Politics
Migrant shipwreck off Malaysia kills at least seven
Malaysian authorities have recovered at least seven bodies after a boat carrying migrants capsized near the Thai border, a maritime agency official said on Sunday.
Officials believe the boat was carrying undocumented migrants who departed from Myanmar, part of a group of at least 300 people that had split between several vessels.
The boat that capsized near Thailand’s Tarutao Island and just north of Malaysia’s island resort of Langkawi was carrying some 90 people, Kedah state police chief Adzli Abu Shah told Malaysian media.
Romli Mustafa, director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in the northern states of Kedah and Perlis, said in a statement that three survivors were found on Sunday in the waters around Langkawi as well as six bodies, taking the overall death toll to seven.
At least 13 people have been rescued alive.
Romli said the bodies recovered on Sunday were of a girl and five women, without disclosing their nationality or ethnicity.
A body found on Saturday is believed to be of a woman from Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority, Adzli told the Bernama national news agency.
The search and rescue effort ended for the day and will resume on Monday, Romli added, saying it was possible more survivors or victims could be found at sea.
The boat likely went down three days ago, according to the state police chief.
Two other vessels, believed to be carrying some of the group of 300 migrants who had departed from Myanmar, have also been reported missing, Adzli was quoted as saying by the Free Malaysia Today news website.
He said preliminary investigations showed that the group boarded a large vessel that carried them into waters close to Malaysia.
“As they neared the border they were instructed to transfer onto three smaller boats, each carrying around 100 people,” he told Bernama.
“We have requested the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the Marine Police to launch search and rescue operations and to look for the other missing boats,” Adzli said, quoted by the New Straits Times.
The Malaysian police force did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
Relatively affluent Malaysia is home to millions of migrants from poorer parts of Asia, many of them undocumented, working in industries including construction and agriculture.
But the crossings, facilitated by human trafficking syndicates, are often hazardous, leading to boats capsizing.
“Cross-border syndicates are now increasingly active in exploiting migrants by making them victims of human trafficking using high-risk sea routes,” Romli said.
Syndicates charge up to $3,500 per person for passage into the country, Malaysian media said.
In one of the worst months, in December 2021, more than 20 migrants drowned in several incidents off the Malaysian coast.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued a significant statement aimed at easing regional tensions, assuring that Iran will not launch missile strikes or take aggressive action against neighbouring countries.
The president said the decision was taken with the approval of the Interim Leadership Council, stressing that Iran’s policy of non-aggression will remain in place as long as no attacks are carried out on Iranian territory.
Commitment to Peace
In a message shared on social media, Pezeshkian said Iran harbours no hostility toward regional countries and expressed regret over the recent tensions affecting neighbouring states.
“We harbor no hostility toward regional countries and apologize for the recent situation with our neighbors,” the president said.
Sovereignty Will Be Protected
While calling for peace, Pezeshkian also emphasized that Iran’s sovereignty and national security would not be compromised.
He added that diplomatic efforts and mediation aimed at ending the ongoing conflict should be led by the countries that initiated the confrontation.
Regional De-escalation Efforts
The statement comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East following military exchanges involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, prompting calls from several countries for de-escalation and dialogue to restore regional stability.
DUBAI: Dubai has announced the implementation of a new public safety law introducing stricter regulations for public spaces and events, with fines ranging from AED500 ($136) to AED1 million ($272,000), authorities said.
Under the legislation, repeat violations within one year could result in fines of up to AED2 million, officials added.
The new law, which takes effect across the emirate on June 1, sets out enhanced safety requirements for public venues and gatherings.
The rules were issued by Dubai’s Ruler, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
According to the regulations, public venues and events must ensure safe entry and exit routes, adequate lighting, and capacity limits to prevent overcrowding.
Event organisers will be required to provide firefighting equipment, emergency evacuation plans, first aid facilities, and trained security personnel.
Compliance with safety instructions at public venues has been made mandatory.
The law also requires adherence to designated swimming times at beaches and prohibits access to restricted areas.
Possession of explosives or fireworks without a permit is banned, as is the use and transport of hazardous or flammable materials.
India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after the US sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.
The Lavan docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day the US submarine struck Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.
The Lavan – an amphibious landing vessel, according to the US Naval Institute’s online news site – and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of the events,” Jaishankar told the annual Raisina Dialogue event.
“I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, of other than whatever the legal issues were,” he said. “I think we did the right thing.”
At least 87 people were killed in the US attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.
India received the docking request for the Lavan on February 28, the day the Iran war started, the source said late on Friday, adding that the request “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues”.
Its 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, said the source, who asked not to be identified citing confidentiality.
The Dena was on its way back from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials.
Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.
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