Indonesia, Philippines agree on repatriation of Filipino on death row

Indonesia, Philippines agree on repatriation of Filipino on death row
Mary Jane Veloso was due to face the firing squad in 2015 but the Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve for her. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 06 December 2024
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Indonesia, Philippines agree on repatriation of Filipino on death row

Indonesia, Philippines agree on repatriation of Filipino on death row
  • Indonesian authorities will discuss further details with the Philippines’ embassy in Jakarta on Mary Jane Veloso’s transfer
  • Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin and later sentenced to death

JAKARTA: Manila and Jakarta signed an agreement Friday to repatriate Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino on death row for drug charges in Indonesia since 2015, with officials saying she could return to the Philippines before Christmas.
The announcement came following the Philippines’ Department of Justice undersecretary Raul Vasquez meeting with Indonesia’s senior law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra in Jakarta Friday, where both ministers signed the agreement.
Following the signing, Indonesian authorities will discuss further details with the Philippines’ embassy in Jakarta on Veloso’s transfer, Yusril said.
“We agree to return the person concerned to the Philippines and furthermore the obligation to provide guidance to prisoner Mary Jane Veloso becomes the responsibility of the Philippine government,” Yusril Ihza Mahendra said Friday.
He added that they are hoping the transfer “will be carried out before Christmas, 25 December.”
Yusril also said Indonesia will respect the Philippines’ government decision if Manila decide to grant clemency to Veloso.
Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin and later sentenced to death.
She was due to face the firing squad in 2015 but the Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve for her after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested and put on trial for human trafficking in which Veloso was named as a prosecution witness.
The mother-of-two’s case sparked an uproar in the Philippines, with her family and supporters saying she was innocent and had been set up by an international drug syndicate.
Vasquez on Friday expressed the Philippine government’s “heartfelt gratitude” for Jakarta over Veloso’s transfer, adding that Manila respected the Indonesian court’s decision on her case.
“We do understand and we respect the decision of the Indonesian courts with respect to the sentence that was meted on our citizen Mary Jane Veloso,” he said.
“Once transferred to the country, she will serve her sentence in accordance, as agreed upon, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations with respect to the Penal Code.”
Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest drug laws including the death penalty for traffickers.
At least 530 people were on death row in the Southeast Asian nation, mostly for drug-related crimes, according to data from rights group KontraS, citing official figures.
As of early November, 96 foreigners were on death row in Indonesia, all on drugs charges, according to data from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.
Indonesia is also in talks with Australia and France after President Prabowo Subianto had agreed to fulfil their requests to hand back some prisoners who were sentenced on drug charges.
The prisoners include the five remaining members of Australia’s “Bali Nine” — namely Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens — who are in jail on life sentences.
The Indonesian government also received a letter from the French government requesting the transfer of Serge Atlaoui, who has been jailed in the Southeast Asian archipelago since his 2005 arrest.
Despite the ongoing negotiation for prisoner transfers, the Indonesian government gave the signal Thursday that it will resume execution — on hiatus since 2016 — of drug convicts who are on death row.
“The government will... study the acceleration of the execution of the death penalty for drug convicts that are legally binding and have no more legal remedies,” Coordinating Political and Security Minister Budi Gunawan said Thursday.


Elon Musk brands USAID as 'criminal organization' in growing row

Elon Musk brands USAID as 'criminal organization' in growing row
Updated 14 sec ago
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Elon Musk brands USAID as 'criminal organization' in growing row

Elon Musk brands USAID as 'criminal organization' in growing row
  • USAID's account on X platform had been disabled and the agency's website was still offline
  • Reports suggest that Donald Trump wants to roll USAID into the State Department

WASHINGTON: US billionaire Elon Musk attacked the US Agency for International Development on Sunday, calling it a "criminal organization" after President Donald Trump moved to freeze the bulk of Washington's foreign assistance for three months.
The Trump administration has since issued waivers for food and other humanitarian aid. But aid workers say uncertainty reigns -- and that the impact is already being felt by some of the world's most vulnerable.
Trump has tasked his advisor Musk with cutting the government workforce and slashing what the Republican calls waste and unnecessary spending under the guise of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is now reportedly taking aim at USAID.
"USAID is a criminal organization," Musk wrote on his X platform, replying to a video alleging USAID involvement in "rogue CIA work" and "internet censorship."
In a subsequent post, Musk doubled down and, without giving evidence, asked his 215 million X followers, "Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including Covid-19, that killed millions of people?"
He did not elaborate on the allegations, which officials in the previous administration linked to a Russian disinformation campaign.
There have been reports Trump wants to roll USAID into the State Department. His team did not respond to AFP calls for comment.
USAID's account on X had been disabled, AFP confirmed, and the agency's website was still offline.
USAID, an independent agency established by an act of Congress, manages a budget of $42.8 billion meant for humanitarian relief and development assistance around the world.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has criticized the "total destruction" of the agency.
CNN reported that two senior security officials at USAID were put on forced leave after they barred staff from DOGE, which is run by Musk, from accessing classified documents as part of their sprawling effort to inspect the government's books.
The two DOGE representatives also wanted to access staff files and security systems at USAID's headquarters, the broadcaster reported, citing multiple sources.


UK’s Starmer seeks strong trade relations with the US in the wake of Trump’s tariffs

UK’s Starmer seeks strong trade relations with the US in the wake of Trump’s tariffs
Updated 27 min 16 sec ago
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UK’s Starmer seeks strong trade relations with the US in the wake of Trump’s tariffs

UK’s Starmer seeks strong trade relations with the US in the wake of Trump’s tariffs
  • The UK left the EU in 2020, following a referendum in 2016. Trump, who supported the Leave side in the Brexit vote, has not yet said whether he plans to target the UK with tariffs

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that he would seek a strong trade relationship with the US after President Donald Trump suggested he would slap Europe with tariffs after he hit America’s biggest trading partners — Canada, Mexico and China — with import taxes.
Starmer spoke to reporters while hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at his country estate on the eve of a mission to improve relations with the European Union.
“In the discussions that I have had with President Trump, that is what we have centered on, a strong trading relationship,” he said. “So it is very early days.”
Canada and Mexico ordered retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s announcement that the US on Tuesday will stick a 25 percent levy on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10 percent on goods from China. Trump said he “absolutely” plans to impose tariffs on the EU.
The UK left the EU in 2020, following a referendum in 2016. Trump, who supported the Leave side in the Brexit vote, has not yet said whether he plans to target the UK with tariffs.
The tit-for-tat tariffs have triggered fears of a global trade war.
“Tariff increases really right across the world can have a really damaging impact on global growth and trade, so I don’t think it’s what anybody wants to see,” British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC.
Starmer is heading to Belgium to meet with EU chiefs Monday, where the UK leader is aiming for a relationship “reset”.
While ruling out rejoining the EU trade bloc five years after Brexit, Starmer said he wants to forge a closer relationship on defense, energy and trade.
“I think that is certainly in the UK’s best interest, I do believe it’s in the EU’s best interest, and already I hope that in the last seven months there’s been a manifest difference in approach, tone and relationship,” he said.
Starmer hosted Scholz at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence in Buckinghamshire 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of London, where the two leaders discussed Ukraine and the Middle East, according to a Starmer spokesperson.
The prime minister spoke of their common approach to “key issues and challenges,” including their shared commitment to Kyiv as the war with Russia enters its fourth year this month.
The two agreed that Russia’s invasion had emphasized the need to beef up and coordinate defense production across Ukraine, according to a readout of the meeting from a Starmer spokesperson. The UK and Germany signed a defense pact in October, described by officials as the first of its kind between two NATO member countries, to boost European security amid rising Russian aggression.
The British government’s strategic defense review later this year will include lessons learned in Ukraine and the need to outmaneuver Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hostile acts across the continent, Starmer said.
Starmer thanked Scholz for visiting in the middle of a difficult re-election campaign. Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats are lagging in the polls behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union and the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, with three weeks to go before the Feb. 23 vote.
“When I started as prime minister seven months ago now, I was determined to strengthen the relationship between our two countries — already very good, but I thought it could be stronger on a number of fronts,” said Starmer, leader of the center-left Labour Party. “And thanks to your leadership, I think we’ve made real progress.”
Scholz said the visit that included a walk around the grounds of the estate and a lunch was a “good sign of the very good relations between our two countries, and indeed between the two of us.”


Tens of thousands protest in Berlin against proposed German immigration crackdown

Tens of thousands protest in Berlin against proposed German immigration crackdown
Updated 38 min 41 sec ago
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Tens of thousands protest in Berlin against proposed German immigration crackdown

Tens of thousands protest in Berlin against proposed German immigration crackdown
  • The draft law would have restricted family reunifications for some refugees and called for more people to be refused at the border

BERLIN: Thousands of people protested in Berlin on Sunday against plans to limit immigration proposed by opposition conservatives and supported by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Friedrich Merz, the conservatives’ leader who is tipped to become Germany’s next chancellor after a national election set for Feb. 23, sponsored a draft bill with AfD support, breaking a taboo against cooperating with the far-right party.
Around 160,000 gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, next to the Bundestag lower house, according to the Berlin police. The protesters held banners reading “We are the firewall, no cooperation with the AfD” and “Merz, go home, shame on you!.”
Merz, the CDU/CSU’s candidate for chancellor, on Friday tried to push the immigration bill in the lower house but failed to secure a majority as some of the deputies from his own party refused to support it.
Their failure to endorse his draft dealt a blow to the authority of Merz, who had pushed for the law despite warnings from party colleagues that he risked being tarnished with the charge of voting alongside the far-right.
Mainstream German parties had previously joined forces to prevent the AfD, which is under surveillance by Germany’s security services, from achieving legislative power, something they call a firewall against the far-right.
The draft law would have restricted family reunifications for some refugees and called for more people to be refused at the border. Two-thirds of the public support stronger immigration rules, according to a recent poll.
Merz had argued that the bill was a necessary response to a series of high-profile killings in public spaces by people with an immigrant background. But Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens said the proposals would not have stopped the attacks and violated European law.
On Saturday, tens of thousands took to the streets across many other German cities, including Hamburg, Stuttgart and Leipzig, in similar protests against the CDU/CSU and the AfD.


Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in east Congo condemned

War-displaced people leave the camps on the outskirts of Goma on February 2, 2025. (AFP)
War-displaced people leave the camps on the outskirts of Goma on February 2, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 02 February 2025
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Rwanda-backed M23 offensive in east Congo condemned

War-displaced people leave the camps on the outskirts of Goma on February 2, 2025. (AFP)
  • The 16-nation South African Development Community on Friday called for a summit with the eight-country East African Community to “deliberate on the way forward regarding the security situation in Congo”

WASHINGTON: Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven rich democracies have strongly condemned a major offensive by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and urged M23 and the Rwanda Defense Force to halt their offensive.
In a statement released by Canada, which holds the G7 presidency, the foreign ministers said they were particularly concerned about the capture of Minova, Sake, and Goma, and urged the parties to protect civilians.
“This offensive constitutes a flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Congo,” the statement said, citing a big increase in displaced civilians and worsening humanitarian conditions.
Meanwhile, Rwanda welcomed on Sunday calls for a summit of two African regional groups to discuss the escalating conflict.
It is the latest escalation in a mineral-rich region bedeviled by decades of fighting involving dozens of armed groups, and has rattled the continent with regional blocs holding emergency summits over the spiraling tensions.
The 16-nation South African Development Community on Friday called for a summit with the eight-country East African Community to “deliberate on the way forward regarding the security situation in Congo.”
The Rwandan Foreign Ministry said it “welcomes the proposed joint summit,” adding in a statement it had “consistently advocated for a political solution to the ongoing conflict.”
The SADC emergency session was not attended by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda — which is not a member of the bloc — but Congolese leader Felix Tshisekedi was present virtually.
Earlier in the week, Kagame appeared at an EAC emergency session when the DR Congo president was absent.
The SADC meeting was convened after soldiers from two member states, South Africa and Malawi, were killed in the fighting around Goma where they were deployed.
Some were part of Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In Sunday’s statement, Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry criticized the presence of the force in DR Congo, saying it should “not be there because they are adding to the problems that already existed.” Kagame has made similar remarks previously.
While Rwanda has never admitted to military involvement in support of the M23 group a UN report last July said it had roughly 4,000 troops in eastern DR Congo, and accused Kigali of having “de facto” control over the group.
Rwanda alleges that DR Congo supports and shelters the FDLR, an armed group created by former Hutu leaders who massacred Tutsis during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The intensified fighting has provoked fears of a humanitarian crisis.
In a region already home to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people, the fighting has forced another 500,000 people to flee their homes, said the UN.
Separately, reports said two Tanzanian soldiers have been killed in clashes in the last 10 days in eastern Congo.
“Following a series of attacks in the areas of Sake and Goma carried out by M23 rebels, JWTZ (Tanzania People’s Defense Force) has lost two soldiers,” army spokesperson Gaudentius Ilonda said.
He confirmed that four others had been wounded and were currently receiving treatment in Goma.
Ilonda said the remaining units — without giving any further details — “continue to carry out their duties under the guidance of SADC.”
Preparations were underway to repatriate the bodies of the Tanzanian soldiers, he added.
So far 13 South Africans, three Malawians, and a Uruguayan national have died in the DR Congo clashes.

 

 


India reviewing crypto position due to global changes, senior official says

India reviewing crypto position due to global changes, senior official says
Updated 02 February 2025
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India reviewing crypto position due to global changes, senior official says

India reviewing crypto position due to global changes, senior official says
  • The review follows crypto-friendly policy announcements by US President Donald Trump
  • It may further delay publication of a discussion paper that was due for release in Sept. 2024

India is reviewing its stance on cryptocurrencies due to shifting attitudes toward the virtual asset in other countries, a senior government official told Reuters on Sunday.
The review, which follows crypto-friendly policy announcements by US President Donald Trump, could further delay publication of a discussion paper on cryptocurrencies that was due for release in September 2024.
“More than one or two jurisdictions have changed their stance toward cryptocurrency in terms of the usage, their acceptance, where do they see the importance of crypto assets. In that stride, we are having a look at the discussion paper once again,” India’s Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said in an interview.
Seth said that because such assets “don’t believe in borders,” India’s stance cannot be unilateral.
He did not specifically mention the United States, where Trump last week ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group tasked with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile, making good on his promise to overhaul US crypto policy.
Indians have poured money into cryptocurrencies in recent years despite the country’s tough regulatory stance and steep trading taxes.
India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) issued show-cause notices to nine offshore cryptocurrency exchanges in December 2023 for non-compliance with local rules.
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, was hit with a fine of 188.2 million rupees ($2.25 million) in June 2024, a month after it registered with the FIU in an effort to resume operations in the country.
Last year, India’s market watchdog recommended that several regulators oversee trade in cryptocurrencies, in a sign that at least some authorities in the country are open to allowing the use of private virtual assets.
That position stood in contrast to statements by the nation’s central bank, which has maintained that private digital currencies represent a macroeconomic risk.