DHAKA: Bangladesh on Sunday sought cooperation from China to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar during a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who promised better trade ties, investment and support for infrastructure development in the South Asian nation.
China had used its influence in Myanmar to broker a November 2017 agreement to repatriate about 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar in August that year. Despite attempts to send them back, the refugees refused, fearing danger in Myanmar, which was exacerbated by the military takeover last year.
Yi arrived in Dhaka on Saturday evening and met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen. They discussed bilateral and global issues before his departure on Sunday morning, said Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh’s junior minister for foreign affairs.
Bangladesh has strong relations with China, which is a major trade partner mostly for raw materials. But maintaining close ties with Beijing is challenging for Bangladesh, which also balances diplomatic and trade relationship with both India and the United States, China’s main rivals.
More than 500 Chinese companies are active in Bangladesh. China is involved in the country’s all major infrastructure projects such as seaports, a river tunnel and highways, and helped build its largest bridge over the River Padma at a cost of $3.6 billion.
Amid recent tensions between China and Taiwan, Bangladesh issued a statement reiterating its support for the “one-China” policy. After winning elections in 2008, Hasina’s administration closed the Taiwanese business representative office in Dhaka in response to a request from China, and since then China has increased its engagement in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s garment industry, which brings in more than 80 percent of foreign currency from exports, is heavily dependent on China for raw materials.
On Sunday, Yi told Hasina during a courtesy call that his country considers Bangladesh as a “strategic development partner” and would continue to support it, said Ihsanul Karim, the presidential press secretary.
The United News of Bangladesh agency reported that Yi also promised to stand beside Bangladesh “on all issues at international forums.”
The Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, state-run news agency, reported that Hasina raised the global tensions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow, saying “people (across the world) are enduring difficult times … South Asia, Southeast Asia and China can work together for economic progress.”
Alam said that Yi agreed to expand trade benefits by raising to 98 percent duty-free access from current 97 percent of Bangladeshi products and services to Chinese markets.
“It’s a good news for Bangladesh as we have a thriving economy based on exports,” Alam said. “Now they have offered another 1 percent from Sept. 1,” he said, adding that the new tax advantage is likely to include garments, woven and other products that had previously faced some barriers.
He said Bangladesh would get a list from China soon about the products and services that would get duty-free access.
Alam said that Yi explained to the Bangladeshi foreign minister that “some countries misunderstand and misinterpret” China. He did not elaborate.
But Momen told reporters separately that the Chinese minister mentioned that a section of Taiwanese people was being provoked against the sovereignty of China.
The junior minister said China pledged to work continuously to resolve the Rohingya crisis and quoted Yi as saying that the internal challenges in Myanmar were not only troubling Bangladesh but also other countries.
”Our foreign minister strongly reiterated that Chinese cooperation is needed. China has progressed on resolving the Rohingya issue and we need the situation to come to an end,” Alam said.
On Sunday, Bangladesh and China signed or renewed four agreements and memorandums of understanding on disaster management, infrastructure and cultural exchanges.
Analyst Munshi Faiz Ahmad, who served as Bangladeshi ambassador in Beijing, said that Yi’s visit was very significant for both countries.
“To resolve the Rohingya crisis Bangladesh needs support from China. This visit will help strengthen the bilateral relations,” Ahmad told The Associated Press.
“To us, China is very important. We also need to maintain good relations with both India and the United States as they are also very important development partners of Bangladesh. There is nothing to be afraid of because of Bangladesh’s close ties with China,” he said.
Bangladesh seeks China help to repatriate Rohingya refugees
https://arab.news/62syu
Bangladesh seeks China help to repatriate Rohingya refugees
- Despite attempts to send Rohingya refugees back, they refused, fearing danger in Myanmar, which was exacerbated by the military takeover last year
The Australian Senate debates the world’s first social media ban for children under 16
The bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts.
It is likely to be passed by the Senate on Thursday, the Parliament’s final session for the year and potentially the last before elections, which are due within months.
The major parties’ support for the ban all but guarantees the legislation will become law. But many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences.
Unaligned Sen. Jacqui Lambie complained about the limited amount of time the government gave the Senate to debate the age restriction, which she described as “undercooked.”
“I thought this was a good idea. A lot of people out there thought it was a good idea until we looked at the detail and, let’s be honest, there’s no detail,” Lambie told the Senate.
Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical but necessary.
“The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.
“This is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago, but for too long they have shirked these responsibilities in favor of profit,” she added.
Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minor Greens party, said mental health experts agreed that the ban could dangerously isolate many children who used social media to find support.
“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly carried the bill 102 votes to 13.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland urged senators to pass the bill which she said reflected the Australian community’s view.
“The ... government is on the side of supporting parents and protecting young people,” Rowland told the House.
Once the legislation becomes law, the platforms would have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.
The platforms complained that the law would be unworkable, and urged the Senate to delay the vote until at least June next year when a government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies made its report on how young children could be excluded.
Critics argue the government is attempting to convince parents it is protecting their children ahead of general elections due by May. The government hopes that voters will reward it for responding to parents’ concerns about their children’s addiction to social media. Some argue the legislation could cause more harm than it prevents.
Criticisms include that the legislation was rushed through Parliament without adequate scrutiny, is ineffective, poses privacy risks for all users, and undermines parental authority to make decisions for their children.
Opponents of the bill also argue the ban would isolate children, deprive them of the positive aspects of social media, drive them to the dark web, discourage children too young for social media to report harm and reduce incentives for platforms to improve online safety.
Explosions heard in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi – media reports
- Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper urged residents to stay in shelter in a message on the Telegram app
Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa and the city of Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine on Thursday morning amid reports of a Russian cruise missile attack, Ukrainian news outlet Zerkalo Tyzhnya and other local media reported.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper urged residents to stay in shelter in a message on the Telegram app.
Norway, World Wide Fund for Nature square off in court over deep sea mining
- Norway could become one of the first countries to authorize seabed mining, arguing the importance of not relying on China for minerals essential for renewable technology
- WWF-Norway is also calling on the Norwegian government to stop giving public support to mining companies for the exploration phase and to allocate these funds to independent research institutions
OSLO: The World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) Norwegian chapter will have its day in court Thursday, after it sued Norway for opening up its seabed to mining before performing sufficient impact studies.
Already Western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, Norway could become one of the first countries to authorize seabed mining, arguing the importance of not relying on China for minerals essential for renewable technology.
While deep-sea mining is contentious due to its potential impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems, Norway’s parliament in January formally gave its green light to open up parts of its seabed to exploration.
“We believe the government is violating Norwegian law by now opening up for a new and potentially destructive industry without adequately assessing the consequences,” Karoline Andaur, CEO of WWF-Norway, said in a statement.
Norway “must halt the rushed process, must actively support a national and global moratorium — a temporary ban on seabed mining until there is sufficient knowledge,” Andaur said in an online meeting earlier in November.
With their lawsuit, WWF-Norway is also calling on the Norwegian government to stop giving public support to mining companies for the exploration phase and to allocate these funds to independent research institutions.
That would help “to close the many knowledge gaps about marine life,” Andaur said.
The trial will run until December 5.
On April 12, Norway’s Ministry of Energy announced that it was opening up an area of the Norwegian Sea and Greenland Sea to exploration, with the aim of awarding the first licenses in the first half of 2025.
Within the area, which is the size of the United Kingdom, it has designated locations covering 38 percent of the area suitable for exploration for a first licensing round.
“Before any exploitation can begin, it has to be shown that the proposed exploitation can take place in a sustainable and responsible manner,” Astrid Bergmal, state secretary at the energy ministry, told AFP in an email.
The first projects will also have to be approved by parliament, Bergmal added.
“The first phase will consist of mapping and exploration, which has little environmental impact,” she said.
But critics see this stage as a first step toward exploitation.
According to several NGOs, opening up the seabed poses an additional threat to an ecosystem that is little-known and has already been weakened by global warming.
Possible dangers include the destruction of marine habitats and organisms, noise and light pollution, as well as the risk of chemical leaks from machines and species being displaced.
Norwegian authorities meanwhile stress that by allowing the prospecting they want to fill in the gaps in knowledge.
In early 2023, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate published a report concluding that “substantial resources are in place on the seabed” including minerals such as copper, zinc and cobalt.
Thousands left queuing to vote in Namibia after scheduled polls close
- The vote could usher in the desert nation’s first woman leader even as her party, the ruling SWAPO, faces the strongest challenge yet to its 34-year grip on power
- SWAPO’s candidate and current vice president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is being challenged by IPC leader Panduleni Itula, a former dentist and lawyer
WHINDHOEK: Logistical issues on Wednesday left thousands of Namibians waiting in queues to vote in pivotal presidential and legislative elections, some for up to 12 hours, with polling stations staying open hours later than planned.
The vote could usher in the desert nation’s first woman leader even as her party, the ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) faces the strongest challenge yet to its 34-year grip on power.
Some voters told AFP they queued all day, blaming technical problems that included issues with voter identification tablets and insufficient ballot papers.
“It’s absolutely disappointing,” said Reagan Cooper, a 43-year-old farmer among the hundred or so voters outside the town hall polling station in the capital Windhoek.
“The voters have turned out, but the electoral commission has failed us,” Cooper told AFP.
In the face of criticism from all the political parties, including SWAPO, the Electoral Commission of Namibia extended voting hours for “no specified time,” according to Windhoek region ECN head Rakondjerua Kavari.
Voting was halted for an hour at the Windhoek town hall site due to a lack of ballots, with applause welcoming the delivery of more waking sleepy, seated voters around 11:30 pm.
The last voter there cast his ballot more than four hours after the scheduled closing time — 9:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) — and vote counting then began almost immediately.
According to Namibia’s electoral law, those in queues before polls are scheduled to close should be allowed to vote.
Petrus Shaama, chief officer of the ECN, said it was obligated to ensure voters could cast a ballot.
But the main opposition party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), blamed the ECN for the long lines and cried foul play.
“We have reason to believe that the ECN is deliberately suppressing voters and deliberately trying to frustrate voters from casting their vote,” said Christine Aochamus of the IPC.
Armed with folding chairs and umbrellas to cope with the slow-moving lines and blazing sun, many Namibians spent half the day waiting to vote.
At one polling station inside the University of Science and Technology in Windhoek, hundreds of people were still in line at 9:00 p.m. despite some having arrived at 6:00 am, an hour before polls opened.
Polling site managers told AFP that problems with tablets used to check voters’ identities using fingerprints included untimely updates, overheating and dead batteries.
SWAPO’s candidate and current vice president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, was one of the first to vote and called on Namibians “to come out in their numbers.”
An estimated 1.5 million people in the sparsely populated nation were registered to vote.
SWAPO has governed since leading mineral-rich Namibia to independence from South Africa in 1990 but complaints about unemployment and enduring inequalities could force Nandi-Ndaitwah into an unprecedented second round.
IPC leader Panduleni Itula, a former dentist and lawyer, said Wednesday he was optimistic he could “unseat the revolutionary movement.”
Itula, 67, took 29 percent of votes in the 2019 elections, losing to SWAPO leader Hage Geingob with 56 percent. It was a remarkable performance considering Geingob, who died in February, had won almost 87 percent five years before that.
Namibia is a major uranium and diamond exporter but not many of its nearly three million people have benefitted from that wealth.
“There’s a lot of mining activity that goes on in the country, but it doesn’t really translate into improved infrastructure, job opportunities,” said independent political analyst Marisa Lourenco, based in Johannesburg.
“That’s where a lot of the frustration is coming from, (especially) the youth,” she said.
Unemployment among 15- to 34-year-olds is estimated at 46 percent, according to the latest figures from 2018, almost triple the national average.
First-time voter and environmental health student Sophia Varela, 24, told AFP she was “hoping for change” and “jobs for the youth.”
For the first time in Namibia’s recent history, analysts say a second voting round is a somewhat realistic option.
That would take place within 60 days of the announcement of the first round of results due by Saturday.
“The outcome will be tight,” said self-employed Hendry Amupanda, 32, who queued since 9:00 p.m. the night before to cast his ballot.
“I want the country to get better and people to get jobs,” said Amupanda, wearing slippers and equipped with a chair, blanket and snacks.
Marvyn Pescha, a self-employed consultant, said his father was part of SWAPO’s liberation struggle and he was not going to abandon the party.
“But I want SWAPO to be challenged for better policies. Some opportunistic leaders have tarnished the reputation of the party, they misuse it for self-enrichment,” the 50-year-old said.
While lauded for leading Namibia to independence, SWAPO is nervous about its standing after other liberation-era movements in the region have lost favor with young voters.
In the past six months, South Africa’s African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority and the Botswana Democratic Party was ousted after almost six decades in power.
Taiwan holds air, sea drills as China keeps up pressure
China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949, but Beijing considers it part of its territory and has refused to renounce the use of force to bring the island under its control.
Beijing regularly deploys fighter jets, drones and warships around Taiwan, and occasionally balloons, as it keeps up military pressure.
The early morning exercise was aimed at testing “the response and engagement procedures of air defense units,” Taiwan’s Air Force Command said in a statement.
“Various types of aircraft, ships, and air defense missile systems were deployed from 5:00 am to 7:00 am,” the statement said, without providing details.
The last time the Air Force Command held such drills was in June, a month after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te took office.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported Thursday it had detected two Chinese balloons over waters north of the island.
The balloons were spotted on Wednesday afternoon in two locations about 111 kilometers (69 miles) northwest and 163 kilometers north of Keelung City.
That follows the sighting of a Chinese balloon on Sunday over the same waters.
Along with the two balloons, 13 Chinese military aircraft and seven navy vessels were spotted around Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6:00 am on Thursday, the ministry said.
Taiwan lives under the constant threat of a Chinese invasion and has ramped up defense spending in recent years to strengthen its military capabilities.
The island has a home-grown defense industry but also relies heavily on arms sales from Washington, which is Taiwan’s most important partner and biggest provider of weapons and ammunition.
Taiwan has described the balloons as a form of “grey zone” harassment — a tactic that falls short of an act of war.
