عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

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
TT
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

IAEA Says Drone Damaged Equipment at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in Ukraine

The interior of the damaged flat in an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine February 26, 2026. (Reuters)
The interior of the damaged flat in an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine February 26, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

IAEA Says Drone Damaged Equipment at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in Ukraine

The interior of the damaged flat in an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine February 26, 2026. (Reuters)
The interior of the damaged flat in an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine February 26, 2026. (Reuters)

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday meteorological monitoring equipment at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had been damaged by a drone.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, was seized by Russian forces in the early weeks of Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side has since regularly accused the other of military action which could compromise safety at ‌the plant, ‌located near the war's front ‌line.

Posting ⁠on X, the ⁠IAEA said a team of its experts had visited the station's External Radiation Control Laboratory (ERCL), a day after the plant's Russian management said it had been hit by a drone.

"Team observed damage to some of the lab's meteorological monitoring equipment ⁠which is no longer operational," the ‌IAEA, the UN's nuclear ‌watchdog, said in its statement.

The statement said IAEA Director ‌General Rafael Grossi had issued a fresh appeal "for ‌maximum military restraint near all nuclear facilities to avoid safety risks".

The plant, which now produces no electricity, has been struck several times by drones since the ‌beginning of the conflict. The plant's management on Sunday said damage has been minor ⁠and that ⁠operations were otherwise unaffected.

One of the station's external power lines - required to keep nuclear fuel cool - has been down since late March and the IAEA said last week it was trying to arrange a local ceasefire to carry out repair work.

Grossi has paid several visits to the Zaporizhzhia plant since it came under Russian control and the IAEA has placed observers permanently at Zaporizhzhia and Ukraine's three other functioning nuclear stations.

World

China Fireworks Factory Explosion Kills Tens, Injures 61

Image from the explosion site (Chinese media)
Image from the explosion site (Chinese media)
TT
TT

China Fireworks Factory Explosion Kills Tens, Injures 61

Image from the explosion site (Chinese media)
Image from the explosion site (Chinese media)

The death toll from a giant explosion at a fireworks factory in central China rose to 26, with 61 more injured, officials said Tuesday.

The explosion occurred at around 4:43 pm on Monday at the Liuyang Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, Hunan province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Following the blast, all fireworks makers in Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, which administers Liuyang, had been ordered to stop production ahead of safety inspections, CCTV said.

Videos on social media from Monday showed continuous explosions accompanied by a vast cloud of smoke rising high into the air in a rural area surrounded by mountains, said AFP.

Drone footage from CCTV taken a day later showed a swathe of smoldering debris where buildings had stood, with rescue workers and excavators scouring the rubble.

Smoke continued to rise from some buildings left standing, many of them with their roofs blown off.

Changsha mayor Chen Bozhang told a news conference on Tuesday afternoon that another five people had died since earlier reports that 21 were killed.

"We feel deeply grieved and filled with remorse," Chen said, adding that search and rescue work was "basically complete".

The central government had sent experts to guide rescue efforts, while more than 480 rescuers had been urgently dispatched to the site, according to CCTV.

They had established a 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) control zone around the site and evacuated people nearby.

Police had apprehended the company's management while investigations into the cause of the accident continue, CCTV said.

President Xi Jinping had called for "all-out efforts" to treat the injured, search for missing persons, and for those responsible to be held accountable, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Liuyang is a major fireworks hub, producing around 60 percent of the fireworks sold in China and 70 percent of those exported.

Industrial accidents, including in the fireworks industry, are common in China due to lax safety standards.

Last year, an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people, and in 2023, three people were killed after blasts struck residential buildings in the northern city of Tianjin.

In February, separate explosions at fireworks shops in Hubei and Jiangsu provinces killed 12 and eight people.

World

Ukraine to Observe Own Truce with Russia Starting May 6, Zelensky Says

A resident stands near buildings damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Chornomorsk, Odesa region, Ukraine May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
A resident stands near buildings damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Chornomorsk, Odesa region, Ukraine May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Ukraine to Observe Own Truce with Russia Starting May 6, Zelensky Says

A resident stands near buildings damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Chornomorsk, Odesa region, Ukraine May 3, 2026. (Reuters)
A resident stands near buildings damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Chornomorsk, Odesa region, Ukraine May 3, 2026. (Reuters)

Ukraine will observe its own truce with Russia starting May 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday, after Moscow declared a unilateral truce with Ukraine over the May 9 Russian holiday.

"As of today, there has been no official appeal to Ukraine regarding the modality of a cessation of hostilities that is being claimed on Russian social media," Zelensky said in a post on X.

"In this regard, we are announcing a ceasefire regime starting at 00:00 (2100 GMT) on the night of May 5-6. In the time left until that moment, it is realistic to ensure that silence takes effect," he added.