Melting faster than ever, Indonesia’s little-known glacier may disappear by 2025

Glaciers on Puncak Jaya, mountains in eastern Indonesia. (AP/Papua Project Freeport McMoRan)
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Updated 27 March 2022
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Melting faster than ever, Indonesia’s little-known glacier may disappear by 2025

  • Tropical glacier in Papua is one of a handful left in the world
  • Local tribe in the mountain range considers the glacier a sacred site

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s little-known glacier may disappear as early as 2025, the Meteorological, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency BMKG said on Sunday, with rising temperatures having accelerated the melting of the ice.

The tropical glacier, one of a handful left in the world, lies on a mountain near Puncak Jaya in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua. It has undergone a rapid loss of ice coverage and thickness in the past two decades that could lead to the snow completely disappearing in just a few years’ time.

The Papuan glacier is remnant of glaciers that have existed for around 5,000 years, researchers said. It is one of the few remaining tropical glaciers, with others located in South America and Africa.

Dodo Gunawan, who heads BMKG’s climate change department, told Arab News: “The snow on Puncak Jaya will vanish soon. This is happening because of global warming.”

“Because temperatures at the peak have already increased, it can no longer sustain the snow to compact down into the glacier.”

Though the glacier has been melting for years, increasing global temperatures and reduced rainfall that has been exacerbated by El Nino — a phenomenon that causes tropical ocean water and atmospheric temperatures to get warmer — has sped up the thinning of the glacier.

Donaldi Permana, the agency’s deputy director climate and air quality research, said around the beginning of the industrial revolution, in 1850, the total glacier area on the Puncak Jaya mountain range was estimated at around 20 sq km. By 2002, ice coverage in the area had decreased to around 2 sq km, and was recorded at 0.34 sq km by May 2020.

The thickness of the glacier has been greatly reduced since 2010, when it was at 32 meters, to 22 meters in 2016. The ice thinned to around 8 meters by 2021.

“Under these conditions, between 2025 and 2027, it is likely that the ice will vanish,” Permana told Arab News.

Tropical glaciers are highly sensitive indicators and recorders of climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The disappearance of the snow-capped peaks in Papua would not only mean the loss of a rare site for Indonesia, but might also affect the fauna and flora in the area, an aspect that Permana said researchers still need to explore further.

It will also be a huge cultural loss for the local Papuan community.

“Culturally, there are native tribes around Puncak Jaya who consider the glacier as a sacred site. The ice’s disappearance will have an impact on them,” Permana said.


King Charles hosts Macron in first European state visit since Brexit

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King Charles hosts Macron in first European state visit since Brexit

LONDON: King Charles welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to Britain on Tuesday for the first state visit by a European leader since Brexit, their warm greeting symbolising the return of closer ties between the two countries.
Macron, treated to a British state visit for the first time, enjoys a strong personal relationship with the king, and there were smiles as the pair met alongside their wives Brigitte and Queen Camilla, watched over by soldiers on horseback, in ceremonial uniform of blue tunics and scarlet plumes.
Charles is expected to emphasize “the multitude of complex threats” both countries face when he speaks at the castle later, while Macron posted on X on his arrival that “there is so much we can build together.”
Accompanied by heir to the throne Prince William, and his wife Princess Catherine, the group climbed into several horse-drawn carriages for a procession in Windsor which finished in the medieval castle’s courtyard, west of London.
Since the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer last year,
Britain has been trying to reset ties with European allies, and Charles will want to play his part in setting the tone of the visit before the political talks get underway.
“Our two nations share not only values, but also the tireless determination to act on them in the world,” the 76-year-old monarch, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, will say later.
While Macron’s three-day trip is filled with meetings about economic issues and foreign affairs, the first day of the state visit, which comes 16 years after the late Queen Elizabeth hosted then French president Nicolas Sarkozy, is largely focused on pageantry, and heavy in symbolism.
Before heading to London on Tuesday afternoon to address parliament, Macron joined Charles to inspect the Guard of Honour. He was due to have lunch with the family and tour the Royal Collection, paintings and furniture amassed by the Windsors over the centuries.
The monarch’s right eye was noticeably red when he met Macron. A Buckingham Palace source said he had suffered a burst blood vessel in one eye which was unrelated to any other health condition.
The day will end with a state dinner back at Windsor Castle, including speeches by Charles and Macron in front of about 150 guests.
“It’s wonderful that we’re going down the path of welcoming European leaders once again,” Alastair King, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, who will host a banquet in Macron’s honor on Wednesday, told Reuters.
Migrants deal
Later in his trip, Macron and Starmer’s discussions will focus on a range of issues, including how to stop people-smuggling and improve economic and defense ties at a time when the United States is retrenching from its traditional role as a defender of European security.
Although there have been tensions over the shape of post-Brexit ties and how to stop asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats, Britain and France have been working closely together to create a planned military force to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
British officials are hoping that Macron will agree to a pilot of an asylum seekers’ returns deal. This would involve Britain deporting one asylum seeker to France in exchange for another with a legitimate case to be in Britain, thereby disrupting the business model of people-smuggling gangs.
A record number of asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats from France in the first six months of this year. Starmer, trailing behind Nigel Farage’s insurgent, right-wing Reform UK party in the polls, is under pressure to come up with a solution.
France has previously refused to sign up to such an agreement, saying Britain should negotiate an arrangement with all the EU countries.

A million more Afghans could be sent back from Iran, Red Cross warns

Updated 11 min 23 sec ago
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A million more Afghans could be sent back from Iran, Red Cross warns

  • Over 1.2 million people have been returned to Afghanistan from Iran since the start of this year
  • Aid groups worry that the new arrivals from Iran risks further destabilizing the country

GENEVA: The Red Cross said on Tuesday it is bracing for another 1 million people to be sent back from Iran to Afghanistan amid mass deportations that humanitarians say are placing a heavy strain on the aid system. Over 1.2 million people have been returned to Afghanistan from Iran since the start of this year, according to data from the UN refugee agency, with the number of returns surging since Iran and Israel launched strikes on each other last month.

Sami Fakhouri, Head of Delegation for Afghanistan at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said he witnessed busloads of people returning to a border crossing at the Islam Qala border in Herat province in recent days.

“(We) are anticipating that an additional one million people, possibly more, may return from Iran to Afghanistan by the end of this year,” he told reporters at a Geneva press briefing, voicing concern about their futures with many having left their home country years ago and were now homeless.

“The majority didn’t have a say in coming back. They were put on buses and driven to the border,” he said.

Afghanistan is already battling a humanitarian crisis and aid groups worry that the new arrivals from Iran – on top of hundreds of thousands pressured to return from Pakistan – risks further destabilizing the country.

Fakhouri said the IFRC appeal for 25 million Swiss francs ($31.40 million) to help returning Afghans at the border and in transit camps is only 10 percent funded, voicing concerns about whether it could maintain support for people.

Babar Baloch, a spokesperson at the UN refugee agency, said tens of thousands were arriving from Iran daily with over 50,000 crossing on July 4.

He also voiced concerns about family separations.

“The psychological scars are going to stay with Afghans who have been made to come back to the country in this way,” he said at the same press briefing.


Southeast Asia to step up US trade talks over Trump’s new tariffs

Updated 5 min 16 sec ago
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Southeast Asia to step up US trade talks over Trump’s new tariffs

  • Indonesian government ‘very optimistic’ about upcoming negotiations 
  • Thai minister vows to ‘fight to the very end’ for best possible deal 

JAKARTA: Officials in Southeast Asian countries prepared on Tuesday to step up trade negotiations with Washington after President Donald Trump’s administration hit some of them with over 30 percent tariffs, despite a raft of new concessions and offers to boost investment in the US.

Trump sent letters on Monday to over a dozen nations, notifying them of new tariff rates set to begin on Aug. 1. About half were heavily export-reliant Southeast Asian economies. 

In Indonesia, the region’s largest economy, Trump’s announcement came despite last week’s offer to increase imports of US wheat, soybean, cotton, corn and energy products in a deal that could go as high as $34 billion, and to boost investment in the US.  

Jakarta has immediately sent Airlangga Hartarto, its top negotiator and senior economics minister, to Washington to hold talks with US officials.

“We have a team of negotiators ready in Washington, D.C., and our coordinating minister for economic affairs is on his way to D.C.,” Hasan Nasbi, head of the presidential communications office, told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.

“With the date extended to Aug. 1, it means we have a few weeks’ opportunity to negotiate, and our government is very optimistic about these negotiations as we have good relations with all countries, including the US.”

Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday that countries “aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an additional 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy.”

The post followed Sunday’s summit of BRICS — a geopolitical forum that includes Russia, China, India, and Indonesia — which condemned Trump’s tariffs.

The US is Indonesia’s second-largest export market after China, with exports valued at around $26.3 billion in 2024, according to data from Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency. Last year, Indonesia ran a $16.8 billion goods trade surplus with the US.

Also, Thailand is facing a tariff rate of 36 percent, despite offering to cut levies to zero on many US imports last week.

“The United States has not yet considered our latest proposal,” Thai Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira wrote on X. 

“We will not stop; we will keep fighting. We will seek additional measures and find more solutions to ensure that we all fight to the very end, to secure the best possible deal for Thailand.” 

In 2024, Thailand’s shipments to the US accounted for 18.3 percent of its total and were worth about $54.96 billion last year, making the US the country’s biggest export market. 

Malaysia, for whom the US is the second-largest trading partner after China, and the largest export destination — with total trade worth $71.4 billion in 2024 — faces a 25 percent tariff rate.

Its Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the country “remains committed to constructive engagement” with the US.

“While we understand concerns regarding trade imbalances, we believe that dialogue and engagement are the best approach,” he wrote on X.

“(Malaysia’s Trade Ministry) will continue discussions with U.S. counterparts to address unresolved issues. Our goal is to achieve a balanced, mutually beneficial, and comprehensive trade agreement.” 


Kurdish PKK militants to begin handing over arms in Iraq on Friday, NTV says

Updated 26 min 14 sec ago
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Kurdish PKK militants to begin handing over arms in Iraq on Friday, NTV says

  • A delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara to discuss the process of disarmament

ANKARA: Militant fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) will begin handing over weapons in groups in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah on Friday as part of a peace process with Turkiye, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported on Tuesday.
The PKK — locked in a bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades — decided in May to disband and end its struggle, following a public call from the group’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in February.
NTV said, without citing sources, that Ocalan would send a video message to the PKK’s base in northern Iraq’s mountainous Qandil region to call for a mechanism for the disarmament process. It would be the first video featuring his face and voice since his jailing in 1999.
The whole process is expected to take around two to five months, NTV said, adding that militants who hand in weapons will stay in Iraq and halt any PKK activities.
On Monday, a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party — Turkiye’s third-biggest party, which played a key role facilitating the disarmament decision — met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara to discuss the process.
NTV earlier reported that Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, would travel to Baghdad on Tuesday for talks with Iraqi officials to discuss the weapons handover.
Since the PKK launched its insurgency against Turkiye in 1984 — originally with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state — the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a huge economic burden and fueled social tensions.
Ankara says skirmishes between Turkish soldiers and PKK militants in southeastern Turkiye and northern Iraq have continued since the group’s decision to disband, adding that Turkiye was still raiding PKK storage areas and bases in the region.


Bangladesh’s garment industry eying GCC growth as exports to Saudi Arabia rise

Updated 29 min 2 sec ago
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Bangladesh’s garment industry eying GCC growth as exports to Saudi Arabia rise

  • Garment exports to the Kingdom surged 7.3% YOY in 2024-25
  • Apparel producers see untapped potential for high-end fashion exports

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry is seeing growing demand in Saudi Arabia, industry leaders say, as they look to the Kingdom as a key market for expansion in the Gulf region.

The garment sector is a key driver of the Bangladeshi economy. The country is one of the largest garment exporters in the world, second only to China. The industry accounts for more than 80 percent of Bangladesh’s total foreign sales revenue.

The newest data from the Export Promotion Bureau shows that garment exports to Saudi Arabia were valued at $152 million in the fiscal year 2024–25, up by 7.3 percent year-on-year.

The upward trend reflects growing interest from Saudi buyers in Bangladeshi apparel, particularly items such as T-shirts and jeans, according to Akhter Hossain Apurbo, vice president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

“We have strong potential for increasing exports to the GCC region, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE being the most significant markets,” he told Arab News.

Major European brands with retail outlets in Saudi Arabia place orders with Bangladeshi producers who deliver products directly to Saudi ports.

“We export to wholesale buyers and later on retailers sell these goods across the region,” Apurbo said. “Mostly Saudi locals are buying these Bangladeshi-made garments.”

Garment exports to Saudi Arabia have been growing consistently over the past few years. In the 2022–23 fiscal year, they were valued at $130 million — a major increase from the $84 million recorded in 2020-21, when production was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Saudi Arabia is a growing and potential market for our garment exporters as there is a captive market of about 3 million Bangladeshi migrants,” said Mohiuddin Rubel, former director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

“Saudi citizens are also our target customers. Bangladesh makes world-class garment products and Saudis have good taste in clothing and they can afford it ... most of these buyers choose renowned European and American brands.”

Rubel sees significant untapped potential for high-end garment products and local Bangladeshi brands to enter the Saudi market.

“We have to focus on increasing exports to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, aiming to reduce our dependency on the EU and US markets. It’s the need of the hour,” he said.

“We need to focus on building our own brands (for the Middle Eastern market) besides producing clothes for internationally renowned brands. We have some competitive advantages as the goods will reach their destinations in a shorter time, with lower freight costs ... it will also help us increase product diversity.”