Indonesia in talks with UAE to develop aluminium industry

Indonesia in talks with UAE to develop aluminium industry
Coordinating Minister for Economy Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, right, talks in a meeting with the CEO of Emirate Global Aluminium Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif bin Kalban on the sidelines of World Governments Summit in Dubai on Feb. 12, 2025. (Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs)
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Updated 16 February 2025
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Indonesia in talks with UAE to develop aluminium industry

Indonesia in talks with UAE to develop aluminium industry
  • Indonesia has vast reserves of critical minerals, including bauxite, the main source of aluminium
  • UAE’s EGA to help expand production capacity by up to 400,000 tons a year at North Sumatra smelter

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government is in talks with UAE’s Emirate Global Aluminium to develop its aluminium industry, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to utilize its vast reserves of minerals.

Indonesia has rich deposits of minerals like copper and bauxite — the main source of aluminium — and is the world’s largest source of nickel. Its government has been working to attract foreign investment to help develop its mineral processing industry.

In a meeting with EGA CEO Abdulnasser Ibrahim Saif bin Kalban, Coordinating Minister for Economy Affairs Airlangga Hartarto discussed ways to move forward plans for the Dubai-based company to help aluminium production in Indonesia.

“We need to make sure that cooperation in the aluminium sector will have a significant impact on the Indonesian economy, especially for jobs creation,” he said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Hartarto was at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, where he also held talks with other UAE officials and business leaders.

EGA and state-owned Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, or Inalum, have signed several strategic partnership agreements in the last few years, aimed at boosting Indonesia’s aluminium production capacity. This includes increasing that of Inalum’s North Sumatra smelter by up to 400,000 tons a year.

The Emirati company, one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, also said it was planning to explore alternative sources of renewable energy in Indonesia to support its aluminium production plans.

“With our capabilities and the advanced technology that we use, along with the natural resources potential in Indonesia — we will be able to produce the best alumina in high quantities,” Abdulnasser was quoted as saying.

But Indonesia still needs to work out low-carbon options to generate enough electricity for green aluminium production, according to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

Green aluminium, or low-carbon aluminium, is a sustainable metal produced using methods powered by renewable energy sources, essentially reducing the carbon footprint.


Anti-Russian activist shot dead in Odesa, Ukrainian authorities say

Updated 3 sec ago
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Anti-Russian activist shot dead in Odesa, Ukrainian authorities say

Anti-Russian activist shot dead in Odesa, Ukrainian authorities say
They did not name the 31-year-old victim but Ukrainian media said it was Demian Hanul
Also posted on the local Telegram channel was a video clip claiming to capture the moment of the shooting

KYIV: An unknown gunman shot dead on Friday a prominent anti-Russian activist in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, Ukraine’s law enforcement authorities said.
They did not name the 31-year-old victim but Ukrainian media said it was Demian Hanul, a blogger who took part in the 2014 Maidan revolution against Ukraine’s then pro-Russian president and was once a member of the radical far-right Right Sector group.
“The incident is qualified as a premeditated murder committed by order,” the national police said on the Telegram messaging app.
Also posted on the local Telegram channel was a video clip claiming to capture the moment of the shooting. It showed a burly man holding a gun to the head of a man lying on a pavement, possibly already dead, firing, and then walking away.
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the clip.
Ukraine’s interior minister said he had received “specific clues” to help track down the suspect and that the head of the national police was heading to Odesa to lead the investigation.
Russian state media has previously branded Hanul “a neo-Nazi responsible for the arson attack on the Trade Union House in Odessa,” a reference to deadly fighting between pro-Russian activists and supporters of Ukrainian unity in May 2014.
A Moscow court charged Hanul in absentia in April 2024 with several crimes including damaging Soviet-era war monuments for which he would have faced up to 20 years in prison.
Several media outlets reported last July that Hanul had requested Ukrainian police protection after receiving threats.

Finland jails Russian for life over 2014 ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine

Finland jails Russian for life over 2014 ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine
Updated 36 min 42 sec ago
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Finland jails Russian for life over 2014 ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine

Finland jails Russian for life over 2014 ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine
  • The Helsinki district court found Vojislav Torden, a commander of the Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group Rusich, guilty of “four different war crimes” committed in Lugansk
  • The prosecution had accused Torden of five counts of war crimes that resulted in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers

HELSINKI: A Finnish court on Friday sentenced a Russian neo-Nazi to life in prison on war crimes charges stemming from a 2014 clash in Ukraine, with Kyiv hailing the ruling as a “key milestone.”
The Helsinki district court found Vojislav Torden, a commander of the Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group Rusich, guilty of “four different war crimes” committed in the Lugansk region of eastern Ukraine.
His lawyer, Heikki Lampela, told Finnish media that Torden was surprised by the ruling and would appeal it.
The prosecution had accused Torden of five counts of war crimes that resulted in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers.
The court dismissed the main count, which argued the Rusich forces ambushed a convoy of two vehicles, a truck and a car, carrying Ukrainian soldiers on September 5, 2014.
As other groups were also present, the court said the prosecution had not proven that Rusich and Torden were responsible for the ambush.
However, Torden was found guilty of leading the actions of Rusich’s soldiers at the scene following the ambush and of killing one wounded soldier.
He was also found guilty of authorizing fighters to mutilate Ivan Issyk by cutting the symbol used by the group — the kolovrat, or “spoked wheel” — into his cheek.
The emblem is often used by ultranationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Russia and Eastern Europe. Issyk died as a result of his wounds.
Torden was also found guilty of having taken derogatory photos of a fallen soldier at the scene and posting it to social media.
The office of the Ukraine’s prosecutor general on Friday hailed the court’s decision as “a key milestone in holding perpetrators of grave violations of international humanitarian law accountable.”
“Ukraine remains committed to working with partners worldwide to ensure there is no impunity for war criminals,” it said in a statement posted on social media.
According to Finnish public broadcaster YLE, Torden was arrested by Finnish border guards at Helsinki airport as he tried to leave the country in August 2023.
He was on the EU sanctions list and banned from entering Finland.
Ukraine had sought Torden’s extradition, which Finland’s supreme court rejected, citing the risk of him not receiving a fair trial and suffering inhumane conditions in prison.
In October last year, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) completed a comprehensive probe launched in December 2023.
The investigation involved close cooperation with Ukrainian prosecutors and security services as well as Europol, the International Criminal Court and Eurojust — the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.
Finland applies “universal jurisdiction,” a legal principle allowing it to bring charges on its soil for suspected serious crimes committed anywhere in the world.


‘Strong G7 unity’ on Ukraine in talks: host Canada

‘Strong G7 unity’ on Ukraine in talks: host Canada
Updated 47 min 4 sec ago
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‘Strong G7 unity’ on Ukraine in talks: host Canada

‘Strong G7 unity’ on Ukraine in talks: host Canada
  • “We were able to find strong G7 unity on a variety of issues … in particular is the one linked to Ukraine,” Joly said

CHARLEVOIX, Canada: Group of Seven foreign ministers reached a unified statement backing US-led calls for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, host Canada said Friday, despite friction with President Donald Trump.

“I can say that through our long conversations, we were able to find strong G7 unity on a variety of issues that were discussed and one that I would like to highlight in particular is the one linked to Ukraine,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters on the last day of the talks in Quebec.


UK police extend detention of North Sea crash captain

UK police extend detention of North Sea crash captain
Updated 14 March 2025
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UK police extend detention of North Sea crash captain

UK police extend detention of North Sea crash captain
  • Police were granted two extensions on Wednesday and Thursday
  • Police cited the location of both vessels at sea as one of the complications facing the probe

LONDON: UK police Friday again extended the detention of the captain of a cargo ship which struck a tanker in the North Sea, citing the “complexities” of the case.
The Russian captain was arrested Monday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after his ship, the Solong, slammed into the tanker anchored off the coast of Hull in northeastern England, setting both ships ablaze and leaving one sailor presumed dead.
Police were granted two extensions on Wednesday and Thursday to allow more time to question the 59-year-old captain due to “the complexities of the incident,” the local Humberside police force said in a statement.


Police cited the location of both vessels at sea as one of the complications facing the probe, with the ships on fire for several days after the incident, requiring a massive firefighting response.
While all crew onboard the jet fuel-laden tanker, the US-flagged Stena Immaculate, were safely rescued, one sailor from the Portuguese-flagged Solong remains missing and presumed dead.
Although the government has ruled out foul play, investigators are still determining the causes of the crash, in which the Solong never deviated from its course and slammed into the Stena at 16 knots an hour.
Pockets of fire were still being reported on the deck of the Solong on Thursday evening, according to the UK Coast Guard.
“Extensive lines of enquiry are continuing,” police said.
Salvage teams boarded the vessels on Thursday to carry out initial damage assessments.


UN migration agency laying off around 20 percent of HQ staff amid US aid cuts: sources

UN migration agency laying off around 20 percent of HQ staff amid US aid cuts: sources
Updated 14 March 2025
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UN migration agency laying off around 20 percent of HQ staff amid US aid cuts: sources

UN migration agency laying off around 20 percent of HQ staff amid US aid cuts: sources
  • Fresh cuts at IOM are expected to impact at least 20 percent

GENEVA: The UN migration agency, which has been hit hard by US foreign aid cuts, has launched more mass layoffs, impacting around a fifth of staff at its Geneva headquarters, employees said Friday.
Fresh cuts at the International Organization for Migration are expected to impact at least 20 percent of the more than 1,000 current headquarters staff, according to several sources familiar with the situation.