As new year approaches, Bangladeshis flock to world’s longest beach

Cox’s Bazar beach in southern Bangladesh can be seen in this photo. (File/Unsplash)
Cox’s Bazar beach in southern Bangladesh can be seen in this photo. (File/Unsplash)
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Updated 27 December 2023
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As new year approaches, Bangladeshis flock to world’s longest beach

Cox’s Bazar beach in southern Bangladesh can be seen in this photo. (File/Unsplash)
  • Cox’s Bazar has 120km of uninterrupted stretch of sand
  • It has recently become popular during end-of-year holidays

COX’S BAZAAR: Running along the waters of the Bay of Bengal, the coast of Cox’s Bazar is the favorite place for Bangladeshis to welcome the new year, as they enjoy sunsets on the world’s longest beach.

Located on the country’s southern edge, Cox’s Bazar has in recent years become synonymous with the largest refugee settlement, as it is hosting some 1 million Rohingya who fled persecution and deadly violence in Myanmar in 2017

Few outside Bangladesh know that the coastal district that lies 400 km south of the capital Dhaka is home to a 120-km uninterrupted stretch of sand.

Chains of green hills parallel to the beach and its warm shark-free waters are also a site of old Hindu temples and Buddhist viharas, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, especially in late December.

Sultana Sharmin tries to take her family to Cox’s Bazar every winter, as she takes a year’s end break from her work at a bank in Dhaka and her children are on school holidays.

“Sitting here on the beach reenergizes me every time. It takes away all my tiredness of everyday city life. That’s why I visit this coast again and again,” Sharmin told Arab News.

To reach the coast from Dhaka takes about eight hours by road or train, or an hour by air — a trip not all Bangladeshis can afford.

“Most of the local tourists dream of visiting Cox’s Bazar at least once in a lifetime. People come here usually in winter, as the sea is calm and quiet during this period of the year,” Sharmin said.

“To me, the most beautiful thing about this beach is the sunset here. When the sun slowly disappears in the sea, it looks heavenly. Words can’t express my joy of seeing this sight.”

There are about 500 hotels and guesthouses in the city, with Cox’s Bazar Chamber of Commerce president Abu Morshed Chowdhury estimating that they have received some 100,000 local tourists in the past two days.

The number is set to grow over the weekend, as the peak season gains momentum.

But while Bangladeshis would always visit the coast between December and February, when the weather is pleasant and temperate, it has only in the past decade become popular during end-of-year holidays.

“Since 2008 or 2009, it has been a trend to gather in Cox’s Bazar to enjoy the holidays and welcome the New Year,” said Saifullah Sifat who has been working as a lifeguard on the Cox’s Bazar beach for the past 10 years.

“People start coming in huge numbers to Cox’s Bazar beach from the beginning of December as the winter school vacation starts. We are under much pressure during those days as it’s very tough to watch so many people at a time. My team remains extra vigilant to avoid accidents. But since it’s winter, the sea remains mostly calm.”

For visitors from Dhaka, trips to Cox’s Bazar are a chance to feast on fresh seafood and breathe clean air — both scarcities in their city that is one of the world’s most densely populated and most polluted.

“The air is very fresh and clean here,” said Abdus Sobhan, a businessman who arrived in Cox’s Bazar with his wife and three daughters.

“Another interesting thing about Cox’s Bazar is the seafood. Different types of sea fish are available in restaurants here. Among them, I like the pomfret most. It’s a bit costly but the freshness of the fish compensates the price. I don’t get sea fish this fresh in the capital.”

Sobhan likes to start his vacation days with a morning trip on Marine Drive, an 80-km road that runs along the Bay of Bengal from Cox’s Bazar city to Teknaf, the southernmost point in mainland Bangladesh.

“It is built beside the beach. All along the way, people can enjoy the vast view of the sea,” he said.

“Bangladesh has very small land and we don’t have many natural tourist sights. But we are blessed with the longest sand beach in the world.”


China coast guard says it conducted patrols around Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea

China coast guard says it conducted patrols around Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea
Updated 10 sec ago
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China coast guard says it conducted patrols around Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea

China coast guard says it conducted patrols around Scarborough Shoal in South China Sea
  • Tensions between China and the Philippines over disputed areas of the South China Sea have escalated throughout the year, particularly over the Scarborough Shoal
BEIJING: China’s coast guard said it had conducted patrols around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday to safeguard China’s territorial rights.
The coast guard has continued to strengthen law enforcement patrols in the territorial waters and surrounding areas of Scarborough Shoal since the beginning of November, and “resolutely safeguarding the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” it said in a statement.
Tensions between China and the Philippines over disputed areas of the South China Sea have escalated throughout the year, particularly over the Scarborough Shoal.

13 more killed in Pakistan sectarian fighting

13 more killed in Pakistan sectarian fighting
Updated 13 min 22 sec ago
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13 more killed in Pakistan sectarian fighting

13 more killed in Pakistan sectarian fighting
  • Fresh fighting broke out last Thursday when two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort were ambushed, killing more than 40

Peshawar: Sectarian feuding in northwest Pakistan killed 13 more people, a local government official said Saturday, as warring Sunnis and Shiites defied repeated ceasefire orders in recent conflict claiming 124 lives.
Pakistan is a Sunni-majority country, but Kurram district — in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan — has a large Shiite population and the communities have clashed for decades.
Fresh fighting broke out last Thursday when two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort were ambushed, killing more than 40.
Since then 10 days of fighting with light and heavy weapons has brought the region to a standstill, with major roads closed and mobile phone services cut as the death toll surged.
A Kurram local government official put the death toll at 124 on Saturday after 13 more people were killed in the past two days.
Two were Sunni and 11 Shiite, he said, whilst more than 50 people have been wounded in fresh fighting which continued Saturday morning.
“There is a severe lack of trust between the two sides, and neither tribe is willing to comply with government orders to cease hostilities,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Police report that many people want to flee the area due to the violence, but the deteriorating security situation makes it impossible,” he added.
A seven-day ceasefire deal was announced by the provincial government last weekend but failed to hold. Another 10-day truce was brokered Wednesday but it also failed to stymie the fighting.
A senior security official in the provincial capital of Peshawar, also speaking anonymously, confirmed the total death toll of 124.
“There is a fear of more fatalities,” he said. “None of the provincial government’s initiated measures have been fully implemented to restore peace.”
Police have regularly struggled to control violence in Kurram, which was part of the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas until it was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 79 people had been killed in the region between July and October in sectarian clashes.
The feuding is generally rekindled by disputes over land in the rugged mountainous region, and fueled by underlying tensions between the communities adhering to different sects of Islam.


Schools shut as heavy storm approaches India coast

Schools shut as heavy storm approaches India coast
Updated 59 min 4 sec ago
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Schools shut as heavy storm approaches India coast

Schools shut as heavy storm approaches India coast
  • Cyclonic storm Fengal is forecast to make landfall in Tamil Nadu state with sustained winds of 70-80 kilometers an hour
  • The forecast urged fishing crews to stay off the water and predicted surging waves of one meter that posed a flood risk

BENGALURU: Schools in India’s south were shut and hundreds of people moved inland to storm shelters ahead of a powerful cyclone storm set to hit the region on Saturday.
Cyclonic storm Fengal is forecast to make landfall in Tamil Nadu state with sustained winds of 70-80 kilometers an hour (43-50 mph) in the afternoon, India’s weather bureau said.
The forecast urged fishing crews to stay off the water and predicted surging waves of one meter (three feet) that posed a flood risk to low-lying coastal areas.
Schools and colleges in numerous districts across Tamil Nadu were shut and at least 471 people had been moved to relief camps, the Economic Times newspaper reported.
Cyclones — the equivalent of hurricanes in the North Atlantic or typhoons in the northwestern Pacific — are a regular and deadly menace in the northern Indian Ocean.
Fengal skirted the coast of Sri Lanka earlier this week, killing at least 12 people including six children.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world heats up due to climate change driven by burning fossil fuels.
Warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, which provides additional energy for storms, strengthening winds.
A warming atmosphere also allows them to hold more water, boosting heavy rainfall.
But better forecasting and more effective evacuation planning have dramatically reduced death tolls.


Thailand flooding kills nine, displaces thousands

Thailand flooding kills nine, displaces thousands
Updated 30 November 2024
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Thailand flooding kills nine, displaces thousands

Thailand flooding kills nine, displaces thousands
  • ‘Very heavy rain’ could continue to affect some areas of the country’s south through next week
  • The government has deployed rescue teams to assist affected residents

BANGKOK: Flooding driven by heavy rains in southern Thailand has killed nine people and displaced more than 13,000, officials said Saturday, as rescue teams using boats and jet skis worked to reach stranded residents.
Local media footage showed residents wading through murky, chest-deep water and cars submerged in flooded streets.
“Flooding across eight provinces in southern Thailand has affected 553,921 households and claimed nine lives, prompting agencies to mobilize urgent assistance,” the country’s disaster agency said on its official Facebook page.
More than 13,000 people had been forced to flee their homes, with temporary shelters set up in schools and temples, it added.
Nampa, a resident of coastal Songkhla province, told state broadcaster Thai PBS she was concerned about the dwindling food supplies.
“We are doing fine now, but I am not sure how long can we stay in this condition,” she said.
Two hospitals in nearby Pattani province suspended operations to prevent floodwaters from damaging medical facilities.
In neighboring north Malaysia, the rains have forced the evacuation of at least 80,000 people to temporary shelters this week, with disaster officials there saying at least four people have been killed.
The Thai Meteorological Department has warned that “very heavy rain” could continue to affect some areas of the country’s south through next week.
The government has deployed rescue teams to assist affected residents and designated 50 million baht ($1.7 million) in flood relief for each province.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Friday on social media platform X that the goal was to “restore normalcy as quickly as possible.”
While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains, scientists say man-made climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
Widespread flooding across the country in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.


Stealth destroyer to be home for first hypersonic weapon on a US warship

Stealth destroyer to be home for first hypersonic weapon on a US warship
Updated 30 November 2024
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Stealth destroyer to be home for first hypersonic weapon on a US warship

Stealth destroyer to be home for first hypersonic weapon on a US warship
  • The USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated

The US Navy is transforming a costly flub into a potent weapon with the first shipborne hypersonic weapon, which is being retrofitted aboard the first of its three stealthy destroyers.
The USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. Once the system is complete, the Zumwalt will provide a platform for conducting fast, precision strikes from greater distances, adding to the usefulness of the warship.
“It was a costly blunder but the Navy could take victory from the jaws of defeat here, and get some utility out of them by making them into a hypersonic platform,” said Bryan Clark, a defense analyst at the Hudson Institute.
The US has had several types of hypersonic weapons in development for the past two decades, but recent tests by both Russia and China have added pressure to the US military to hasten their production.
Hypersonic weapons travel beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, with added maneuverability making them harder to shoot down.
Last year, The Washington Post reported that among the documents leaked by former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was a defense department briefing that confirmed China had recently tested an intermediate-range hypersonic weapon called the DF-27. While the Pentagon had previously acknowledged the weapon’s development, it had not recognized its testing.
One of the US programs in development and planned for the Zumwalt is “Conventional Prompt Strike.” It would launch like a ballistic missile and then release a hypersonic glide vehicle that would travel at speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound before hitting the target. The weapon system is being developed jointly by the Navy and Army. Each of the Zumwalt-class destroyers would be equipped with four missile tubes, each with three of the missiles for a total of 12 hypersonic weapons per ship.
In choosing the Zumwalt, the Navy is attempting to add to the usefulness of a $7.5 billion warship that is considered by critics to be an expensive mistake despite serving as a test platform for multiple innovations.
The Zumwalt was envisioned as providing land-attack capability with an Advanced Gun System with rocket-assisted projectiles to open the way for Marines to charge ashore. But the system featuring 155 mm guns hidden in stealthy turrets was canceled because each of the rocket-assisted projectiles cost between $800,000 and $1 million.
Despite the stain on its reputation, the three Zumwalt-class destroyers remain the Navy’s most advanced surface warship in terms of new technologies. Those innovations include electric propulsion, an angular shape to minimize radar signature, an unconventional wave-piercing hull, automated fire and damage control and a composite deckhouse that hides radar and other sensors.
The Zumwalt arrived at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in August 2023 and was removed from the water for the complex work of integrating the new weapon system. It is due to be undocked this week in preparation for the next round of tests and its return to the fleet, shipyard spokeswoman Kimberly Aguillard said.
A US hypersonic weapon was successfully tested over the summer and development of the missiles is continuing. The Navy wants to begin testing the system aboard the Zumwalt in 2027 or 2028, according to the Navy.
The US weapon system will come at a steep price. It would cost nearly $18 billion to buy 300 of the weapons and maintain them over 20 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Critics say there is too little bang for the buck.
“This particular missile costs more than a dozen tanks. All it gets you is a precise non-nuclear explosion, some place far far away. Is it really worth the money? The answer is most of the time the missile costs much more than any target you can destroy with it,” said Loren Thompson, a longtime military analyst in Washington, D.C.
But they provide the capability for Navy vessels to strike an enemy from a distance of thousands of kilometers — outside the range of most enemy weapons — and there is no effective defense against them, said retired Navy Rear Adm. Ray Spicer, CEO of the US Naval Institute, a think tank, and former commander of an aircraft carrier strike force.
Conventional missiles that cost less aren’t much of a bargain if they are unable to reach their targets, Spicer said, adding the US military really has no choice but to pursue them.
“The adversary has them. We never want to be outdone,” he said.
The US is accelerating development because hypersonics have been identified as vital to US national security with “survivable and lethal capabilities,” said James Weber, principal director for hypersonics in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies.
“Fielding new capabilities that are based on hypersonic technologies is a priority for the defense department to sustain and strengthen our integrated deterrence, and to build enduring advantages,” he said.