MADRID: The speaker of Catalonia’s sacked parliament appeared before Spain’s Supreme Court on Thursday in the latest legal case brought against separatist leaders for their role in the region’s divisive independence bid.
A judge may decide to detain Carme Forcadell and five former lawmakers on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds after Catalan lawmakers voted last month to split from Spain.
They are suspected of having followed a “concerted strategy to declare independence,” before the official declaration of the Catalan parliament on October 27, deepening Spain’s most serious political crisis in decades.
That declaration was annulled Wednesday by Spain’s Constitutional Court.
The Catalan crisis has prompted hundreds of businesses to re-register outside the wealthy northeastern region and caused disquiet in a European Union still dealing with Britain’s shock decision to leave.
On Wednesday a general strike called in Catalonia by a pro-independence union caused widespread travel chaos, cutting Spain’s main highway link to France and the rest of Europe and disrupting trains from Barcelona to Paris, Marseille and Lyon.
Authorities said around 150,000 people were affected.
Despite the blockages, the walkout was however on a far smaller scale than previous strikes in the region.
Encouraged by their charismatic leader Carles Puigdemont, Catalan leaders voted to declare unilateral independence from Spain after going ahead with a banned referendum on October 1.
Separatists said 90 percent of voters opted for independence but critics counter that pro-unity supporters boycotted a plebiscite that violated Spain’s constitution.
In response, the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suspended Catalan autonomy, dismissed its parliament and government, and organized new regional elections for December 21.
A judge in Madrid last week ordered that eight members of Puigdemont’s sacked government be detained for their role in the secession drive.
The Supreme Court could also decide to place Forcadell and the former MPs in pre-trial detention.
Outside the court on Thursday a small group of protesters gathered, holding banners against independence and declaring Wednesday’s strike action a “total fiasco.”
There were also a handful of pro-independence supporters alongside cries of “Jail for Puigdemont!“
Puigdemont and four former ministers are themselves in self-imposed exile in Belgium and are due to appear before a judge next week after Madrid issued a EU-wide warrant for their extradition.
The 54-year-old has ignored a summons to appear before a judge in Madrid, saying he wants guarantees he will receive a fair trial.
His presence in the European capital has raised some fears of stoking communal tensions in Belgium after Flemish separatists in the ruling coalition there spoke out in support of Catalan independence.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel on Wednesday moved to deny that his government was “in crisis” over the saga.
The charges faced by former Catalan leaders carry up to 30 years in jail.
Catalonia, a region of 7.5 million people that accounts for a fifth of Spain’s GDP, is deeply divided over independence.
Catalan parliament speaker in Madrid court over independence bid
Catalan parliament speaker in Madrid court over independence bid
Indian police arrest 44 men accused of raping teenager over five years
- Case came to light after the girl narrated gang rape to volunteer during a gender awareness program
- There were more than 31,000 reported rapes in 2022 in India, the latest year for which data is available
KOCHI, India: Police in India’s southern state of Kerala have arrested 44 men accused of raping an 18-year-old girl over a period of five years, a police official said on Tuesday, in a case that has shocked the coastal tourist resort.
The victim, an athlete who belongs to the so-called lower caste community known as Dalits, told police in a statement that she was sexually abused by 62 people over a period of five years.
Police have identified 58 of those men, some of whom are minors and arrested 44 over the last two days, officials said.
“We have identified the remaining 14 and they would be arrested soon,” the Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Pathanamthitta district where the crimes took place, PS Nandakumar, told Reuters.
The case came to light after the girl narrated the gang rape to a volunteer during a gender awareness program. Nandkumar, who heads the investigation, said details of how the crimes were committed were still being investigated.
In her statement to the police, the victim said the abuse began when she was 13 after her neighbor allegedly raped her.
Local media reported that four of the accused were minors.
Under Indian law, accused in rape cases that involve lower castes do not immediately get bail. Reuters was not able to reach any of the accused for a comment.
There were more than 31,000 reported rapes in 2022 in India, the latest year for which data is available, and conviction rates are notoriously low.
The rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata caused outrage across the country last year, with protests and street marches calling for action against the accused.
Iraqi PM in London to launch ‘new era’ of ties
- Iraqi PM’s trip to London comes more than 20 years after Britain took part in the US-led invasion of Iraq
- The visit will see the start of talks on a returns agreement for Iraqi irregular migrants to the UK, Starmer’s office said
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to meet his Iraqi counterpart Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Tuesday for talks on trade, security and migration, in a visit hailed as a “new era” in ties.
The Iraqi prime minister’s trip to London, during which he will also meet King Charles III, comes more than 20 years after Britain took part in the US-led invasion of Iraq.
A “strategic partnership” to be signed during the trip would consolidate cooperation and be “one of the most important steps in relations between Iraq and the United Kingdom, representing the start of a new era,” Sudani told AFP during the flight from Baghdad.
The three-day visit comes amid a complicated situation in the Middle East fueled by the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, as well as a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and the Lebanese pro-Iranian militant group Hezbollah.
Donald Trump will also move back into the White House next week, with observers expecting he will resume his hard-line stance toward Iran.
Oil-rich Iraq, which is an ally of Iran as well as a strategic partner for Washington, has for decades practiced a delicate balancing act, while also seeking to deepen its ties to wealthy Gulf countries.
Sudani was due to first meet Tuesday with the UK’s head of state King Charles, before meeting Starmer at Downing Street.
The visit will see the start of talks on a returns agreement for Iraqi irregular migrants to the UK, Starmer’s office said.
The leaders will also unveil a £12.3 billion ($15 billion) export package to boost opportunities for British businesses, it added.
Starmer said the trip “marks a new era in UK-Iraq cooperation, which will deliver mutual benefits from trade to defense, as we continue to work together toward stability in the wider region.”
Immigration, both irregular and regular, was a major issue in the UK’s July general election, which brought the premier’s Labour party to power.
“Secure borders are a vital foundation of our plan for change, so I am also very pleased to get started on talks for a bespoke returns agreement between our countries,” Starmer said in a statement.
“The deal will help dismantle the people smugglers’ business model by sending the clear message that if you come here illegally, you cannot expect to stay.”
Sudani will also meet with business leaders including from oil giant BP.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, following a visit to Iraq and its autonomous Kurdistan region in November, said a security agreement with Iraq to target people-smuggling gangs and strengthen its border security was already having “an impact.”
Due to strengthened border security, better intelligence-sharing, and “additional funding to support Iraq’s law enforcement capabilities, we’re targeting people smuggling gangs where it hurts,” she said.
Swept to power in a landslide election victory in July, Starmer has had a bumpy first six months in power and is under pressure to kickstart growth and slash immigration.
The number of irregular migrants arriving in Britain on small boats soared to over 36,800 in 2024, according to official data.
At least 76 deaths were recorded, making it the deadliest year for migrants who are taking ever greater risks to evade Britain’s border controls.
Tuesday’s talks come as Sudani said his country was preparing for the end of the military presence in Iraq of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh.
The US maintains about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 more in Syria seeking to prevent any resurgence of Daesh.
President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed with Iraq to end the coalition’s role by September 2025, but stopped short of a complete withdrawal of the US forces, whose presence has been opposed by Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq.
NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols after suspected cable sabotage
- Several telecom and power cables have been severed with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West
- The “Baltic Sentry” mission would involve “frigates and maritime patrol aircraft” among other assets, NATO chief Mark Rutte said
HELSINKI: The NATO military alliance said Tuesday it would launch a Baltic Sea monitoring mission following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months.
Several telecom and power cables have been severed with experts and politicians accusing Russia of orchestrating a hybrid war against the West as the two sides square off over Ukraine.
The “Baltic Sentry” mission would involve “frigates and maritime patrol aircraft” among other assets, NATO chief Mark Rutte said at a regional meeting in Finland’s capital Helsinki on Tuesday.
But he declined to give details on the number of vessels “because that might differ from one week to another” and he did not want to make “the enemy any wiser than he or she is already.”
NATO was also tight-lipped on the duration, saying in a statement the operation would continue “for an undisclosed amount of time.”
The suspected sabotage has been blamed on a “shadow fleet” of vessels — often aging and operating under opaque ownership — that carry Russian crude oil and petroleum products, embargoed since the invasion of Ukraine.
“Investigations of all of these cases are still ongoing, but there is reason for grave concern,” Rutte said.
He said protecting undersea infrastructure was of “utmost importance” not only for energy supplies but also for Internet traffic.
Leaders of NATO’s Baltic countries said in a statement after the Helsinki meeting that the shadow fleet “poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and globally.”
They said the fleet “significantly supports funding of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said foreign ministries from the Baltic Sea NATO states would set up a group of legal experts to assess what they could do without affecting freedom of navigation.
NATO said in late December it would increase its presence in the region but had not announced an operation.
Iro Sarkka, a researcher from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told AFP that NATO had been pushed into action by the Russian shadow fleet.
A comprehensive operation would serve as a “deterrent and a strategic signal” that NATO was prepared to act, according to Sarkka.
Tensions have mounted around the Baltic Sea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A series of underwater blasts ruptured the Nord Stream pipelines that carried Russian gas to Europe in September 2022, the cause of which has yet to be determined.
In October 2023, an undersea gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia was shut down after it was damaged by the anchor of a Chinese cargo ship.
Two telecom cables in Swedish waters were severed on November 17-18 last year.
And weeks later, on December 25, the Estlink 2 electricity cable and four telecom cables linking Finland and Estonia were damaged.
Investigators suspect the cables were damaged by the anchor of the Eagle S, a Cook Island-flagged oil tanker believed to be part of the “shadow fleet.”
Finnish police seized the Eagle S on December 28 as part of a criminal investigation.
Finnish authorities last week deemed the ship unseaworthy, barred it from sailing and have banned eight crew members from leaving the country while police carry out a probe.
Malaysia signs economic pact with UAE, eyes new opportunities in Middle East
- Pact with Malaysia is the UAE’s third in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and Cambodia
- UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trade partner in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE on Tuesday, its first with a GCC country.
The countries started negotiations over a CEPA in 2023. It will lower tariffs, reduce trade barriers, promote private-sector collaboration, and create new opportunities for investment.
The deal was signed on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, in the presence of Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“The Malaysia-UAE CEPA will open up deeper economic cooperation opportunities, including the elimination or reduction of tariffs and enhanced market access, which will drive exports and create new investment opportunities for key sectors,” Anwar said, after witnessing the signing ceremony with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Besides the UAE, Malaysia has signed CEPAs with India and Pakistan. It also enjoys free trade agreements with Australia, Japan, Chile and Turkiye.
For the UAE, it is the third such pact in Southeast Asia, after it signed similar deals with Indonesia in 2022 and Cambodia in 2023.
The immediate effect of the Malaysia-UAE CEPA is that for both countries it “opens up inter-region trade and increases access to non-traditional Western markets,” Dr. Lim Kim Hwa, director of the public policy think tank Penang Institute, told Arab News.
“The agreement will enhance trade, boost investments, and deepen Malaysia-UAE economic ties, providing both countries with clear clarity on tariff-free trade in the era of Trump 2.0. This provides both countries with market access certainty, thereby reducing the cost of business and diversify market access,” he said.
“Malaysia views the UAE as a strategic hub for Malaysian exporters to access markets in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly as Malaysian exports, such as electrical and electronics, machinery, jewelry, prepared foodstuff, tropical fruits, palm oil, cocoa and rubber, will immediately enjoy zero import duties when the CEPA agreement comes into force.”
The UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trade partner in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia, and contributes 32 percent of the Southeast Asian nation’s trade with the region.
The economic relationship is not massive but is growing rapidly. It stood at $8.61 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, registering growth of 8.6 percent on an annual basis for that period, according to data from the Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.
It “means there’s room to grow,” said Lee Heng Guie, executive director at the Socio-Economic Research Center in Kuala Lumpur. He expects the CEPA to spur more economic activity with the whole region.
“It’s a breakthrough,” Lee told Arab News. “Malaysia can use this CEPA to make more trade partners with other Middle Eastern countries, expand our economic ties with the Islamic world.”
Expanding economic ties with the Middle East — especially GCC countries — is a part of the Malaysian government’s policy. Since assuming office in late 2022, Anwar has committed to enhancing the country’s relations with the region and positioning it as a key economic gateway to the fast-growing Asia-Pacific.
As this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Malaysia will be hosting the 2025 ASEAN-GCC and ASEAN-China summits.
“Hopefully, that can spark more future strategic collaborations between the three blocs,” Lee said.
“Hopefully, this forum will have a further follow-up. Not just trade (and) investment, but people connectivity. Given the current geopolitical trade conflicts it’s good for this part of Asia and Middle East to come up with this kind ... of collaboration.”
Chinese tourist killed in jet ski collision in Thailand
- The cause of the incident was being investigated
- This marks the second incident involving Chinese tourists
BEIJING: One Chinese tourist was killed and another injured after their jet skis collided off Thailand’s Phuket island on Tuesday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing China’s embassy in Thailand.
The cause of the incident was being investigated, CCTV said.
This marks the second incident involving Chinese tourists near Phuket in just two days.
Thailand is a popular destination for Chinese tourists who are set to travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year break.
On Monday, a catamaran carrying 33 Chinese and 5 crew members capsized off the coast of Koh Racha island north of Phuket, CCTV reported.
All those on board were rescued with no casualties, the report said.
Last year, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest group of visitors to Thailand, with 6.7 million visits to the Southeast Asian country.
