World leaders condemn Russian concert hall attack

World leaders condemn Russian concert hall attack
This video grab taken from a handout footage released by the Russian Investigative Committee on March 23, 2024 shows a law enforcement officer standing inside the Crocus City Hall, a day after a gun attack in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 24 March 2024
Follow

World leaders condemn Russian concert hall attack

World leaders condemn Russian concert hall attack
  • More than 130 people were killed, dozens wounded in Friday’s attack claimed by Daesh 
  • Putin vows retribution for attack, saying perpetrators detained after traveling to Ukraine

PARIS: World leaders denounced a deadly attack by gunmen on a Moscow concert hall that killed more than 130 people and wounded dozens more.
Four gunmen stormed the Crocus City venue before the start of a rock concert on Friday, opened fire on the audience and set fire to the building, in an assault claimed by Daesh.
Here are the reactions from governments and leaders around the world.

President Vladimir Putin vowed retribution for the attack on Saturday, saying the “barbaric, terrorist act” was an “atrocity, a strike against Russia and our people.”

In a televised address, he said all four perpetrators had been “found and detained” after “traveling toward Ukraine.”

Kyiv, facing a Russian military offensive for the past two years, had “nothing to do” with the attack, presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Putin was “just trying to blame it on someone else,” in response to claims the attackers were heading toward Ukraine.
The main intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian defense ministry said the attack was a “deliberate provocation by the Russian special services” to “escalate” the war with Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms,” spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Guterres “conveys his deep condolences to the bereaved families,” he added.
The UN Security Council also offered condolences and urged all states “to cooperate actively” to hold perpetrators and backers of “these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the attack a “heinous crime” saying Washington condemns “terrorism in all its forms.”
The United States stands “in solidarity with the people of Russia in grieving the loss of life from this horrific event,” Blinken said in a statement.
The White House called Daesh “a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.”
Washington warned Moscow this month about a “planned terrorist attack” possibly targeting “large gatherings” in the capital, the White House said.

President Xi Jinping “strongly condemned” the attack and sent condolences to Putin, state media reported.
Xi “stressed that China opposes all form of terrorism, strongly condemns the terrorist attack and firmly supports the Russian government’s efforts to safeguard its national security and stability,” Xinhua news agency said.

The EU said it was “shocked and appalled” by the attack.
“The EU condemns any attacks against civilians. Our thoughts are with all those Russian citizens affected,” said a spokesman.

Britain’s foreign minister David Cameron said the UK condemned “in the strongest terms the deadly terrorist attack.”
“We offer our heartfelt condolences and express our deepest sympathy to the families of the many victims,” he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he “strongly condemns the terrorist attack” claimed by Daesh, according to the Elysee Palace.
“France expresses its solidarity with the victims, their loved ones and all the Russian people,” the palace said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned “the terrible terrorist attack against innocent spectators” in a post on X, adding “our thoughts are with the victims’ families and all those wounded.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the attack an “odious act of terrorism.”
“The horror of the massacre of innocent civilians in Moscow is unacceptable,” Meloni said, expressing her “full solidarity with the affected people and the victims’ families.”

Spain said it was “shocked” by the attack, saying it “condemns any form of violence.”
“Our solidarity with the victims, their families and the Russian people,” the Spanish foreign ministry wrote on X.

The Swedish foreign affairs ministry said on X that it was “appalled by the attack” and condemned “any attacks against civilians.”

“Saddened by tonight’s tragic events in Moscow. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and to all those affected,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X.

The presidency of the Palestinian Authority condemned the attack and “affirmed its solidarity and support for the Russian leadership,” the official Wafa news agency said.

In a letter to Putin, Syrian President Bashar Assad said the attack was linked to the “painful defeats of neo-Nazism” in Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“We condemn this brutal act and all the bloodshed committed by terrorists around the world.”

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in a message to Putin, expressed his condolences, according to the presidency website.
Raisi also called for action by the international community to punish the plotters and perpetrators.

Turkiye’s foreign ministry condemned “this heinous terrorist attack on innocent civilians” and sent condolences to the Russian people and government.

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said on X that he was “shocked to learn of the horrific terror attack in Moscow.”
He expressed solidarity with the Russian people and government “following this heinous attack.”

“We express our support for President Vladimir Putin and raise our voice to categorically reject any act of violence,” said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on X.

“India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of the Russian Federation in this hour of grief,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it “strongly condemns the bloody terrorist attack,” offering “deepest condolences to the Russian leadership” and people.


Bangladesh prepares to send trained nurses to Saudi Arabia in 2025

Bangladesh prepares to send trained nurses to Saudi Arabia in 2025
Updated 19 sec ago
Follow

Bangladesh prepares to send trained nurses to Saudi Arabia in 2025

Bangladesh prepares to send trained nurses to Saudi Arabia in 2025
  • Authorities are preparing to fulfill a Saudi request for 150 Bangladeshi nurses
  • Migration of skilled Bangladeshi workers has been on the rise this year, government data shows

DHAKA: Bangladesh is preparing to send the first batch of trained nurses to Saudi Arabia by early next year, the country’s state-owned recruiting agency told Arab News on Sunday.

Bangladeshi nationals make up the largest group of expatriates in Saudi Arabia, with nearly 3 million working and residing in the Kingdom. But only a few dozen clinicians are among the group, according to Bangladesh Medical Association data.

In 2022, the two countries signed an agreement on the recruitment of health workers, targeting the large numbers of certified doctors, nurses and medics from Bangladesh’s more than 100 medical colleges.

Bangladeshi authorities are now preparing a batch of over 100 nurses to send to Saudi Arabia, said the Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Ltd., a recruitment agency under the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment.

“We got a request to send 150 nurses to the Kingdom … If everything goes alright, we can expect the first batch to (fly out) to the Kingdom early next year,” BOESL Executive Director Shawkat Ali said.

In Saudi Arabia, nurses must undergo the Saudi Prometric Exam in order to practice in the Kingdom. Though Bangladesh has many nursing school graduates, most do not have the required Prometric certifications, he added.

“Our nurses are very skilled and industrious … We have received huge queries for the nurses. But here they need to have the Prometric certification. If we can prepare them in line with the Saudi requirements, it will open new opportunities for our nurses.”

Only around 2 percent of Bangladeshi workers in the Kingdom are skilled professionals, but the number has been on the rise since the beginning of the year, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

Though most Bangladeshi migrant workers are seeking employment in Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects under its Vision 2030 transformation plan, there has also been a growing demand for health workers from the South Asian nation.

“For our economy, exporting trained nurses to the Kingdom is a big opportunity. We are mostly an import-dependent country, so we need huge amounts of dollars to meet the import bills,” Ali said.

“If we can export a significant number of trained medical staffers, they would be able to send back more remittances.”


Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after ‘Oreshnik’ strike

Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after ‘Oreshnik’ strike
Updated 20 min 14 sec ago
Follow

Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after ‘Oreshnik’ strike

Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after ‘Oreshnik’ strike
  • Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the city of Dnipro last week
  • Use of IRBM in response to Ukraine’s firing US ATACMS and UK Storm Shadow missiles
UNDISCLOSED, Ukraine: Ukraine on Sunday showed journalists fragments of the Russian missile used to strike the city of Dnipro last week, after Moscow said it had tested its new Oreshnik ballistic missile.
Russia on Thursday carried out a strike on the city which President Vladimir Putin said was a test of its new Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
Ukraine’s SBU security service displayed metal fragments, ranging from bulky to tiny, on fake grass in front of camouflage netting at an undisclosed location Sunday, AFP journalists saw.
The SBU did not name the missile used but said it was a type they had not seen before.
Oleg, one of its investigators, told journalists that “this is the first time the debris of such a missile has been found on the territory of Ukraine.
“This item had not been documented by security investigators before,” he added.
Oleg said that investigators are examining the fragments and will later “provide answers” on the characteristics of the missile.
He said that the missile was ballistic and had caused damage to civilian and “other infrastructure” in Dnipro.
In a televised address Thursday, Putin said Russia used the IRBM in response to Ukraine’s firing US ATACMS and UK Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory, after the Kyiv allies lifted a ban on it using long-range weaponry to fire into Russia.
Putin said the missile flies at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by air defenses.
The president said it hit a defense industry production facility in Dnipro “which still produces missile equipment and other weapons.”
A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman was heard answering a phone call about a strike on Yuzhmash during a press briefing. Yuzhmash is the Russian name of an aerospace manufacturer in Dnipro now called Pivdenmash.
Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed whether this was the target.
Putin has promised more combat testing of the Oreshnik missile and said it will go into serial production.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the strike “the latest bout of Russian madness” and appealed for updated air-defense systems to meet the new threat.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence has said Kyiv knew several prototypes of the missile had been produced before it was fired.

Indonesia’s Prabowo seeks UAE cooperation in industrialization efforts

Indonesia’s Prabowo seeks UAE cooperation in industrialization efforts
Updated 54 min 9 sec ago
Follow

Indonesia’s Prabowo seeks UAE cooperation in industrialization efforts

Indonesia’s Prabowo seeks UAE cooperation in industrialization efforts
  • Indonesia’s new leader also visited Abu Dhabi in May as president-elect
  • Indonesia, UAE signed new agreements covering energy, tech, healthcare

Jakarta: Indonesia’s new leader, President Prabowo Subianto, is seeking closer cooperation with the UAE on Jakarta’s industrialization efforts as he made his first official trip to Abu Dhabi since taking office last month. 

Indonesia’s relations with the UAE grew under former President Joko Widodo, who in 2021 secured a more than $46 billion investment commitment from the Gulf state. The two countries signed a free trade deal a year later, which came into force last September.

The UAE was Prabowo’s last stop in his first foreign trip since becoming Indonesia’s new leader in October. 

“Now that I have earned the trust from my people to lead Indonesia, I want to continue our good relations,” Prabowo told UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during their first official meeting in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. 

Jakarta’s priorities are focused on defense, food security and energy security, he said, adding that the government also wants to implement a downstream policy that includes domestic processing of raw materials. 

“This means we want to perform a massive industrialization,” Prabowo said. “In this context, we see that the UAE and Indonesia have similar priorities. We can work together across different sectors and we want to invite the UAE to actively participate in our economy.”

The two leaders also presided over the signing of several agreements as part of their meeting, covering areas such as technology, renewable energy, infrastructure and health. 

“They agreed to increase trade between the two countries, specifically by optimizing the utilization of Indonesia-UAE CEPA,” Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat told Arab News on Sunday. 

“President Prabowo welcomed the UAE president’s invitation to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure and collaboration in international forums to resolve global issues, including peaceful conflict resolution.” 

Prabowo’s visit to Abu Dhabi was his second this year, following a trip in May as president-elect. 

He was concluding his first overseas trip as president, which also included stops in China, the US, and the UK. 

 


Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet

Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet
Updated 24 November 2024
Follow

Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet

Trumps names two Arab Americans for his Cabinet
  • President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general
  • He also nominated Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration

CHICAGO: President-elect Donald Trump has named two Arab Americans to serve in his Cabinet once he is sworn into office in January.

Trump nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat to be US surgeon general and Dr. Marty Makary as head of the US Food and Drug Administration.

The appointments were applauded by Dr. Bishara Bahbah, chairman of Arab Americans for Trump, who helped the former president to win nearly half of the Arab American vote in the Nov. 5 election against US Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We are delighted with President Trump’s nomination of the first two Arab Americans to be part of his administration,” Bahbah said in a message to Arab News on Saturday.

“This is a testament to the hard work of Arab Americans for Trump and recognition of President Donald J. Trump of the role Arab Americans played in his election as the 47th president of the United States. AAFT looks forward to additional Arab American appointments in President Trump’s administration, particularly in the political field.”

Dr. Makary is a British American surgeon of Lebanese background. He is a public policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University serving as a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a professor, by courtesy, at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

His current research focuses on the underlying causes of disease, public policy, health care costs, and relationship-based medicine. Dr. Makary previously served in leadership at the World Health Organization patient safety program and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Clinically, Dr. Makary is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns Hopkins. He is the recipient of the Nobility in Science Award from the National Pancreas Foundation and has been a visiting professor at more than 25 medical schools. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has served on several editorial boards. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, “Unaccountable” and “The Price We Pay.”

Dr. Makary is also an anti-vaxxer who refused vaccination for COVID-19, a view shared by many of President-elect Trump’s conservative and Republican supporters.

Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified medical doctor described on her website as “bringing a refreshingly no-nonsense attitude to the latest medical news, breaking down everything you need to know to keep you — and your family — healthy at all times.” She is also the author of “Beyond the Stethoscope: Miracles in Medicine.”

A graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, UAMS, Dr. Nesheiwat has been “shaped by her faith and her upbringing.”

Born in Carmel, New York, she is the daughter of Christian Jordanian immigrants and one of five children raised by her widowed mother, Hayat Nesheiwat. Her siblings are Julia Nesheiwat, Jaclyn Stapp, Dina Nesheiwat and Daniel Nesheiwat.


Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping hand

Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping hand
Updated 24 November 2024
Follow

Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping hand

Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping hand
  • Robolife Technologies says the prosthetic limbs use sensors connected to the nerves to move
  • The company says it allows users to grasp objects, to type and use a phone

DHAKA: Squeezing rubber-covered robotic prosthetic hands, Bangladesh protesters wounded during the deadly revolution to topple autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina test out replacement arms for their lost limbs.
“I’ll be able to do some everyday tasks with this artificial hand,” said student Hafeez Mohammad Hossain, 19, whose right hand was ripped off in gunfire on August 5.
It was the same day protesters stormed Hasina’s palace as she fled to India by helicopter.
In the middle of the chaos, Hossain said a police officer levelled a shotgun at him and fired. He described searing pain as gun pellets lacerated his back and leg.
Surgeons picked out the gunshot, but were unable to save his hand.
“I can’t write anymore,” Hossain said. “I’m struggling to learn how to write with my left hand.”
On Thursday he was fitted with a prosthetic limb, alongside four other students who also lost their hands during the months-long protests in which at least 700 people were killed during a police crackdown.
Robolife Technologies, a Bangladeshi organization manufacturing artificial hands, said the prosthetic limbs use sensors connected to the nerves to move.
The company says it allows users to grasp objects, to type and use a phone.
“If you ask me whether they work like organic hands, I’d say no,” said Antu Karim, who is working on the government-backed project to fit the limbs.
“But these hands allow the boys to hold a glass if thirsty, or a spoon to eat,” he added. “At least, they won’t be looked down upon for not having hands.”
Hasina’s 15-year tenure saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Limbless protesters held a rally earlier this month demanding the interim government who took over after Hasina’s fall support those injured in the protests.
Many say they have not received the aid they need.
The four other former protesters who had arms fitted on Thursday included Mohammad Mamun Mia, 32, a father of two, whose hand was hacked off by a gang he said was loyal to Hasina’s Awami League party.
The new arm is far from perfect, but it has made a huge difference.
“I’ll be able to do some regular tasks with this hand,” he said, saying that while he cannot work driving a tractor in the fields again, he hopes now to open a small business.
Arif Hossain Sagar, 19, had his hand amputated after it failed to heal from an injury he sustained during the protests, and doctors worried about gangrene.
“I can’t do any regular activities now,” Sagar said. “I rely on others for eating or bathing.”
The new hand will return a degree of normality to his life, he said.
Nayeem Hasan, wounded when attackers pounced on him as he went to donate blood to help those injured after a fire, broke into tears.
The new arm would help him fulfil his simple dream.
“I have a one-year-old daughter who wants me to hold her,” Hasan said.