Dozens of Sri Lankan migrants stranded on a boat off Indonesia were allowed to come ashore yesterday, easing a tense stand-off with local authorities.
The 44 migrants, who include women and children, had been stuck on a boat off Aceh province for a week as authorities in the western province refused to allow them to disembark.
Officials relented yesterday and allowed the migrants — who were adrift after their Indian-flagged vessel broke down en route to Australia — to take refuge in tents set up along the beach.
Photo: Reuters/Antara Foto/Irwansyah Putra
Police had begun taking photographs of those brought ashore in a bid to establish identities, a journalist at the scene said.
Authorities had previously said the boat would be towed out to international waters to continue its journey after repairs were completed and the weather improved.
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla had ordered Aceh officials to allow the migrants to disembark, which washed up by a beach in the town of Lhoknga.
“We’re happy to see that is finally being implemented,” said Lilianne Fan, international director of the Geutanyoe Foundation — an Aceh non-governmental organization — whose team on the ground witnessed the disembarkation.
“At this point the most urgent thing from our point of view is that immediate access is given to the UNHCR,” she added, referring to the UN refugee agency.
The week-long impasse boiled over on Thursday when police fired a warning shot to disperse a crowd that had swarmed around the vessel.
Amnesty International accused local authorities of employing “crude intimidation tactics” against the migrants, and called for UN refugee teams in Aceh to be granted immediate access to the group.
“The immigration office and security forces in Aceh are flouting the authority of their own vice president and not letting the UNHCR do its job,” Amnesty International’s Josef Benedict said in a statement.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
RSS