16/04/2026

THURSDAY | APR 16, 2026

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Agency triggers N. Korea alert

Rohingya boat capsizes, 250 missing BENGALURU: Around 250 people were missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, UN refugee and migration agencies said. The UN agencies said the trawler carrying around 250 men, women and children reportedly sank due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding. It had departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was bound for Malaysia. “This tragedy highlights the devastating human cost of protracted displacement and the continued absence of durable solutions for the Rohingya,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the International Organisation for Migration. For years, many of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority have embarked on rickety wooden boats to flee persecution in Myanmar or overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. The agencies called on the international community to step up and sustain funding for lifesaving assistance for refugees in Bangladesh as well as support for Bangladeshi host communities. In 2017, Myanmar’s armed forces launched an offensive that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh, where they recounted killings, rape and arson. A UN fact-finding mission concluded the 2017 offensive had included “genocidal acts”. Myanmar has denied genocide and says the mission was not objective or reliable. – Reuters

o IAEA chief reports reactor activity

SEOUL: North Korea has made “very serious” advances in its abilities to turn out nuclear weapons, with the probable addition of a new uranium enrichment facility, as it stepped up activity at a key complex, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said yesterday. Enriching uranium can provide an alternative, and experts say, a more effective, path to acquiring weapons grade material in addition to reprocessing spent plutonium extracted from a nuclear reactor. Speaking in Seoul, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a rapid rise in activity at the five-megawatt reactor, the reprocessing unit, a light water reactor and other facilities at the North’s Yongbyon nuclear complex. North Korea’s nuclear programme was estimated at a few dozen warheads, he told a news conference, citing signs of activity such as the operation of a light water reactor and activation of other facilities besides Yongbyon. “All of them point to a very serious increase in the capabilities of the DPRK in the area of nuclear weapons production,” Grossi said, using the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The watchdog had observed construction of a new facility similar to Yongbyon’s uranium enrichment halls, he said, adding that analysis of external features showed a significant expansion of enrichment capacity.

No evidence of Russian technology being used, Grossi tells a news conference in Seoul. – REUTERSPIC

patrol vessel can be glimpsed just outside the entrance on April 10. China’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The traditionally rich fishing ground of the Scarborough Shoal lies entirely within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China also claims it as part of its territory. Last year, China approved establishment of a national nature reserve there, alarming Philippine security officials, who called the move a “clear pretext for occupation”. Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippine coast guard, said yesterday the Chinese government had installed a 352m floating barrier at the entrance on April 10-11. – Reuters in People’s Daily on Tuesday that ties with China were a “strategic priority” . “Cooperation needs to move from ‘increasing scale’ to ‘improving quality’; from expanding trade to deeper connections between development strategies, economic corridors, production chains, supply chains and strategic infrastructure,” he wrote. He reiterated that China was a “strategic choice and top priority” during a speech at Beijing’s Tsinghua University on Tuesday, Vietnamese state media reported. – AFP Naval reactors pose special challenges as nuclear fuel on submarines can go uninspected for long periods during missions. “It is essential that this activity is not conducive to proliferation of nuclear weapons,” Grossi said, adding that the IAEA would seek an “ironclad guarantee” against any diversion of the material. South Korea’s submarine ambitions advanced after President Lee Jae Myung and President Donald Trump finalised joint steps on trade and security last November, in which Washington approved its ally’s plan to build the nuclear-powered vehicles. – Reuters

technology being used. References in a cooperation pact both countries signed last year appeared to be limited to civilian nuclear projects, though it was too early to draw firm conclusions, he said. “Moving towards nuclear weapons would never give any country increased security,” Grossi said, but could instead trigger proliferation. Turning to South Korea’s programme to build nuclear powered submarines, Grossi said he invited Seoul to work closely with the agency to avert proliferation risks, with formal talks to begin soon.

Grossi told a meeting of the agency’s governors this month that it was monitoring a new building at Yongbyon with similarities to an enrichment facility at Kangson, another key nuclear site near the capital, Pyongyang. Satellite imagery supported the IAEA’s assessment, the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said on Monday. It indicated completion of a suspected uranium enrichment plant, capable of producing weapons-grade material, the centre said in a report. Grossi said yesterday the agency had not seen any evidence of Russian

Jakarta, Paris boost defence industry ties JAKARTA: Indonesia, fresh off concluding a defence pact with Washington and an oil deal with Russia, has also agreed to boost defence industry cooperation with France, Jakarta said yesterday after the countries’ presidents met in Paris. President Prabowo Subianto was hosted by Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday, where they “discussed strengthening strategic cooperation”, a statement from the government said.

China moves to block shoal MANILA: China is using ships and a barrier to tighten control of the entrance to Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, satellite imagery obtained by Reuters shows.

The presence of four fishing boats, a Chinese naval or coast guard ship and a new floating barrier comes as the Philippines sends its own coast guard and fisheries vessels to support its fishermen. Photographs taken on April 10 and 11 show the fishing boats anchored along the entrance to the shoal, in addition to a floating barrier stretching across it in the April 11 image. Satellite image provider Vantor, formerly Maxar Technologies, said a probable Chinese naval or coast guard

“This includes the procurement of defence equipment and the strengthening of the defence industry,” it said, citing France as a strategic partner for Indonesia in Europe. The leaders also agreed on cooperation in “energy transition and the development of new and renewable energy”, it said. Prabowo met Putin at the Kremlin on Monday, flying directly from the Russian capital to Paris. With Putin, he had discussed “strengthening their strategic partnership, particularly in the sectors of energy, mineral resources, and national industrial development”, according to Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya. Jakarta, while defending a non aligned diplomatic posture, last year joined the BRICS bloc of emerging economies that includes Russia and China. Prabowo has also signed a trade deal with US President Donald

Hanoi, Beijing tie up deals BEIJING: Vietnam’s President To Lam met President Xi Jinping in Beijing yesterday.

Macron welcomes Prabowo at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris. – AFPPIC

military assets. On Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and announced a “Major Defence Cooperation Partnership”. Jakarta on Tuesday said it was still considering a US request for “overflight clearance” which, if approved, analysts say could be seen as an alignment with Washington over Beijing. – AFP Monday, US

Trump and joined the so-called “Board of Peace”, although he has insisted his country would not pay the US$1 billion (RM3.9 billion) joining fee for permanent membership. Indonesia is a major arms buyer from France, with then-defence minister Prabowo inking a US$8.1 billion (RM32 billion) deal in 2022 to buy 42 French-made Rafale jets. Prabowo has sought to modernise Indonesia’s ageing

The visit is Lam’s first trip abroad since he was elected last week as president. He has called ties with Beijing a “top priority” but faces a precarious balancing act between the US, Vietnam’s main export market, and the country’s largest supplier China. Xi and Lam met in the Great Hall of the People and signed several cooperation agreements. Lam wrote in an article published