90 Rohingya left ‘stranded’ on Indonesia beach

90 Rohingya left ‘stranded’ on Indonesia beach
Members of the persecuted minority risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys, often crowding into rickety boats in the hopes of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia. (AFP)
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Updated 31 October 2024
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90 Rohingya left ‘stranded’ on Indonesia beach

90 Rohingya left ‘stranded’ on Indonesia beach
  • Members of the persecuted minority risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys, often crowding into rickety boats in the hopes of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia

LHOKSEUMAWE: Human traffickers left dozens of Rohingya refugees, including children, stranded on a shoreline in westernmost Indonesia on Thursday, while six dead bodies were found nearby, local officials said.
Members of the persecuted minority risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys, often crowding into rickety boats in the hopes of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia.
The refugees were abandoned before dawn on Thursday around 100 meters off a beach in Aceh Province, Saiful Anwar, a village official in East Aceh, told AFP.
The group included 46 women, 37 men and seven children, he said, while locals found two bodies on the shore and four floating in the sea.
“According to information from residents, these people were stranded at around 4 am (2100 GMT). It seems like there was a boat that brought them,” Saiful said.
Eight sick refugees were taken for medical treatment, he said.
East Aceh acting district head Amrullah M. Ridha told reporters the refugees would be kept in tents on the beach until authorities sheltered them.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said it knew about the arrivals but could offer no further information.
Acting Aceh Governor Safrizal, who goes by one name, told reporters “human trafficking mafia activity” was to blame for the latest arrivals.
It is the third group of arrivals in western Indonesia this month, with more than 150 refugees landing in Aceh and another 140 arriving in North Sumatra province.
According to UNHCR, 2,500 Rohingya arrived by boat in Aceh between January 2023 and March 2024, as many as had arrived in Indonesia in the previous eight years.
The mostly Muslim ethnic group faces persecution in Myanmar, and many have fled military crackdowns, seeking shelter in sprawling refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.
Every year, thousands of Rohingya attempt the perilous 4,000-kilometer journey (2,500 miles) from Bangladesh to Malaysia, fueling a multi-million dollar human-smuggling operation that often involves stopovers in Indonesia.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention and says it cannot be compelled to take in the refugees, calling instead on neighboring countries to share the burden.
Many Acehnese, who themselves have memories of decades of bloody conflict, are sympathetic to the plight of their fellow Muslims, but others say their patience has been tested by the annual arrivals.


An explosion in the Afghan capital kills the Taliban refugee minister

An explosion in the Afghan capital kills the Taliban refugee minister
Updated 8 sec ago
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An explosion in the Afghan capital kills the Taliban refugee minister

An explosion in the Afghan capital kills the Taliban refugee minister
The explosion struck inside the ministry, killing Khalil Haqqani, officials said
His last official photo showed him at a meeting chaired by the deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, earlier Wednesday

ISLAMABAD: A suicide bombing in the Afghan capital on Wednesday killed the Taliban refugee minister and two others, officials said, in the most brazen attack on a member of the Taliban inner circle since they returned to power three years ago.
The explosion struck inside the ministry, killing Khalil Haqqani, officials said. His last official photo showed him at a meeting chaired by the deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, earlier Wednesday.
Khalil Haqqani is the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister who leads a powerful network within the Taliban.
Haqqani was the most high-profile casualty of a bombing in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power and the first Cabinet member to be killed since the takeover. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.
The government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a post on X that Haqqani’s death was a great loss and described him as a tireless holy warrior who spent his life defending Islam.
Haqqani’s killing may be the biggest blow to the Taliban since their return to power given his stature and influence, according to Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute. It also comes at a time when the Taliban have staked their legitimacy on restoring peace after decades of war, he added.
“The killing of a top Haqqani leader inside one of its own ministries undercuts that core narrative,” he said.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar condemned the killing as a “terrorist attack.”
“Pakistan unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Dar said, adding his government was in touch with Kabul to get further details.
The Daesh group’s affiliate, a major rival of the ruling Taliban, has carried out previous attacks across Afghanistan.
In early September, one of its suicide bombers in a southwestern Kabul neighborhood killed at least six people, wounding 13 others.
But suicide attacks have become increasingly rare since the Taliban seized power in August 2021 and US and NATO forces withdrew. Such attacks have mostly targeted minority Shiite Muslims, especially in the capital.

Ukraine loses ground near Pokrovsk, Russian force within 3 km of strategic hub

Ukraine loses ground near Pokrovsk, Russian force within 3 km of strategic hub
Updated 4 min 4 sec ago
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Ukraine loses ground near Pokrovsk, Russian force within 3 km of strategic hub

Ukraine loses ground near Pokrovsk, Russian force within 3 km of strategic hub
  • “As a result of prolonged clashes, two of our positions were destroyed, one was lost,” Nazar Voloshyn, Ukraine’s military spokesman, said
  • Kyiv has urged its allies to get it into the strongest possible position on the battlefield before any talks do happen

KYIV: Russian troops destroyed or captured several Ukrainian positions near the eastern city of Pokrovsk, Kyiv’s military said on Wednesday, as Moscow bears down on the strategic logistics hub that is home to a unique Ukrainian coking mine.
After months of accelerating advances toward Pokrovsk, Moscow’s forces are now as close as 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) from the southern outskirts of the city, according to Ukraine’s DeepState, which maps the front lines using open sources.
“As a result of prolonged clashes, two of our positions were destroyed, one was lost. Currently, measures are being taken to restore positions,” Nazar Voloshyn, Ukraine’s military spokesman for the eastern front, said in televised comments.
Pokrovsk, situated about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the boundary of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, has for months been the area of the fiercest battles in Russia’s 33-month-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In October and November, the Russian military advanced toward the city at its fastest rate since the early months of the war, analysts said. Ukraine, which has been on the back foot since its failed 2023 counteroffensive, says Russia has been sustaining some of its heaviest losses of the war to date.
Both Ukraine and Russia have their eye on the growing prospect of a push for peace talks, with US President-elect Donald Trump preparing to enter office on Jan. 20, having called for an immediate ceasefire and a swift end to the war.
Kyiv has urged its allies to get it into the strongest possible position on the battlefield before any talks do happen.
Russia, which Ukraine says has over 70,000 troops on the Pokrovsk front, has rapidly advanced toward Shevchenko, a village to Pokrovsk’s south, in recent weeks.
Its forces are currently trying to gain a foothold in the village and sending in reconnaissance and sabotage groups, Voloshyn said. Ukraine is holding them back for now, he added.
The fall of Pokrovsk, an important logistics center for the Ukrainian military in the east, would amount to the biggest military setback for Kyiv in months.
The city also hosts Ukraine’s only domestic coking coal supplier for its once-giant steel industry.
The mine, which was still operating as of Dec. 6, lies 10 km (6.2 miles) west of Pokrovsk, the far side from where Russian troops have been advancing.


Father and stepmother convicted of Sara Sharif’s brutal murder after UK trial

Sara Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking. (Surrey Police)
Sara Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking. (Surrey Police)
Updated 18 min 18 sec ago
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Father and stepmother convicted of Sara Sharif’s brutal murder after UK trial

Sara Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking. (Surrey Police)
  • The jury convicted Urfan Sharif and Batool of Sara’s murder
  • Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death

LONDON: The father and stepmother of Sara Sharif, a 10-year-old girl who was found dead in her home in Britain, were on Wednesday convicted of her murder after a trial which heard harrowing details of her treatment before her killing.
Sharif was found dead in August 2023 at her home in Woking, a town southwest of London, after what prosecutors say was a campaign of “serious and repeated violence.”
The family fled to Pakistan immediately after Sara Sharif was killed, before they were arrested in September 2023 at London’s Gatwick airport after flying from Dubai.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Sara had suffered a litany of injuries, including burns, broken bones and bite marks.
Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 43, and his wife Beinash Batool, 30, stood trial at London’s Old Bailey court charged with her murder, which they denied.
The jury convicted Urfan Sharif and Batool of Sara’s murder. Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of causing or allowing Sara’s death.
Sharif and Batool will be sentenced on Dec. 17.
Emlyn Jones told jurors at the start of the trial that Urfan Sharif had called police and said: “It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much.”
Sharif gave evidence and initially denied responsibility for Sara’s death. He accepted slapping Sara to discipline her, but denied beating her in a regular or sustained way.
But Urfan Sharif, under questioning from Batool’s lawyer Caroline Carberry, later said he took “full responsibility” for his daughter’s death.
Lawyers for Batool, who did not give evidence, said Urfan Sharif was violent and controlling and that she was scared of him.


India’s Rajasthan state explores strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia in mining, food security

India’s Rajasthan state explores strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia in mining, food security
Updated 11 December 2024
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India’s Rajasthan state explores strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia in mining, food security

India’s Rajasthan state explores strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia in mining, food security
  • Kingdom keen on attracting Rajasthani talent in technology, health care, engineering
  • Saudi Arabia sent the largest delegation to Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit

JAIPUR: The Indian state of Rajasthan is preparing for new collaborations with Saudi Arabia, its industry and commerce minister said, following meetings with the Kingdom’s delegation to the region’s first international investment summit in Jaipur.
India’s largest state by area hosted the first Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit this week to draw foreign cooperation, as it seeks to double its gross domestic product to $350 billion in the next five years.
Representatives from over 20 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, UK, Australia, Japan and Russia were present during the three-day event that concluded on Wednesday.
The Saudi Ministry of Investment, which set up an Invest Saudi pavilion at the forum, brought 16 delegates for prospective cooperation talks with Indian businesses.
“It was the biggest delegation. I must thank the Saudi Arabian government for this initiative,” Rajasthan Industry Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore told Arab News after a meeting with Saudi delegates on Tuesday evening.
“I see the partnership between the two nations growing stronger. As it is very strong politically, I think even in terms of business, we can move much closer ... We had a wonderful interaction. They have already begun to show their interest in mining.”
Rajasthan, with its expansive desert landscapes hosting numerous photovoltaic plants, leads India in solar energy production. The state is also the top producer of marble, home to the country’s largest lead mines, and holds rich deposits of copper and rare-earth elements.
“It’s one of the best places to invest in India ... there are multiple sectors that Saudi companies could be interested in,” Rathore said.
“We have a lot of land, we have a lot of sun, and we have multiple sectors, including minerals, mining, renewable energy, petrochemical, logistics, infrastructure, education, agro-based products — innumerable (sectors).”
Cooperation in the hospitality industry was also on the table. Rajasthan has nine sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list, including Jaipur city, six forts built between the 5th and 18th centuries, and Keoladeo National Park, which hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds.
“We have discussed if multiple hotels can be set up because tourism is quite big,” Rathore said. “We also discussed the possibility of a Saudi company investing in a luxury train.”
Abdullah Al-Arfaj, director of international relations for South and West Asia at the Saudi Ministry of Investment, told Arab News after talks with the industry minister that discussions “centered around key areas such as agriculture, food security, mining, health care, education, and human resources.”
Cooperation in agriculture would focus on innovative practices and establishing reliable supply chains, while in mining it would “develop Rajasthan’s mineral wealth, utilizing Saudi expertise in mining and resource management,” he said, adding that the Kingdom was also keen on attracting top talent from Rajasthan to the sectors of technology, health care and engineering.
“These collaborative areas align with our shared priorities and present significant opportunities for long-term economic and social impact,” Al-Arfaj said.
“We explored opportunities to leverage Rajasthan’s strengths in these sectors while aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals to promote economic diversification and sustainable development.”


Afghan capital explosion kills Taliban refugee minister, officials say

Afghan capital explosion kills Taliban refugee minister, officials say
Updated 11 December 2024
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Afghan capital explosion kills Taliban refugee minister, officials say

Afghan capital explosion kills Taliban refugee minister, officials say
  • Khalil Haqqani is the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghanistan’s acting interior minister
  • There was no immediate responsibility for suicide attack that struck refugee ministry

ISLAMABAD: A suicide bombing in the Afghan capital on Wednesday killed the Taliban refugee minister, Interior Ministry officials said.
The explosion struck inside the ministry and killed Khalil Haqqani, the refugee minister, officials said.
He is the most high-profile casualty of a bombing in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power three years ago. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.
Khalil Haqqani is the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister who leads a powerful network within the Taliban.