HELSINKI: Finland closed again its border with Russia on Friday evening at 1800 GMT for a month, after more than 300 asylum seekers entered from Russia within two days, the Finnish Border Guard said.
The Nordic country reopened two border crossings on Thursday to allow travel between the two countries after a two-week total closure, but the Finnish government decided the same day to close them again on Friday, after the inflow of asylum seekers restarted as soon as the border restrictions were relaxed.
Some 900 asylum seekers from nations such as Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Border Guard.
Helsinki says the inflow of asylum seekers arriving via Russia is an orchestrated move by Moscow in retaliation for Finland’s decision to increase defense cooperation with the United States. The Kremlin denies this.
The arrivals stopped when Finland shut the border in late November, but resumed on Thursday when two of the eight crossings were reopened.
Traffic became congested and tensions mounted on the Finnish side of the Vaalimaa crossing before its closing time, local media reported, citing angry and hungry Russian border crossers some of whom had queued the whole day with their children to make it back to Russia before the suddenly announced re-closure.
The Border Guard told Finland’s largest daily, Helsingin Sanomat, that border crossers coming from Finland could not be let through because Russian border authorities were letting so many migrants through the crossing from the Russian side.
On Thursday, 155 asylum seekers arrived through the two open crossing points, the Border Guard said. On Friday, more than 200 people had sought asylum before the borders closed again, it told local TV channel MTV.
In a letter published on Monday, the Council of Europe said it was “concerned about the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants” following the temporary border closure, and asked Finland to ensure it remained possible to seek protection.
Minister of Interior Mari Rantanen, who represents the anti-immigration Finns Party, told Reuters on Monday there was no cause for human rights concerns, however, as asylum could be sought at other entry points.
Finland still allows asylum applications to be filed by migrants arriving at harbors and airports.
More asylum seekers rushed to Finland from Russia before border reclosure
https://arab.news/97484
More asylum seekers rushed to Finland from Russia before border reclosure
- The Finnish government decided the same day to close them again on Friday, after the inflow of asylum seekers restarted as soon as the border restrictions were relaxed
- Some 900 asylum seekers from nations such as Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen entered Finland from Russia in November
Built on ancient design, Indian Navy’s first stitched ship sails to Oman
- INSV Kaundinya is a 21-meter wooden ship modeled on painting from Ajanta Caves
- It was constructed by artisans from Kerala and inducted into Indian Navy last year
NEW DELHI: Built using a fifth-century stitched-ship technique, the Indian Navy’s Kaundinya vessel is approaching Oman, navigating the historic Arabian Sea route once traveled by ancient seafarers.
The 21-meter ship is a type of wooden boat, in which planks are stitched together using cords or ropes, a technique popular in ancient India for constructing ocean-going vessels.
The vessel set sail on its first transoceanic voyage from Porbandar in Gujarat on Dec. 29 and is expected to reach Muscat in mid-January.
“The exact date obviously depends on how weather conditions pan out. It has been a great experience thus far and the crew remains in high spirits,” Sanjeev Sanyal, an Indian economist who initiated the Kaundinya project and is part of the expedition, told Arab News.
“This is a very ancient route going back to the Bronze Age, and very active from ancient to modern times. We are trying to re-create the voyage on INSV Kaundinya, a ‘stitched’ ship using designs as they would have existed in the fifth century A.D. — a hull from stitched planks, steering oars, square sails, and so on.”
The ship was built by artisans from Kerala based on a painting found in the Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra state, where rock-cut monuments feature exquisite murals dating from the second century B.C. to the fifth century.
Funded by the Indian Ministry of Culture in 2023, the vessel was completed in February last year and inducted into the Indian Navy in May.
The Indian Navy collaborated with the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras to conduct model testing of the vessel’s hydrodynamic performance. The navy also tested the wooden mast system, which was built entirely without modern materials.
On its journey to Muscat, the ship is manned by an 18-member crew, which, besides Sanyal, consists of four officers, 12 sailors, and a medic.
“The voyage gives a good glimpse of how ancient mariners crossed the Indian Ocean — the changing winds and currents, the limitations of ancient technology,” Sanyal said.
“The square sail, for example, allows the ship to sail only up to a limited angle to the wind compared to a modern sailing boat. It also does not have a deep keel, so it rolls a lot. “Nonetheless, in good winds, it can do up to five knots — a very respectable speed. One reads about these voyages in ancient texts and (they are also) depicted in paintings and sculpture, but this provides a real experience.”
