Greece seeks ways to recover migrant girl’s body from border

An inflatable boat is seen on the Evros river, along the natural border between Turkey and Greece, in this screen grab from a handout video, released on August 16, 2022. (Reuters)
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Updated 16 August 2022
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Greece seeks ways to recover migrant girl’s body from border

  • Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi: We will move via the International Red Cross and Red Crescent so that the child’s body can be found on the Turkish islet
  • Greek police said that they had found 38 people — 22 men, nine women and seven children — inside Greek territory and away from the Evros river

THESSALONIKI, Greece: Greece says it will work with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent to seek the body of a child who a group of asylum-seekers said had died of a scorpion sting while they were stranded for days on the Greek-Turkish border.
Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said Tuesday that the islet on the Evros River — which runs along much of the land border — where the group said the young girl’s body was, was Turkish territory.
“We will move via the International Red Cross and Red Crescent so that the child’s body can be found on the Turkish islet and can come to be buried with dignity by her family,” Mitarachi said.
Greek police said on Monday they had found 38 people — 22 men, nine women and seven children — inside Greek territory, away from the river and about four kilometers (2.5 miles) south of where the group had been reported to be stranded. Mitarachi, who on Tuesday visited the migrant reception center where the group were taken in northeastern Greece, said the 35 Syrians and three Palestinians were in good health, and that one pregnant woman among them had been taken to hospital for precautionary reasons.
Greek authorities had come under withering criticism for days after aid organizations had said a group of people was stranded in increasingly precarious conditions on an islet in the Evros river, known as the Meric in Turkish. Greek police said last week that they had chased successive reports of migrants stranded on islets in the river but had found nobody. Greece had said the coordinates given to them placed the group in Turkey, not Greece.
Late Monday, Turkish authorities said a search mission had been launched following media and social media reports that 39 irregular migrants were trapped on an islet in the river.
The governor’s office for the border province of Edirne said nobody was found after a four-day search by Turkey’s emergency agency AFAD, and by border units in the area corresponding to coordinates given for the islet.
“A search activity was carried out and no immigrant or group of immigrants was found,” the statement said.
The head of the Greek Council for Refugees, Vassilis Papadopoulos, said his group first heard about the migrants in mid-July. He said about 50 people had allegedly crossed to the Greek side but were then forced back to Turkey. Migrants also told his organization that Turkish authorities allegedly returned them to one islet after another, until they ended up stuck on a Greek islet mid-river.
Speaking from northeastern Greece on Tuesday, Mitarachi said the group told Greek authorities they had entered Greek territory on Aug. 14 and hid for a day before sending their location details. He said the migrants told Greek authorities they had been taken to the river by Turkish authorities, who had forced them to attempt the crossing to Greece.
“Officially the Turkish authorities arrested these migrants within Turkey, they did not give them the right to apply for international protection, as Turkey is bound to do by international law,” Mitarachi said. “To the contrary, the Turkish gendarmerie brought them to the banks of the Evros and, with the threat of the use of violence, pressured them to come to Greece.”
Thousands of people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa try to cross into Greece from Turkey each year, hoping for a better life in Europe. Greece denies that it carries out pushbacks — summarily deporting those who reach its territory back to Turkey without allowing them to request asylum — both at sea and across the Evros River, despite persistent allegations from both rights organizations and migrants themselves. Pushbacks are illegal under international law.


Kabul residents name their newest mosque after Gaza

Updated 6 sec ago
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Kabul residents name their newest mosque after Gaza

  • Gaza Mosque is located in Qua-ye-Markaz, near Kabul’s famous carpet market
  • Opened this month, the two-story mosque was funded from public donations

KABUL: In an act of solidarity and to honor the victims of Israel’s war on Gaza, residents of the Afghan capital have named their newest mosque after the Palestinian enclave.

Opened on Jan. 11, the Gaza Mosque is located in the Qua-ye-Markaz area of Kabul, close to business plazas and the city’s famous carpet market.

A two-story building, which can accommodate some 500 worshippers, it was funded from public donations on land provided by the Kabul municipality.

“The mosque was named Gaza Mosque to acknowledge the struggle and sacrifices of the men, women, children, youth and elders in Gaza in defending their land,” Hajji Habibudin Rezayi, a businessman who led the fundraising, told Arab News.

“There were a few name suggestions before the completion of the mosque’s construction, including Palestine, Aqsa and Gaza. Most of the campaign participants voted for Gaza as a symbol of solidarity.”

There is widespread support for Palestine among Afghans — many of whom know what it means to live under foreign occupation as they endured it during the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan War and the 20 years of war following the US invasion in 2001.

Afghanistan was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestinian National Council’s declaration of independence in 1948. Every successive Afghan government has stood by Palestine in the wake of Israel’s wars against it and the occupation of Palestinian land.

Since the beginning of Israel’s latest deadly assault on Gaza in October 2023, which has destroyed most of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure and killed tens of thousands of civilians, imams at Afghan mosques have regularly held special prayers for Palestinian freedom.

When a ceasefire was announced last week, celebrations were organized both in Afghan households and in public spaces.

“Afghans have been trying to help as much as they can to send support to Palestinians in terms of donations, prayers and other acts of solidarity,” said Abduraqib Hakimi, the imam of the Gaza Mosque.

“Every Muslim and human must have some solidarity with the people of Palestine and Gaza for what they have gone through during the past year and a half.”

Worshipers at the mosque told Arab News that they hoped that their country could do more.

“Israel’s actions in Palestine are nothing but genocide,” one of them, Asadullah Dayi, said.

“Innocent women and children were killed, and houses were destroyed. There has never been so much oppression in the history of Islam like the Zionist oppression of the Palestinians.”


Three years after restoring ties, Thailand sees growth in exchanges with Saudi Arabia

Updated 7 min 4 sec ago
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Three years after restoring ties, Thailand sees growth in exchanges with Saudi Arabia

  • Last week, Saudi FM led Kingdom’s delegation at inaugural meeting of Saudi-Thai Coordination Council
  • With increase in trade relations, Thai Board of Investment opened an office in Riyadh in July last year

Bangkok: Three years into the reestablishment of ties with Saudi Arabia, Thais say that they are observing new opportunities and the growth of relations.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand were officially restored in January 2022, during Thailand’s former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Riyadh, when the two countries agreed to appoint ambassadors for the first time in more than three decades.

The visit was reciprocated in November that year, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Bangkok as a guest of honor at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and became the first Saudi official to make such a trip.

Many agreements and official exchanges have since followed. Not only the volume of trade between the two countries has significantly increased, but also people-to-people exchanges and political consultations.

The ties were further solidified last week, when Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Thailand, leading the Kingdom’s delegation at the inaugural meeting of the Saudi-Thai Coordination Council. The meeting drove further bilateral cooperation in politics, consular affairs, security and military ties, culture, tourism, economy and trade.

Alhuda Chanitphattana, a Middle East expert from Bangkok University, told Arab News that while over the past three years there has been significant growth in various industries, especially tourism and cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises, last week’s visit marked another milestone in relations.

“The Jan. 16 meeting was a hopeful step in the history of our ties,” she said.

“The Saudi foreign minister was here himself, bringing along the press, and the meeting was able to set up a number of significant collaborations.”

The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimated that since the restoration of ties, the number of Saudis visiting the Southeast Asian nation has risen threefold, as it expected 300,000 Saudi travelers in 2025.

Since the resumption of diplomatic relations in 2022, bilateral trade has grown by more than 30 percent, surpassing $7 billion. Key Thai exports include automobiles, wood products and canned seafood, while Saudi Arabia primarily exports crude oil, chemicals and fertilizers to Thailand.

The upside is seen especially in the automobile sector.

“Thailand’s car and car parts export to Saudi Arabia grew by 40-50 percent in the past year due to more demand in the Kingdom,” Chanitphattana said. “Thai mechanics are in high demand now.”

The establishment of a Thailand Board of Investment office in Riyadh in July 2024 has also underscored the country’s commitment to supporting Saudi Vision 2030 and attracting investors from the Kingdom.

“There was a Thai exporter of essential oils who was earlier based in Dubai, but after 2022, he moved to Riyadh and opened an office in King Abdullah Financial District,” Chanitphattana said, adding that the Thai Chamber of Commerce is open to helping other businesses match with Saudi counterparts.

One such entrepreneur is Manoj Atmaramani, who in 2022 was among the first Thais to join a hotel, restaurant and cafe/catering event in Saudi Arabia.

That visit bore fruit. Today, Atmaramani exports tea and coffee products to the Kingdom and his business is growing.

“Now Saudi people can travel here, and Thai people can travel there. I have taken many Saudi businesspeople to my factory. I have also visited coffee factories in Saudi Arabia. I would advise the Thai businesspeople to present themselves at the business exhibitions in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

“Saudi Arabia is my first export market outside of Southeast Asia. My product lines have expanded since.”


South Korea to release preliminary report of Jeju Air crash by Monday

Updated 25 January 2025
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South Korea to release preliminary report of Jeju Air crash by Monday

  • One area under investigation is what role a bird strike played in the Dec. 29 crash of flight 7C2216
  • It will take several months to analyze and verify flight data and cockpit voice recordings

SEOUL: South Korea will release by Monday a preliminary report on last month’s Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people, the deadliest air disaster on the nation’s soil, the transport ministry said on Saturday.
One area under investigation is what role a bird strike played in the Dec. 29 crash of flight 7C2216 as it arrived at Muan International Airport from Bangkok, according to a ministry statement.
The report will be sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization as well as the United States, France and Thailand, the ministry said. Seoul has been cooperating with investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board and France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety.
It will take several months to analyze and verify flight data and cockpit voice recordings, which stopped recording four minutes and seven seconds before the crash, and communication recordings with the control tower, the ministry said.
At 08:58:11 a.m., the pilots discussed birds flying under the Boeing 737-800, then declared mayday at 08:58:56, reporting a bird strike while the plane was on a go-around, the statement said. Airport CCTV footage also showed the plane making “contact” with birds during the go-around, it said.
Previously the ministry had said the pilots issued the distress signal due to bird strikes before going around.
The jet crashed at 9:02:57 a.m., slamming into an embankment and bursting into flames that killed everyone aboard except for two crew members in the tail section.
The surveillance footage was taken from too far away to see if there was a spark from the bird strike but it “confirmed the plane making contact with birds, though the exact time is unclear,” a ministry official told Reuters.
Duck feathers and blood were found in both of the plane’s GE Aerospace engines, the ministry said.
The ministry said it would conduct a separate analysis of the role of the concrete embankment that supported navigation antennas called “localizers.” The ministry said on Wednesday that it would remove the embankment, which experts said likely made the disaster more deadly.


India probes mystery illness after 17 die: reports

Updated 25 January 2025
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India probes mystery illness after 17 die: reports

SRINAGAR: Authorities in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir were investigating a mysterious disease that has claimed the lives of 17 people, local media reports said Saturday.
The deaths, including those of 13 children, have occurred in the remote village of Badhaal in Jammu’s Rajouri area since early December.
The village was declared a containment zone earlier this week with around 230 people quarantined, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.
All of the fatalities had damage to the brain and nervous system, Amarjeet Singh Bhatia, who heads Rajouri’s government medical college, said.
“The winter vacations have also been canceled to deal with the medical alert situation,” PTI quoted Bhatia as saying.
The victims were members of three related families.
The federal government has launched an investigation with health minister Jitendra Singh saying an initial probe suggested the deaths were “not due to any infection, virus or bacteria but rather a toxin.”
“There is a long series of toxins being tested. I believe a solution will be found soon. Additionally, if there was any mischief or malicious activity, that is also being investigated,” PTI quoted Singh as saying.
In a separate medical incident, authorities in the western city of Pune recorded at least 73 cases of a rare nerve disorder.
Those infected with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) include 26 women and 14 of the patients are on ventilator support, PTI quoted an official as saying.
In GBS, a person’s immune system attacks the peripheral nerves, according to the World Health Organization.
The syndrome can impact nerves that control muscle movement which may lead to muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the legs of arms and those infected can face trouble swallowing and breathing.


Apartment building collapses in central Turkiye, trapping 2 people

Updated 25 January 2025
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Apartment building collapses in central Turkiye, trapping 2 people

ISTANBUL: Rescuers were battling to reach two people trapped under a collapsed apartment building in central Turkiye on Saturday, officials said, with three others had already been rescued. No deaths were reported.
The collapse comes as there is renewed focus on building safety following the deaths of 78 people in a hotel fire Tuesday.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 79 people were registered as living in the four-story apartment block in the city of Konya, some 260 kilometers (160 miles) south of the capital Ankara.
TV images showed emergency workers sifting through a large pile of rubble Saturday morning following the building’s collapse Friday evening.
Those remaining under the debris were Syrian nationals, Yerlikaya said, adding that the cause of the building collapse was not immediately known. “If there is a fault, negligence or anything else, we will learn it together,” he told journalists.
The incident occurred just three days after a fire ripped through a 12-story hotel at a ski resort in northwestern Turkiye, killing 78 people. The investigation into the blaze is examining whether proper fire prevention measures were in place.
Questions over building safety have resurfaced two weeks before the second anniversary of an earthquake that hit southern Turkiye and north Syria, killing more than 59,000. The high death toll was due in part to building safety regulations being ignored.
In 2004, a 12-story apartment building collapsed in Konya, claiming the lives of 92 people and injuring some 30 others. Structural flaws and negligence were blamed for the collapse.