Coast Guard's most modern ship ready to evacuate Filipinos in Middle East
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) most modern vessel stands ready to repatriate Filipino workers in the Middle East as tensions rise between the United States and Iran.
Offshore patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang
“Mahalaga para sa amin ang kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan na nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa. Makakaasa po kayo na nakatutok ang PCG sa mga nangyayari sa Middle East para masiguro ang kaligtasan ng ating mga makabagong bayani,” PCG commandant Vice Adm. Joel Garcia said.
(The welfare of our countrymen working abroad is important to us. Expect the PCG to monitor the developments in the Middle East to ensure the safety of our modern-day heroes.)
The coast guard will also deploy an additional 18 crew members to assist the ship in its first-ever mission to assist OFWs in the Middle East.
The 83.6-meter BRP Gabriela Silang, considered as the largest and most advanced aluminum hull offshore patrol vessel,
The vessel can carry around 500 people at a time and can perform beyond its contractual specification of 20 knots. It also has a range of 8,000 nautical miles at 15 knots and can endure up to five weeks of operation, according to the PCG.
"It has an excellent sea keeping ability and maneuverability on top of the great comfort it offers for people onboard," the statement read.
The Philippine Embassy in Iraq has raised Alert Level 4 in the Gulf state, calling for evacuation or mandatory repatriation.
According to the DFA, the highest crisis status
Saudi Arabia reveals extensive damage to key oil facilities following weekend aerial strikes that were blamed on Iran, but vows to quickly restore full production even as regional tensions soar.
Yemen's Tehran-linked Huthi rebels, who announced a sudden halt to attacks on Saudi Arabia, claims the strikes on state giant Aramco's facilities in Khurais and the world's largest oil processing facility at Abqaiq.
But Washington has pointed the finger at Tehran, condemning an "act of war" which knocked out half of Saudi Arabia's oil production and on Friday prompted US President Donald Trump to sketch out the latest in a series of economic sanctions against Iran. — AFP
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday accused his US counterpart of "inciting chaos" after President Joe Biden expressed support for protests in the wake of Mahsa Amini's death in custody.
"The remarks of the American president, who is inciting chaos, terror and the destruction of another country, serve as a reminder of the eternal words of the founder of the Islamic republic, who called America the Great Satan," Raisi says, referring to the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei.
"The enemy's plot must be countered by effective measures to resolve people's problems," Raisi adds, according to a presidency statement.
Iran has been rocked by protests since 22-year-old Amini's death on September 16, three days after she was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code for women. — AFP
Detained US citizen Baquer Namazi has been allowed to leave Iran and his son has been granted furlough from prison, a State Department spokesperson tells AFP, confirming their release.
"Wrongfully detained US citizen Baquer Namazi has been permitted to depart Iran, and his son Siamak, also wrongfully detained, has been granted furlough from prison," the spokesperson says. — AFP
President Joe Biden says the United States will place "further costs" on Iran in response to the violent crackdown against "peaceful protestors" in the country.
"This week, the United States will be imposing further costs on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protestors. We will continue holding Iranian officials accountable and supporting the rights of Iranians to protest freely," Biden says in a statement.
Biden says he is "gravely concerned about reports of the intensifying violent crackdown on peaceful protestors in Iran, including students and women, who are demanding their equal rights and basic human dignity."
"The United States stands with Iranian women and all the citizens of Iran who are inspiring the world with their bravery." — AFP
The United States rejects Iranian reports that Tehran's release of two detained Americans will lead to the unfreezing of Iranian funds abroad.
Baquer Namazi, 85, was permitted to leave Iran for medical treatment abroad, and his son Siamak, 50, was released from detention in Tehran, the United Nations said on Saturday.
Now Iran is awaiting the release of about $7 billion in funds frozen abroad, Iranian state media says.
"With the finalisation of negotiations between Iran and the United States to release the prisoners of both countries, $7 billion of Iran's blocked resources will be released," the state news agency IRNA says.
But the US State Department dismissed any such link as "categorically false."
"Baquer Namazi was unjustly detained in Iran and then not permitted to leave the country after serving his sentence, despite his repeated requirement for urgent medical attention," a department spokesperson says. — AFP
Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that Washington is "imposing new conditions" in the negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement.
"On the issue of lifting sanctions, they (the Americans) are interested in proposing and imposing new conditions outside the negotiations," state news agency IRNA quoted Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying.
"In the last two or three weeks, the American side has made excessive demands that contradict some paragraphs of the text," he added.
Iran has been engaged for a year in negotiations with France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China directly, and the United States indirectly in the Austrian capital to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). -- AFP
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