QUANG NGAI: Two people were reported killed and 26 others missing as Typhoon Molave hit central Vietnam Wednesday, knocking down trees and tearing roofs off homes in some of the worst destruction seen in years.
Authorities relocated around 375,000 people to safety, canceled hundreds of flights and closed schools and beaches ahead of the typhoon, which made landfall south of Danang packing winds of up to 145 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour).
State media said at least two people were killed in Quang Ngai province while trying to protect their homes from the storm.
“The people of Vietnam are tough, yet this is among the worst destruction ever seen in many areas,” said Vietnam Red Cross Society president Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu.
“The relentless storms and flooding are taking a devastating human toll, further destroying livelihoods and isolating millions of people.”
Officials were also searching for 26 missing fishermen, with the storm — Vietnam’s fourth this month — bringing waves up to six meters high as power was cut off across the region.
Navy and surveillance vessels were deployed to look for the crew members after their two boats disappeared after they attempted to dock, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said.
A fishing ban has been in place since Tuesday, while all airports in the area were closed until further notice.
The typhoon comes on the back of weeks of severe flooding and landslides that have claimed 130 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 310,000 homes, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Close to 1.2 million people were in “severe danger” and in need of relief, the IFRC warned.
“These relentless storms are yet another example of the devastating impact of climate change,” Red Cross spokesman Christopher Rassi said.
Vietnam is prone to natural disasters in the rainy season between June and November, with central coastal provinces commonly impacted, but the storms have notably worsened in recent years.
Two dead, 26 missing as Typhoon Molave slams into Vietnam
Two dead, 26 missing as Typhoon Molave slams into Vietnam
- The typhoon comes on the back of weeks of severe flooding and landslides that have claimed 130 lives
- Vietnam is prone to natural disasters in the rainy season between June and November
Malta offers to repair Gaza aid ship in drone strike row
But Prime Minister Robert Abela said the Freedom Flotilla Coalition must first allow a maritime surveyor on board to inspect the “Conscience” and determine what repairs are needed.
The pro-Palestinian activists had pointed the finger at Israel, which has blockaded the Gaza Strip throughout its military campaign against Hamas, for the attack.
If the ship can be fixed at sea, it will be, but otherwise it will be towed under Maltese control to the Mediterranean island for repairs, paid for by Malta.
“In the last few hours there was insistence that first the boat comes into Maltese waters and then the surveyor is allowed onboard,” Abela said.
“Before a vessel — any vessel — is allowed to enter Maltese waters then control must be in the hands of Maltese authorities, especially when we are talking about a vessel with no flag, no insurance.”
In an online press conference, members of the coalition who had been due to board the Conscience in Malta — including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg — said they had agreed to allow the inspection.
“When we received this offer from the Maltese government, we consulted with all of our Flotilla Coalition committee members who are on board,” said Brazilian FFC volunteer Thiago Avila.
“And their decision is that this is a good proposition from the Maltese government,” he said.
“As long as they can guarantee ... Conscience will not be stopped when it wants to leave on the humanitarian mission to take aid to Gaza.”
The activists explained the Conscience has no flag because the government of the Pacific nation of Palau had announced that they were withdrawing their registration on Friday, the day of the alleged strike.
Otherwise, they insisted they had made every effort to comply with international maritime law when embarking on the mission to take aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
According to the Flotilla Coalition, the Conscience was attacked in international waters as it headed for Malta on Friday, causing a fire that disabled the vessel and minor injuries to crew members.
Maltese and Cypriot rescuers responded. No government has confirmed the Conscience was the victim of drones, but Cyprus’s rescue agency said it had been informed by the island’s foreign ministry of an Israeli strike.
The Israeli military did not provide an immediate response when contacted by AFP.
First reported by CNN, a flight tracking service showed that an Israeli C-130 military cargo plane had been in the area immediately before the incident and had made several low altitude sweeps over the area.
Israel is known for conducting covert operations beyond its borders, including several during the Gaza war that it only acknowledged later.
The activists said the strike appeared to target the boat’s generator.
Thunberg told reporters that the incident should not distract from the focus of the boat’s mission to Gaza.
“What we are doing here is to try our very best to use all the means that we have to do our part, to keep trying to break the inhumane and illegal siege on Gaza and to open up humanitarian corridors,” she said.
Ukraine’s Zelensky: Ceasefire with Russia possible at any moment
PRAGUE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that a ceasefire with Russia in its more than three-year-old war is possible at any moment.
Zelensky, speaking at a joint news conference in Prague alongside Czech President Petr Pavel, also said that Ukraine hopes to receive 1.8 million shells in 2025 under a Czech initiative to provide military assistance.
Indonesian president inaugurates Hajj and Umrah airport terminal in Jakarta
- Indonesian Hajj pilgrims have started departing for Saudi Arabia since Friday
- Kingdom’s Makkah Route initiative will be implemented at new Hajj and Umrah terminal
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto inaugurated on Sunday a special terminal for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims at Jakarta’s international airport, where travel will also be facilitated under Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Route initiative.
Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim-majority population, sends the highest number of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims every year.
As pilgrims around the world have already begun to make their way to Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year, about 221,000 people will be coming from Indonesia.
“The government wants to give the best service for our pilgrims. We also understand that many of our pilgrims are seniors, and so we must take very good care of them,” Subianto said during the inauguration ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
“We understand that our pilgrims have saved up for a long time, and even waited for a long time, and so the government under my leadership will do our very best to give the best services and work hard to lower the cost of Hajj.”
The airport’s 2F terminal area, which has undergone renovations, has been transformed into a dedicated area for Indonesia’s Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. It was developed to serve 6.1 million travelers annually, according to a statement issued by the Cabinet Secretariat.
The launch event was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal Abdullah Amodi, as well as other Indonesian ministers, including Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.
Special counters for Saudi immigration, which are part of the Kingdom’s Makkah Route initiative, have also been set up at the new terminal.
The program launched in Muslim-majority countries in 2019 allows Hajj pilgrims to fulfill all visa, customs and health requirements in one place, at the airport of origin, and save long hours of waiting before and upon reaching the Kingdom.
In Indonesia, pilgrims departing from the cities of Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo are benefiting from the Makkah Route initiative.
“As President Prabowo said, this is proof of the government’s commitment to give the best service, especially for our senior pilgrims. He is also proud of the modern and comfortable facilities that have been set up,” Umar, the religious affairs minister, said on social media.
Thousands of Indonesian pilgrims have begun to depart for Saudi Arabia, after the first Hajj flights commenced last Friday.
Though the pilgrimage itself can be performed over five or six days, many pilgrims arrive early to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their religious duty.
In 2025, the Hajj is expected to take place on June 4 and end on June 9.
Five policemen kidnapped in southwestern Pakistan
QUETTA: A separatist militant group in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday claimed an attack on a prison van in which five police officers were taken hostage.
Between 30 and 40 gunmen blocked a major highway that cuts across Balochistan province overnight on Friday, intercepting a prison van being transported by a police team, a police official said.
“The prisoners were released later but five policemen have been kidnapped,” a senior police official in the area, who was not authorized to speak to the media, told AFP on Sunday.
He said a rescue operation was underway.
The gunmen also set fire to government buildings and a bank in the area.
A senior government official, who asked not to be named, said that two gunmen were killed by security forces.
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces, foreign nationals, and non-locals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active group in the region, claimed the assault in Kalat district.
The BLA has previously targeted energy projects receiving foreign financing — most notably from China.
In March, the group seized a train, taking hundreds of passengers hostage and killing off-duty security forces in a three-day seige.
Two dead, 31 injured in Croatia bus crash
- he health ministry, cited by state news agency Hina, said several badly hurt people had undergone operations in hospital
ZAGREB: Two people died and 31 people were injured when a Bosnian-registered coach and a car crashed into each other in Croatia on Sunday, police and medical staff said.
The accident occurred at 3:00 am (0100 GMT) on a busy freeway some 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the capital, Zagreb.
The casualties were taken to nearby hospitals, police spokeswoman Maja Filipovic told AFP, adding that an investigation had been launched to determine the causes.
The health ministry, cited by state news agency Hina, said several badly hurt people had undergone operations in hospital.
Photos published by local media showed a double-decker bus lying on its side in the middle of the freeway with its windows broken.
