180 missing in Indonesia ferry disaster
AFP, Simalungun
Nearly 180 passengers are missing after a ferry sank into the depths of a volcanic lake in Indonesia, police said Wednesday, almost tripling initial estimates.
But the search-and-rescue agency cautioned it was still unclear how many people were aboard the vessel when it capsized.
The traditional wooden boat which sank Monday on Sumatra’s Lake Toba, a popular tourist destination, was thought to be operating illegally with no manifest or passenger tickets.
S Arabia arrests 2 more women’s rights activists
Reuters, Riyadh
Saudi Arabia detained two more women’s rights advocates earlier this month and imposed a travel ban on several others in an ongoing crackdown in the conservative Muslim kingdom, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
The arrests, just weeks before the much-hyped lifting of a decades-old ban on women driving, have revived criticism of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s approach to ambitious reforms as part of his push to diversify the world’s top oil exporter’s economy.
Turks abroad vote at record level in polls
AP, Istanbul
The number of Turks voting abroad in this month’s presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey rose to a record level of 1.49 million, the head of the High Election Board, Sadi Guven, said on Wednesday.
The elections are taking place in Turkey on Sunday, when President Tayyip Erdogan will be seeking to extend his 15-year rule and assume sweeping new presidential powers which he says the country needs to address economic and security threats.
East Timor PM takes oath on Friday
Reuters, Dili
East Timor will swear in as prime minister on Friday its former president and independence fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos, putting an end to months of political deadlock in the tiny Southeast Asian nation.
President Francisco Guterres dissolved parliament in January after Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri’s minority government faced a legislative stalemate.
