DHAKA: Construction worker Nurul Alam, 27, who became stranded in Tripoli, unable to move due to heavy gunfire surrounding his hideout, is one of 25 Bangladeshi migrant workers who have been rescued thanks to a 24-hour control center set up in the Libyan capital.
He was rescued after he contacted the Bangladesh Embassy for help.
His mother Jainab Akhter, 59, said her son had been living in Tripoli for four years, working for a construction company when he became stranded at Khalid Farjan in the city, trying to eke out his stockpile of food, but in such a vulnerable position that he did not dare to leave his hiding place.
“Due to heavy gunfighting, Alam could not come out on the streets to find a safer place. Although Alam talked to us every day from that stranded situation, it was like a nightmare for me. I prayed every moment to Almighty Allah to save my son’s life,” said Akhter.
Alam and three other Bangladeshi migrant workers were caught in sporadic battles between rival groups in Tripoli this month. After Alam contacted the Bangladesh Embassy for help they were rescued and taken to a safer location nearby.
A round-the-clock control room service has been set up by the Bangladesh mission in Tripoli to protect Bangladeshi migrant workers since the latest clashes began.
“So far, we have rescued around 25 Bangladeshi workers from different areas of Tripoli,” says Ashraful Islam, the first secretary of Bangladesh mission in Libya.
Islam told Arab News that when they receive an emergency call from a Bangladeshi worker, the mission immediately contacts the local Red Cross. The Red Cross initiates a cease-fire for few minutes by negotiating with the battling groups, then evacuates the stranded individuals.
“We will continue to run this emergency control room service until the situation returns to normal,” Islam added.
Around 8,000 Bangladeshi workers currently live in Tripoli, mostly unskilled migrant workers, Islam said.
“So far we have not received any information of Bangladeshi workers’ casualties resulting from recent clashes and our citizens are still in a comparatively safe position,” he said.
The wave of violence has also affected those Bangladeshis who have been living in Libya for many years. One such is Abdul Mannan Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi who has lived in Libya since 2009.
“One of the rival groups have taken my personal car to fight in the battle. Ten days have passed and they have still not returned my car,” he said.
The expat Bangladeshi businessman added that a state of anarchy now existed in the country. “I don’t feel secure in any part of this country, but I cannot leave as I have already invested a significant amount of money in business. We have been running for the past few years due to security concerns,” added Chowdhury.
Around 30,000 Bangladeshi expats currently live in Libya. The country stopped issuing visas to Bangladeshi workers in May 2015 following reports of illegal human trafficking. In recent years, hundreds of Bangladeshi migrant workers traveled to Italy from Libya through the risky boat journey.
Before the Libyan war, around 60,000 Bangladeshi workers worked for Libyan companies.
Mission sets up emergency center for Bangladesh workers caught in Libyan conflict
Mission sets up emergency center for Bangladesh workers caught in Libyan conflict
- The wave of violence has also affected those Bangladeshis who have been living in Libya for many years
- A round-the-clock control room service has been set up by the Bangladesh mission in Tripoli to protect Bangladeshi migrant workers since the latest clashes began
Brazil startup partners with agro firm to reforest degraded Amazon land
- Deal marks first time re.green restores farmer-owned land
- Reforestation business booming in Brazil ahead of COP30
Startup re.green, Agro Penido partner to restore 600 hectares
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Deal marks first time re.green restores farmer-owned land
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Reforestation business booming in Brazil ahead of COP30
By Gabriel Araujo
SAO PAULO, Jan 13 : Private equity-backed reforestation startup re.green has signed a partnership with Agro Penido to restore 600 hectares (1,482 acres) of land owned by the Brazilian agribusiness firm with native species from the Amazon rainforest, it said on Monday.
Their partnership is the latest deal for the nascent reforestation business in Brazil, home to most of the world’s largest rainforest and host of the COP30 UN climate summit this year in the Amazonian city of Belem.
Local startups including re.green, AXA-backed Mombak and Biomas — a firm established by Suzano, Santander, Vale, Marfrig, Rabobank and Itau — have been working to buy land or partner with local farmers to restore areas of the Amazon.
Turning degraded land into forests can generate carbon credits, which companies buy to offset their greenhouse gas emissions voluntarily or through regulated markets like the one Brazil has recently written into law.
Firms such as Alphabet’s unit Google, Microsoft , Facebook owner Meta and McLaren Racing have recently purchased carbon credits from Brazilian projects.
The new re.green deal represents the first time it is partnering to restore farmer-owned land, Chief Executive Thiago Picolo told Reuters, noting the firm has already bought 13,000 hectares from ranchers.
“Buying land is an important model, but we always knew that for re.green to reach the size it wants we would have to partner with landowners and involve them in this business,” Picolo said.
Re.green is backed by Brazilian billionaire Joao Moreira Salles and asset managers including Lanx Capital, Principia, Dynamo and Gavea Investimentos, which was founded by former Brazilian central bank governor Arminio Fraga.
Salles and Fraga are both on the board of re.green, whose goal is to restore 1 million hectares of land in Brazil, an area twice the size of Delaware. It announced a deal with Microsoft in May to restore 15,000 hectares in the Amazon.
The deal with Agro Penido covers areas near the Xingu Indigenous Park in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest grain-producing state. Picolo said re.green plans to restore forests in less productive parts of Agro Penido’s farms, some of which may yield lumber in addition to carbon credits.
Picolo said the first phase of their partnership has the potential to produce some 300,000 carbon credits over the next few decades, each representing the removal of a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent from the atmosphere.
He said re.green can sell its reforestation-based credits at a premium, fetching some $50 to $100 in private deals.
Scientists consider the Amazon’s protection vital to curbing climate change because of the vast amount of climate-warming carbon dioxide its trees absorb. Some critics complain the offsets allow polluters to avoid reducing their emissions.
Agro Penido, which has a separate joint venture with grains powerhouse SLC Agricola, currently has nearly 40,000 hectares producing soybeans, corn and cotton, which it aims to expand to 65,000 hectares by 2027/28.
“This is a start,” said Caio Penido, one of the owners, about the re.green deal. He added they would now evaluate other areas owned by the firm, noting it was possible for the project to double its scope to 1,200 hectares. (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo Editing by Brad Haynes and Diane Craft)
India opens giant Hindu festival for 400 million pilgrims
- Festival is held at site where the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet
- Millennia-old Kumbh Mela is a show of religious piety and features ritual bathing
Prayagraj, India: Vast crowds of Hindu pilgrims in India began bathing in sacred waters on Monday as the Kumbh Mela festival opened, with organizers expecting 400 million people — the largest gathering of humanity.
The millennia-old Kumbh Mela, a show of religious piety and ritual bathing — and a logistical challenge of staggering proportions — is held at the site where the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet.
In the cool pre-dawn gloom, pilgrims surged forward to begin bathing in the waters.
“I feel great joy,” said Surmila Devi, 45. “For me, it’s like bathing in nectar.”
Businesswoman Reena Rai’s voice quivered with excitement as she spoke about the “religious reasons” that brought her to join the sprawling tents, packed along the river banks in the north Indian city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state.
“As a Hindu, this is an unmissable occasion,” said the 38-year-old, who traveled around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Madhya Pradesh state to take part in the festival, which runs from Monday until February 26.
Saffron-robed monks and naked ash-smeared ascetics roamed the crowds offering blessings to devotees, many of whom had walked for weeks to reach the site.
The massive congregation is also an occasion for India’s Hindu nationalist government to burnish its credentials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “divine occasion,” that brings together “countless people in a sacred confluence of faith, devotion and culture.”
Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk and Utter Pradesh’s chief minister, welcomed devotees to “experience unity in diversity” at the “world’s largest spiritual and cultural gathering.”
Organizers say the scale of the Kumbh Mela is that of a temporary country — with numbers expected to total around the combined populations of the United States and Canada.
“Some 350 to 400 million devotees are going to visit the mela, so you can imagine the scale of preparations,” festival spokesman Vivek Chaturvedi said.
Hindu monks carried huge flags of their respective sects, while tractors turned into chariots for life-size idols of Hindu gods rolled by behind them accompanied by elephants.
Pilgrims exulted in the beat of drums and honking horns.
The festival is rooted in Hindu mythology, a battle between deities and demons for control of a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality.
Organizing authorities are calling it the great or “Maha” Kumbh Mela.
The riverside in Prayagraj has turned into a vast sea of tents — some luxury, others simple tarpaulins.
Jaishree Ben Shahtilal took three days to reach the holy site, journeying with her neighbors from Gujarat state in a convoy of 11 buses over three days.
“I have great faith in god,” she said. “I have waited for so long to bathe in the holy river.”
Around 150,000 toilets have been built and a network of community kitchens can each feed up to 50,000 people at the same time.
Another 68,000 LED light poles have been erected for a gathering so large that its bright lights can be seen from space.
The last celebration at the site, the “ardh” or half Kumbh Mela in 2019, attracted 240 million pilgrims, according to the government.
That compares to an estimated 1.8 million Muslims who take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
Indian police said they were “conducting relentless day-and-night patrols to ensure top-notch security” for the event.
Authorities and the police have also set up a network of “lost and found” centers and an accompanying phone app to help pilgrims lost in the immense crowd “to reunite with their families.”
India is the world’s most populous nation, with 1.4 billion people, and so is used to large crowds.
Temperatures hovered around 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) overnight, but pilgrims said their faith meant their baths were not chilly.
“Once you are in the water, you don’t even feel cold,” said 56-year-old devotee Chandrakant Nagve Patel. “I felt like I was one with god.”
Hindus believe bathing there during the Kumbh helps cleanse sins and brings salvation.
Government employee Bhawani Baneree, who had come from the western state of Maharashtra, said the “vibrant atmosphere” had made his long journey worthwhile.
“Everything is so beautiful,” he said.
Tens of thousands take holy dip in India as Maha Kumbh festival begins
- Held every 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela attracts more than 400 million visitors, both Indians and tourists
- The event offers a test in crowd management for authorities in the world’s most populous country
PRAYAGRAJ, India: Tens of thousands of Hindus seeking absolution of their sins immersed themselves on Monday in freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers, as India began a six-week festival expected to draw the world’s largest gathering of humanity.
Held every 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival, as the religious event in the city of Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is called, attracts more than 400 million visitors, both Indians and tourists.
As many as 40,000 police officers are on guard to provide security and help manage the crowds, while surveillance cameras equipped with artificial intelligence AI capabilities will ensure continuous monitoring.
“It is our festival,” said ascetic Hazari Lala Mishra, who immersed himself before sunrise, which is considered an auspicious time. “(It is) the only festival for hermits and monks, and we wait for it desperately.”
Authorities expect Monday’s first ritual dip to draw more than 2.5 million visitors, followed by a “royal bath” on Tuesday reserved for ascetics, in the belief that it absolves them of sin and confers salvation from the cycle of life and death.
Amid public warnings to walk in lines without halting anywhere, droves of marchers headed for bathing positions to await sunrise at the confluence of the three holy rivers, the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati.
Advancing toward the waters’ edge in the winter morning fog, they chanted invocations such as “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Ganga Maiyya” in praise of the Hindu deities Lord Shiva and Mother Ganga, who personifies India’s holiest river.
“I am excited but now scared because I didn’t expect this crowd,” said Priyanka Rajput, a fashion model from Delhi, the capital, who accompanied her mother. “This is my first Kumbh and I came here only because my mother is very spiritual.”
The Kumbh originates in a Hindu tradition that the god Vishnu, known as the Preserver, wrested away from demons a golden pitcher that held the nectar of immortality.
In a 12-day celestial fight for its possession, four drops of the nectar fell to earth, in the cities of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, where the festival is held every three years in rotation.
The Kumbh held once in 12 years in this cycle has the prefix ‘maha’ (great) as its timing renders it more auspicious and it attracts the largest crowds.
CROWD MANAGEMENT
A showcase mix of religion, spirituality and tourism like no other in India, the event offers a test in crowd management for authorities in the world’s most populous country who must balance arrangements for millions while retaining its sanctity.
A temporary city sprawling over 4,000 hectares (9,990 acres) has sprung up along the river banks with 150,000 tents to house the visitors, and is equipped with 3,000 kitchens, 145,000 restrooms and 99 parking lots.
Authorities are also installing as many as 450,000 new electricity connections, with the Kumbh expected to consume more power than 100,000 urban apartments require in a month.
Indian Railways has added 98 trains to make 3,300 trips carrying festival visitors, in addition to regular services to Prayagraj.
Uttar Pradesh is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which hopes a successful Kumbh Mela will burnish its efforts to reclaim and glorify India’s religious and cultural symbols.
That has been a plank for the party’s Hindu base promised since Modi swept to power nationwide in 2014.
“The Maha Kumbh embodies India’s timeless spiritual heritage and celebrates faith and harmony,” Modi said in a post on X.
US, Japanese, Philippine leaders discussed China’s behavior in South China Sea, White House says
- The three leaders discussed trilateral maritime security and economic cooperation
- Manila said the three countries agreed to further strengthen their ties
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Sunday met virtually with his counterparts from Japan and the Philippines to advance cooperation among the three countries, the White House said.
The three leaders discussed trilateral maritime security and economic cooperation, and China’s “dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,” it said in a statement.
“The three leaders agreed on the importance of continued coordination to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Biden spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. late on Sunday, a week before Biden leaves office and hands power to President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
Manila said the three countries, which met for a trilateral summit in Washington in April, agreed to further strengthen their ties in the face of growing tensions in regional waters.
The South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, has been plagued by rising tensions for years. China claims almost the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration found Beijing’s sweeping claims had no legal basis.
The US has increased its security engagements with the Philippines under Marcos, securing expanded access to Philippine bases.
The White House statement made no mention of any discussion about Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of US Steel, which Biden blocked on Jan. 3 citing national security concerns.
Japan’s foreign ministry said Ishiba asked Biden to allay concerns in the Japanese and US business communities over the decision, noting that cooperation among allies and like-minded countries was indispensable for establishing resilient supply chains.
The White House had no immediate comment on the reported discussion.
300 North Korean soldiers killed, 2,700 injured in Ukraine: Seoul
SEOUL: Around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 injured while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker said Monday, citing information from Seoul’s spy agency.
“The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia has reportedly expanded to include the Kursk region, with estimates suggesting that casualties... include approximately 300 deaths and 2700 injuries,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters after a briefing from the spy agency.
