Indonesia probes deadly blast at Chinese-owned nickel plant

Indonesia probes deadly blast at Chinese-owned nickel plant
Victims get treatment at Morowali Regional Hospital after an explosion at the nickel smelter furnace owned by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) in Central Sulawesi province on Dec. 24, 2023. (Antara)
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Updated 26 December 2023
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Indonesia probes deadly blast at Chinese-owned nickel plant

Indonesia probes deadly blast at Chinese-owned nickel plant
  • Sunday’s explosion is the third deadly incident at Chinese-owned nickel plants in Indonesia
  • Indonesia holds the world’s largest nickel reserves, at around 21 million tons

Jakarta: The death toll from an explosion at a Chinese-owned nickel plant in Indonesia’s Sulawesi island rose to 18 on Tuesday, with police ordering the facility to halt operations to investigate the incident.  

More than 40 people were also injured in the fire that occurred early Sunday morning at Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel, the latest in a series of deadly incidents at nickel smelting plants in Central Sulawesi province, which has Indonesia’s largest reserves of the metal. 

Nickel is a key component in global battery production for electric vehicles, and Indonesia accounts for about 21 million tons of it, or 22 percent of the global reserves, according to the US Geological Survey. 

“Up until today, we note that 18 victims died from the incident. This includes 10 Indonesian workers and eight Chinese workers,” Dedy Kurniawan, spokesperson of the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park where ITSS is located, said in a statement on Tuesday.  

“The company entrusts to the authorities the process of investigating this work accident in ITSS and guarantees cooperation with all parties regarding recommendations to handle the impacts that may arise in accordance with the applicable legal system.” 

A team of investigators from regional and national police is probing the incident. 

“For now, ITSS’s operations are halted until there are results from our investigation,” Agus Nugroho, Central Sulawesi police chief, told reporters.  

Indonesia has been trying to develop downstream nickel industries and attract foreign investment from manufacturers of electric vehicles and their batteries, signing more than a dozen deals worth over $15 billion just in the last three years.  

Over the last decade, Central Sulawesi’s Bahodopi district, where IMIP is located, has grown from a village of a few hundred residents to become home to thousands of workers, many of whom are working for Chinese-funded companies.  

Fifty-seven workplace-related deaths and 76 injuries befell workers across various nickel-mining sites in Indonesia between 2015 and 2020, according to Indonesian energy nonprofit Trend Asia. Many took place at the IMIP, a vast joint venture with China’s Tsingshan Holding Group.  

“Work accidents due to poor working conditions in Indonesia’s mining industry are like the tip of the iceberg,” Melky Nahar, national coordinator at the Mining Advocacy Network, told Arab News. “At IMIP, at least three deadly work accidents have occurred (this year).”  

He added that both Indonesian and Chinese workers employed at mining facilities in Sulawesi face unsafe and unstable working conditions. 

“These conditions are hidden, sometimes even maintained, by the companies. The government also couldn’t care less. When workers protest, they face intimidation, violence, and even imprisonment,” Nahar said.  


UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity

UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity
Updated 01 November 2024
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UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity

UK schools see rise in white poppy interest to show Gaza solidarity
  • Britons wear red poppies in November to remember fallen servicemen, women
  • White poppy makes distinction of also remembering civilian casualties of war

London: Schools in the UK are ordering large numbers of white poppies for children to show solidarity with the people of Gaza, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The UK celebrates Remembrance Sunday every November to reflect on the sacrifices made by men and women who have served the country, with red poppies traditionally worn to commemorate the dead and raise money for veterans and their families.

The white poppy has gained popularity in recent years as an alternative, having first been worn in 1933 by those wishing to promote peace rather than celebrate war, and to remember civilians as well as combatants.

The Peace Pledge Union, the organization that distributes white poppies, said it received increased orders from schools this year, with teachers citing the war in Gaza as a key reason for children wanting to wear them. Demand went up 27 percent since the start of the war in October last year, it added.

“It is heartening that a growing number of young people are turning to the white poppy, for the light it sheds on today’s conflicts,” said Geoff Tibbs, a project manager at the PPU.

“Many are alienated by the mainstream tradition of Remembrance Day, as it fails to acknowledge civilians and people of other nationalities affected by wars today.”

Schools that offer white poppies to pupils also tend to offer red ones, which are provided by a military charity, the Royal British Legion.

An RBL spokesman told the Telegraph: “The RBL defends the right to wear different poppies. The RBL’s red poppy honours all those who have sacrificed their lives to protect the freedoms we enjoy today; including the freedom to wear the poppy of your choice.”


Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin

Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin
Updated 01 November 2024
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Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin

Germans should leave Iran or risk being held hostage, says Berlin

BERLIN: Germany has long had a travel warning for Iran and asked nationals to leave because, as seen from the execution of a German-Iranian national, Tehran takes German citizens hostage, said a foreign ministry spokesperson in Berlin on Friday.
“We have long had a travel warning for Iran and a request to Germans in Iran to leave the country because we saw from the Jamshid Sharmahd case that Iran is taking German citizens hostage,” said the spokesperson at a government news conference.
“We want to spare other German citizens this fate.”


Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites

Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites
Updated 01 November 2024
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Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites

Filipinos honor their dead with flowers, food in All Saints’ Day rites
  • All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are jointly referred to in the Philippines as Undas
  • Around 4 million Filipinos are expected to head to their native provinces this weekend

Manila: Millions of Filipinos flocked to cemeteries across the country on Friday, braving massive crowds, traffic, and extreme weather to honor their departed loved ones during the annual holidays dedicated to the dead.

The threats posed by a tropical storm in parts of the Philippines this week could not stop the throngs of people at seaports, airports, and bus terminals as they rushed from the main cities to their family towns and villages for Undas — the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day celebrations.

In Manila, school and work stopped at noon on Oct. 31 to give people enough time to travel and avoid heavy traffic, as authorities expected around 4 million to head to their native provinces this weekend.

Preparations for the holiday usually begin days in advance, with families cleaning their ancestral graves, lighting candles, and placing flower bouquets on the tomb markers.

“We visit our dearly departed every chance we get. It’s just that on this day, everyone in the family is present,” said Maria Imelda Austria, a 51-year-old teacher for whom Undas was also an occasion to uphold her mother’s tradition.

“I make sure my parents get the nicest flower arrangements to keep my promise to them (to do so) when they were still alive. Also, we try to do what my mother used to do, that is pray the rosary and pray for the poor souls in purgatory.”

The tradition in the Catholic-majority nation is one of the many religious practices passed on by the Spanish who colonized the Philippines for over 300 years.

The Filipino word “Undas” stems from the Spanish phrase “Dia de los Todos Santos” or “All Saints’ Day.”

Food plays a significant role in the observance, with more traditional communities preparing their deceased relatives’ favorite dishes and serving them on their graves as an offering. Some households spread grains of uncooked rice on the floor to track the brief earthly visits of the departed, which are believed to occur during Undas. A change in the grain placement signifies that the spirits of their relatives have passed through.

For most, however, the holiday becomes an opportunity for family reunions, making it a highly anticipated event for Filipinos that usually calls for feasts.

“It is a happy occasion because we get to see our relatives and bond with them while enjoying food,” Anna Maria Batungbacal, a 46-year-old civil servant, told Arab News.

“But it can be sad as well when you remember those that aren’t with you anymore, especially when someone has just recently passed.”

For Criena House, the Undas reunions were like a “potluck,” with everyone bringing food.

“Everyone from different parts of the Philippines will come home. Sometimes they’ll be from other countries,” the 34-year-old actress-entrepreneur said.

“You just eat, you catch up with family, you can play music depending on where you are … It’s not rude to do that. It’s okay to smile and take pictures and pose with your family and the dead behind you.”

Undas is also an experience of learning about her community and its history — something she remembers from childhood, when her mother would take her around to the different grave sites of people she knew or who had a significant impact on their lives.

Her mother would point to a grave, exclaiming “that used to be my teacher over there, that used to be the ex-mayor over there,” she said.

The tradition is something House is keen to pass on to her Filipino-American husband and 2-year-old son.

“I had to explain to my husband that this is not just a day, it’s also kind of like a special week, like Thanksgiving or Christmas,” she said.

“He’s still adjusting to it, but for me it’s very fun because I’m seeing everyone, even if I don’t know the people around me. It’s like you’re getting to know your community.”


North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks

North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks
Updated 01 November 2024
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North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks

North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks
  • The visit comes after Pyongyang tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile this week
  • Washington says there are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia

MOSCOW: North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has arrived in Moscow and will hold strategic consultations with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the ministry, in a post on her official Telegram channel, published photographs of Lavrov meeting Choe at a Moscow train station.
“Today, talks between the heads of Russia and the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) will be held in Moscow. Sergei Lavrov greeted his counterpart with a bouquet of flowers,” said Zakharova.
“The meeting began at the Yaroslavsky railway station (in Moscow), where a memorial plaque was unveiled to mark the occasion of Kim Il Sung’s 1949 visit to the USSR,” she said, referring to the founder of the DPRK.
The visit, Choe’s second in six weeks, comes after Pyongyang tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile this week and as Washington says there are 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia, including as many as 8,000 deployed in Russia’s Kursk region where Ukrainian troops have dug in.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the United States expected the North Korean troops in Kursk region to enter the fight against Ukraine in the coming days.
Moscow has neither denied nor directly confirmed the presence of North Korean troops on its soil. President Vladimir Putin has said it is for Russia to decide how to implement a treaty he signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June that includes a mutual defense clause.


Shootout in western France wounds five: minister

Shootout in western France wounds five: minister
Updated 01 November 2024
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Shootout in western France wounds five: minister

Shootout in western France wounds five: minister
  • 15-year-old boy is between life and death after the gunbattle erupted in front of a restaurant overnight

Paris: A drug trafficking-related shooting has left a teenager and four others seriously wounded in the western French city of Poitiers, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Friday.
The 15-year-old boy is between life and death after the gunbattle erupted in front of a restaurant overnight, Retailleau told BFMTV/RMC radio.