Malaysia Calls for Justice, Citizenship for Rohingya Muslims

Rohingya refugees returning home at Kutupalang Unregistered Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Rohingya refugees returning home at Kutupalang Unregistered Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
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Malaysia Calls for Justice, Citizenship for Rohingya Muslims

Rohingya refugees returning home at Kutupalang Unregistered Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Rohingya refugees returning home at Kutupalang Unregistered Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Malaysia on Saturday said the perpetrators of violence against Myanmar's Rohingya minority Muslims must "be brought to justice."

A military crackdown in 2017 drove more than 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, carrying accounts of rape, mass killings and the razing of villages in Rakhine state.

UN investigators have called for Myanmar's top generals to be tried for genocide. But Myanmar's army and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi have defended the action.

In talks Saturday with Southeast Asian counterparts, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Saifuddin Bin Abdullah called for the "perpetrators of the Rohingya issue to be brought to justice", his ministry said in Tweet.

He also said repatriation of the minority from the fetid, overcrowded refugee camps of Bangladesh "must include the citizenship of the Rohingya."

Malaysia, a Muslim country which hosts a large Rohingya refugee population, is one of the few members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to speak up for the minority. 

The 10-member bloc normally abides by a principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.

Rakhine state, the western region home to the Rohingya, remains cut by violence.

Only a handful of the Muslim minority have returned under a discredited repatriation deal.

Myanmar has not offered citizenship to the mass of Rohingya in Bangladesh's camps should they return, while the minority also want safety guarantees and restitution of seized lands and torched villages before agreeing to go back.



Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)

A blast hit a pro-Israeli center in the Netherlands, police said Saturday, adding it caused minimal damage and no injuries.

A police spokeswoman told AFP no one was inside the site run by Christians for Israel, a non-profit, in the central city of Nijkerk when the explosion went off outside its gate late on Friday.

An investigation was ongoing.

The incident comes after a string of similar night-time attacks on Jewish sites in the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium in recent weeks that has heightened concerns in the wake of the war in the Middle East.


Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
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Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)

Iran’s atomic agency says an airstrike has hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The agency announced Saturday’s attack on social media.

The US AP’s military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.

The plane, identified by Iran as a US F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing. It was the first time the United States lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the war, now in its sixth week, and could mark a new turning point in the campaign.

The conflict, launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, has rippled across the region. It has so far killed thousands, upended global markets, cut off key shipping routes, spiked fuel prices and shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds to US and Israeli airstrikes with attacks across the region.


Trump Seeks $152 Mn to Revive Alcatraz as Federal Prison

FILE PHOTO: A view of Alcatraz prison complex located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, California, US July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of Alcatraz prison complex located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, California, US July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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Trump Seeks $152 Mn to Revive Alcatraz as Federal Prison

FILE PHOTO: A view of Alcatraz prison complex located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, California, US July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of Alcatraz prison complex located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay near San Francisco, California, US July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

US President Donald Trump asked Congress on Friday for $152 million to begin rebuilding the notorious Alcatraz prison, pressing ahead with his vision to return the former island lockup to active use.

The funding request, included in the White House's proposed 2027 budget, would cover the first year of converting the San Francisco Bay site into what officials describe as a "state-of-the-art secure prison facility."

Trump has pushed for reopening Alcatraz since last year, portraying it as a symbol of a tougher approach to crime, said AFP.

In a social media post at the time, he called for a "substantially enlarged and rebuilt" facility to house the country's most dangerous offenders.

The proposal comes as part of a broader Justice Department budget that emphasizes prison investment and law enforcement, though such requests are ultimately subject to approval by Congress.

Political news outlet Axios, citing administration officials, reported that any "supermax" prison complex at the site would have to be built from scratch -- putting the total cost at somewhere around $2 billion.

Alcatraz, which opened as a federal penitentiary in 1934, was once considered among the most secure prisons in the United States due to its isolated island location and the strong currents surrounding it.

It held a relatively small number of prisoners, including high-profile inmates such as Al Capone.

The island fortress entered American cultural lore after a 1962 escape by three inmates, which became an inspiration for the film "Escape from Alcatraz" starring Clint Eastwood.

It was closed in 1963 after officials determined it was too costly to maintain.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, operating expenses were nearly three times higher than at other federal facilities, largely because all supplies -- including fresh water -- had to be transported to the island.

Since the early 1970s, Alcatraz has been managed by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and has become one of San Francisco's most popular tourist attractions, drawing more than a million visitors annually.

The White House argues that rebuilding the site would help modernize the federal prison system and expand capacity for high-risk inmates.

But critics have questioned both the practicality and cost of the plan, noting that the island's infrastructure would likely require extensive reconstruction.

Feasibility studies have already been conducted by federal agencies to assess whether a modern correctional facility could be established on the site, though no final decision has been made.

Any move to proceed could face political resistance given competing budget priorities and the site's current status as a major tourism and historical landmark.