MANILA: A ferry carrying more than 130 people caught fire in the northeastern Philippines on Monday, killing seven passengers and forcing many survivors to jump into the sea where they were rescued by other vessels.
The fire rapidly spread from the engine room to the upper passenger deck of the M/V Mercraft 2 while it was approaching a seaport in Real, town administrator Filomena Portales said. It had been en route to the town in Quezon province from Polillo Island.
Many of the 134 passengers and crew jumped into the water and were plucked from the sea by motorboats and cargo vessels, coast guard officials said.
“Fishing boats and other vessels were able to approach quickly and everybody helped, so the rescue was fast,” Portales told The Associated Press by telephone, adding many of those rescued were in shock and had to be treated for burns and bruises and given dry clothes and shoes.
Pictures released by the coast guard showed fire engulfing the ferry and dark smoke billowing from it. Injured survivors on stretchers were taken to waiting ambulance vans while a rescuer tried to revive an unconscious survivor by pressing on his chest.
The coast guard said everyone on the ferry had been accounted for and 24 people who were injured were brought to a hospital.
Portales said seven passengers died from burns and drowning and one possibly had a heart attack while floating in the water.
Investigators were looking into the fire and other ferries operated by the owner of Mercraft 2 would likely be suspended from operating while undergoing safety inspections, officials said. The wreckage was towed to shore in Real.
Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations. In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.
7 die in Philippine ferry fire; over 120 rescued from water
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7 die in Philippine ferry fire; over 120 rescued from water
- The coast guard said everyone on the ferry had been accounted for and 24 people who were injured were brought to a hospital
Italy police arrest 40 mafia suspects for drug smuggling via Chinese money brokers
- The breakthrough comes less than a month after an operation in which European police arrested more than 100 mafia suspects
- Police were executing 40 arrest warrants, including for four Albanians and two Chinese suspects
MILAN: Italian police arrested 40 people on Tuesday in a new crackdown targeting the ‘Ndrangheta mafia, with suspects accused of drugs trafficking with counterparts in Latin America using shadow networks of Chinese money brokers.
“Today’s raid is a crucial operation that showed how the ‘Ndrangheta is an octopus that a everywhere with interconnections all over the world,” Guardia di Finanza police captain Angelo Santori said.
The breakthrough comes less than a month after an operation in which European police arrested more than 100 mafia suspects in a major operation against drugs and weapons smuggling.
Santori, who led the latest investigation in the northern city of Bologna, said police were executing 40 arrest warrants, including for four Albanians and two Chinese suspects, as well as restricting the movements of suspected Calabrian mafia members in seven Italian regions.
The investigation, spanning late 2019 to July 2022, traced the traffic of 1.2 tons of cocaine, 450 kg of hashish and 95 kg of marijuana, Guardia di Finanza police said in a statement.
The network was able to handle drug shipments with powerful South American cartels, including the Brazilian Primeiro Comando da Capital, and Colombian, Peruvian, Mexican and Bolivian criminal organizations, police said.
The ‘Ndrangheta, which has its roots in the southern Italian region of Calabria, has surpassed Cosa Nostra as the most powerful mafia group in the country, and one of the largest criminal networks in the world.
“An active role was played by a network of Chinese subjects through the so-called ‘fei ch’ien’, an informal money transfer system with which more than 5 million euros ($5.50 million) was laundered,” Santori added.
According to Italian police, after receiving the cash, the Chinese money brokers forwarded it to trading companies in China and Hong Kong. The companies then delivered the money to the drug brokers and the South American cartels themselves through agents based abroad.
Several recent investigations have shown how drugs cartels in Italy are increasingly using shadow networks of unlicensed Chinese money brokers to conceal cross-border payments.
The investigation was helped by accessing encrypted chats on a platform that was dismantled in 2021 by a Europol Joint Investigation Team, and cooperation with the US Homeland Security Investigations, the Italian police statement said. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)
Pakistan’s Khan gets bail on new charge of abetting violence – lawyer
- Former prime minister is embroiled in a confrontation with the powerful military
- Bail until June 2 on the new charge means he will not be detained on that charge
LAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistani former prime minister Imran Khan was on Tuesday granted bail on a new charge of abetting violence against the military by his protesting supporters after he was arrested and detained on May 9 in a corruption case, his lawyer said.
The embattled Khan, who says the corruption charges have been concocted, is embroiled in a confrontation with the powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan directly or overseen civilian governments throughout its history.
His May 9 arrest sparked widespread protests by his supporters who ransacked various military facilities, raising new worries about the stability of the nuclear-armed country as it struggles with its worst economic crisis in decades.
Khan, 70, was later freed on the orders of a court.
His lawyer, Intezar Hussain Punjotha, said an anti-terrorism court confirmed the bail on the new charge after the former premier appeared before it and submitted surety bonds.
Khan has denied the charge saying he was in detention when the violence took place.
The bail until June 2 on the new charge means he will not be detained on that charge.
The former international cricket star became prime minister in 2018 with the tacit support of the military, though both sides denied it at the time.
He later fell out with generals and was ousted as prime minister after losing a confidence vote in 2022.
Khan has since then been campaigning for a snap election, with rallies with his supporters across the country, but the prime minister who replaced him, Shahbaz Sharif, has rejected the call for an election before it is due late this year.
The turmoil has exacerbated Pakistan’s economic crisis with inflation at record highs, growth is anemic amid fears of a sovereign default on external debts unless the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unlocks delayed disbursements.
Dozens of Khan’s supporters have been handed over to army authorities for trial in military courts.
A team of investigators looking into the May 9 violence summoned Khan on Tuesday for questioning but Punjotha said a member of his legal team would go instead.
Khan has appealed for talks to end the crisis. The government has rejected his call.
NATO seeks to narrow differences over Ukraine membership bid
- NATO has not acceded to Ukraine’s request for fast-track membership
- Western governments are wary of moves that could take the alliance closer to entering an active war with Russia
BRUSSELS: NATO foreign ministers will seek to narrow divisions over Ukraine’s membership bid at a meeting in Oslo this week, with allies at odds over calls to grant Kyiv a road map to accession at their July summit.
NATO has not acceded to Ukraine’s request for fast-track membership as Western governments such as the US and Germany are wary of moves that they fear could take the alliance closer to entering an active war with Russia.
However, both Kyiv and some of its closest allies in eastern Europe have been pushing for NATO to at least take concrete steps to bring Ukraine closer to membership at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12.
“It would be very sad if in any way anyone could read the outcome of the Vilnius summit as a victory of Russia in precluding Ukraine to join NATO one day,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said on Friday.
Last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made it clear that Ukraine will not be able to join the alliance as long as the war against Russia continues.
“To become a member in the midst of a war is not on the agenda,” he said. “The issue is what happens when the war ends.”
NATO agreed at its 2008 summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will join eventually.
However, leaders have since stopped short of steps such as giving Kyiv a membership action plan that would lay out a timetable for bringing the country closer to NATO.
On the sidelines of their Oslo meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, foreign ministers are also expected to touch on the search for a new NATO chief, with Stoltenberg due to step down in September.
Meanwhile, President Tayyip Erdogan’s election victory in Turkiye has brought fresh momentum to efforts to break a deadlock over the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership, held up by objections from Turkiye and Hungary.
Any progress in Oslo is unlikely, however, as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will not be there, Sweden said, although talks between him and Sweden’s Tobias Billstrom will nevertheless take place “soon.”
Clash between Somalia army and Al-Shabab kills 17, witness says
- Insurgent group attacks a military base on the outskirts of a town in the center of the country
- Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab has been fighting since 2006 to topple Somalia’s central government
MOGADISHU: Fighters from Somalia’s Al-Shabab insurgent group attacked a military base on the outskirts of a town in the center of the country, leading to at least 17 deaths, a resident said.
The attack on Masagawa, about 300 kilometers north of Mogadishu, came days after Al-Shabab attacked a base housing Ugandan forces from an African Union peacekeeping mission in Bulamarer, 130km southwest of the capital.
“I have seen 17 dead people including the attackers and the attacked. The fighting has moved into the forest. The town is calm now and under government control,” Hussein Nur, a resident of Masagawa, said by phone.
Captain Abdullahi Mohamed, a military officer in Masagawa, confirmed the attack and said 12 Al-Shabab fighters had died, but he did not know how many troops were dead.
“Fierce fighting went on for hours on the edge of the town. So far, I know we lost soldiers but I have no exact figure. We repulsed Al-Shabab and now we are pursuing them in the forest,” Mohamed said.
The Somalia National Army said on Twitter it had prevented an attack on the town itself, and killed Al-Shabab fighters, but did not say how many.
Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab has been fighting since 2006 to topple Somalia’s central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
It has launched significant attacks against hotels, military bases and government establishments in despite a relatively successful government push back.
The group said in a statement it had killed 73 soldiers in the attack, targeting those who had returned from training in Eritrea.
Al Shabab tends to give casualty figures in attacks that differ from those issued by the authorities.
Malaysia searches Chinese ship suspected of looting WWII wrecks
- Officers discover unexploded shells upon boarding the Chinese-registered vessel
- Vessel from the city of Fuzhou had a crew of 32 comprising mostly Chinese nationals
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s coast guard said on Tuesday authorities were questioning the crew of a Chinese vessel detained on suspicion of looting two British World War II shipwrecks.
Officers discovered unexploded shells upon boarding the Chinese-registered vessel, which was detained for illegal anchorage at the weekend, said Nurul Hizam Zakaria, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency chief in Johor state.
“Our investigation is now directed to where these cannon shells originated from. Right now, we have officers from multi-agencies searching the big ship,” he said.
Nurul Hizam said the vessel from the city of Fuzhou had a crew of 32 comprising 21 Chinese nationals, 10 Bangladeshis and one Malaysian, some of whom were in coast guard custody for questioning.
“This case also involves the discovery of explosives,” he said.
China’s foreign affairs ministry said the Chinese embassy in Malaysia was in close communication with local authorities “to understand the situation.”
It asked Malaysia to handle the case “fairly and in accordance with the law.” Beijing also asked Malaysia to protect the rights and safety of Chinese citizens.
A senior Malaysian maritime official said on condition of anonymity that the pieces of metal and shells could have originated from two sunken British warships.
More than 800 British sailors were killed when the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were torpedoed by Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea.
The attack on December 10, 1941, happened three days after Japan attacked the US fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Photos and a video shared by the Malaysian coast guard showed large pieces of corroded metal and shells, as well as a large crane and gas torches used to cut metal on board the ship.
The shells could also be linked to the discovery of unexploded World War II-era ordnance at a jetty in Johor on May 19, the maritime agency said in a statement Monday.
Nurul Hizam said the maritime agency would not tolerate any form of illegal salvage activities in Malaysian waters.
“Our national treasure must be protected and preserved,” he said, describing looting as “an uncivilized act.”
Britain’s Ministry of Defense condemned the “desecration” of maritime military graves after reports that scavengers had targeted two WWII wrecks, the BBC said Saturday.
Malaysia’s New Straits Times newspaper reported in recent weeks that illegal salvage operators had targeted high-grade aluminum and brass fixtures from the two British warships.
