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Rejected Rohingya Boat Sighted off Indonesia Coast

A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
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Rejected Rohingya Boat Sighted off Indonesia Coast

A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP
A group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province before being turned back to sea. amanda jufrian / AFP

A boat carrying Rohingya refugees that was forced back to sea earlier this week was sighted Saturday several miles off the coast of Indonesia's westernmost region, according to a local commander.
The group of around 250 people from the persecuted Myanmar minority arrived off Aceh province on Thursday, but residents told them not to land.
The boat traveled to another location in Aceh where a second group of residents again turned them back to sea late Thursday.
A naval commander in Aceh's Lhoksemauwe city told AFP on Saturday that the boat was spotted "this morning" and "looks similar" to the one turned back on Thursday, adding that it was heading east.
"At the moment (the boat) is not visible. Maybe it's beyond the horizon," Andi Susanto said.
"We are still observing the situation and ready to help if needed," he added.
The whereabouts of the boat had remained unknown after it was turned away Thursday night.
The commander said the boat was believed to be a few miles off the coast in waters around North Aceh district.
"The permission for the ship's arrival on the beach is not our authority. As in previous cases, it was handled by the local government with the coastal community and UNHCR (UN refugee agency)," said Susanto.
Thousands from the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority risk their lives each year to try to reach Malaysia or Indonesia via long and treacherous sea journeys, often in flimsy boats.
In a statement Friday, UNHCR called on Indonesia to facilitate the boat's landing and provide life-saving assistance to the refugees.
Indonesia, which is not a signatory to a 1951 refugee convention, says it is not compelled to accept arriving Rohingya refugees.
Locals have complained of lacking the resources to absorb hundreds of refugees into their communities.
Nearly 600 Rohingya refugees have reached western Indonesia this week, with 196 arriving on Tuesday and 147 on Wednesday, according to local officials.
More than 2,000 Rohingya are believed to have attempted journeys to Southeast Asian countries in 2022, according to the UN agency.
Nearly 200 Rohingya died or went missing last year while attempting hazardous sea crossings, it estimated.

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World

Iran Authorities Say One Dead after Ship Struck in Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Iran Authorities Say One Dead after Ship Struck in Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, September 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

A ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, killing one person and injuring three, local Iranian authorities said, as Tehran and Washington clash over the strategic waterway. 

"A merchant vessel was struck around 5:00 am (0130 GMT) this morning off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands. One person was killed and three others were injured," Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said, according to state TV, without specifying the origin of the strike. 

Several explosions were reported overnight around Qeshm, the largest island in the Hormuz strait. 

The deadly incident comes a day before a meeting between Iran and Gulf states in Oman, which also borders the strait, over the blockaded route crucial for global oil and gas trade. 

Control over the strait has become a major flashpoint in the conflict between Iran and the United States in their six-month war. 

In retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel that started the war on February 28, Iran has blocked the waterway, a passage that was previously free and unobstructed before the conflict began. 

Iran now requires vessels to obtain authorization to pass through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns, and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees. 

Vessels that fail to comply are frequently targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States sporadically bombs the Iranian coast in a bid to challenge Tehran's control of the strait. 

World

New Report of Attack on Strait of Hormuz Shipping Fans Fears of Threats to Oil Supplies

A motorboat travels past commercial vessels anchored amid haze in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A motorboat travels past commercial vessels anchored amid haze in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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New Report of Attack on Strait of Hormuz Shipping Fans Fears of Threats to Oil Supplies

A motorboat travels past commercial vessels anchored amid haze in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A motorboat travels past commercial vessels anchored amid haze in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, adding to concerns about Iran-related threats to energy supplies.

The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said it had a report of a projectile hitting a vessel as it moved through the Strait of Hormuz. The amount of damage and the status of the crew were unknown as of early Sunday, the agency said.

UKMTO's report came the day after Saudi Arabia said it had temporarily closed its East-West pipeline as a precaution after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate.

Ongoing attacks in the widening Middle East war could send energy prices even higher after a week that saw the cost of Brent crude surge back above $100 a barrel.

The 1,200-km (745-mile) East-West pipeline running across the Arabian Peninsula has served as the main route out for global supplies of Middle East oil for ‌the past six ‌months while the Strait of Hormuz has been largely shut by war.

It has been moving 4 ‌million to ⁠5 million barrels ⁠per day, amounting to 4% to 5% of global supply.

Satellite images showed black smoke rising from an area of the pipeline south of Medina. The attack resulted in some injuries and damage that was being assessed, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.

US President Donald Trump, visiting Ireland to attend a golf tournament at one of his resorts, said Iran was probably to blame.

Oil prices shot up over the past week and the retail price of diesel in ‌the United States surged past a record $6 a gallon as the United States and Iran ‌both fired on tankers and the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen advanced along the Red Sea, potentially extending disruptions to another major oil route.

IRANIAN OFFICIAL PLAYS DOWN OMAN MEETING

There have been no talks between the ⁠United States and Iran to end ⁠the conflict since a June agreement that collapsed within weeks.

In a post on X on Saturday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said: "As long as the American side does not accept all of Iran's conditions, dialogue and negotiation are of no use."

Iran's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Iran would be attending a meeting with Gulf Arab states in Oman on Monday, at which the future of the Strait of Hormuz would be discussed.

But a senior Iranian official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity on Saturday, played down the chances of a breakthrough, saying the meeting, called at Oman's initiative, was intended to discuss issues including the strait but was not expected to yield a signed agreement.

An agreement on routes through the strait between Iran and Oman will be presented at the meeting on Monday, which will also be attended by Iraq, but the strait will not reopen unless seven conditions conveyed by Iran to the US are met, a source told Tasnim news agency, without elaborating.

Iran wants its control of the Strait of Hormuz to be recognized, allowing it to collect fees from ships that use it, which Washington rejects. Oman, which controls the opposite bank of the strait, says it is negotiating with the agreement of other regional states.

 

World

5 Killed in Russian Strikes on Ukraine as Putin Warns Europe Against Sending Troops

Ukrainian rescuers work amid the rubble at the site of a Russian strike on a multi-story residential building in Odesa, southern Ukraine, 12 September 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/IGOR MASLOV
Ukrainian rescuers work amid the rubble at the site of a Russian strike on a multi-story residential building in Odesa, southern Ukraine, 12 September 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/IGOR MASLOV
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5 Killed in Russian Strikes on Ukraine as Putin Warns Europe Against Sending Troops

Ukrainian rescuers work amid the rubble at the site of a Russian strike on a multi-story residential building in Odesa, southern Ukraine, 12 September 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/IGOR MASLOV
Ukrainian rescuers work amid the rubble at the site of a Russian strike on a multi-story residential building in Odesa, southern Ukraine, 12 September 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. EPA/IGOR MASLOV

Russian strikes killed five civilians and wounded dozens in Ukraine, local officials said Saturday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that sending European troops into Ukraine would amount to direct conflict with Russia.

Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Russia’s intensifying air campaign that uses ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones to pierce defenses. Moscow’s attacks have targeted Ukraine’s power grid ahead of winter in what officials say is meant to demoralize civilians.

Two people were killed and one wounded when Russian drones struck a residential area overnight in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said Saturday.

One person died and three others were wounded in strikes on Kryvyi Rih, according to local officials.

In the Black Sea port of Odesa and the surrounding area, 35 people were wounded overnight in what regional head Oleh Kiper called a “massive attack.” Among the buildings hit was a residential high-rise, whose upper floors were completely destroyed.

Later on Saturday, two people were killed in a Russian attack on a grocery store in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region, local officials said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces struck two chemical industry facilities in Russia, one in Samara and one in Perm. The governors of the regions did not immediately comment, but Russian independent online news outlet Astra reported drone attacks on chemical plants in both regions.

Putin, speaking to reporters at a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies in India on Friday, said that if European governments send troops into Ukraine, it will mean “a war with Russia.”

“Now they’re talking about how they’re considering sending troops into Ukraine. That means a war with Russia,” The Associated Press quoted him as saying.

Some European leaders have pledged their commitment to a potential peacekeeping force, a prospect that Moscow has repeatedly described as unacceptable.

Putin also denied Russia posed any threat to Europe, saying “there is no such threat and never has been.”

“We do not threaten, nor do we intend to threaten, European countries,” he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday that two incidents along Ukraine’s borders with Poland and Moldova this week were a preview of potential intensified Russian provocations at Ukraine’s border crossing points with Europe.

Two people died when Russian drones hit the Starokozache border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday night, while a “direct threat” to a Polish-Ukrainian crossing point on Wednesday night was only avoided thanks to cooperation between Warsaw and Kyiv, he said.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy told Deutsche Welle, in an interview published Saturday, that he would meet Putin if both leaders were invited to the Group of 20 summit of rich and developing nations in December in Miami.

Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Saturday that the possibility of Putin attending the summit had not yet been discussed.

The Kremlin in the past has said that Zelenskyy can come to Moscow if he wants a meeting with Putin, a proposal Kyiv has rejected.

“If he really wants to meet with Putin, Putin has already said that he could fly to Moscow,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed Saturday that Russia is “ready for negotiations,” but that the so-called “special military operation,” as Moscow refers to its war in Ukraine, “will not be suspended during this period of negotiations.”