BANGKOK: A human rights group urged Bangladesh’s government on Monday to abandon plans to relocate Rohingya Muslim refugees to a small, uninhabited island said to be at severe risk of serious flooding.
Human Rights Watch said in a report released in Bangkok, Thailand, that international experts have identified six sites near the existing camp housing about 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar that could provide better and safer conditions and could accommodate more than a quarter of a million people.
“Relocation of a significant number of refugees to less densely packed camps, with fewer environmental risks and adequate standards of services, is crucial for the health and well-being of all the refugees,” the group said.
The New York-based organization said Bangladesh’s government plans to move 100,000 people to Bhasan Char island very soon, but warned that — in addition to its susceptibility to flooding — its isolation and the lack of assurance of freedom of movement would turn it into a de facto “immigration detention center.”
The latest wave of refugees into Bangladesh began after attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security personnel last Aug. 25. Myanmar’s military responded with counterinsurgency sweeps and a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages. It was accused of widespread human rights violations, including rape, murder, torture and the burning of Rohingya homes. Thousands are believed to have died. Previously, smaller-scale violence and discrimination led more than 200,000 Rohingya to flee Myanmar between 2012 and 2015.
The report, titled “Bangladesh Is Not My Country,” highlights the problems facing Rohingya refugees in the overcrowded Kutapalong-Balukhali camp — said to be the world’s largest refugee camp — in Cox’s Bazar, just across the border from western Myanmar.
It says the camp is unsustainable, that conditions put the refugees there at risk of disease epidemics, fire, community tension and domestic and sexual violence.
“Despite efforts by the refugees and aid agencies to strengthen huts, build safer infrastructure, and develop safety plans, the camps and their residents have remained highly vulnerable to catastrophic weather conditions,” the report adds.
However, the Bangladesh government’s insistence that the camps are temporary, until the Rohingya can return to their homes on Myanmar, has meant that it “has blocked the construction of permanent structures, including cyclone-resistant buildings, and has not allowed for other infrastructure that would suggest longer-term stay,” Human Rights Watch said.
Bhasan Char island “appears unsuitable for accommodating the refugees,” says the report, citing experts declaring it “could become completely submerged in the event of a strong cyclone during a high tide.”
It says there are six other more feasible relocation sites just west of the existing Kutupalong-Balukhali that could accommodate 263,000 people.
Human Rights Watch called on donor governments and intergovernmental organizations to help Bangladesh provide humanitarian aid and also to pressure Myanmar to allow the safe and sustainable return of the Rohingya to their homes there.
The Muslim Rohingya face official and social discrimination in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, which denies most of them citizenship and basic rights. They are considered immigrants from Bangladesh, even though many families settled in Myanmar generations ago.
Human rights group opposes moving Rohingya to island camp
Human rights group opposes moving Rohingya to island camp
- International experts have identified six sites near the existing camp housing about 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar
- The latest wave of refugees into Bangladesh began after attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security personnel last Aug. 25
COP29 success requires G20 ‘leadership’: UN chief
“A successful outcome at COP29 is still within reach, but it will require leadership and compromise, namely from the G20 countries,” Guterres, who will attend the summit of the world’s biggest economies starting Monday, told a press conference in Rio.
The annual UN talks in Baku are deadlocked at the midway point, with nations no closer to agreeing a $1 trillion deal for climate investments in developing nations after a week of negotiations.
The talks are stuck over the final figure, the type of financing, and who should pay, with Western countries wanting China and wealthy Gulf states to join the list of donors.
All eyes have turned to Rio in the hope of a breakthrough.
“The spotlight is naturally on the G20. They account for 80 percent of global emissions,” Guterres said, calling on the group to “lead by example.”
India announces successful hypersonic missile test
- Defense ministry says missile designed to carry payloads over distances greater than 1,500 km
- Other countries known to have hypersonic missile capabilities are the US, China and Russia
NEW DELHI: India has test-fired its first long-range hypersonic missile, the Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday, marking the country’s entry into a small group of nations known to possess such weapons programs.
The Defense Research and Development Organization — an agency under the Ministry of Defense — conducted the test on Saturday night on Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha.
The missile, designed to carry payloads over 1,500 km, was “indigenously developed by the laboratories of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Missile complex, Hyderabad along with various other DRDO laboratories and industry partners,” the ministry said in a statement Sunday.
“The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy.”
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh took to social media to say the test was a “historic moment” that has put India country in the “group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies.”
Hypersonic missiles can travel at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, or 6,115 km per hour — much faster than other ballistic and cruise missiles, making them more difficult to track than traditional missile technology.
The other countries known to have such capabilities are the US, China, and Russia.
Defense expert Ranjit Kumar told Arab News that the successful launch of the hypersonic missile has enhanced the deterrent capabilities of the Indian missile arsenal.
“(The) hypersonic missile will add more teeth to the Indian missile firepower. (The) Indian Armed Forces already possess over 300 km range (supersonic) Brahmos cruise missile and over 5,000 km range Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile, but the latest, over 1,500 km range hypersonic missile will ... give more confidence to the Indian military to be able to hit the target with sure success,” he said.
“At a time when India is surrounded with adversaries possessing long-range ballistic missiles, the latest hypersonic missile will deter them from launching a preemptive strike on Indian locations.”
More than 1.2 million people flee as new super typhoon hits Philippines
- Authorities warn of ‘life-threatening’ impact of sixth storm hitting the country in one month
- Risk of landslides is high, as soil in many affected regions is saturated from previous storms
MANILA: More than 1.2 million people have been evacuated in eight regions of the Philippines as the country braces for the impact of the sixth tropical cyclone to hit in the past month, the Office of Civil Defense said on Sunday.
Super Typhoon Man-yi slammed into the coastal island of Catanduanes in the typhoon-prone Bicol region on Saturday evening, as the national weather agency warned of “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situations.”
Five other storms — Usagi, Trami, Kong-rey, Yinxing and Toraji — struck the Philippines since late October, killing at least 163 people, displacing millions and causing widespread destruction mainly in the country’s north.
OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said there were no immediate reports of casualties from Man-yi’s impact, but government agencies were on alert as they expected flooding and landslides on Sunday and Monday.
Residents were evacuated in eight regions covering the northwestern, northeastern and central parts of Luzon — the country’s most populous island — as well as the Bicol Peninsula in its southernmost part, the island provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, and Palawan, and parts of the Eastern Visayas, including Samar island.
“We did worst-case planning … In total, 361,079 families cooperated, that means 1.24 million individuals who went to the evacuation centers,” Nepomuceno told Arab News.
“Fortunately, so far no one has been reported injured or killed. But we are not done yet because the storm is heading towards mainland Aurora … then to southern Aurora and northern Quezon, and then the typhoon will cross Central Luzon. It may exit La Union or Pangasinan, so we will look at that whole area.”
He said the main danger at the moment was from landslides as “the soils in the affected areas are already saturated.”
In Catanduanes, which was so far the worst hit, 11 of the island province’s 16 towns sustained major damage.
“Many houses were destroyed … because electric poles were toppled, there is no electricity in almost all of Catanduanes,” Nepomuceno said.
The Philippines is considered the country most at risk from natural disasters, according to the 2024 World Risk Report.
Each year, the Southeast Asian nation experiences around 20 tropical storms and typhoons, impacting millions of people as weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable and extreme due to climate change.
In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, displaced millions and left more than 6,000 people dead or missing in the central Philippines.
India announces successful hypersonic missile test
- Defense ministry says missile designed to carry payloads over distances greater than 1,500 km
- Other countries known to have hypersonic missile capabilities are the US, China and Russia
NEW DELHI: India has test-fired its first long-range hypersonic missile, the Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday, marking the country’s entry into a small group of nations known to possess such weapons programs.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation — an agency under the Ministry of Defense — conducted the test on Saturday night on Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha.
The missile, designed to carry payloads over 1,500 km, was “indigenously developed by the laboratories of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile complex, Hyderabad along with various other DRDO laboratories and industry partners,” the ministry said in a statement Sunday.
“The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy.”
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh took to social media to say the test was a “historic moment” that has put India country in the “group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies.”
Hypersonic missiles can travel at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, or 6,115 km per hour — much faster than other ballistic and cruise missiles, making them more difficult to track than traditional missile technology.
The other countries known to have such capabilities are the US, China, and Russia.
Defense expert Ranjit Kumar told Arab News that the successful launch of the hypersonic missile has enhanced the deterrent capabilities of the Indian missile arsenal.
“(The) hypersonic missile will add more teeth to the Indian missile firepower. (The) Indian Armed Forces already possess over 300 km range (supersonic) Brahmos cruise missile and over 5,000 km range Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile, but the latest, over 1,500 km range hypersonic missile will ... give more confidence to the Indian military to be able to hit the target with sure success,” he said.
“At a time when India is surrounded with adversaries possessing long-range ballistic missiles, the latest hypersonic missile will deter them from launching a preemptive strike on Indian locations.”
UK plans to sign deals with Turkiye, Iraqi Kurdistan to halt migrants
- Top nationalities for small boat crossings to Britain are Afghan, Iranian, Vietnamese, Turkish, Syrian
- Italy has reduced migrant numbers by 62% after agreements with Libya, Tunisia
London: The UK is set to agree deals with several countries in a bid to prevent thousands of illegal migrants reaching Britain, the Sunday Times reported.
The deals will mirror those signed by Italy with other countries, with money exchanged in return for stopping migrants from setting off.
Those in discussions with the UK include Turkiye and Vietnam, as well as the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. Deals are expected to be signed by the year’s end.
Italy has managed to reduce the number of people crossing to it by 62 percent after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struck deals with Tunisia and Libya.
Tunisia received patrol boats and €100 million ($105.4 million) to invest in education, energy and companies employed to halt migration, while Libya’s coast guard will be trained and equipped by Rome. The EU has paid Tunisia an additional €105 million.
However, both agreements have been criticized by human rights organizations over the treatment of migrants in Tunisia and Libya by local authorities.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Meloni in September, during which he praised Italy’s “upstream work” in North Africa.
“I have always made the argument that preventing people leaving their country in the first place is far better than trying to deal with those that have arrived,” he said.
The UK has seen continuous increases in the number of people entering the country illegally, with the Labour government pledging to “smash the gangs” running the trade across the English Channel.
By Nov. 11, the total to have made the crossing for 2024 stood at 32,900 people. In 2023, the total number of crossings was 29,437.
According to UK government statistics, the top five nationalities for small boat crossings for the year up to June were Afghan at 5,730 (18 percent of the total), Iranian at 3,844 (13 percent), Vietnamese at 3,031 (10 percent), Turkish at 2,925 (10 percent) and Syrian at 2,849 (9 percent).
A deal signed by the previous UK government and France gave Paris £500 million ($630.9 million) to stop the crossings. The UK also gives Turkiye significant funds to stop migrants reaching Europe.
Last week, Dutch police arrested a Turkish man suspected of being a “major supplier” of small boat equipment in Amsterdam following a joint operation by the UK’s National Crime Agency.
The UK government is keen to strike a deal with Iraqi Kurdistan, from which a number of trafficking gangs operate.
Earlier this year, high-profile trafficker Barzan Majeed, known as The Scorpion, was arrested in Iraq after being tracked down by the BBC in the city of Sulaymaniyah.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is known to have sent fact-finders to the region to assess the viability of an Italy-style deal.
Any deals are likely to involve funding and training for local security services, as well as potentially including return clauses for migrants who reach the UK.
A source told the Sunday Times: “The assessment made after that trip was that Kurdistani nationals monopolise every part of the journey made by small boat migrants from the procuring of the craft to putting people on the boats on the beaches in France.”
