JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Bali began banning plastic bottles on Monday, in a move aimed at tackling plastic pollution in one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.
The island produces around 300,000 tons of plastic waste annually, more than half of which goes uncollected, including 33,000 tons that gets into Bali’s waterways.
Under the new policy, plastic bottles will be banned across all government offices and schools in Bali.
“We hope this policy will be implemented in full responsibility by all relevant parties for a green and sustainable Bali,” Dewa Made Indra, the province’s regional secretary, said in a statement.
The policy also requires “school principals and teachers to serve as role models for students by using tumblers to reduce or eliminate plastic waste from food and beverage packaging.”
In recent years, Bali’s plastic waste problem has made international headlines as iconic beaches were littered with trash during the peak of the monsoon season, when heavy winds and rain wash up pollution also from neighboring Java island.
Last month, clips of massive “trash waves” on the shoreline of Jimbaran beach went viral on social media, marking one of the year’s first instances of what has become an annual occurrence around the island.
The issue is also a concern for the central government, with Indonesia’s Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq taking part in Bali’s beach clean-up events twice last month.
“It is urgent for the sake of environmental sustainability, and also considering that Bali is a barometer for tourism in Indonesia, so we must show that our country is dedicated to find solutions to the plastic waste management problem,” Ratna Hendratmoko, who heads the Natural Resources Conservation Center in Bali, told Arab News.
Bali, an island known for its scenic natural beauty and rich traditional culture, draws millions of foreign tourists annually. In 2024, it welcomed more than 6.3 million international visitors — which is around half of the total number of such arrivals in Indonesia.
In 2019, the Bali provincial government banned single-use plastics in an effort to tackle marine pollution, becoming the first Indonesian province to do so.
The latest policy, which mandates government officials to bring their own reusable water bottles, may be the first step to implementing an islandwide ban.
“Our staff are committed to comply with this new policy,” I Made Rentin, head of the forestry and environment agency in Bali, told Arab News.
“For now, we will strengthen implementation internally at the government level.”
UNICEF calls on the Taliban to lift ban on girls’ education as new school year begins in Afghanistan
Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans female secondary and higher education, with Taliban justifying ban
The ban has deprived 400,000 more girls of their right to education, bringing the total to 2.2 million, the UN agency says
Updated 9 sec ago
AP
ISLAMABAD: The UN children’s agency on Saturday urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to immediately lift a lingering ban on girls’ education to save the future of millions who have been deprived of their right to education since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The appeal by UNICEF comes as a new school year began in Afghanistan without girls beyond sixth grade. The ban, said the agency, has deprived 400,000 more girls of their right to education, bringing the total to 2.2 million.
Afghanistan is the only country in the world that bans female secondary and higher education, with the Taliban justifying the ban saying it doesn’t comply with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.
“For over three years, the rights of girls in Afghanistan have been violated,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, said in a statement. “All girls must be allowed to return to school now. If these capable, bright young girls continue to be denied an education, then the repercussions will last for generations.”
A ban on the education of girls will harm the future of millions of Afghan girls, she said, adding that if the ban persists until 2030, “more than four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school.” The consequences, she added, will be “catastrophic.”
Russell warned that the decline in female doctors and midwives will leave women and girls without crucial medical care. This situation is projected to result in an estimated 1,600 additional maternal deaths and over 3,500 infant deaths. “These are not just numbers, they represent lives lost and families shattered,” she said.
The Afghan Taliban government earlier this year skipped a Pakistan-hosted global conference where Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai condemned the state of women’s and girl’s rights in Afghanistan as gender apartheid.
Germany approves $3.25 billion in new Ukraine military aid
The amount comes on top of four billion euros in Ukraine military aid already planned in Germany’s budget for 2025
A further 8.3 billion euros were earmarked for Kyiv for 2026 to 2029
Updated 22 March 2025
AFP
BERLIN: Germany on Friday approved three billion euros ($3.25 billion) in new military aid for Ukraine, just days before planned US-brokered talks with Moscow and Kyiv on a limited truce.
The money is earmarked for defense equipment for the country fighting Russian forces, including munitions, drones, armored vehicles and air-defense systems.
The parliament’s budget committee gave the green light for the funds, which had been on hold for months amid discord in the coalition government of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
But the final adoption on Friday of a major new spending package that also eased Germany’s strict debt rules for defense outlays gave the government new room for maneuver.
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Germany for the new aid in a post on X, saying it would provide “exactly what Ukraine needs most — what saves Ukrainian lives.
“This means contracts with the German defense industry will now be signed for future — a significant step toward building long-term security guarantees,” Zelensky said.
“It is also a recognition that Ukraine’s army will become even stronger after the war ends, and Germany is committed to contributing to that.”
Greens MP Britta Hasselmann, whose party has strongly pushed for Ukraine aid, expressed relief the new billions were being released, “albeit late.”
She called it “a strong signal to Ukraine, a signal that is absolutely necessary for peace and security in Europe.”
The new money comes on top of four billion euros in Ukraine military aid already planned in Germany’s budget for 2025.
A further 8.3 billion euros were earmarked for Kyiv for 2026 to 2029.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit has said the latest package would include units of the German-made Iris-T air-defense systems that had yet to be built and would be delivered over the next two years.
Germany has been Ukraine’s second-largest supplier of military aid after the United States, contributing some 28 billion euros so far since Russia launched its full-scale invasion over three years ago.
But the situation has changed dramatically since US President Donald Trump reached out to Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the war and suspended military aid to Ukraine. He also cast doubt on America’s commitment to NATO.
Russia and Ukraine on Friday traded accusations of massive overnight attacks, three days before both sides will hold talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on how to halt the war.
Both countries have said they agree with a 30-day pause in strikes on energy targets, though they have continued their aerial attacks unabated.
Each has repeatedly accused the other of breaking the truce, which has not been formally agreed.
Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, whose party won February elections, has pushed through a spending package worth hundreds of billions to bolster Germany’s armed forces and infrastructure and to keep backing Ukraine.
Merz’s conservatives are in coalition talks with the SPD of Scholz, who has also vowed that Germany would keep supporting Kyiv.
Ukraine “can rely on us and we will never leave it on its own,” Scholz said at a European Council summit late Thursday.
“It will also need a strong army in times of peace, and it must not be put in danger by any peace agreement.”
Trump pulls security clearances for Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton
Updated 22 March 2025
Reuters
BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey: US President Donald Trump on Friday took away security clearances for former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others in his latest move against his Democratic opponents.
The Republican president, who has also revoked the security clearance for former President Joe Biden, defeated Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and Harris in last year’s election.
“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump said in a late Friday memorandum that also included former Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
While the revocations may not have immediate impacts, it is another sign of the growing political rift in Washington as Trump seeks revenge on his perceived enemies.
The memorandum was issued hours after Trump arrived at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf property for the weekend.
Trump also targeted Republican former Representative Liz Cheney, a sharp Trump critic, former Biden White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Fiona Hill, a Russia expert who served on his National Security Council during his first term.
Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer in Washington who represents whistleblowers, and Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican lawmaker who is a sharp Trump critic, were among several others who had their security clearances revoked.
He had already revoked the security clearance for Biden, denying the former president to the traditional access to US intelligence.
Former US presidents have traditionally received intelligence briefings so they can advise incumbent presidents on national security and foreign policy.
In 2021, Biden revoked the security clearance for Trump, who was then a former president.
Canada’s new PM says Trump will want trade talks as Americans suffer from trade war
Carney said talks with Trump will not happen “until we get the respect we deserve as a sovereign nation”
Trump kept up his near-daily attacks on Canada on Friday, repeating that the country should be the 51st state
Updated 22 March 2025
AP
TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday US President Donald Trump will ultimately respect Canada’s sovereignty and be ready for comprehensive trade talks because Americans are going to suffer from Trump’s trade war.
Carney said talks with Trump will not happen “until we get the respect we deserve as a sovereign nation. By the way, this is not a high bar.”
Trump kept up his near-daily attacks on Canada on Friday, repeating that the country should be the 51st state and that the US keeps Canada “afloat.”
“When I say they should be a state, I mean that,” the American president said.
Carney met with Canada’s provincial leaders at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa for trade war talks.
In the face of this trade crisis, the premiers and I are going to build one resilient, united Canadian economy.
Carney, sworn in last Friday, still hasn’t had a phone call with Trump. Trump mocked Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, by calling him Governor Trudeau, but he has not yet mentioned Carney’s name.
The new prime minister said he wants a comprehensive discussion on trade and security with the Americans and not a one-off tariff discussion.
“In the end, Americans are going to lose from American trade action and that’s one of the reasons I am confident that there will be that discussion with the appropriate amount of respect and the breadth,” Carney said. “I am ready for it anytime they are ready.”
Trump put 25 percent tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products as well as all of America’s trading partners on April 2.
Carney became Prime Minister after winning a Liberal Party leadership race triggered by Trudeau’s decision to step down earlier this year. He’s expected to trigger the process for early parliamentary elections this Sunday, with a vote expected Wilon April 28.
The governing Liberals appeared poised for a historic election defeat this year until Trump declared trade war and upended Canadian politics.
The almost daily attacks on Canada’s sovereignty have infuriated Canadians, who are canceling trips south of the border and avoiding buying American goods when they can. The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered Liberal poll numbers.
Carney said in an effort to diversify trade the premiers of Canada’s provinces agreed work on a plan to develop a national trade and energy corridor. He said after some discussions about the response to the tariffs, the premiers turned their sights to “nation building” to build things faster than ever before.
My government is cancelling the capital gains tax hike. We’re going to incentivize builders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses right here in Canada and create more good-paying jobs.
It’s time to build the strongest economy in the G7.
That includes finding ways to better move energy and critical minerals. They also talked about moving quickly to eliminate trade barriers between provinces and with the federal government.
Carney also said Ottawa is also going to waive the one-week waiting period to get employment insurance for people whose jobs are cut because of the tariffs, and temporarily allow Canadian businesses to defer income tax and sales tax payments to help boost their liquidity.
Weekslong lockups of European tourists at US borders spark fears of traveling to America
Since Trump took office, there have been incidents of tourists being stopped at US border crossings and held for weeks at US immigration detention facilities before being allowed to fly home at their own expense
Updated 22 March 2025
AP
SAN DIEGO, California: Lennon Tyler and her German fiancé often took road trips to Mexico when he vacationed in the United States since it was only a day’s drive from her home in Las Vegas, one of the perks of their long-distance relationship.
But things went terribly wrong when they drove back from Tijuana last month.
US border agents handcuffed Tyler, a US citizen, and chained her to a bench, while her fiancé, Lucas Sielaff, was accused of violating the rules of his 90-day US tourist permit, the couple said. Authorities later handcuffed and shackled Sielaff and sent him to a crowded US immigration detention center. He spent 16 days locked up before being allowed to fly home to Germany.
Since President Donald Trump took office, there have been other incidents of tourists like Sielaff being stopped at US border crossings and held for weeks at US immigration detention facilities before being allowed to fly home at their own expense.
They include another German tourist who was stopped at the Tijuana crossing on Jan. 25. Jessica Brösche spent over six weeks locked up, including over a week in solitary confinement, a friend said.
Lucas Sielaff poses for a photo in Bad Bibra, Germany, on March 20, 2025. He spent 16 days locked up in a crowded US border prison before being allowed to fly home to Germany. (AP Photo)
On the Canadian border, a backpacker from Wales spent nearly three weeks at a detention center before flying home this week. And a Canadian woman on a work visa detained at the Tijuana border spent 12 days in detention before returning home last weekend.
Sielaff, 25, and the others say it was never made clear why they were taken into custody even after they offered to go home voluntarily.
Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s US-Mexico border program, a nonprofit that aids migrants, said in the 22 years he has worked on the border he’s never seen travelers from Western Europe and Canada, longtime US allies, locked up like this.
“It’s definitely unusual with these cases so close together, and the rationale for detaining these people doesn’t make sense,” he said. “It doesn’t justify the abhorrent treatment and conditions” they endured.
“The only reason I see is there is a much more fervent anti-immigrant atmosphere,” Rios said.
Of course, tourists from countries where the US requires visas — many of them non-Western nations — have long encountered difficulties entering the US
US authorities did not respond to a request from The Associated Press for figures on how many tourists have recently been held at detention facilities or explain why they weren’t simply denied entry. ‘Deemed inadmissible’
The incidents are fueling anxiety as the Trump administration prepares for a ban on travelers from some countries. Noting the “evolving” federal travel policies, the University of California, Los Angeles sent a notice this week urging its foreign-born students and staff to consider the risks of travel for spring break, warning “re-entry requirements may change while you are away, impacting your return.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an email to the AP that Sielaff and Brösche, who was held for 45 days, “were deemed inadmissible” by Customs and Border Protection. That agency said it cannot discuss specifics but “if statutes or visa terms are violated, travelers may be subject to detention and removal.” The agencies did not comment on the other cases.
Both German tourists were allowed into the United States under a program offered to a select group of countries, mostly in Europe and Asia, whose citizens are allowed to travel to the US for business or leisure for up to 90 days without getting a visa in advance. Applicants register online with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.
Border Patrol agents and members of the military stand inside a gate in one of two border walls separating Mexico from the US March 21, 2025, in San Diego, California. (AP Photo)
But even if they are authorized to travel under that system, US authorities have wide discretion to still deny entry. Following the detentions, Britain and Germany updated their travel advisories to alert people about the strict US border enforcement. The United Kingdom warned “you may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.”
Sielaff arrived in the US on Jan. 27. He and Tyler decided to go to Tijuana for four days in mid-February because Tyler’s dog needed surgery and veterinary services are cheaper there. They figured they would enjoy some tacos and make a fun trip out of it.
“Mexico is a wonderful and beautiful country that Lucas and I love to visit,” Tyler said.
They returned Feb. 18, just 22 days into Sielaff’s 90-day tourist permit.
When they pulled up to the crossing, the US border agent asked Sielaff aggressively, “Where are you going? Where do you live?” Tyler said.
“English is not Lucas’ first language and so he said, ‘We’re going to Las Vegas,’ and the agent says, ‘Oh, we caught you. You live in Las Vegas. You can’t do that,’” Tyler said.
Sielaff was taken away for more questioning. Tyler said she asked to go with him or if he could get a translator and was told to be quiet, then taken out of her car and handcuffed and chained to a bench. Her dog, recovering from surgery, was left in the car.
After four hours, Tyler was allowed to leave but said she was given no information about her fiancé’s whereabouts.
During questioning, Sielaff said he told authorities he never lived in the US and had no criminal history. He said he was given a full-body search and ordered to hand over his cellphone and belongings. He was put in a holding cell where he slept on a bench for two days before being transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego.
There, he said, he shared a cell with eight others.
“You are angry, you are sad, you don’t know when you can get out,” Sielaff said. “You just don’t get any answers from anybody.”
He was finally told to get a direct flight to Germany and submit a confirmation number. In a frantic call from Sielaff, Tyler bought it for $2,744. He flew back March 5. ‘A blatant abuse’ of US border authorities’ power, victims say
“What happened at the border was just blatant abuse of the Border Patrol’s power,” Tyler said.
Ashley Paschen agrees. She said she learned about Brösche from a TikTok video asking anyone in the San Diego area for help after her family learned she was being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. Paschen visited her several times and told her people were working to get her out. Brosche flew home March 11.
“She’s happy to be home,” Paschen said. “She seems very relieved if anything but she’s not coming back here anytime soon.”
A member of Mexico’s National Guard patrols along the primary fence on the Mexico-US border in Tijuana, Mexico, on March 18, 2025, as part of the Mexican government’s response to US President Donald Trump’s demand to crack down on immigration and drug smuggling. (REUTERS)
On Feb. 26, a tourist from Wales, Becky Burke, a backpacker traveling across North America, was stopped at the US-Canada border and held for nearly three weeks at a detention facility in Washington state, her father, Paul Burke, posted on Facebook. She returned home Tuesday.
On March 3, Canadian Jasmine Mooney, an actress and entrepreneur on a US work visa, was detained at the Tijuana crossing. She was released Saturday, her friend Brittany Kors said.
Before Mooney’s release, British Columbia Premier David Eby expressed concern, saying: “It certainly reinforces anxiety that ... many Canadians have about our relationship with the US right now, and the unpredictability of this administration and its actions.”
The detentions come amid legal fights over the Trump administration’s arrests and deportations of other foreigners with valid visas and green card holders, including a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests of the war in Gaza.
Tyler plans to sue the US government.
Sielaff said he and Tyler are now rethinking plans to hold their wedding in Las Vegas. He suffers nightmares and is considering therapy to cope with the trauma.
“Nobody is safe there anymore to come to America as a tourist,” he said.
