MANILA: If the Philippines Congress does not pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), extremism could rise in Mindanao, the chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) warned on Tuesday. The BBL follows the peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF in 2014.
Foreign fighters continue to arrive in Mindanao, said MILF Chairman Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim.
“They’re coming in from the porous borders in the south (Mindanao), from Malaysia, Indonesia,” he added.
“And it’s not only Malaysians and Indonesians… There are some Middle Eastern people coming in.”
The MILF received information that a Canadian of Arab origin, not older than 25, entered recently and went to Patikul in Sulu to join the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Ebrahim said.
“So this challenge with extremism is really very high, and… we really need to cooperate, everybody, in order to counter extremism,” he added.
Daesh continues to be a threat to the Philippines because it is being displaced in the Middle East, he said.
“We’re all aware of what happened in the Middle East. I think nobody wants it to happen here,” he added.
The chances of another Marawi siege cannot be ruled out because extremists “can still partner with many other small groups, like Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF),” Ebrahim said.
“We’ve seen the destruction in Marawi. In more than 40 years of conflict in Mindanao, this never happened,” he added.
“There has been no city or community that was turned into rubble completely. And this happened… when we’re already in the final stage of the peace process.”
While the MILF is doing its part to prevent terrorists from gaining ground on the island, “the best and most effective counter to them is when the peace process will succeed,” he said.
“We can’t decisively win the war against extremism if we can’t win the peace in the halls of Congress.”
The assistant secretary for peace and security, Dickson Hermoso, told Arab News that the BBL “will be passed based on the reaction of the majority of the people on the ground.”
He added: “They want the BBL, based on consultations by the Senate and congressional committees. There’s overwhelming support from the Bangsamoro people.”
The Senate plans to pass the bill by March 22, before it goes on recess, Hermoso said, expressing hope that it will be signed into law by the president before the end of next month.
Political analyst Ramon Casiple said he expects the BBL to be passed soon, but warned that if not, another Marawi siege is possible.
The president may call for a special session of Congress just to see the bill passed, Casiple added.
MILF warns of heightened extremism if Congress does not pass law
MILF warns of heightened extremism if Congress does not pass law
Ukraine says captured two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia
Moscow and Beijing have in recent years boasted of their “no limits” partnership and deepened political, military and economic cooperation since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“Our military captured two Chinese citizens who fought in the Russian army. This happened on the territory of Ukraine — in the Donetsk region,” Zelensky said in a post on social media.
“We have the documents of these prisoners, bank cards, and personal data,” Zelensky said in a post that included a video of one of the alleged Chinese prisoners.
The video showed a man wearing military fatigues with his hands bound, mimicking sounds from combat and uttering a small number of words in Mandarin, during an apparent interview with a Ukrainian official not pictured.
At one point he is heard saying the word “commander.”
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the prisoners were likely Chinese citizens who were enticed into signing a contract with the Russian army, rather than being sent by Beijing.
They were captured “a few days ago,” the source said, adding there may be more of them.
“Nothing is completely clear yet. When they are delivered to the SBU (Ukraine’s security service) and at least interrogated, we will understand,” the source added.
The source sent images of ID cards linked to one of the prisoners, which showed the date of his birth as June 4, 1991 and said he belonged to the Han ethnicity — the majority ethnic group in China.
There was no immediate response to the claims from either Moscow or Beijing, but Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media that China’s charge d’affaires had been summoned for an explanation.
“Chinese citizens fighting as part of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine puts into question China’s declared stance for peace and undermines Beijing’s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council,” Sybiga said.
China presents itself as a neutral party in the conflict and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.
But it is a close political and economic ally of Russia, and NATO members have branded China a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s invasion, which Beijing has never condemned.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a speedy end to the war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough.
Kyiv has repeatedly urged Beijing to pressure Moscow to end its invasion, which has cost tens of thousands of lives and so far failed to achieve the Kremlin’s core objectives.
Zelensky said Kyiv had evidence that “many more Chinese citizens” are fighting alongside Russian forces and that he had instructed his foreign minister to find out how China intends to respond.
He said the capture of the two men and Moscow’s involvement of China in the conflict were “a clear signal that Putin is going to do anything but end the war.”
Zelensky also demanded “a reaction from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who wants peace” in his post online.
“I think the United States should pay more attention to what is happening today,” he said separately at a press conference in Kyiv.
The war in Ukraine, now grinding through its fourth year, has attracted thousands of foreign fighters to both sides.
Ukraine has been urging its Western partners to respond to the Russian deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to the western region of Kursk.
Ukraine has been struggling to hold ground after launching an offensive on the border region last year.
“The North Koreans fought against us in the Kursk region, the Chinese are fighting on the territory of Ukraine. And I think this is an important point that we need to discuss with our partners, I think urgently,” Zelensky added in the press conference.
Kyiv, which dispatched its then-foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba to China last year, has been seeking to deepen ties with Beijing.
Zelensky appointed a new ambassador to China this week.
Taliban deny reports of American airbase takeover
- Chief spokesman: ‘The Islamic Emirate will not allow such an action’
- Rumors spread after US military flight landed at Bagram reportedly carrying top intelligence officials
LONDON: The Taliban have denied rumors that Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase has been handed back to the US, The Independent reported on Tuesday.
The denial followed the flight of a US military cargo plane into Afghanistan over the weekend.
The C-17 aircraft took off from Al-Udeid in Qatar and arrived in Afghanistan via Pakistan, landing at Bagram on Sunday, local media reported.
Khaama Press reported that the flight was carrying top US intelligence officials, including Michael Ellis, the CIA’s deputy chief.
It added that the Taliban handed the base to the US in the wake of comments by President Donald Trump expressing an interest in the facility, located north of Kabul.
However, the Taliban’s chief spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid dismissed the reports as “propaganda” and said the government maintains full control of the base.
“There is no need for any country’s military presence in Afghanistan at present and the Islamic Emirate will not allow such an action,” he added, describing an American takeover of the base as “impossible.”
Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, told The Independent: “This news (of the takeover) is not correct.”
Bagram, the size of a small city, served as the command node for coalition forces during the 20-year war against the Taliban before the group recaptured Afghanistan in 2021.
It has two runways, 100 parking spaces for jets, a passenger lounge, a 50-bed hospital, and numerous hangar-sized tents housing equipment.
Boy stabbed to death in UK had fled war in Syria
- Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim, 16, died in Huddersfield after moving to ‘safe haven’ from Homs
- Family says he dreamed of becoming a doctor to help others after he was injured in bombing
LONDON: A 16-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in the UK after fleeing war in Syria had dreamed of becoming a doctor, his family said on Tuesday.
Ahmad Mamdouh Al-Ibrahim died in hospital after being wounded in the neck in the northern English town of Huddersfield on Thursday.
The teenager was settling into his new life in the UK after fleeing Homs in Syria, where he had been injured in a bombing.
In an emotional tribute, his family said their “beloved Ahmad” had wanted to become a doctor to help others.
“Ahmad fled war-torn Homs, Syria, after being injured in a bombing,” the family said in a statement released through West Yorkshire Police.
“He chose to come to the UK because he believed in the values of human rights, safety and dignity.
“He was full of hope and dreamed of becoming a doctor — wanting to heal others after all he had endured.”
The family said Ahmad had been living with his uncle and adjusting to a new language, new home and a future “he was excited to build.”
“Ahmad was kind, gentle and carried so much promise. Losing him has left an unimaginable emptiness in our hearts,” they said.
“We never thought that the place he saw as a safe haven would be where his life would end.”
The family said they wished to lay Ahmad to rest in his homeland, Syria.
The tribute was released as a 20-year-old man, Alfie Franco, appeared in Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday accused of Ahmad’s murder. A trial date was set for October.
Police said they were continuing to work with Ahmad’s family and to investigate the stabbing.
Musk slams 'moron' Trump aide in deepening tariff spat
- Billionaire Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump’s senior trade adviser Peter Navarro as “dumber than a sack of bricks”
- Musk has previously signaled his opposition to the president’s new import tariffs
WASHINGTON: Billionaire Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump’s senior trade adviser Peter Navarro as “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks” on Tuesday in a growing rift over the US tariff policy that has rocked the world.
The extraordinary public spat came after Navarro described the Tesla boss and so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief as “not a car manufacturer” but “a car assembler” who relies on imported parts.
Musk, the world’s richest person, has previously signaled his opposition to the president’s new import tariffs that have roiled markets.
“Navarro is truly a moron. What he says here is demonstrably false,” Musk posted on his X social network, under a clip of Navarro saying Tesla imported batteries, electronics and tires, and that Musk “wants the cheap foreign parts.”
Musk doubled down in a series of other messages, saying that “Tesla has the most American-made cars. Navarro is dumber than a sack of bricks.”
Musk also dubbed him “Peter Retarrdo” and said Navarro “should ask the fake expert he invented, Ron Vara” — referring to a fictional pundit Navarro quoted in a series of books and a policy memo, using an anagram of his own name.
The South African-born tycoon recently backed the idea of a free-trade zone between North America and Europe — a wish at odds with Trump’s flagship tariffs.
The US president has ruled out any pause in his aggressive stance despite retaliatory action from China and signs of criticism from within his normally loyal Republican Party.
But there have also been conflicting messages from within the White House itself.
A long-time China hawk, Navarro has been one of the most hard-line voices on tariffs, and targeted Musk himself in an interview with CNBC.
“When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White House, and the American people understand, that Elon’s a car manufacturer. But he’s not a car manufacturer — he’s a car assembler in many cases,” Navarro said.
“If you go to his Texas plant... the batteries come from Japan and from China, the electronics come from Taiwan.”
The row came a day after Navarro insisted in an opinion piece in the Financial Times that the tariffs were “not a negotiation” — only for Trump to admit later that he was in fact open to some negotiations.
The spat is all the more unusual because of the mesh of loyalties involved.
Trump has strongly defended Musk after a series of vandalism attacks and protests against Tesla over DOGE’s cost-cutting drive — even turning the White House into a pop-up showroom for the electric vehicles in a show of support.
Navarro, however, has proven his loyalty to Trump by serving a four-month jail sentence for contempt after refusing to testify to Congress on the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.
Italian police say they disrupted migrant smuggling ring, 15 Egyptians arrested
- Smugglers used sailboats for dangerous illegal crossings from Turkiye to Greece and Italy
MILAN: Italian police said on Tuesday they had dismantled a migrant smuggling network, leading to the arrests in several countries of 15 Egyptians involved in using sailboats for dangerous illegal sea crossings from Turkiye to Greece and Italy.
According to an Italian police statement, the network facilitated the illegal entry into Italy of at least 3,000 migrants since 2021, earning more than $30 million by charging them $10,000 each.
The Italian police said the arrests were made simultaneously in multiple countries with the cooperation of Albanian, German, Turkish and Omani police, coordinated by Italian anti-mafia prosecutors in Sicily and relying on Interpol and Europol.
The smuggling network had been led by an Egyptian who ran operations from Istanbul, the Italian police said.
“The organization had set up a system that involved recruiting professional skippers, almost all Egyptian, providing logistical support in Turkiye while the migrants waited to leave, and transporting them in sailboats to the Greek and Italian coasts,” Italian police said in a statement.
Crossings departing from the Turkish ports of Bodrum, Izmir and Marmari took up to a week, with dozens of migrants crammed on board 12-15 meter sailboats with no life-saving equipment, the statement said.
Tens of thousands of migrants are believed to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in recent years. The sea route from Turkiye to Italy has been particularly notorious since February 2023, when at least 94 people died off Cutro in southern Italy in one of the worst disasters of the crisis.
