SINGAPORE: A Bangladeshi migrant worker is suing his ex-employer and dormitory operator in Singapore, accusing them of “false imprisonment” after he was locked in his room during a coronavirus outbreak.
The majority of Singapore’s more than 58,000 cases have been among low-paid migrants living in crowded dormitories, sparking criticism of the affluent city-state’s treatment of its foreign workforce.
Construction worker Rahman Mohammad Hasibur filed a claim last week for Sg$215,000 ($163,000) in damages, according to documents submitted in court and seen by AFP.
Staff at his dormitory, run by Joylicious Management, had locked Hasibur and up to 20 other workers in their room on April 19, after one of their roommates was thought to have contracted the virus and was transferred to a medical facility.
During this time they were only able to use the toilet by calling a guard to come and escort them. Some of the men were running fevers and the room was hot and poorly ventilated, the documents said.
After Hasibur reached out to TWC2, a NGO that supports migrants, the workers were transferred to a new room with an attached toilet which was also locked from the outside.
In total, they were confined for 43 hours.
“The plaintiff and his fellow migrant workers were robbed of their dignity and deprived of their fundamental human rights during the false imprisonment,” Hasibur’s claim says.
Officials found the dormitory operator had confined the workers with consent from their employer, V. Spec Engineering & Supplies, and imposed a hiring freeze on the company.
Hasibur, who has since returned to Bangladesh, alleged the actions of his employer and the dorm operator put him and his roommates at risk of contracting the virus and caused them emotional distress.
“Should I succeed in my action, I hope that it will deter other employers and dormitory operators from similar actions toward their employees and residents in their care,” Hasibur said in a statement.
A representative at Joylicious declined to comment when contacted by AFP while V. Spec has not responded to emailed requests for comment.
Bangladeshi migrant worker sues Singapore employer for virus ‘imprisonment’
https://arab.news/5xq29
Bangladeshi migrant worker sues Singapore employer for virus ‘imprisonment’
- Construction worker Rahman Mohammad Hasibur filed a claim last week for Sg$215,000 ($163,000) in damages
- Staff at his dormitory had locked Hasibur and up to 20 others in their room after a roommate was thought to have contracted the virus
Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump for exemption from order suspending refugee relocation
- Estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021
- Trump’s administration says US Refugee Admissions Program will be suspended from Jan. 27 for three months
ISLAMABAD: Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support US troops.
An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when US troops pulled out of the country after two decades. They want to resettle in the US via an American government program set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the US government, media, aid agencies and rights groups.
But in his first days in office, Trump’s administration announced the US Refugee Admissions Program would be suspended from Jan. 27 for at least three months. During that period, the White House said that the secretary of homeland security in consultation with the secretary of state will submit a report to the president whether the resumption of the program is in the US interest.
“Many of us risked our lives to support the US mission as interpreters, contractors, human rights defenders, and allies,” an advocacy group called Afghan USRAP Refugees — named after the US refugee program — said in an open letter to Trump, members of Congress and human rights defenders.
“The Taliban regards us as traitors, and returning to Afghanistan would expose us to arrest, torture, or death,” the group said. “In Pakistan, the situation is increasingly untenable. Arbitrary arrests, deportations, and insecurity compound our distress.”
Hadisa Bibi, a former student in Kabul who fled to neighboring Pakistan last month, said she read in newspapers that Trump suspended the refugee program.
“Prior to restrictions on women’s education in Afghanistan, I was a university student,” she said. “Given the risks I face as a women’s rights advocate, I was hoping for a swift resettlement to the United States. This would not only allow me to continue my higher education but also offer a safer and brighter future.”
She said she witnessed several Afghans arrested by Pakistani police, which left her in fear, “confined to my room like a prisoner.”
According to the Afghan USRAP Refugees group, flights to the US for many Afghans had been scheduled for January, February and March after they were interviewed by the International Organization for Migration and US Embassy officials.
“We seek the reversal of the ban on the refugee program on humanitarian ground,” said Ahmad Shah, a member of the group, who was hoping to leave Pakistan for the United States in March after undergoing all interviews and medical tests.
Turkiye detains nine people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 76
- 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after fire started on restaurant floor on Tuesday
- Authorities are facing growing criticism over hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off
ANKARA: Turkiye has detained nine people, including the owner of the hotel, in connection with a deadly fire that claimed the lives of 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in western Turkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early Wednesday.
Yerlikaya also reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed over to their families, while DNA tests were being conducted to identify the remaining bodies at the forensic institute.
The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the Bolu mountains.
The hotel, where the fire broke out, expressed deep sorrow in a statement on Wednesday and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.
“We are cooperating with authorities to shed light on all aspects of this incident,” the statement said. “We are deeply saddened by the losses and want you to know that we share this pain with all our hearts.”
The 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after the fire started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. Survivors described scenes of panic as they fled through smoke-filled corridors and jumped from windows to escape.
Authorities are facing growing criticism over the hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off during the incident. Guests said they had to navigate the smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.
President Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning following the tragedy, which occurred during the peak of the winter tourism season, with many families from Istanbul and Ankara traveling to the Bolu mountains for skiing.
UK chief legal adviser signed letter saying Israeli policies could 'amount to apartheid'
- Jewish Cabinet member Lord Hermer was involved in British decision to withdraw objections to ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu
- Open letter organized in 2023 by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, Balfour Project
LONDON: Lord Hermer, the attorney general for England and Wales, signed an open letter in 2023 that said Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories could “amount to apartheid,” the Daily Telegraph reported.
The letter labeled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government as “far right,” and warned that The Hague could rule that Israeli policy meets the legal description of apartheid.
The letter called on then-Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to avoid intervening in the International Court of Justice case against Israel.
Last July, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful, but stopped short of describing the policy as apartheid.
The letter, organized by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and the Balfour Project, said: “The Israeli government is led by a coalition of far-right parties whose common goal is the formal annexation of the West Bank and the extension of a one-state reality of unequal rights over more than 5 million Palestinians under occupation.
“It is perfectly possible that the court will consider aspects of that situation to amount to apartheid.”
Lord Hermer, one of two Jewish members of the Cabinet, has publicly highlighted his belief in Israel’s right to defend itself, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint him was viewed by some as a sign of the UK taking a stronger position on Israel.
Lord Hermer was involved in the British decision last July to withdraw objections to the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
In August, Lord Hermer refused to approve weapon sales to Israel until it was confirmed that international law was being abided by, during a Foreign Office review into arms transfers to the country.
France arrests new Algerian influencer as tensions soar
- The influencer is one of half a dozen Algerians arrested in France over the last month on accusations of calling for violence on French territory
PARIS: French authorities Wednesday arrested another Algerian social media influencer as tensions soar between Paris and its North African former colony, the interior minister announced.
Rafik M. had “called on Tiktok for the carrying out of violent acts on French territory,” said Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on social media, without saying where he had been arrested.
The influencer is one of half a dozen Algerians arrested in France over the last month on accusations of calling for violence on French territory.
One of them, known as “Doualemn,” was deported to Algeria where the authorities promptly sent him back to France in a move that incensed Retailleau.
Tensions have surged between France and Algeria after President Emmanuel Macron renewed French support for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara during a visit to the kingdom last year.
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is mostly under the de facto control of Morocco. But it is claimed by the Algiers-backed Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, who want a self-determination referendum.
Algeria meanwhile has been holding French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal on national security charges. Sansal, who was arrested at Algiers airport in November, is a major figure in modern francophone literature.
Retailleau, a hard-line rightwinger, has repeatedly accused Algeria of “seeking to humiliate France.”
The far-right in France is urging the government to take tough measures against Algiers, including canceling aid, cooperation agreements and delivering visas.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said earlier this month France would have “no option but to retaliate” if “the Algerians continue to escalate” the row.
But Algeria has rejected France’s accusation of escalation, denouncing a “campaign of disinformation” by Paris.
Retailleau’s hard-line stance on a diplomatic issue has not met with universal approval in France, with influential former foreign minister and prime minister Dominique de Villepin accusing hin of “escalation” and giving into “the temptation of settling scores.”
Defense minister Sebastien Lecornu called on Tuesday for “rebuilding the relationship” between Algeria and France, while expressing regret over “the current excesses of the Algerian government.”
Retailleau himself said in an interview published Tuesday that “we now need to normalize our diplomatic relations with Algeria,” adding that “the time has come to turn the page.”
Algeria won independence from France in 1962 after a ferocious over seven year war and the scars from that conflict have never fully healed.
Indonesia rescuers search for survivors as landslide kills at least 17
- Intense rainfall in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city in Central Java province sparked the landslide on Monday
Pekalongan: Hundreds of rescuers were searching through thick mud and debris to find survivors Wednesday after a rain-triggered landslide in Indonesia killed at least 17 people and left nine missing.
Intense rainfall in a mountainous area near Pekalongan city in Central Java province sparked the landslide on Monday, collapsing bridges and burying cars and houses.
Search and rescue agency Basarnas said in a statement Wednesday that the toll remained unchanged from Tuesday at 17 dead, nine missing and 13 people injured.
But another body was found, Mohammad Yulian Akbar, a local official told AFP later Wednesday, giving a higher toll of 18.
Heavy machinery was deployed to clear road access for search teams and around 200 rescue personnel have been sent to help, Akbar said.
“The focus is to search for the victims,” he said, adding that the local government had declared an emergency in the district for two weeks.
The worst hit area was Kasimpar village according to the local official, where the landslide struck a coffee shop and people who were trying to shelter from the rain.
Police, soldiers and volunteers have joined the search alongside rescue workers, which is taking place around 90 kilometers (60 miles) west of the city of Semarang.
But efforts were intermittently suspended Tuesday as heavy rain continued to pound the area.
The weather forecast for the next three days suggests moderate rain that could “cause floods, flash floods and landslides,” warned Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), on Tuesday.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April.
In November, flooding triggered by intense rains in western Indonesia killed 27 people.
But some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years. Climate change has also increased the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.
In May, at least 67 people died after heavy rains caused flash floods in West Sumatra, pushing a mixture of ash, sand, and pebbles from the eruption of Mount Marapi into residential areas.
