06/04/2026

MONDAY | APR 6, 2026

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Indonesian peacekeepers killed in Lebanon laid to rest

500 SENIORS KILLED BY CAREGIVERS IN JAPAN OSAKA: A recent analysis of a government report in Japan showed that nearly 500 people aged 65 and older died between 2006 and 2024 as a result of murder or abuse by family members or relatives who had been caring for them, Kyodo News reported. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, of those deaths, 142 were men, and 344 were women, with 220 cases involving murder, murder suicide and attempted murder suicide committed by relatives, in which only the elderly person died. Of the cases, 132 were due to neglect, 69 were due to abuse, and 65 were categorised as “other,“ including cases with unknown causes. Reported causes of the murders and other incidents included financial hardship and caregiver exhaustion. – Bernama CHINA EXECUTES FRENCH DRUG TRAFFICKER PARIS: A Frenchman sentenced to death in China in 2010 for drug trafficking has been executed, France’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday, expressing its “consternation”. Chan Thao Phoumy, a 62-year-old Frenchman born in Laos, was executed, “despite the efforts of the French authorities, including efforts to obtain a pardon on humanitarian grounds for our compatriot”, said a ministry statement. His defence team did not get access to the final court hearing, in violations of his rights, the ministry said. The sentence was carried out in Guangzhou. The ministry reaffirmed France’s opposition to the death penalty “everywhere and in all circumstances” and called for “its universal abolition”. – AFP NEW SEOUL GOVT APP TO MONITOR STALKERS SEOUL: A new mobile app in South Korea will allow stalking victims to track their stalkers’ whereabouts, the Justice Ministry said yesterday, as authorities seek to bolster protection for victims following the killing of a young woman last month, Yonhap News Agency reported. The app, set to launch in June after a trial, will allow victims to check the location of a stalker wearing an ankle monitor when the person comes within a certain distance. The move comes after authorities faced criticism following the killing of a woman in her 20s by her stalker last month. The ministry is working to integrate its system with that of the police so that police officers can respond swiftly. – Bernama MALDIVES REJECTS MERGING KEY POLLS MALE: The Maldives voted to reject a government plan to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day to save costs, a referendum showed yesterday. An overwhelming 68.77% voted against the proposal at Saturday’s plebicite, in which two thirds of the 294,000-strong electorate participated, according to the Elections Commission of the Maldives. The proposal was to shorten the legislature’s term by about five months and align it with the presidential election, which is due in September 2028. A local council election held alongside the referendum also saw a humiliating defeat for President Mohamed Muizzu’s People’s National Congress. – AFP

BR I E F S

o Govt calls for probe and security guarantees

BANDUNG: Three Indonesian peacekeepers killed in two separate explosions in southern Lebanon last week were laid to rest in their hometowns yesterday. Peacekeeper Farizal Rhomadhon, 28, died when a projectile exploded on March 29 in southern Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war. Two other blue helmets, Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, 33, and Muhammad Nur Ichwan, 26, died a day later when an explosion struck a logistics convoy of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), also in southern Lebanon. The deadly incidents sparked calls from Indonesian authorities for an investigation and security guarantees for peacekeeping forces. The soldiers were buried yesterday in caskets draped in the Indonesian flag during military funerals with gun salutes. Weeping family members scattered flower petals on their graves. Zulmi was buried in a military cemetery in his hometown in Bandung, West Java, while Ichwan and Farizal were laid to rest in their respective hometowns in Central Java and Yogyakarta. “I’m letting him go proudly. I accept it sincerely, even though it is not what I had hoped as a parent,” Zulmi’s father Iskandarudin told reporters after the funeral. “I am certain that he’s waiting for me in heaven.” Agus Subiyanto, the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, told reporters that every fallen soldier will receive compensation in recognition of their service. “We have prepared all the rights and The March 16 attack hit a drug treatment centre and killed 411 people, according to Afghan officials. A UN source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said they had verified at least 250 killed, with more still missing. “There should be investigations on this. Like me, many mothers lost their sons, many women lost their husbands and many sisters lost their brothers,” Samira, 43, said at her home, where she scrolled through photos of her eldest son. Afghanistan and Pakistan have been locked in an escalating conflict over claims from Islamabad that Kabul is harbouring militants responsible for cross-border attacks, which the Afghan government denies. Pakistan has maintained it struck a military installation and did not respond to questions about an investigation into the Kabul bombing. AFP journalists at the scene in the hours after the attack saw dozens of bodies. The force of the blast made it difficult to identify some of the victims, the Norwegian Refugee Council, a humanitarian NGO, said shortly after visiting the site. Samira’s 20-year-old son, Aref Khan, had become addicted to methamphetamine while working at a slaughterhouse in Iran alongside his mother. “His coworkers told him the drug would help him stay awake,” she said. The family returned to Afghanistan a few

A relative grieves next to the grave of Zulmi at the Cikutra Heroes Cemetery in Bandung. – REUTERSPIC

place at a UN facility near El Adeisse on Friday, injuring three more Indonesian blue helmets. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry called the attacks “unacceptable” and urged the UN Security Council “to immediately convene a meeting of troop-contributing countries to Unifil to conduct a review and take measures to enhance the protection of personnel serving with Unifil”. Foreign Minister Sugiono, who like many Indonesians only has one name, told reporters on Saturday that Indonesia wanted a thorough UN investigation, and demanded better security guarantees for peacekeeping soldiers. – AFP

entitlements that must be given to the fallen soldiers. Among these is compensation from the United Nations,” Agus said after attending Zulmi’s funeral. The bodies of the three peacekeepers arrived in Jakarta on Saturday, received with honours in a ceremony attended by President Prabowo Subianto. Prabowo said on Instagram that Indonesians “strongly condemn every heinous act that undermines peace and causes the deaths of our nation’s soldiers”. Less than a week after the explosions that killed the three peacekeepers, another blast took

Afghan mother seeks justice after bombing KABUL: Samira Muhammadi hopes an international investigation can “extinguish” her pain after a Pakistani bombing killed her son and hundreds of other Afghans in the capital Kabul last month.

Samira being consoled during the second mass funeral ceremony at Eid Gah Mosque in Kabul on March 26. – AFPPIC

(Pakistan) hit the hospital?” she said. Seventeen international humanitarian NGOs, including War Child UK, condemned the bombing, adding that hospitals must not be attacked. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have called for an independent investigation. The latter said those responsible should be “held to account in line with international standards”. – AFP

months ago and tried to build a life in Kabul, with Khan working as a labourer while Samira found employment as a domestic cleaner. But Afghan authorities had her son admitted to the “Camp Omid” rehabilitation centre in eastern Kabul to deal with his addiction. “I sat with him and recorded a video of him, and he was having his food,” recounted Samira, who had brought her son supplies just hours before the attack. “Usually, when there is a war, the military places are targeted or hit, so why did they