VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Philippine authorities have increased efforts to contain an oil spill from a sunken fuel tanker that has affected coastal towns and was still spreading, the environment ministry said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with cleanup challenges.

Improvised spill booms made from cogon grass and coconut materials were helping to restrict oil leaking from MT Princess Empress, the Philippine-flagged tanker that encountered engine trouble in rough seas on Feb. 28 before it went down off central Oriental Mindoro province, the ministry said in a statement.

The vessel was carrying about 800,000 litres (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil when it sank, according to the coast guard.

"The use of improvised spill booms is a feasible precautionary measure to prevent damage to marine environments," it said, adding that the materials are readily accessible to communities at risk.

Marine scientists at the University of the Philippines have warned that the oil spill could also hit the Verde Island Passage, a body of water between Batangas and Mindoro provinces south of Manila, which they said has the highest concentration of marine biodiversity on the planet.

The spill could also reach the northern part of Palawan island, home to some of the country's white-sand beaches.

Resorts in Oriental Mindoro, also known for world-class beaches and dive spots, have already been reeling from the impact of the oil spill, as tourists cancel reservations during what is supposed to be peak season.

A Philippine senate panel on Tuesday opened an inquiry into the incident, with legislators demanding the tanker owner, RDC Reield Marine Services Inc, to participate in the cleanup drive and extend immediate financial aid to affected communities.

They also raised concerns about whether the tanker owner could file insurance claims despite questions about the ship's permit to operate. (Reuters)

The ideological parent of India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has backed the government position against recognising same-sex marriage, months after raising hopes with supportive comments on gay rights.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP government has opposed recognising same-sex marriage and urged the Supreme Court to reject challenges to the current legal framework lodged by LGBT couples.

Final arguments in the case are due to be heard by a five-judge bench starting April 18.

"Marriage can only take place between persons of opposite genders, we agree with the government's stance on same-sex marriage," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Dattatreya Hosabale, a top official of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), as saying.

Hosabale's office confirmed his comments to Reuters.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said in January that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community "should have their own private and social space as they are humans and have the right to live as others".

Although Bhagwat had not referred specifically to same-sex marriage, his comments could force the government to reassess its opposition, a junior minister in the federal government and a senior BJP leader had said at the time.

The RSS, established in 1925, is a powerful Hindu group estimated to have millions of active members across India and overseas. The organisation played a major role in Modi's rise to power.

India decriminalised homosexuality when it scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex in 2018, but it remains a taboo topic in this socially conservative country of 1.4 billion.

The Modi government has argued that any change to the legal structure of marriage should be the domain of the elected parliament, not the court.

The Supreme Court started hearing petitions to recognise same-sex marriages after four gay couples stated that without legal recognition, they could not have access to rights such as those linked to medical consent, pensions, adoption or even club memberships. (Reuters)

Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Tuesday she had asked the country's foreign minister to open official relations with China, pressuring Taiwan ahead of a sensitive visit by President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States and Central America.

China does not allow countries with which it has diplomatic relations to maintain official ties with Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan strongly disputes.

Castro had floated the idea of starting relations with China and cutting ties with Taiwan during her electoral campaign, but said in January 2022 she hoped to maintain ties with Taiwan.

If the Central American country does end relations with Taiwan, it will leave the island with only 13 diplomatic allies.

Opposition Honduran lawmaker Tomas Zambrano told local TV the decision would likely affect the country's relationship with the U.S., its top trade partner, noting that many families depend on remittances sent from the north.

The U.S. has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its most important international backer and arms supplier, a consistent source of friction in Sino-U.S. relations.

"We have to look at things very pragmatically and seek the best benefit for the Honduran people," Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina told local TV on Tuesday.

Castro's statement, made on Twitter, comes ahead of Tsai's planned trip to Central America next month where she is expected to visit Guatemala and Belize. More sensitively, she will transit the United States and meet U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which is likely to anger China.

Taking lawmaker questions in parliament on Wednesday, Chen Chin-kung, deputy head of Taiwan's National Security Bureau, said he "absolutely did not rule out" the possibility of China trying to exert pressure ahead of Tsai's trip.

Taiwan has accused China of luring its allies with pledges of massive amounts of loans, which Beijing denies.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said it had expressed serious concern to the Honduran government and urged it to consider its decision carefully and not "fall into China's trap."

A source familiar with the situation in Taiwan said the island needed to exhaust "every possible means" to maintain diplomatic ties with Honduras.

Meanwhile, China's foreign ministry said it welcomed the Honduran president's statement.

"China stands ready to establish diplomatic ties with countries in line with the One-China principle," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

'CONGRATULATIONS HONDURAS'

The Chinese ambassador in Mexico, Zhang Run, earlier tweeted that the One-China principle, which holds that China and Taiwan are part of one country, is the consensus of the international community.

"Congratulations Honduras on this correct decision to embrace that principle! Hopefully it will be fulfilled," Zhang said.

In December 2021, Nicaragua broke its longstanding ties with Taiwan, switching allegiance to China and declaring that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory."

The U.S. State Department had at the time encouraged countries to maintain their ties with Taiwan and said Nicaragua's decision did not reflect the will of the people as its government was not freely elected.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Honduras.

Taiwan could lose another Latin American ally, Paraguay, if the opposition wins the presidential election in late April.

Paraguay would cut ties with Taiwan and open relations with China, the opposition's presidential candidate Efrain Alegre has said, hoping to boost important soy and beef exports. (Reuters)

Human Rights Watch accused Emirati authorities on Wednesday of arbitrarily detaining for more than 15 months as many as 2,700 Afghan evacuees who have not qualified for resettlement elsewhere.

Many of the Afghans in Emirates Humanitarian City are suffering from depression and other psychological ailments, have no access to legal counsel, and have inadequate educational services for their children, a Human Rights Watch report (HRW) said.

"Living conditions have also deteriorated significantly, with detainees describing overcrowding, decay of infrastructure, and insect infestations," the report said of the facility in Abu Dhabi.

A UAE official told Reuters the UAE continues to work with the United States and other international partners to resettle remaining evacuees in a timely manner as per the original agreement. The official did not comment on the accusation that the Afghans were being detained.

"We understand that there are frustrations and this has taken longer than intended to complete," the official said.

The UAE official said the country is committed to ensuring Afghan evacuees live in safety, security and dignity, and said evacuees have received high-quality housing, sanitation, health, counseling, education and food services.

Human Rights Watch said it had received no responses to requests for comment from the UAE ministries of interior and foreign affairs. 

The U.S. State Department office that handles the relocation of Afghans told the rights group in a letter that the U.S. commitment to resettling eligible Afghans - including those in Emirates Humanitarian City - is an "enduring one", the report said.

Private evacuation groups and the Emirati military flew thousands of Afghans into the UAE during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that ended 20 years of war. Several private groups continued chartered evacuation flights after the U.S. departure.

The evacuees were housed in Emirates Humanitarian City and Tasameem Workers City - apartment complexes converted into refugee housing - and many eventually were cleared for resettlement in the United States, Canada and other countries.

Between 2,500 and 2,700 Afghans, however, did not qualify for resettlement elsewhere and as of January remained in what the HRW report called "arbitrary detention".

The UAE official said the Gulf country has hosted more than 17,000 evacuees evacuated after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021, and has resettled around 87% of them.

"Emirati authorities have kept thousands of Afghan asylum seekers locked up for over 15 months in cramped, miserable conditions with no hope of progress on their cases," said Joey Shea, Human Rights Watch's UAE researcher.

Sixteen Afghans interviewed late last year by the rights group said they could not freely leave the site, with security guards or minders watching them closely on hospital visits and during the only shopping mall visit they have been permitted.

The report said Emirati authorities are not abiding by international law and U.N. guidelines for dealing with asylum seekers and migrants, making their detention "arbitrary".

The UAE is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention.

Human Rights Watch called on the UAE to immediately release the Afghans, allow them access to "fair and individualized" processing to determine their refugee status and protection requirements, and permit them to live where they want until their cases are resolved.

The organization urged the U.S. State Department to use its leverage to win the release of the Afghans and expedite any applications for asylum or humanitarian parole.

The United States has resettled more than 88,000 Afghans evacuated during and after the U.S. troop withdrawal. Thousands who worked for the U.S. government, however, remain in Afghanistan awaiting the processing of their special immigration visa applications. (Reuters)