Aceh: boat loaded with Rohingya capsizes, dozens missing

Today's news: at the UN Security Council the US ceasefire resolution; India's leading delivery company removes the word 'pure' from vegetarian deliveries after controversy over the expression's caste connotation; In Japan, a claim for compensation for illness caused by an environmental disaster is rejected due to 'expired terms'; Malaysia will not host the Commonwealth Games. 

INDONESIA-MYANMAR

A rusty hull loaded with Rohingya capsized off the coast of Aceh. Indonesian rescuers rescued 69 people, including 9 children. Dozens more refugees are believed to have been overwhelmed and are feared dead. One survivor said some members of the group had been at sea for a month in a wooden boat. A local fishing boat had rescued the group a day earlier. But the migrants apparently tried to board in panic, capsizing both boats.

ISRAEL-GAZA

The United States will present a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council today on the need for "an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage agreement", after previously vetoing several similar texts. Meanwhile, Israeli military operations in the al-Shifa hospital continue in the Strip for the fifth consecutive day. For their part, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have called for the opening of the crossings between Israel and Gaza for the delivery of aid.

INDIA

Zomato - the leading convenience food delivery company in India - has decided to eliminate the word "pure" which it had associated with products prepared in exclusively vegetarian restaurants. Previously, after immediate online reactions, the company had also withdrawn plans to have this fleet of drivers dress differently and use green (instead of red) delivery boxes. Launched as "pure veg mode", the service will now be called "veg only mode". In India the word "purity" - when linked to food preferences - has a clear connotation linked to the caste system. The company also specified that consumers will not be able to request riders who follow a specific dietary preference.

JAPAN

A Japanese district court has rejected mercury poisoning compensation claims made by 144 unrecognized Minamata disaster sufferers. The neurological disease, formally recognized by local health authorities since 1956, has been traced to mercury-contaminated water discharged into an inland sea from a chemical plant in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The court recognized 25 of the claimants as victims of the disease, but did not award them compensation, citing the expiration of a 20-year statute of limitations for their claims.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia has decided not to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to costs, the Kuala Lumpur government said. This is a new blow for an event that many consider outdated. The decision, made at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, follows the withdrawal of the Australian state of Victoria last year.

RUSSIA

The spokeswoman for the Moscow Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, expressed Russia's disappointment about the round of meetings in Tbilisi, Baku and Yerevan of the NATO secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, seen as "interference in the South Caucasus which only leads to instability of an already troubled region”, where “only Russia is able to help”.

KAZAKHSTAN

The KNB security services of Kazakhstan announced that they had arrested four Afghan citizens in Almaty, who distributed bribes of ,000 to various officials to organize the transfers of illegal immigrants from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe, with false Spanish and Portuguese passports, departing from the airport of the southern Kazakh metropolis.

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