Philippines sees new human trafficking trend after 206 rescued from Myanmar scam hub

Victims of scam hubs in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country’s border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in Myawaddy, Myanmar, Feb. 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Updated 05 April 2025
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Philippines sees new human trafficking trend after 206 rescued from Myanmar scam hub

  • Filipinos were among thousands of people held at a complex in Myawaddy on Thai-Myanmar border
  • A few dozen more are trapped at another scam center, in an area held by rebels fighting Myanmar’s junta

MANILA: The recent rescue of 206 Filipinos from a scam hub in Myanmar has shed new light on how they have been recruited and trafficked by criminal gangs, which Philippine officials say are increasingly targeting middle-class professionals and graduates.

Several thousand people from various countries were freed in late February and March from online scam centers run by syndicates operating along Myanmar’s border with Thailand, where many of them are believed to have been forced to deceive strangers online into transferring large amounts of money.

They were released in a weeks-long, highly publicized crackdown by Thai, Myanmar and Chinese forces.

Among the freed people were the Filipinos, who arrived in their homeland last week. They were lured by well-paid job offers in Thailand.

“But when they got to Thailand, they were taken to another place where they ended up with scammers,” Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega told Arab News.

“All right, what they would do is pretend to be women, beautiful women who would lure people via the Internet to send money, and then they would disappear. And if they didn’t meet their quota of clients, or if they failed to scam someone, they would be given corporal punishment.”

The rescued Filipinos were held by scammers at an office complex in the town of Myawaddy — one of the many such compounds in the region, where the UN estimates that more than 100,000 people have been trafficked to generate income from online gambling, fraudulent investment schemes and romance scams.

Those in Myawaddy were repatriated after their scam hubs were forced to close after Thailand cut off electricity, Internet and fuel supplies to the area and local armed groups transferred them to Myanmar authorities, which allowed them to cross the border river and exit to Thailand.

At least a few dozen Filipinos remain at another scam center, trapped in an area held by rebels fighting Myanmar’s ruling junta, according to the Philippine embassy in Yangon.

“They think there are about 59 or 60 left. They can’t move from their location,” De Vega said. “They need to be rescued ... Our embassies are working on it.”

Investigations show that while some people volunteer to work in the scam compounds, most are lured by promises of well-paying office jobs — a new trend which in the Philippines became visible in 2022, when the first reports and complaints started to be filed by victims or their relatives.

“The victim profile has significantly changed from what it was before. Before, you would get people from remote areas, those that were economically deprived,” Department of Justice Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV, spokesperson for the Interagency Council Against Trafficking, told Arab News.

“The victims that we found in Myanmar were more from the middle class, educated, not necessarily unemployed when they were here in the Philippines, but looking for greener pastures abroad.”

The jobs they were offered — usually through unofficial channels such as social media — were at call centers, in marketing, customer sales, or as chat support agents at companies in Thailand.

But after being transported through the Thai border, they were forced to work in scam centers — settlements with new office buildings suddenly popping up in rural areas.

“Actually, it wasn’t the worst conditions. It was a community, a self-sustaining community within a compound in a remote area ... There are restaurants, there are accommodations, obviously the office space, and forms of entertainment as well,” Clavano said.

“They were very organized. One section would be dedicated to just reaching out to people and trying to get them to hook onto the whole conversation. And then once they’re hooked, they’re passed to a different division ... And then, finally to another division, where they’d send the money and they’d never see that again.”

The Philippines Bureau of Immigration said earlier this week that its probe shows the repatriated Philippine nationals developed a new model to target Filipino migrants in the US, tricking them to invest in fraudulent cryptocurrency accounts.

They used different scamming methods, including investment scam, crypto scam, and dusting scam — attacks on cryptocurrency wallets that send tiny amounts of cryptocurrency, known as “dust” in order to uncover the identity its owner and allow phishing and extortion.

Work at the scam centers resembled the models that Filipinos know from POGO hubs — companies in the Philippines offering online gambling services to players outside the country.

While some POGOs are legal and licensed by the government, there are also illegal ones linked to online scam.

“People think that they are earning an honest living when in fact, they’re illegally impacting other people’s lives .... We fall prey to these big syndicates who represent themselves as dutiful employers who are offering real jobs,” Clavano said.

“And it’s become a perennial problem. It’s been a lot more prevalent over the past few years because, precisely, of the advent of technology and social media.”


Singapore’s long-ruling party on track for landslide win

Updated 21 sec ago
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Singapore’s long-ruling party on track for landslide win

  • Supporters of the PAP, which had ruled Singapore since 1959, gathered at a stadium waving flags and cheering in an early celebration

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s long-ruling People’s Action Party is on track to win another landslide in Saturday’s general elections, according to a sample count of votes released by the Election Department.
The sample count showed the PAP in strong leads in 82 out of 97 seats, which gives it a total 87 seats in an enlarged parliament.
The opposition Workers Party maintained 10 seats. The sample count was not conclusive, but has mirrored final results in the past.
It marked an improvement for the PAP, which secured 83 seats in 2020 polls. It also will bolster Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his first electoral test since taking office a year ago. A final result was expected in the early hours of Sunday.
Supporters of the PAP, which had ruled Singapore since 1959, gathered at a stadium waving flags and cheering in an early celebration.

 


Gabon swears in ex-junta chief Oligui as president

Updated 14 min ago
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Gabon swears in ex-junta chief Oligui as president

  • The main concerns are an aging electricity network, which suffers frequent power cuts, youth unemployment that hovers at 40 percent, poor or lacking roads, and a ballooning public debt, forecast to hit 80 percent of GDP this year

AKANDA, Gabon: Gabon began swearing in on Saturday President-elect Brice Oligui Nguema, who led a coup ending decades of Bongo family rule and swept polls last month with nearly 95 percent of the vote.
The general and former junta leader, who toppled Ali Bongo in August 2023, ending 55 years of dynastic rule by the Bongo family, officially takes the presidential reins after leading a 19-month transition government.
Some 20 African heads of state arrived for the inauguration ceremony at a stadium north of the capital, Libreville, while supporters decked out in T-shirts and flags bearing Oligui’s likeness packed out the 40,000-capacity venue.

BACKGROUND

Some 20 African heads of state arrived for the inauguration ceremony at a stadium north of the capital, Libreville.

Leaders in attendance include Gambia’s Adama Barrow, Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Djibouti’s Ismail Omar Guelleh, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo from Equatorial Guinea.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi, likewise entered around midday.
Tickets were free to attend the investiture at the Angondje stadium, built to honor the friendship between Gabon and China.
It marks the country’s first swearing-in ceremony for such a large audience.
From the morning, the roads of the capital, Libreville, and around the Angondje stadium were clogged with traffic, AFP journalists saw.
On the program for the ceremony was a series of artistic performances and a military parade, according to state media, which will be followed by a “victory concert” on the Libreville waterfront in the evening.
In the lead-up, hundreds of workers have been painstakingly cleaning and repainting areas around the main roads leading to the stadium.
Authorities and official media have called for people to be public-spirited because of the influx of foreign guests.
“All citizens of Greater Libreville are asked to extend a warm welcome to these distinguished guests,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It called on residents near the stadium to “take part in cleaning and beautifying” the area.
Oligui, 50, faces serious challenges in leading the oil-rich country, which needs to revamp crucial infrastructure and diversify its economy, but is heavily indebted.
The main concerns are an aging electricity network, which suffers frequent power cuts, youth unemployment that hovers at 40 percent, poor or lacking roads, and a ballooning public debt, forecast to hit 80 percent of GDP this year.
During the transition, Oligui portrayed himself as a “builder,” launching numerous construction projects, while vowing to “crack down” on corruption to get the country back on track.

 


Over 45,000 affected by Somalia flash floods

Flash floods have forced thousands to flee to makeshift camps. (Supplied)
Updated 26 min 21 sec ago
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Over 45,000 affected by Somalia flash floods

  • “The flooding swept away homes and inundated crops, disrupting livelihoods in one of Somalia’s most agriculturally vital regions,” OCHA noted

NAIROBI: More than 45,000 people have been affected by flash floods in Somalia since mid-April, the UN said, with at least four people killed in the rapidly rising waters.
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, and extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent and intense. “Since 15 April, flash floods due to heavy to moderate rains in Somalia have affected over 45,000 people and swept away four people, including two children and a woman,” said UN humanitarian agency OCHA, in a report published on April 30.
It warned the flooding came at a time when NGOs — often the frontline responders — are “facing crippling funding reductions that have severely limited their ability to respond to emerging needs.”
It detailed that roughly 6,000 people were displaced in the Middle Shabelle region after the Shabelle River burst its banks on April 29.
It said families have sought refuge in makeshift camps on higher ground but are “facing acute shortages of food, clean water, and health care.”
“The flooding swept away homes and inundated crops, disrupting livelihoods in one of Somalia’s most agriculturally vital regions,” OCHA noted.
The day before, some 9,500 people were also displaced in central Galmudug State after light to moderate rains caused flash floods, it said. The floods come as the international humanitarian community grapples with the US decision to dismantle much of USAID, the country’s main foreign development arm.
“Currently, many humanitarian organizations in areas where the flash flooding is occurring have been forced to pause, scale back, or even close their critical programs,” OCHA noted.
Intense floods hit Somalia in 2023. More than 100 people were killed and over a million were displaced after severe flooding caused by torrential rains linked to the El Nino weather pattern.

 


Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce

Updated 03 May 2025
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Zelensky says won’t play Putin ‘games’ with short truce

  • “This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because in two or three days, it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war,” Zelensky said
  • He said Ukraine would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May“

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Russian leader Vladimir Putin as theatrics, but said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire.
Moscow said the truce, set to coincide with its World War II commemorations on May 9, was aimed at testing Kyiv’s “readiness” for long-term peace, accusing Zelensky of making a “direct threat” to events on the holiday.
The Kremlin rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by Kyiv and Washington in March, and Putin has since offered little to end the three-year Russia invasion.
“This is more of a theatrical performance on his part. Because in two or three days, it is impossible to develop a plan for the next steps to end the war,” Zelensky said.
He was speaking Friday to a small group of journalists including AFP in remarks embargoed until Saturday.
Some in Ukraine have criticized the truce as an attempt to prevent Kyiv from disrupting the World War II anniversary celebrations, with foreign leaders due in Moscow to watch a military parade on Red Square and an address by Putin.
Zelensky said Ukraine would not be “playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin’s exit from isolation on 9 May.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the ceasefire was aimed at testing “Kyiv’s readiness to seek ways to achieve long-term sustainable peace.”
Russian shelling killed two people in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Saturday, while a drone strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson left one other person dead, regional officials said.
Russian authorities meanwhile accused Ukraine of an overnight attack on the southern port city of Novorossiysk, damaging apartment buildings and injuring five people.
Leaders of around 20 countries, including China’s Xi Jinping, have accepted invitations to join the May 9 celebration, according to the Kremlin.
Zelensky said some countries had approached Kyiv to warn they were traveling to Russia and had requested safety.
“Our position is very simple toward all countries that have traveled or are traveling to Russia on May 9 — we cannot take responsibility for what is happening on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said.
“They are ensuring your safety,” Zelensky said, adding that Russia “may take various steps on its part, such as arson, explosions, and so on and then blame us.”
Zelensky did not say what Ukraine would do during the truce, but Russia jumped on the comments, accusing Kyiv of making a “direct threat” to the commemorations.
“He is threatening the physical safety of veterans who will come to parades and celebrations on the holy day,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. “His statement... is, of course, a direct threat.”
Russian officials have promised grand celebrations for the occasion, during which Putin will seek to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine.
Russian troops have been making gruelling gains on several parts of the front, as both Moscow and Kyiv have stepped up their aerial attacks.
The United States has warned it could abandon efforts to broker a ceasefire if it does not see progress.
Washington is seeking “a complete, durable ceasefire and an end to the conflict,” rather than a “three-day moment so you can celebrate something else,” US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said this week.
Bruce said it would ultimately be up to Trump to decide whether to move ahead with diplomatic efforts.
Trump has overhauled US policy toward Russia since taking office, initiating a rapprochement with the Kremlin.
This culminated in an on-camera clash between Trump and Zelensky at the White House on February 28, where both leaders had been set to sign a mineral deal granting US access to Ukrainian resources in exchange for some protection.
Ukraine has since renegotiated the deal, which would see Washington and Kyiv jointly develop and invest in Ukraine’s critical mineral resources.
Zelensky on Friday said the deal was beneficial to both sides and protected Ukraine’s interests, even though the accord offers no concrete security guarantees for Kyiv.
That followed a meeting between Trump and Zelensky at the end of April before Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican, the first encounter since their public clash.
“We had the best conversation out of all those that preceded it,” Zelensky said Friday.
“I am confident that after our meeting in the Vatican, President Trump began to look at things a little differently.”


Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill

Updated 03 May 2025
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Serbia’s President Vucic cuts short US visit and returns home after falling ill

  • Vucic suddenly fell ill during a meeting in the US
  • He was admitted to the Belgrade Military Hospital upon arrival

BELGRADE: Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has cut short a visit to the United States and returned to Serbia over an unspecified health emergency, state RTS television reported on Saturday.
Vucic suddenly fell ill during a meeting in the US and decided to return home after consulting doctors, the report said. He was admitted to the Belgrade Military Hospital upon arrival, it added.
Vucic was previously in Miami, Florida, where he had met with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Vucic had said he also was hoping to meet with US President Donald Trump.
Richard Grenell, US presidential envoy for special missions, expressed hope that Vucic would recover. “Sorry to miss you but hope all is ok,” Grenell wrote on X.
It was not immediately clear what happened and Vucic’s office said they will inform the public later. Vucic, 55, is known to have high blood pressure.
Serbia’s populist leader also has said he would travel to Russia later this month to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow, despite warnings from European Union officials that this could affect Serbia’s bid to join the bloc.