Saudi FM discusses Gaza situation with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt and Morocco
Updated 28 October 2023
Arab News
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed the situation in Gaza with his counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco during separate phone calls on Saturday.
In the call with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Prince Faisal discussed the dangerous developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings, the continued harm to unarmed civilians due to the escalation in Israeli military operations, and the importance of the international community playing its role in preventing the forced displacement of the people of Gaza.
The two ministers also discussed ways to intensify communication with international parties to put an end to the military escalation and enable the delivery of relief aid and medical equipment, in addition to finding a just and comprehensive solution that meets the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
Prince Faisal discussed similar matters during phone calls with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
ISLAMABAD: More than 50 Pakistanis, who had been imprisoned in Sri Lanka, were due to return home on Sunday, Pakistani state media reported.
The return of these Pakistani prisoners follows months of diplomatic negotiations between Pakistani and Sri Lankan authorities.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi spearheaded the efforts to secure their release, while Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan announced bearing all expenses in this regard.
“A chartered flight has left for Sri Lanka to bring the Pakistani prisoners back,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
Naqvi expressed his gratitude to the Sri Lankan government and the high commissioner for their support in this regard, according to the report.
Sri Lankan High Commissioner Ravindra Chandra Srivijay Gunaratne met Naqvi in July and discussed with him matters of mutual interest, including the release of Pakistani nationals imprisoned in Sri Lanka.
A total of 23,456 Pakistani citizens are imprisoned in various countries, local media reported, citing the Pakistani Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.
Of them, 15,587 have been convicted of different offenses and 7,869 are under-trial.
Nearly 1,000 migrants cross Channel into UK on same day as 4 killed
Figure for Saturday is the highest single-day number of migrants making the cross-Channel journey this year
On same day, a boy and three adults died after overloaded boats got into trouble during the crossing
Updated 36 min 56 sec ago
AFP
LONDON: A record 973 migrants crossed the Channel on small boats on the same day in which four died while attempting the journey from France to England, UK Home Office figures showed Sunday.
The figure for Saturday is the highest single-day number of migrants making the cross-Channel journey this year, surpassing the previous high of 882 set on June 18.
On the same day, a two-year-old boy and three adults died after overloaded boats got into trouble during the dangerous crossing attempted by several thousand every year.
The tragedies bring the number of migrants killed attempting Channel crossings this year to 51, according to Jacques Billant, France’s prefect for the Pas-de-Calais region.
Over 26,600 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats in 2024 according to UK Home Office figures.
The deaths on Saturday were likely caused due to the victims being crushed in overloaded dinghies, according to authorities and prosecutors.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Saturday that it was “appalling that more lives have been lost in the Channel.”
“Criminal smuggler gangs continue to organize these dangerous boat crossings,” she wrote on X.
“The gangs do not care if people live or die — this is a terrible trade in lives.”
Keir Starmer’s new Labour government has been at pains to reduce cross-Channel arrivals in small boats, a key issue in this year’s general election in July.
The government has repeatedly pledged to “smash the gangs” of people smugglers who organize the perilous journeys.
JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesians rallied in front of the US Embassy in Jakarta on Sunday to protest Washington’s “double standard” policy on Palestine as they mark a year since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Indonesia has been a staunch supporter of Palestine for decades, with its people and authorities seeing Palestinian statehood as mandated by their own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism.
Protesters were mostly dressed in black and white and wore traditional Palestinian scarves on Sunday morning as they waved Palestinian flags and carried banners reading: “Free Palestine,” “Forgive us Gaza,” and “Stop Genocide.”
A group of protesters who had marched toward the US embassy were holding mock-ups of dead Palestinian babies while others stepped on a banner featuring a portrait of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We are standing here in front of a building housing an embassy, or we can say, the ‘Embassy of Double Standards, the United States.’ We are here to reject all forms of double standard, because we are no different than our brothers in Palestine. This is not a religious issue … this is an issue for humanity,” Abdullah Muharrik, one of the protest’s youth coordinators, told demonstrators.
“As we mark one year of genocide, we must remember that this did not begin on Oct. 7 last year, this started more than 70 years ago, and we must note that the colonization that took place … must be abolished.”
Israeli forces have killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 94,000 others since they escalated attacks on Gaza last October, according to estimates from the strip’s health ministry.
The real toll, however, is believed to be much higher as the ministry’s data does not include people buried under rubble, those who died of their injuries or who starved to death, as Israeli forces have been blocking international aid.
Sunday’s demonstration in Jakarta was organized by an alliance of Islamic mass organizations and youth groups, which also called for the new Indonesian government to continue fighting for a free Palestine and to reject normalizations with Israel.
Demonstrators hold placards and wave Palestinian and Indonesian flags during a pro-Palestinian rally on the eve of the first anniversary of the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Jakarta on Oct. 6, 2024. (AFP)
Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo Subianto will take office on Oct. 20 to replace incumbent President Joko Widodo, whose cabinet included Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who has been vocal in representing Jakarta’s support for Palestine. The Southeast Asian nation has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
The protest in the Indonesian capital also called on the US not to veto UN Security Council resolutions, as such moves would “destroy humanity.”
Sarah Motiva, from the youth-led community group dedicated to Palestine advocacy Baik Berisik, urged demonstrators to continue voicing their support for Palestinians.
“We have the power of social media, creativity and spirited souls to use (social media) platforms to continue advocating for Palestine, so we can win with our pro-Palestine narrative in the world,” Motiva said.
“Continue to educate as many young people as possible to make noise on social media, so that we can pressure zionist Israel.”
Indonesian protesters have held a number of huge demonstrations since the beginning of Israel’s deadly onslaught on Gaza, calling for a permanent ceasefire in the besieged enclave and demanding Washington to stop its support for Tel Aviv.
Indonesians in other parts of the country, including Bandung, West Java and Surabaya, East Java, also took to the streets on Sunday in solidarity with Palestine.
“Our demonstration today is nothing compared to what our (Palestinian) comrades have to go through — oppression and genocide — at the hands of zionist Israel,” Amirsyah Tambunan, secretary general of the Indonesian Ulama Council, said at the Jakarta rally.
“Let us continue to voice up for justice, let us continue to reject oppression and genocide … Free Palestine!”
Floods in Bangladesh leave five dead, thousands stranded
Updated 06 October 2024
Reuters
DHAKA: At least five people have died and more than 100,000 remain stranded as devastating floods, triggered by heavy rains and upstream torrents, continue to ravage northern Bangladesh, officials said on Sunday.
In Sherpur, one of the hardest-hit northern districts, the water levels of major rivers have surged, submerging new areas and displacing thousands of families.
Local authorities fear widespread damage to agriculture, with crops and farmlands, particularly rice fields, facing potential devastation. Many homes and roads are under several feet of water, cutting off villages and leaving residents in desperate need of rescue.
“I have never seen such flooding in my life,” said Abu Taher, a resident of the district.
Army personnel, using boats and helicopters, have joined rescue efforts, delivering emergency supplies and evacuating those trapped by the floods.
Bridges have collapsed, and roads have been submerged, making it difficult for local authorities to reach affected areas.
“Our priority is to evacuate people to safe shelters and provide them with essential supplies,” said Sherpur district administrator Torofdar Mahmudur Rahman.
He said another decomposed body, suspected to have floated from India, had been found.
The low-lying nation of 170 million has experienced multiple floods this year, underscoring its vulnerability to climate change. A 2015 World Bank Institute analysis estimated that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh are at risk of annual river flooding, a risk scientists say is worsening due to global climate change.
As water levels continue to rise, concerns grow about the long-term impact on the region’s agriculture, particularly rice crops. If the floodwaters do not recede soon, the economic toll on farmers could be severe.
Adding to the worries, the weather office has predicted more rain in the coming days, raising fears of further inundation.
The floods in August in eastern Bangladesh, which left more than 70 dead, caused damage estimated at $1.20 billion, according to a study by the Center for Policy Dialogue, a leading think-tank.
The United Nations and its partners have launched a $134 million humanitarian appeal to provide urgent relief and support to communities affected by ongoing floods and cyclones in Bangladesh.
Israeli aircraft launched “air strikes with three missiles targeting... three trucks loaded with food and medical supplies inside an Iranian car factory,” the monitor said
Updated 06 October 2024
AFP
BEIRUT: An Israeli strike in Syria on Sunday targeted trucks transporting aid for Lebanese people, wounding three aid workers, a war monitor said, the latest such attack on the country.
Israeli aircraft launched “air strikes with three missiles targeting... three trucks loaded with food and medical supplies inside an Iranian car factory... in southern Homs,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The attack destroyed the trucks and wounded three aid workers, said the British-based monitor with a network of sources inside Syria.
“The trucks crossed over from Iraq to provide humanitarian aid to Lebanese people” affected by intensifying Israeli strikes, it added.
On Friday, Lebanon said an Israeli air strike on the Syrian border cut off the main international road linking the two countries.
Israel has repeatedly targeted the border area in recent days because it says Hezbollah is bringing in weapons across the border from ally Syria.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of country’s civil war in 2011, mainly targeting army positions and Iran-backed fighters, including those of Hezbollah.
Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes but have said repeatedly they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence in Syria.
