ALONG THE BANGLADESH-MYANMAR BORDER: From their home, a tent hastily erected in a grassy field, the young Muslim Rohingya couple can see the village they left behind last year, fleeing attacks by Buddhist mobs and Myanmar security forces.
They arrived in a no man’s land, one of the small, ill-defined areas that exist at the cloudiest edges of the borderlands, places that seem to be neither Myanmar nor Bangladesh. While nearly every other Rohingya refugee who crossed the border has sought protection in the immense camps a few miles deeper into Bangladesh, these people say they will go no farther.
“My ancestors’ graves are there,” said Abdul Naser, gesturing toward his village, less than 100 meters (yards) away. “Sometimes, I walk close to the barbed wire fence and touch my land, and I cry in the dark.”
But a few weeks ago things changed. Myanmar deployed more soldiers to the border, some of whom began coming to within 10 meters (yards) of the refugees’ homes. They shout insults at the Rohingya, the refugees say, they throw empty whiskey bottles. They have set up speakers that blare announcements, insisting people go further into Bangladesh.
Because to Myanmar, no man’s land doesn’t exist at all.
“We cannot accept the term ‘no man’s land’ because that is our land,” said Nyan Myint Kyaw, Myanmar’s deputy commander of the border police. Shifting rivers may have washed away some border markers, he says, and fences may not have been erected everywhere. But he insists the 6,000 or so Rohingya who think they live between the two countries are actually living inside Myanmar.
It is easy to get confused on the border, where many areas are not marked at all and where it’s sometimes unclear if a fence marks someone’s personal land, or if it demarcates the frontier. Making things more complicated, Myanmar places its border fences 150 feet from the actual boundary line.
While Myanmar insists all the hazy territory is their land, its security forces — as well as Bangladesh security forces — are also very careful to avoid entering places seen as a no man’s land, presumably fearing accidental clashes and diplomatic trouble.
Myanmar says the additional soldiers were deployed to stop possible cross-border attacks by Rohingya militants, though no such attacks are known to have occurred. When Bangladesh protested the deployments, Myanmar dismissed their complaints.
“This is not like we are trying to invade Bangladesh,” Myanmar spokesman Zaw Htay said in early March. “These are only actions taken against the terrorist groups.”
The Rohingya have long lived at the ragged fringes of life in Myanmar, denied citizenship and many of the most basic rights. They are derided as “Bengalis” and many in Myanmar believe they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh. Muslims in an overwhelmingly Buddhist nation, most live in poverty in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, next to Bangladesh.
The most recent problems began in August, when Rohingya insurgents launched a series of unprecedented attacks on Myanmar security posts. Myanmar responded with overwhelming force, burning Muslim villages with the help of Buddhist mobs, raping women, looting homes and carrying out massacres. Some 700,000 Rohingya fled the attacks into Bangladesh. Aid groups say more than 6,700 people were killed.
The UN refugee agency has appealed for protection for the borderland Rohingya.
The agency “is concerned about the safety of a group of vulnerable Rohingya women, men and children from Myanmar, who have been living in a so-called ‘no man’s land,’” it said in a statement. “People who have fled violence in their country must be granted safety and protection.”
But is the no man’s land inside Myanmar? Even the Rohingya say some of it probably is, though there are plenty of places where even border guards aren’t sure where to find the dividing line.
A Rohingya community leader says most of the 6,000 in the borderlands are from nearby villages.
“They do not want to leave the place or enter Bangladesh, hoping that they will go back one day and it will be easier to move from here,” Dil Mohammed said.
The young Rohingya couple agreed with him. They want to keep their village in sight. Or at least what’s left of it.
“My trees are still there,” said Naser’s wife, 20-year-old Ruksana Begum. “It’s spring now. I can see the green leaves of my mango trees. They have burned our homes but my trees are still growing.”
Rohingya living in ‘no man’s land’ insist they will stay
Rohingya living in ‘no man’s land’ insist they will stay
Putin signs off record Russian defense spending
- Around 32.5% of the budget has been allocated for national defense
- Lawmakers had already approved the plans in the past 10 days
KYIV: Russian President Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine.
Around 32.5 percent of the budget posted on a government website Sunday has been allocated for national defense, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (over $145 billion), up from a reported 28.3 percent this year.
Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament, the State Duma and Federation Council had already approved the plans in the past 10 days.
Russia’s war on Ukraine, which started in Feb. 2022, is Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and has drained the resources of both sides.
Kyiv has been getting billions of dollars in help from its Western allies, but Russia’s forces are bigger and better equipped, and in recent months the Russian army has gradually been pushing Ukrainian troops backward in eastern areas.
On the ground in Ukraine, three people died in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson when a Russian drone struck a minibus on Sunday morning, Kherson regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said. Seven others were wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, the number of wounded in Saturday’s missile strike in Dnipro in central Ukraine rose to 24, with seven in serious condition, Dnipropetrovsk regional Gov. Serhiy Lysak said. Four people were killed in the attack.
Moscow sent 78 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 32 drones were destroyed during the overnight attacks. A further 45 drones were “lost” over various areas, likely having been electronically jammed.
In Russia, a child was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, according to regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight into Sunday in four regions of western Russia: 20 over the Bryansk region, seven over the Kaluga region, and one each over the Smolensk and Kursk regions.
Thailand protests Myanmar’s navy firing at Thai fishing boats
- Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra questioned claims that the fishing boats had intruded into Myanmar’s territorial waters
- Thailand seeking more details on the incident and a quick release of four Thai nationals who were among the 31 fishermen detained
BANGKOK: Thailand protested an incident involving Myanmar’s navy firing on Thai fishing vessels, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Sunday, after one fisherman drowned, two were injured and dozens were detained from one of the boats.
Shinawatra questioned claims that the fishing boats had intruded into Myanmar’s territorial waters when Myanmar’s navy opened fire on the vessels on Saturday.
The Thai defense ministry earlier said two of 15 Thai fishing vessels were fired on when they were 4-5.7 nautical miles (7.4-10.6 km) inside Myanmar’s territorial waters near the southern Thai province of Ranong.
“It is inconclusive,” Shinawatra said, when asked by reporters whether Thai fishing boats encroached on Myanmar’s territorial waters.
“We don’t support violence whatever the circumstances,” she said, adding that Thailand was seeking more details on the incident and a quick release of four Thai nationals who were among the 31 fishermen detained.
Myanmar’s ruling junta did not immediately respond to a telephone request for comment.
Thai Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said a letter protesting the use of force was sent to Myanmar through a local border mechanism, demanding clear details about what happened and a quick return of the Thai boat and crew detained.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa also issued a letter of concern over the incident to the Myanmar government and summoned the Myanmar ambassador for a meeting on Monday, seeking clarification about what happened and a quick release of the four Thai nationals.
Myanmar has been in crisis since 2021 when the military seized power, toppling an elected government and sparking an armed rebellion by crushing protests with lethal force.
Pakistan national airline hopes to resume Europe flights soon after regulator lifts ban
- The European Union Aviation Safety Agency suspended PIA’s authorization to operate in the EU in June 2020
- Once PIA gets approval for UK flights, London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Sunday it expects to resume European routes soon and is eyeing several UK destinations after the EU aviation regulator lifted its bar on the flag carrier.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended PIA’s authorization to operate in the EU in June 2020 over concerns about the ability of Pakistani authorities and its Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) to ensure compliance with international aviation standards.
“PIA plans to approach the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) for UK route resumption, as EASA clearance is a prerequisite for their decision,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan told Reuters.
EASA and UK authorities suspended permission for PIA to operate in the region after Pakistan began investigating the validity of pilots’ licenses following a deadly plane crash that killed 97 people.
Khan said the airline expects to resume flights to Europe, starting with Paris, within the next three to four weeks.
Once PIA gets approval for UK flights, Khan said London, Manchester, and Birmingham would be the most sought-after destinations.
PIA and the government, which is aiming to sell a 60 percent stake in the carrier, had urged EASA to lift the ban, even provisionally. The ban cost the airline 40 billion rupees ($144 million) annually in revenue.
Khan said the company has sufficient cash flow to add new routes. Decisions on leasing new aircraft will be made after the government finalizes privatization discussions, he said.
The loss-making national carrier has a 23 percent stake in Pakistan’s domestic aviation market, but its 34-plane fleet can’t compete with Middle Eastern carriers which hold a 60 percent market share, due to a lack of direct flights, despite having agreements with 87 countries and key landing slots.
The government’s attempt to privatize the airline fell flat when it received only a single offer, well below its asking price.
“With Europe now, and upcoming UK routes, we anticipate increased revenue potential and hence a rise in PIA’s value during the privatization process,” Khan said.
New EU chiefs visit Kyiv on first day of mandate
- The European Union’s new leadership team is keen to demonstrate it remains firm on backing Kyiv at a perilous moment for Ukraine
- Questions are swirling around the future of US support once Donald Trump assumes office in January
Kyiv: The EU’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas and head of the European Council Antonio Costa arrived in Kyiv Sunday in a symbolic show of support for Ukraine on their first day in office.
“We came to give a clear message that we stand with Ukraine, and we continue to give our full support,” Costa told media outlets including AFP accompanying them on the trip.
The European Union’s new leadership team is keen to demonstrate it remains firm on backing Kyiv at a perilous moment for Ukraine nearly three years into its fight against Russia’s all-out invasion.
Questions are swirling around the future of US support once Donald Trump assumes office in January and there are fears he could force Kyiv to make painful concessions in pursuit of a quick peace deal.
Meanwhile, tensions have escalated as Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to strike government buildings in Kyiv with his new Oreshnik missile after firing it at Ukraine for the first time last month.
The Kremlin leader said the move is a response to Kyiv getting the green light to strike inside Russia with American and British missiles, and he has threatened to hit back against the countries supplying the weaponry.
As winter begins Russia has also unleashed devastating barrages against Ukraine’s power grid and on the frontline Kyiv’s fatigued forces are losing ground to Moscow’s grinding offensive.
“The situation in Ukraine is very, very grave,” Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, said. “But it’s clear that it comes at a very high cost for Russia as well.”
Ceasefire?
The new EU leaders — the bloc’s top officials along with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen — were set to hold talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky on Friday appeared to begin staking out his position ahead of any potential peace talks.
He called on NATO to offer guaranteed protections to parts of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv in order to “stop the hot stage of the war,” and implied he would then be willing to wait to regain other territory seized by Russia.
“If we speak ceasefire, (we need) guarantees that Putin will not come back,” Zelensky told Britain’s Sky News.
Kallas said that “the strongest security guarantee is NATO membership.”
“We need to definitely discuss this — if Ukraine decides to draw the line somewhere then how can we secure peace so that Putin doesn’t go any further,” she said.
Diplomats at NATO say there appears little prospect of the alliance granting Ukraine membership soon given opposition from a raft of members cautious of getting dragged into war with Russia.
Kallas said the EU “shouldn’t really rule out anything” in terms of the question of sending European troops to help enforce any ceasefire.
“We should have this strategic ambiguity around this,” she said.
’Transactional language’
Trump has cast doubt on continuing Washington’s vast aid for Ukraine and called on EU countries to do more.
Europe together has spent around $125 billion on supporting Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, while the United States alone has coughed up over $90 billion, according to a tracker from the Kiel Institute.
Kallas said the EU would use a “transactional language” to try to convince Trump that backing Kyiv was in the interest of the US.
“Aid for Ukraine is not charity,” she said. “A victory for Russia definitely emboldens China, Iran, North Korea.”
The new EU foreign policy chief said the bloc would continue seeking to put Ukraine in the “strongest” position — if and when Kyiv chose it was time to negotiate with Moscow.
But she conceded that it was becoming “increasingly difficult” for the 27-nation bloc to agree on new ways to ramp up support for Ukraine.
“This war has been going on for quite some time and it is harder and harder to explain it to our own people,” she said. “But I don’t see any option.”
Russian drones target Kyiv in overnight strike
- Russia has regularly sent missiles and drones at Ukrainian settlements far beyond the front line
KYIV: Russia launched attack drones at Kyiv in its latest overnight air strike on the Ukrainian capital, city officials said on Sunday.
Air defenses destroyed around a dozen drones over the city, according to military administrator Serhiy Popko. No injuries were reported after debris fell on one city district, he said.
Reuters correspondents heard explosions above the city later in the morning during the second air-raid alert of the day.
Russia has regularly sent missiles and drones at Ukrainian settlements far beyond the front line of its nearly three-year-old invasion, targeting the energy grid in particular as winter sets in.
