in September, left at least 37 dead.
Officials and residents often blame flood damage on climate change as well as poor planning, construction along riverbanks, and the release of water from dams


Indonesia urges Australia, East Asian countries to recognize Palestine

Indonesia urges Australia, East Asian countries to recognize Palestine
Updated 13 October 2024
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Indonesia urges Australia, East Asian countries to recognize Palestine

Indonesia urges Australia, East Asian countries to recognize Palestine
  • Indonesian VP discussed Palestine in most meetings at the ASEAN summit
  • Palestinian statehood is so far recognized by 75 percent of UN member countries

Jakarta: Indonesia has called on Australia, Japan, and South Korea to recognize Palestine, a move Jakarta says will be a “game-changer” to achieve peace in the Middle East.

Indonesia has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinians, who were among the first to recognize Indonesian independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945. Its people and government see Palestinian statehood as mandated by their own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.

During the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos, which included meetings with Western and East Asian leaders, Vice President Ma’ruf Amin raised the issue of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

“The vice president brought the message of Palestine in almost every meeting,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a recorded press statement.

“But specifically during meetings with South Korea, Japan, and Australia, the vice president urged them to recognize Palestine as soon as possible.”

The State of Palestine is recognized by 146 countries around the world as of June this year, comprising about 75 percent of all UN member states.

While most of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa recognize Palestinian statehood, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea are among those that do not.

“Indonesia has consistently called for all countries which have yet to recognize Palestine to do so. We believe this move will be a game-changer in the peace process for Palestine specifically and also in the Middle East,” Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat told Arab News on Sunday.

“With recognition, we believe that Palestine will have a stronger bargaining position against Israel, as both countries become widely recognized by the international community.”

More than a year since Israel launched its war on Gaza, its military has killed at least 42,000 people and injured over 97,000. The real death toll is feared to be much higher, with estimates published by the medical journal The Lancet indicating that as of July, it could be more than 186,000.

“It is only right for all countries to act to stop further loss of life,” Soemirat said. “For Indonesia, it is high time for these countries to give their recognition of Palestine. Any more delay and Israel will continue with its violent attacks.”


Pakistan separatist militants BLA deny involvement in attack on mines

Pakistan separatist militants BLA deny involvement in attack on mines
Updated 13 October 2024
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Pakistan separatist militants BLA deny involvement in attack on mines

Pakistan separatist militants BLA deny involvement in attack on mines
  • Dozens of attackers stormed a cluster of small private coal mines in Pakistan’s restive southwest

KARACHI: The Baloch Liberation Army, a militant separatist group in Pakistan, denied involvement in an attack that killed at least 21 mine workers, condemning the violence.
Dozens of attackers stormed a cluster of small private coal mines in Pakistan’s restive southwest on Friday with guns, rockets and hand grenades, killing some miners in their sleep and shooting others after lining them up.
“Baloch Liberation Army condemns the massacre of 21 Pashtun workers in Dukki, making it clear that our organization has no involvement in this tragic incident,” the BLA said in an email late on Saturday.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the mines of the Junaid Coal Co. in the mineral-rich province of Balochistan that borders Afghanistan and Iran.
It was the worst such attack in weeks and comes days before Pakistan hosts a summit of the Eurasian group Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
A decades-long insurgency in Balochistan by separatist militant groups has led to frequent attacks against the government, army and Chinese interests in the region, pressing demands for a share in mineral-rich resources.
Besides the separatists, the region is also home to Islamist militants, who have resurged since 2022 after revoking a ceasefire with the government.
The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan. It is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the South Asian nation’s government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
The province is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by giant Barrick Gold and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province.
At the time of the attack, a delegation from Saudi Arabia, which says it is set to buy a stake in the Reko Diq mine, was in Islamabad exploring deals as Pakistan seeks to recover from an economic crisis.


Israel envoy criticizes Japan atomic survivor’s Gaza comparison

Israel envoy criticizes Japan atomic survivor’s Gaza comparison
Updated 13 October 2024
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Israel envoy criticizes Japan atomic survivor’s Gaza comparison

Israel envoy criticizes Japan atomic survivor’s Gaza comparison
  • Around 140,000 people were killed when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima

Tokyo: Israel’s ambassador to Japan criticized on Sunday a leader of Nihon Hidankyo, the atomic bomb survivors’ group awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for comparing their experiences to the children of Gaza.
Gilad Cohen congratulated Nihon Hidankyo for winning this year’s prize but said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday the comparison drawn by the group’s co-chair Toshiyuki Mimaki “is outrageous and baseless.”
“Gaza is ruled by Hamas, a murderous terrorist organization committing a double war crime: targeting Israeli civilians, including women and children, while using its own people as human shields,” Cohen said.
“Such comparisons distort history and dishonor the victims” of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, Cohen said.
Mimaki said after the prize was announced on Friday that the plight of children in Gaza was similar to what Japan faced at the end of World War II.
“In Gaza, bleeding children are being held (by their parents). It’s like in Japan 80 years ago,” Mimaki said.
A representative for the Hiroshima chapter of Nihon Hidankyo could not be reached for comment about Cohen’s post.
Around 140,000 people were killed when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and 74,000 more were killed in Nagasaki three days later.
Survivors of the blasts later formed Nihon Hidankyo to tell the stories of those atomic bombings and to press for a world without nuclear weapons.
Nagasaki decided not to invite Cohen to mark this year’s 79th anniversary of the bombing, citing security reasons to avoid possible protests.
That decision prompted the ambassadors of the United States, Britain and the European Union, among others, to skip the ceremony and send lower-level officials instead.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says 42,175 people, a majority of them civilians, have been killed since Israel’s military campaign began there. The United Nations acknowledges these figures to be reliable.
hih/pbt


Taiwan says on ‘alert’ as China aircraft carrier detected to its south

Taiwan says on ‘alert’ as China aircraft carrier detected to its south
Updated 13 October 2024
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Taiwan says on ‘alert’ as China aircraft carrier detected to its south

Taiwan says on ‘alert’ as China aircraft carrier detected to its south
  • China has ramped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years

TAIPEI: Taiwan was on “alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier to its south on Sunday, the self-ruled island’s defense ministry said.
“China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier group has entered waters near the Bashi Channel and is likely to proceed into the western Pacific,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that its military “remains on alert, prepared to respond as necessary.”
China has ramped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years, sending in warplanes and other military aircraft while Chinese ships maintain a near-constant presence around its waters.
The Liaoning aircraft carrier detection comes after US State Secretary Antony Blinken warned China on Friday against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan, following a speech by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te during the island’s National Day celebrations a day earlier.
Lai, who China calls a “separatist,” vowed Thursday to “resist annexation” of the island, and insisted Beijing and Taipei were “not subordinate to each other.”
China warned after the speech that Lai’s “provocations” would result in “disaster” for the people of Taiwan.