Nearly 1,000 Rohingya refugees arrive by boat in Indonesia’s Aceh region in one week
LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia—Almost 1,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar arrived by boat in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh in the last six days, officials said Nov. 20. They included five groups with women and children who were afloat for days. One batch of more than 240 people was twice denied landing by residents in Aceh Utara district, sparking concerns from human rights organizations. The...
Congo and the UN sign a deal for peacekeepers to withdraw after more than two decades and frustration
KINSHASA, Congo—Congo’s foreign minister and the head of the United Nations stabilization mission in Congo signed agreements Nov. 21 to end the presence of UN peacekeepers after more than two decades in the Central African nation. Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula told national television that the ceremony marked the end of a collaboration “which has proved its limits in a context of permanent...
Make America know her sins in Gaza
“Whoever kills a person, unless it is for manslaughter or for mischief, in the land it is as though he had killed all men. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved the lives of all men.”—Holy Qur’an 5:32 Pressure is mounting on the United States government to clamp down on the Zionist State of Israel...
South Africa’s ruling party backs motion in parliament to close Israeli embassy
According to media reports, South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), “given the unfolding atrocities in occupied Palestine …” is backing the country’s opposition party’s motion to shut down its embassy. The ANC said in a statement it would support the motion “to close the Israel Embassy in South Africa and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel...
Myanmar military orders civil servants, veterans to prepare for emergencies
Myanmar’s military rulers have ordered all government staff and those with military experience to prepare to serve in case of emergency after the junta reported “heavy assaults” in several places. On Nov. 16, Tin Maung Swe, administrative council secretary in Naypyitaw said, “If necessary, such a unit might be required to go out and serve for natural disasters, and security. “This is...
Kenya’s high court extends a block on sending police to Haiti even as parliament approves deployment
NAIROBI, Kenya—Kenya’s high court on Nov. 16 extended orders blocking the deployment of police officers to Haiti, even as parliament approved a government request to send 1,000 officers to the Caribbean nation to help deal with gang violence. High Court Judge Chacha Mwita said he would issue a ruling on Jan. 26, effectively delaying the sending of security officers to...
Spain’s Pedro Sánchez reelected prime minister despite controversy over amnesty for separatists
MADRID—Spain’s acting Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, was chosen by a majority of legislators to form a new government in a parliamentary vote Nov. 16. Sánchez was backed by 179 lawmakers in the 350-seat lower house of parliament. Only right-wing opposition deputies voted against him. The vote came after nearly two days of debate among party leaders that centered almost entirely on a...
Indigenous communities face eviction by environmental profiteers
Kenya’s government is illegally evicting members of the Ogiek community from their ancestral lands in the Mau Forest, to profit from carbon offsetting schemes, human rights lawyers say. Members of the Ogiek community say they’re living in “absolute fear” over the evictions by the government of Kenyan President William Ruto. “We are calling for an immediate cessation of ongoing demolitions and...
Mexico City imposes severe, monthslong water restrictions as drought dries up reservoirs
MEXICO CITY—Mexican officials imposed severe, monthslong cuts to Mexico City’s water supply at midnight November 10, acting just a month after initial restrictions were ordered as drought dries the capital’s reservoirs. The Mexican National Water Commission and mayor announced the moves at a news conference, but officials did not report the cuts on social media until just four hours before they took...
Türkiye is marking its centennial, but a brain drain has cast a shadow on the occasion
ISTANBUL—Huseyin Buyukdag says he loves Türkiye and his job as a teacher. But with the rampant economic crisis and growing repression in his country, he said he and his wife have decided to try and find a better life in Germany. They are among a growing number of young and educated looking to leave Türkiye, where rights and freedoms are...