Saudi aid agency KSrelief treats hundreds at Aden prosthetics center

Saudi aid agency KSrelief treats hundreds at Aden prosthetics center
A total of 1,407 procedures were completed for men, who made up 65 percent of patients, and women at 35 percent. (SPA)
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Updated 16 January 2025
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Saudi aid agency KSrelief treats hundreds at Aden prosthetics center

Saudi aid agency KSrelief treats hundreds at Aden prosthetics center
  • The services included the manufacturing and fitting of prosthetic limbs, as well as physical therapy

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has helped to treat 452 Yemenis, who lost limbs because of the ongoing conflict, at the Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Center in Aden governorate, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.

A total of 1,407 procedures were completed for men, who made up 65 percent of patients, and women at 35 percent.

In addition, 54 percent were displaced individuals and 46 percent residents.

The services included the manufacturing and fitting of prosthetic limbs, as well as physical therapy.

KSrelief continues to provide general and critical care for vulnerable Yemeni people, the SPA reported.


Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump for exemption from order suspending refugee relocation

Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump for exemption from order suspending refugee relocation
Updated 4 min 19 sec ago
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Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump for exemption from order suspending refugee relocation

Afghans fleeing Taliban appeal to Trump for exemption from order suspending refugee relocation
  • Estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021
  • Trump’s administration says US Refugee Admissions Program will be suspended from Jan. 27 for three months

ISLAMABAD: Afghans who fled after the Taliban seized power appealed Wednesday to President Donald Trump to exempt them from an order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States, some saying they risked their lives to support US troops.
An estimated 15,000 Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the United States since the Taliban takeover in 2021, when US troops pulled out of the country after two decades. They want to resettle in the US via an American government program set up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the US government, media, aid agencies and rights groups.
But in his first days in office, Trump’s administration announced the US Refugee Admissions Program would be suspended from Jan. 27 for at least three months. During that period, the White House said that the secretary of homeland security in consultation with the secretary of state will submit a report to the president whether the resumption of the program is in the US interest.
“Many of us risked our lives to support the US mission as interpreters, contractors, human rights defenders, and allies,” an advocacy group called Afghan USRAP Refugees — named after the US refugee program — said in an open letter to Trump, members of Congress and human rights defenders.
“The Taliban regards us as traitors, and returning to Afghanistan would expose us to arrest, torture, or death,” the group said. “In Pakistan, the situation is increasingly untenable. Arbitrary arrests, deportations, and insecurity compound our distress.”
Hadisa Bibi, a former student in Kabul who fled to neighboring Pakistan last month, said she read in newspapers that Trump suspended the refugee program.
“Prior to restrictions on women’s education in Afghanistan, I was a university student,” she said. “Given the risks I face as a women’s rights advocate, I was hoping for a swift resettlement to the United States. This would not only allow me to continue my higher education but also offer a safer and brighter future.”
She said she witnessed several Afghans arrested by Pakistani police, which left her in fear, “confined to my room like a prisoner.”
According to the Afghan USRAP Refugees group, flights to the US for many Afghans had been scheduled for January, February and March after they were interviewed by the International Organization for Migration and US Embassy officials.
“We seek the reversal of the ban on the refugee program on humanitarian ground,” said Ahmad Shah, a member of the group, who was hoping to leave Pakistan for the United States in March after undergoing all interviews and medical tests.


Turkiye detains nine people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 76

Turkiye detains nine people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 76
Updated 20 min 14 sec ago
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Turkiye detains nine people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 76

Turkiye detains nine people over ski resort hotel fire that killed 76
  • 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after fire started on restaurant floor on Tuesday
  • Authorities are facing growing criticism over hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off

ANKARA: Turkiye has detained nine people, including the owner of the hotel, in connection with a deadly fire that claimed the lives of 76 people and injured dozens at a ski resort in western Turkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early Wednesday.
Yerlikaya also reported that the bodies of 45 victims had been handed over to their families, while DNA tests were being conducted to identify the remaining bodies at the forensic institute.
The fire occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Kartalkaya ski resort in the Bolu mountains.
The hotel, where the fire broke out, expressed deep sorrow in a statement on Wednesday and pledged full cooperation with the investigation.
“We are cooperating with authorities to shed light on all aspects of this incident,” the statement said. “We are deeply saddened by the losses and want you to know that we share this pain with all our hearts.”
The 12-story hotel, which had 238 registered guests, was consumed by flames after the fire started on the restaurant floor around 3:30 a.m. Survivors described scenes of panic as they fled through smoke-filled corridors and jumped from windows to escape.
Authorities are facing growing criticism over the hotel’s safety measures, as survivors reported that no fire alarms went off during the incident. Guests said they had to navigate the smoke-filled corridors in complete darkness.
President Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a day of national mourning following the tragedy, which occurred during the peak of the winter tourism season, with many families from Istanbul and Ankara traveling to the Bolu mountains for skiing.

 


Pakistan seeks to boost trade through infrastructure, logistics cooperation with Dubai’s DP World

Pakistan seeks to boost trade through infrastructure, logistics cooperation with Dubai’s DP World
Updated 30 min 5 sec ago
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Pakistan seeks to boost trade through infrastructure, logistics cooperation with Dubai’s DP World

Pakistan seeks to boost trade through infrastructure, logistics cooperation with Dubai’s DP World
  • Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb meets top officials from logistics giant DP World on sidelines of Davos conference
  • Meeting comes days after DP World launched a feeder service to transport shipping containers from Dubai to Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met top officials from Dubai-based logistics giant DP World and discussed boosting trade through cooperation in infrastructure and logistics frameworks, Pakistani state media reported on Wednesday. 

The meeting comes days after DP World, in collaboration with Pakistan’s National Logistics Corporation, launched a feeder service to transport shipping containers from Dubai to Karachi. DP World operates in over 75 countries, specializing in port operations, terminal management and logistics services. Feeder services use smaller vessels to transport containers between regional ports, reducing shipping costs and transit time. 

Earlier this month, Pakistani officials and DP World also finalized terms for a freight corridor project from Karachi Port to the Pipri Marshalling yard in southern Pakistan.

“Aurangzeb met with Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of DP World Rizwan Soomar and Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer Yuvraj Narayan in Davos, Switzerland,” Radio Pakistan reported after the meeting. 

“During the meeting, discussions focused on enhancing infrastructure and logistical frameworks in Pakistan to boost trade,” the report said, adding that the finance minister assured DP World it wanted to advance business-to-business and business-to-government collaboration with the company. 

The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States, and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE foreign ministry. It is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates.

In January last year, Pakistan and the UAE signed multiple agreements worth more than $3 billion for cooperation in railways, economic zones and infrastructure.

The agreements cover the development of a dedicated freight corridor, multi-modal logistics park, and freight terminals. 

Under the agreements, DP World will carry out infrastructure improvement at Qasim International Container Terminal, Pakistan’s leading trade gateway. The Emirati firm also plans to develop an economic zone near the terminal.

DP World is also involved in the Karachi Freight Corridor, an infrastructure project in Pakistan aimed at improving the movement of freight from the port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest, to various parts of the country. The project involves the construction of a dedicated double-track corridor and other related facilities that will run 50 km from Karachi port to the Pipri Marshalling yard.


UK chief legal adviser signed letter saying Israeli policies could 'amount to apartheid'

UK chief legal adviser signed letter saying Israeli policies could 'amount to apartheid'
Updated 33 min 46 sec ago
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UK chief legal adviser signed letter saying Israeli policies could 'amount to apartheid'

UK chief legal adviser signed letter saying Israeli policies could 'amount to apartheid'
  • Jewish Cabinet member Lord Hermer was involved in British decision to withdraw objections to ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu
  • Open letter organized in 2023 by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, Balfour Project

LONDON: Lord Hermer, the attorney general for England and Wales, signed an open letter in 2023 that said Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories could “amount to apartheid,” the Daily Telegraph reported.

The letter labeled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government as “far right,” and warned that The Hague could rule that Israeli policy meets the legal description of apartheid.

The letter called on then-Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to avoid intervening in the International Court of Justice case against Israel.

Last July, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful, but stopped short of describing the policy as apartheid.

The letter, organized by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and the Balfour Project, said: “The Israeli government is led by a coalition of far-right parties whose common goal is the formal annexation of the West Bank and the extension of a one-state reality of unequal rights over more than 5 million Palestinians under occupation.

“It is perfectly possible that the court will consider aspects of that situation to amount to apartheid.”

Lord Hermer, one of two Jewish members of the Cabinet, has publicly highlighted his belief in Israel’s right to defend itself, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to appoint him was viewed by some as a sign of the UK taking a stronger position on Israel.

Lord Hermer was involved in the British decision last July to withdraw objections to the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

In August, Lord Hermer refused to approve weapon sales to Israel until it was confirmed that international law was being abided by, during a Foreign Office review into arms transfers to the country.


Militants launch fresh attacks in southwest Pakistan, targeting paramilitary check-post, trucks convoy

Militants launch fresh attacks in southwest Pakistan, targeting paramilitary check-post, trucks convoy
Updated 40 min 28 sec ago
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Militants launch fresh attacks in southwest Pakistan, targeting paramilitary check-post, trucks convoy

Militants launch fresh attacks in southwest Pakistan, targeting paramilitary check-post, trucks convoy
  • In one attack on Wednesday, unidentified gunmen attacked, set on fire paramilitary Levies check-post in Panjgur
  • In second attack on Tuesday, attackers stopped and set on fire a convoy of trucks carrying minerals in Nushki 

QUETTA: Militants set on fire a paramilitary forces check-post and a convoy of trucks carrying minerals in two separate attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, officials said on Wednesday, the latest assaults in a region plagued by a decades-long separatist insurgency. 

Groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) seek independence for Balochistan, a mineral-rich, southwestern province bordering Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. The region, Pakistan’s largest in terms of land mass but its most impoverished, is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold, and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province, is building a deep-sea port in the coastal town of Gwadar and has funded an international airport, among several other projects that are part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) scheme. 

Separatist groups often target key infrastructure projects and security posts in Balochistan as well as Chinese interests, in particular the port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad to exploit the province.

Nearly 300 people, including soldiers, were killed and dozens injured in more than 500 attacks reported in Balochistan in 2024.

In the last attack, Zahid Langove, Deputy Commissioner Panjgur, told Arab News unidentified gunmen attacked a paramilitary Levies check-post with a rocket in the district’s Pullabad area during the early hours of Wednesday.

“The midnight attack on Levies check-post was not of a large-scale,” Langove said. “No casualty was reported in the attack but the attackers set the check-post ablaze and escaped in the nearby mountains.”

In a separate attack, unidentified gunmen attacked a convoy of trucks carrying minerals in the province’s Nushki district. 

Zafar Sumalani, Station House Officer at the Nushki Police Station, said unidentified attackers stopped a convoy of trucks on the Pak-Iran highway, some four kilometers outside of Nushki city on Tuesday night. 

“Two trucks carrying minerals were torched and the attackers burst the tires of a truck with gunfire,” Sumalani said. 

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the two attacks but most attacks in the region are claimed by the BLA and other separatists who accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources such as gold and copper while neglecting the local population. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations, saying they have prioritized Balochistan’s development through investments in health, education and infrastructure projects.

On Jan. 13, the military said Pakistani security forces had killed 27 militants in Balochistan in an intelligence-based operation in Kacchi district. 

The operation came after dozens of fighters of the BLA stormed the small town of Zehri in Khuzdar district and took control of the town for hours. The group set government buildings, including a Levies police station, ablaze and robbed 768,000 rupees ($2745) from a private bank.

In August last year, separatists killed over 50 people, including security forces, in a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan, the deadliest the region had seen in decades.