Rohingya migrants sit inside a temporary shelter at Kuala Langsa Port in Aceh province, Indonesia. Binsar Bakkara / AP Photo
Rohingya migrants sit inside a temporary shelter at Kuala Langsa Port in Aceh province, Indonesia. Binsar Bakkara / AP Photo

800 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants rescued off Indonesia



LANGSA, Indonesia // About 800 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants were rescued by fishermen off Indonesia on Friday, as Myanmar undermined calls for a coordinated response to South-east Asia’s human-trafficking crisis by threatening to boycott a summit.

Hundreds more migrants were aboard a boat that was intercepted offshore by Indonesia’s navy, a military spokesman said, while authorities worked out what to do with it.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s navy discovered 106 Rohingya on an island off the coast of Phang Na province, but it was unclear whether their boat had a problem or they had been abandoned, the provincial governor said.

The Indonesian and Malaysian policy of turning away boats filled with Bangladeshis and ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar has been met with outrage, including from Washington and the United Nations.

Activists estimate that up to 8,000 migrants may be at sea in the area, with horrific tales emerging of passengers being abandoned by abusive smugglers, and being subjected to cramped conditions, starvation and death.

In his first public comments on the issue, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said he was “very concerned with the plight of migrants” but gave no indication of a policy shift on an issue that has caused regional finger-pointing.

“We are in contact with all relevant parties, with whom we share the desire to find a solution to this crisis,” he said without elaborating.

It was not clear whether those “relevant parties” included Myanmar, which faces harsh criticism of its treatment of Rohingya.

On Friday Myanmar snubbed neighbouring Thailand’s call for a regional meeting on the problem on May 29.

The unfolding humanitarian crisis appears to have been precipitated by a Thai police crackdown that has thrown busy people-smuggling routes into chaos just as a surge of migrants took to the sea.

“We are unlikely to attend. We do not accept it if they (Thailand) are inviting us just to ease the pressure they are facing,” said Myanmar presidential office director Zaw Htay.

Indonesian police said at least 797 people were rescued on Friday by fisherman in Aceh province, on the east coast of Sumatra. At least 61 children were among those rescued.

Search-and-rescue officials said it was not immediately clear whether they had come from the same boat. Many passengers said their vessel headed towards Indonesia after earlier been driven away by Malaysia, according to police.

Nearly 600 migrants were already sheltering in Aceh after managing to get ashore in recent days.

Earlier on Friday, a boat carrying about 300 Rohingya had left Thailand’s waters, a Thai official said, after authorities repaired its engine and provided food.

Its passengers included many children and women who had wept as they begged for food and water after arriving near the southern Thai island of Koh Lipe on Thursday.

They described a grim two-month odyssey in which 10 passengers had died of starvation or illness and were tossed overboard.

“We haven’t had anything to eat for a week, there is nowhere to sleep. My children are sick,” said Sajida, 27, a Rohingya who was travelling with her four young children.

A Thai official said the passengers – who wanted to reach Malaysia – declined offers to go ashore in Thailand, fearing they would be sent back to Myanmar. They planned instead to make for Indonesia.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon urged South East Asian countries to “keep their borders and ports open in order to help the vulnerable people who are in need”.

* Agence France-Presse

* Agence France-Presse

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group

Company%20Profile
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Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
The bio

Favourite food: Japanese

Favourite car: Lamborghini

Favourite hobby: Football

Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough

Favourite country: UAE

What is the definition of an SME?

SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors. 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE