KUALA LUMPUR: More than half of Rohingya Muslim girls who fled violence in western Myanmar ended up becoming child brides, according to a UN survey that also showed widespread domestic abuse.
Since 2012, violence and communal clashes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state have forced more than 168,000 of the ethnic Muslim Rohingya minorities to flee, including a rising number of women and girls, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
In a survey of 85 Rohingya women and girls who have fled to India, Malaysia and Indonesia, UNHCR found about 60 percent married before the age of 18. The average age that they gave birth to their first child was 18.
One in every three women and girls also said they were victims of domestic violence, according to UNHCR’s 2016 Report on Mixed Movements in Southeast Asia.
“We generally counsel them about their options and, if they agree, refer them to a partner or shelter that cares for vulnerable women,” UNHCR Asia spokeswoman Vivian Tan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The growing number of Rohingya women and girls fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar has raised concern that they may be vulnerable to human trafficking, sexual exploitation and child marriage, activists say.
UNHCR said the interviews with the 85 women in its latest report were to assess “continuing vulnerabilities” they face.
There are about 8,000 Rohingya women and girls aged between 14 and 34 in India, Indonesia and Malaysia — the countries where the study was carried out late last year.
The findings showed while the majority of the Rohingya girls in India said they chose their husbands, 76 percent in Malaysia said their marriage was arranged by families or brokers, giving rise to fears of human trafficking.
Rights groups said they have seen an increase in the number of child brides among Rohingya refugees as violence in Rakhine worsened, with human traffickers selling girls to Rohingya men as brides.
As Rohingya refugees are denied formal employment in many of the host countries, only 7 percent of the women polled said they were earning an income, even though two-thirds said they desired their own income.
The plight of the Rohingya hit international headlines again in recent months after Myanmar security forces were accused of carrying out mass killings and gang rapes during their campaign against Rohingya insurgents. The military has denied the accusations.
Over half of Rohingya girls who fled violence became child brides: UN survey
Over half of Rohingya girls who fled violence became child brides: UN survey
Indigenous Australian lawmaker who heckled King Charles censured
- Independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s censure carries no practical punishment but passed the Senate Monday with 46 votes in favor and 12 against
The censure carries no practical punishment but passed the Senate Monday with 46 votes in favor and 12 against.
During the king’s visit to parliament, independent senator Lidia Thorpe screamed: “This is not your land, you are not my king,” decrying what she said was a “genocide” of Indigenous Australians by European settlers.
She also turned her back on the king as dignitaries stood for the national anthem.
The censure motion condemned Thorpe’s actions as “disruptive and disrespectful.”
It also said the Senate no longer regarded it “appropriate” for Thorpe to be a member of any delegation “during the life of this parliament.”
A censure motion is a symbolic gesture when parliamentarians are dissatisfied with the behavior of one of their own.
Thorpe – sporting a gold chain with ‘Not My King’ around her neck – said she did not “give a damn” about the censure and would most likely use the document as “kindling” later in the week.
She told national broadcaster ABC she would “do it again” if the monarch returned.
“I will resist colonization in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands: First Peoples are the real sovereigns,” she said.
Green Senator Mehreen Faruqi voted against Thorpe’s censure, saying the lawmaker was telling Australia’s history “the way she wants to.”
Thorpe is known for her attention-grabbing political stunts and fierce opposition to the monarchy.
When she was sworn into office in 2022, Thorpe raised her right fist as she begrudgingly swore to serve Queen Elizabeth II, who was then Australia’s head of state.
Australia was a British colony for more than 100 years, during which time thousands of Aboriginal Australians were killed and entire communities displaced.
The country gained de facto independence in 1901, but has never become a fully-fledged republic.
King Charles is the current head of state.
The issue of a republic reared its head during the king’s visit Down Under earlier this year, but the issue remains a political non-starter.
A recent poll showed about a third of Australians would like to ditch the monarchy, a third would keep it and a third are ambivalent.
In 1999, Australians narrowly voted against removing the queen, amid a row over whether her replacement would be chosen by members of parliament, not the public.
North Korean leader calls for expanding his nuclear forces in the face of alleged US threats
- Kim Jong Un condemns the US for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea
- North Korean leader has prioritized his country’s ties to Russia in recent months, embracing the idea of a ‘new Cold War’
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats in comments reported Monday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election.
At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the United States for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region.
Kim also criticized the United States over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion. He insisted that Washington and its Western allies were using Ukraine as their “shock troops” to wage a war against Moscow and expand the scope of US military influence, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim has prioritized his country’s ties to Russia in recent months, embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and displaying a united front in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s broader conflicts with the West.
He has used Russia’s war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military, which now has various nuclear-capable systems targeting South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the US mainland.
Kim has yet to directly acknowledge that he has been providing military equipment and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and the KCNA’s report didn’t mention whether Kim made any comments toward Trump, whose election win has yet to be reported in the North’s state media.
Kim met Trump three times in 2018 and 2019 in Trump’s first presidency, but their diplomacy quickly collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of US-led sanctions and North Korean steps to wind down its nuclear and missile program. North Korea has since suspended any meaningful talks with Washington and Seoul as Kim ramped up his testing activity and military demonstrations in the face of what he portrayed as “gangster-like US threats.” There’s concern in Seoul that Kim in exchange for his military support of Russia would receive Russian technology in return to further develop his arsenal.
Trump’s election win has touched off speculation about a resumption of a summit-driven diplomacy with Kim, which was described by critics as a “bromance.” But some experts say a quick return to 2018 is highly unlikely, as too much has changed about the regional security situation and broader geopolitics since then.
While the North Korean nuclear problem was relatively an independent issue during Trump’s first term, it is now connected with broader challenges created by Russia’s war on Ukraine and further complicated by weakened sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang, Hwang Ildo, a professor at South Korea’s National Diplomatic Academy, wrote in a study last week.
North Korea’s nuclear and missile program is now much more advanced, which would increase Kim’s perception of his bargaining powers. Kim’s efforts to boost North Korea’s presence in a united front against Washington could also gain strength if Trump spikes tariffs and rekindles a trade war with China, the North’s main ally and economic lifeline, Hwang said.
Amid the stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington, Kim has been dialing up pressure on South Korea, abandoning his country’s long-standing goal of inter-Korean reconciliation and verbally threatening to attack the South with nukes if provoked.
Kim has also engaged in psychological and electronic warfare against South Korea, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash in the South and disrupting GPS signals from border areas near the South’s biggest airport.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea again flew trash-laden balloons toward the South early Monday and issued a statement warning the North “not to test our military’s patience any further.” The North has launched about 7,000 balloons toward the South since May, causing property damage but so far no injuries. On at least two occasions, trash carried by North Korea’s balloons fell on Seoul’s presidential compound, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key sites.
Bangladesh to seek extradition of ousted Sheikh Hasina — government
- Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina fled to India in August via helicopter as crowds stormed her palace
- Hasina has been summoned to appear in court in Dhaka to face charges of “massacres, killings”
DHAKA: Bangladesh will seek the extradition of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina who was toppled in a revolution in August and fled to India, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said.
Dhaka has already issued an arrest warrant for 77-year-old Hasina — last seen arriving in neighboring India after fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.
Hasina has been summoned to appear in court in Dhaka on Monday to face charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity,” but she remains in exile in India.
Yunus said his administration was focused on ensuring those guilty of cracking down on the protests to oust Hasina faced justice.
Several of her former government ministers, who were detained and held in custody, are expected in court to face similar charges.
“We have already taken initiatives to try those responsible for enforced disappearances, murders, and the mass killings during the July-August uprising,” Yunus said on Sunday.
The 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner was appointed to lead the government as “chief adviser” on August 9, days after the end of Hasina’s 15 years of iron-fisted rule.
Yunus, in a speech to the nation marking 100 days in power since a student-led revolution, said he had spoken to Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
“We will seek the extradition of the ousted autocrat from India,” Yunus said, referring to Hasina.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh said it would request an Interpol “red notice” alert for fugitive leaders of Hasina’s regime.
Red notices issued by the global police body alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives.
India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi must hand Hasina over.
Member countries can “apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person,” according to the group, which organizes police cooperation between 196 member countries.
Yunus, a microfinance pioneer, is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the “extremely tough” challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of around 170 million people.
He also begged the country’s “patience” to prepare for the much-awaited poll, vowing an election commission would be formed “within a few days.”
But Yunus said he could not give a timeframe for the elections, saying it was dependent on a raft of reforms.
“I promise that we will hold the much-anticipated election once the necessary and essential reforms are complete,” he said in the broadcast.
“I request your patience until then. We aim to build an electoral system that will endure for decades. For this, we need some time.”
Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean has called the challenge facing Yunus “monumental,” warning of that “cracks are emerging in the fragile alliance” that pushed him into power.
“For now, Yunus and his colleagues have widespread support, but popular expectations are double-edged,” the thinktank said in a report on Thursday.
“If the interim administration falters in making reforms, the outcome is likely to be an early election with little progress; in the worst-case scenario, the military could assume power.”
US House urged to share ethics report on sexual misconduct case of Trump nominee for attorney general
- Justice Department investigated Matt Gaetz for sexual misconduct but brought no charges
- The former House member is a frequent defender of President-elect Trump on cable news
WASHINGTON: Republican US Senator Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general.
Gaetz, 42, resigned his seat in the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, hours after Trump unveiled his choice of the lawmaker and two days before the House Ethics Committee was expected to release its report, which also looked into allegations of illegal drug use. Gaetz denies any wrongdoing.
Mullin told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the Senate, which holds the authority to confirm or deny Trump’s nominations to high-level positions, needs to see the report.
“The Senate should have access to that,” Mullin said. “Should it be released to the public or not? That I guess will be part of the negotiations.”
Gaetz is one of a number of Cabinet nominees tapped by Trump last week who lack the resumes normally seen in candidates for high-level administration jobs. He would need to be confirmed by the Senate — where Trump’s Republicans will have a majority of at least 52 of the 100 seats — to get the post. A handful have expressed skepticism at the choice.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday said the ethics committee should not release its report. He stood by that on Sunday.
“The speaker does not have the authority to stop the release of a report by the ethics committee, but I’ve just simply said what I believe is an obvious point, that we don’t want to go down that road,” Johnson said on CNN.
Mullin has previously described Gaetz as unprincipled, and he said on Sunday that “the background of Matt Gaetz does matter.”
But he said he had not made a decision on whether to vote for or against Gaetz.
“I’m going to give him a fair shot just like every individual,” Mullin said.
The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for nearly three years over sex trafficking allegations involving the teenager. Gaetz’s office said in 2023 he had been told by prosecutors he would not face criminal charges.
The girl’s lawyer on Thursday called for the report to be released to the public.
Mullin also appeared open to the idea of letting Trump bypass the Senate altogether as an “absolute last resort” if lawmakers somehow couldn’t agree.
The technique, called a recess appointment, allows the president to short circuit the upper chamber’s power to block political nominees. Trump has publicly called for Republican lawmakers to give him that power, a move that would give him extraordinary latitude to appoint whomever he wished.
Senate Democrats have expressed widespread opposition to the Gaetz pick.
“The Senate has a constitutional role,” said Democratic Senator Chris Coons on Fox News Sunday. “It’s called our advice and consent role to make sure that a president-elect mostly gets their choice ... but doesn’t get to put people in who are unqualified or who lack the requisite character and capabilities to lead an incredibly important agency like the Department of Justice.”
G20 leaders to grapple with climate, taxes, Trump comeback
- UN chief has called onG20 members, who account for 80 percent of global emissions, to show “leadership and compromise” to facilitate a deal
- At the last G20 in India, leaders called for a tripling of renewable energy sources by the end of the decade, but without explicitly calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels
RIO DE JANEIRO: G20 leaders gather in Brazil on Monday to discuss fighting poverty, boosting climate financing and other multilateral initiatives that could yet be upended by Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House.
US President Joe Biden will attend his last summit of the world’s leading economies but only as a lame duck whom other leaders are already looking beyond.
The main star of the show is expected to be Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has cast himself as a global statesman and protector of free trade in the face of Trump’s “America First” agenda.
Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be using his hosting duties to highlight his championing of Global South issues and the fight against climate change.
The summit venue is Rio de Janeiro’s stunning bayside museum of modern art.
Security is tight for the gathering, which comes days after a failed bomb attack on Brazil’s Supreme Court in Brasilia by a suspected far-right extremist, who killed himself in the process.
The summit will cap a farewell diplomatic tour by Biden which took him to Lima for a meeting of Asia-Pacific trading partners, and then to the Amazon in the first such visit for a sitting US president.
Biden, who has looked to burnish his legacy as time runs down on his presidency, has insisted his climate record would survive another Trump mandate.
Climate conference
The G20 meet is happening at the same time as the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan, which has stalled on the issue of greater climate finance for developing countries.
All eyes have turned to Rio for a breakthrough.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for G20 members, who account for 80 percent of global emissions, to show “leadership and compromise” to facilitate a deal.
A Brazilian diplomatic source said fast-developing nations like China were refusing pressure by rich countries to join them in funding global climate projects but added that he was hopeful of progress at the summit.
The meeting comes in a year marked by another grim litany of extreme weather events, including Brazil’s worst wildfire season in over a decade, fueled by a record drought blamed at least partly on climate change.
At the last G20 in India, leaders called for a tripling of renewable energy sources by the end of the decade, but without explicitly calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels.
One invited leader who declined to come to Rio is Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose arrest is sought by the International Criminal Court and who said his presence would “wreck” the gathering.
Lula, 79, told Brazil’s GloboNews channel on Sunday that the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East would be kept off the summit agenda to focus on the poor.
“Because if not, we will not discuss other things which are more important for people that are not at war, who are poor people and invisible to the world,” he said.
The summit will open on Monday with Lula, a former steelworker who grew up in poverty, launching a “Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.”
“What I want to say to the 733 million people who are hungry in the world, children who go to sleep and wake up not being sure if they will have any food to put in their mouths, is: today there isn’t any, but tomorrow there will be,” Lula said on the weekend.
Brazil is also pushing for higher taxes on billionaires.
Lula had faced resistance to parts of his agenda from Argentina but on Sunday a Brazilian diplomatic source said negotiators from all G20 members had agreed on a draft final statement to be put to their respective leaders.
