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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

Ten Injured in Australia as Car Crashes into Crowd North of Sydney

Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
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Ten Injured in Australia as Car Crashes into Crowd North of Sydney

Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS

Ten people were injured when a man drove into a crowd in the Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday after appearing to lose control of the car, authorities said.

The 18-year-old driver was ‌arrested at ‌the scene in ‌the suburb ⁠of Wallsend about ⁠110 km (70 miles) north of the New South Wales state capital, Sydney.

When the incident occurred, fans had lined local streets to send ⁠off the Newcastle ‌Knights rugby ‌league team, due to compete in ‌the country's National Rugby ‌League grand final in Sydney on Sunday.

Two of those hospitalized, a 5-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man, ‌were in a critical condition, authorities said.

Newcastle Mayor ⁠Gavin ⁠Morris said the driver seemed to have lost control of the car. "It appears that he was revving the car in some form," Morris said in televised remarks.

Police said initial indications suggested the incident was not terrorism-related.

World

Russia Strikes Another Major Bridge in Ukraine Capital

Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Russia Strikes Another Major Bridge in Ukraine Capital

Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A Russian strike targeted a major bridge in Kyiv, its mayor said Saturday, in another attack on Ukrainian infrastructure that has brought traffic chaos to the capital.

The attack on the Northern Bridge, which followed a drone alert, came a day after the Southern Bridge was hit in a wave of strikes that city officials say is "tearing Kyiv apart".

The grinding conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, has largely focused on ground fighting in the east, with Kyiv mostly spared from the devastation wrought near the frontline, AFP said.

"Northern Bridge has been hit," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram on Saturday. "Emergency services are heading to the scene."

In another update, Klitschko said the attack had damaged the road surface and trolleybus wires on the bridge.

"Traffic across the bridge from the left bank to the right bank is currently blocked," Klitschko said.

The latest strike follows multiple attacks on crossings over the Dnipro river that link the eastern and western parts of the capital.

On Friday, authorities shut the Southern Bridge -- one of Kyiv's main bridges -- and restricted movement on another after a wave of strikes by fast-moving, jet-powered drones, causing severe traffic congestion across the capital.

Long lines of stationary cars and buses clogged major roads as commuters sought alternate routes, with some forced to continue their journeys on foot.

The Southern Bridge is one of eight crossings connecting the two sides of Kyiv.

The cable-stayed structure had already been hit several times since Thursday, according to city officials.

Klitschko warned Friday the capital should now be on a war footing.

World

Iran Executes Man Linked to Anti-government Protests

This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Executes Man Linked to Anti-government Protests

This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)

Iran said Saturday it had executed a man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during anti-government protests earlier this year.

Siavash Jamshidi was accused of targeting security personnel during mass demonstrations that peaked in January in which thousands of people were killed, said AFP.

Since that time, Iranian authorities have stepped up executions of convicts linked to the unrest.

"Jamshidi was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh through brandishing and firing a firearm, as well as conspiracy and collusion against national security," Iran's judiciary said, using the legal term moharebeh to mean "waging war against God".

The judiciary's Mizan Online website said he was also found guilty of offences not related to the protests, including "fraud, making threats, theft, possession and carrying of an illegal military-grade weapon".

Other charges included "complicity in kidnapping, brandishing a weapon to intimidate, and intentional infliction of bodily harm".

Mizan said Jamshidi was "active" during the demonstrations, which were sparked in December last year by grievances over living costs in Iran, but peaked on January 8 and 9 with huge rallies.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

Foreign-based NGOs however maintain that Iranian security forces fired on protesters.

US President Donald Trump threatened at the time to intervene militarily in Iran. Weeks later in late February, the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on the Iranian republic, triggering the Middle East war.

Since then, arrests and executions have multiplied in Iran, linked both to the war and the protests.

In 2025, Iran executed at least 1,639 people, the largest number in any year since 1989, according to the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.