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Palestinians Welcome U.N. vote on Israel's Occupation as 'a Victory'
[ Reu.]
Ashraf N ayan ( a free journalist from Bangladesh)

The Palestinians on Saturday welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly requesting that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provide an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top U.N. court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, though the ICJ has no power to enforce them. The vote on Friday nonetheless presents a challenge for Israel's incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took office on Thursday at the head of a hard-right government that includes parties who advocate for occupied West Bank lands to be annexed. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. Peace talks broke down in 2014. "The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.

Bangladesh Tries to Prevent Rohingya Refugees from Taking Dangerous Voyages’
[FE/B]
Ashraf N ayan ( a free journalist from Bangladesh)

Bangladesh is trying to stop Rohingya refugees risking their lives in boats to Southeast Asia, a government official said, amid fears that this year could be one of the most deadly in years for the persecuted Muslims from Myanmar seeking new lives. A boat washed ashore in Indonesia's Aceh province on Monday carrying 174 Rohingya, most of them dehydrated, exhausted and in urgent need of medical care after weeks at sea, disaster agency officials said. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Monday 2022 could be one of the deadliest years at sea in almost a decade for the Rohingya as a growing number flee desperate conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh, despite attempts to stop them. "We're doing everything possible to stop them from taking the dangerous voyages," Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman told Reuters late on Monday. "We're going door to door and holding talks with community leaders in the camps to explain the dangers. Our law enforcement agencies, the navy and the coastguard are on alert. They are arresting those who are involved in human trafficking." Nearly 1.3 million Rohingya from Myanmar are living in Bangladesh, most in refugee camps including many who fled from their homes in Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017 to escape a military crackdown. But with prospects in the camps bleak and little hope of going home, many are driven to seek new lives further afield. Some 2,400 Rohingya have made or tried to make the sea journey to countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia this year, the UNHCR estimates, which rights groups said was a five-fold increase from the previous year. Several boats packed with people have landed in Indonesia since November and Sri Lanka's navy rescued one. Thai fishermen found six Rohingya drifting at sea this week clinging to a water tank.
It is not clear what is driving the exodus but some activists believe the lifting of COVID restrictions around Southeast Asia, a favoured destination for the Rohingya, could be a factor.

Former Maldives President Yameen to Appeal 11-year Jail Term
[Reuters]
Ashraf N ayan ( a free journalist from Bangladesh)

The Maldives criminal court on Sunday sentenced former president Abdulla Yameen to 11 years in prison and fined him $5 million after finding him guilty of corruption and money laundering charges related to receiving kickbacks from a private company. Yameen has denied any wrongdoing. He lost power in 2018 but has been declared presidential candidate for the Progressive Party of the Maldives for an election due in 2023. Already in 2019 he was sentenced to five years in jail and fined $5 million in 2019 for embezzling $1 million in state funds, which the prosecution said was acquired through the lease of resort development rights. After his sentencing, Yameen was shifted to house arrest in 2020 and was freed months later. Since his release, Yameen, the half-brother of former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has returned to active politics with a campaign against Indian influence in Maldives, raising concerns in New Delhi. Situated close to strategic shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, Maldives is a focal point for competition between India and China over influence in the region.