LONDON: An overloaded boat carrying migrants capsized before dawn Saturday in the English Channel, killing at least six people and leaving more than 50 others to be rescued, according to French authorities.
About 65 people were estimated to have boarded the boat and two people may still be lost at sea, the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said.
When rescuers plucked people from the waters, six were initially in critical condition. One of those, who was flown by helicopter to a Calais hospital, was pronounced dead and the other five later perished and were ferried to shore.
“This morning, a migrant boat capsized off Calais," French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on social media. "My thoughts are with the victims.”
The deaths come as Britain’s ruling Conservative party has sought to stop crossings of small, often unseaworthy, boats with a variety of policies that have come under fire for failing to stem the flow of migrants.
French authorities noted a marked increase in attempted crossings from the coast since Thursday during the onset of milder weather. British authorities said 755 people crossed the channel in small boats Thursday, the highest daily number this year.
Small boat arrivals are down 15% from the number at this point last year. As of Thursday, 15,826 had been detected in the year to date, compared to 18,600 at this time last year.
Last year, five migrants died and four were reported missing while attempting to cross from the northern coast of France. In November 2021, a boat carrying migrants sank, resulting in the deaths of 27 individuals.
U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who said on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that there had been a “tragic loss of life,” met Saturday with Border Force officials.
“This incident is sadly another reminder of the extreme dangers of crossing the Channel in small boats and how vital it is that we break the people smugglers’ business model and stop the boats,” a spokesperson for Braverman said in a statement.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made “stop the boats” a rallying cry and a focus of his political platform but his efforts have faced setbacks.
The centerpiece of policies designed to deter people from risking their lives at sea is legislation that would deport refugees who arrive illegally back to their home country or a safe third country. But plans to fly people to Rwanda have been shot down by an appeals court and are now being appealed by the Supreme Court.
As Conservatives kicked off what they were calling “small boats week,” they hailed the first arrivals Monday of asylum seekers to be housed in what essentially was a floating dormitory moored off England's south coast.
The barge Bibby Stockholm, which had been used to house oil rig workers, was leased to save the 6 million pounds ($7.6 million) spent on hotels each day for some 51,000 asylum seekers.
It was outfitted to house 500 men, but on Friday, the initial 39 on board had to be evacuated when the deadly bacteria that causes legionnaires’ disease was found in the water. The Home Office said no one onboard had become ill.
Charity groups for refugees and members of the opposition Labour Party have strongly criticized Sunak's policies, but even his fellow Tories have heaped criticism for the barge fiasco.
Member of Parliament David Davis said that even if the barge worked properly it would only house a day’s worth of new arrivals and pointed to the need for processing asylum claims more quickly.
“The primary thing that’s been revealed has been the startling incompetence of the Home Office itself,” Davis told BBC Radio 4. "It’s really, really hard to understand how, at all layers, this could not be caught early."
Steve Smith, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais, called the deaths an appalling tragedy that could have been prevented if the U.K. allowed people to apply for asylum in France and travel safely to Britain.
“This terrible loss of life demonstrates yet again the need for a system of safe passage to the UK for refugees," Smith said. “It would put the people smugglers out of business overnight."
A report from a patrol boat about a migrant vessel in distress near Sangatte in France triggered a search and rescue operation Saturday that involved British and French vessels. Three French ships, a helicopter and a plane canvassed the area and two British ships participated in the search.
Three dozen people were taken to the port of Calais on a French boat and at least 22 were taken to Dover by U.K. rescuers.
The incident is under investigation by the Boulogne prosecutor’s office.
6 dead, more than 50 rescued from capsized migrant boat in the English Channel
https://arab.news/rxrbd
6 dead, more than 50 rescued from capsized migrant boat in the English Channel
- Two people may still be lost at sea
Pakistan separatists say they have taken 182 hostages in train attack
The train, which had about 400 passengers, was trapped in a tunnel and the driver was badly wounded, local authorities, police and railway officials said, without confirming the Baloch Liberation Army’s account of hostages.
Security forces said an explosion had been heard near the tunnel and that they were exchanging fire with the militants in a mountainous area.
The BLA, which seeks independence for Balochistan province bordering both Afghanistan and Iran, said it had killed 20 soldiers and shot down a drone. There was no confirmation of that from Pakistani authorities.
The group said it had taken 182 hostages from the train, including Pakistan army members and other security officials traveling on leave.
“Civilian passengers, particularly women, children, the elderly, and Baloch citizens, have been released safely and given a secure route,” it said in a statement emailed to journalists and posted on Telegram.
“The BLA further warns that if military intervention continues, all hostages will be executed.”
The Jaffar Express had been on its way from Balochistan’s capital Quetta to the city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when it was fired on.
Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, condemned the attack and said the government would not make any concessions to “beasts who fire on innocent passengers.”
The Balochistan government has imposed emergency measures to deal with the situation, spokesperson Shahid Rind said, without giving more details.
The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic groups battling the government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources.
The conflict has seen frequent attacks against the government, army and Chinese interests in the region.
Saudi-run terminal in Chittagong expands as major hub for Bangladesh’s foreign trade
- Red Sea Gateway Terminal is the first foreign company to operate Bangladeshi ports
- It is now exploring new opportunities, including in the country’s deep-sea port
DHAKA: Saudi developer Red Sea Gateway Terminal, which last year started operations at Bangladesh’s largest port, plans further expansion as it already facilitates about 10 percent of the country’s imports and exports.
Chittagong Port is the busiest container port on the Bay of Bengal. Last year, it handled about 3.3 million TEU, or 20-foot equivalent units, serving as the main gateway for Bangladesh’s ocean cargo import and export.
RSGT, which in June last year started operations at Chittagong’s Patenga Container Terminal, is the first foreign company operating Bangladeshi ports.
According to its agreement with the Chittagong Port Authority, RSGT will run the terminal for the next 22 years.
“RSGT Chittagong operates 24/7, 365 days a year, ensuring seamless and uninterrupted service for the trade community … Our operations facilitate around 10 percent of Bangladesh’s total imports and exports,” Erwin Haaze, CEO of RSGT Bangladesh, told Arab News on Monday.
“We manage all containerized shipments passing through Patenga Terminal efficiently, facilitating smooth trade for a diverse range of industries, from manufacturing to retail.”
The company is steadily increasing the terminal’s output and is expected to have a maximum annual capacity of 600,000 TEU.
It also plans to more than double its permanent workforce.
“RSGT has plans to invest approximately $170 million in the RSGT Terminal. This investment has already created more than 300 permanent jobs, which are expected to increase to more than 700 when in full operation,” Haaze said.
“Regarding indirect employment, RSGT Chittagong is committed to growing with the community and has engaged with many local vendors to participate in different tasks in RSGT Chittagong. With further expansions, we anticipate generating even more job opportunities in the coming years.”
Following the success of the Patenga Terminal, Saudi investors are exploring more opportunities in port-related sectors in Bangladesh, including the Matarbari Port — the country’s first deep-sea port, which the government wants to build some 120 km south of the Chittagong Port.
Saudi Ambassador to Dhaka Essa Al-Duhailan told Arab News that talks with the relevant authorities were already underway.
“The investment in Chottogram (Chittagong) Bay Terminal is between $300 million and $400 million, and the other one (Matarbari Deep Sea Port) will be maybe $700 million to $800 million,” he said.
“The intention is there, and the willingness is there. The excellent performance of the Saudi company, Red Sea Gateway, is already shown to the Bangladeshis and they are satisfied … The experience is encouraging so far.”
Philippine ex-president Duterte arrested after ICC warrant
- Court estimates death toll from Duterte’s anti-drug campaign could be 30,000
- Any state can comply with ICC arrest warrant, human rights lawyer says
MANILA: Former President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody on Tuesday after the Philippine government said it received an International Criminal Court warrant over his involvement in suspected crimes against humanity related to the country’s bloody “war on drugs.”
The ICC had been investigating Duterte over his administration’s deadly anti-drugs campaign, in which according to official data over 6,000 Filipinos were killed during the ex-president’s six-year term since 2016. ICC prosecutors estimate, however, that the number of extrajudicial killings committed by security forces could be as many as 30,000.
He was arrested at Manila’s main airport after returning from a trip to Hong Kong, the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement.
“Earlier this morning, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court,” the Presidential Communications Office said.
“Upon his arrival, the prosecutor general presented the ICC notification for an arrest warrant against the former president for crimes against humanity … As of now, he is in the custody of the authorities.”
Duterte won the Philippine presidency in 2016 on a promise to eradicate illegal drugs, after serving for more than two decades as mayor of Davao, the second-largest city in the Philippines, where he allegedly ran a deadly anti-drug crackdown with impunity.
The ensuing nationwide campaign drew international condemnation.
The 79-year-old has repeatedly defended the crackdown and denied the extrajudicial killing of alleged drug suspects, although he has also openly admitted to instructing police to kill in self-defense.
Duterte officially withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019 as it began to look into allegations of systematic killings under his leadership.
But under the court’s withdrawal mechanism, it keeps jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while a country was a member. While the Philippine government had refused to cooperate, the Marcos administration signaled in November that it would comply if an arrest warrant was issued.
The Philippines also remains a member of Interpol, which can seek Duterte’s arrest on behalf of the ICC.
“Under the rules of the ICC, any state, whether a state party or non-state party, can accede to the request of the ICC,” human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares told Arab News.
For the families of victims of Duterte’s deadly anti-drug campaign, his arrest has sparked new hopes for justice.
“The families of the victims see a light in, at least a glimmer of light, at the end of the tunnel for their search for justice for their loved ones who were mercilessly killed during the time of President Duterte,” Colmenares, who also serves as one of the legal counsels for the families, said.
“We will demand from President Marcos … that he should pursue the ends of justice, because that is his obligation under the Philippine laws, to execute the law and, of course, afford justice to the Filipino people.”
Rights group Karapatan is also calling on Marcos to make sure that Duterte “is actually delivered to the ICC for detention and trial.”
If transferred to the Hague, Duterte may become Asia’s first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
“(Marcos) should also cooperate in ensuring that Duterte is convicted by making available to the International Criminal Court additional pieces of evidence in the hands of the government,” Maria Sol Taule, Karapatan deputy secretary-general, said in a statement.
“With Duterte’s arrest, the Filipino people are hopefully a step closer to attaining justice and accountability for Duterte’s many crimes.”
Beijing warns UK against ‘provoking tensions’ over South China Sea
- China claims the strategically important waterway in nearly its entirety
- ‘The South China Sea is currently one of the safest and freest maritime routes in the world’
BEIJING: China warned Britain on Tuesday against “provoking tensions” in the South China Sea after its foreign minister David Lammy called Beijing’s actions in the disputed waters “dangerous and destabilising.”
In a video partly filmed alongside a vessel belonging to the Philippine Coast Guard, Lammy on Monday condemned “dangerous and destabilising activities” by Beijing in the South China Sea.
China claims the strategically important waterway in nearly its entirety, despite an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.
Asked about Lammy’s comments, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said “the UK should respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea and refrain from provoking tensions or sowing discord over regional disputes.”
“The South China Sea is currently one of the safest and freest maritime routes in the world,” Mao said.
Beijing has deployed navy and coast guard vessels in a bid to bar Manila from crucial reefs and islands in the South China Sea, leading to a string of confrontations in recent months.
In a Saturday meeting with his Filipino counterpart Enrique Manalo, Britain and the Philippines signed a joint framework to boost defense and maritime cooperation.
The Philippines has similar agreements with the United States, Australia and Japan.
India brings home nearly 300 citizens rescued from Southeast Asian scam centers
- Thousands of people have been freed from cyber scam centers
- Countries are working together to crack down on the criminal networks
NEW DELHI: India has brought home nearly 300 of its nationals who were lured to various southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, with fake job offers and made to engage in cybercrime and other fraudulent activities in scam compounds, the government said.
Thousands of people have been freed from cyber scam centers along the Thailand-Myanmar border this year as countries work together to crack down on the criminal networks.
China and Indonesia repatriated some of their citizens last month.
“Indian embassies in Myanmar and Thailand have coordinated with local authorities to secure the repatriation of 283 Indian nationals today by an IAF (Indian Air Force) aircraft from Mae Sot in Thailand,” India’s foreign ministry said late on Monday.
Thailand arrested 100 people last week as a part of its crackdown on the scam centers.
Criminal gangs have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people to the centers, which generate billions of dollars a year from illegal online schemes, according to the United Nations.
India also warned its citizens against the scams, advising them to “verify” the credentials of foreign employers and check the “antecedents” of recruiting agents and companies before taking up job offers.
