Anti-Eritrean government activists, left, clash with supporters of the Eritrean government, in Tel Aviv on Sept. 2, 2023. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he wants Eritrean migrants involved in a violent clash in Tel Aviv to be deported immediately and has ordered a plan to remove all of the country’s African migrants.
The remarks came a day after bloody protests by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens of people injured. Eritreans, supporters and opponents of Eritrea’s government, faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal and rocks, smashing shop windows and police cars. Israeli police in riot gear shot tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters.
The violence on Saturday returned to the fore the issue of migrants, which has long divided Israel. Its resurgence comes as Israel is torn over Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan, and supporters cite the migrant issue as a reason why the courts should be reined in, saying they have stood in the way of pushing the migrants out.
“We want harsh measures against the rioters, including the immediate deportation of those who took part,” Netanyahu said in a special ministerial meeting called to deal with the aftermath of the violence. He requested that the ministers present him with plans “for the removal of all the other illegal infiltrators,” and noted in his remarks that the Supreme Court struck down some measures meant to coerce the migrants to leave.
About 25,000 African migrants live in Israel, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, who say they fled conflict or repression. Israel recognizes very few as asylum seekers, seeing them overwhelmingly as economic migrants, and says it has no legal obligation to keep them.
The country has tried a variety of tactics to force them out, including sending some to a remote prison, holding part of their wages until after they agree to leave the country or offering cash payments to those who agree to move to another country, somewhere in Africa.
Critics accuse the government of trying to coerce the migrants into leaving. Under international law, Israel cannot forcibly send migrants back to a country where their life or liberty may be at risk.
Netanyahu said Sunday he didn’t think deporting supporters of the Eritrean government would be a problem.
Migrants’ supporters say Israel, a country founded upon the ashes of the Holocaust and built up by Jewish refugees, should welcome those seeking asylum. Opponents claim migrants have brought crime to the low-income southern Tel Aviv neighborhoods where they have settled.
The clashes came as Eritrean government supporters marked the 30th anniversary of the current ruler’s rise to power, an event held near the Eritrean embassy in south Tel Aviv. Eritrea has one of the world’s worst human rights records and migrants in Israel and elsewhere say they fear death if they were to return.
Critics see Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan as a power grab meant to weaken the courts and limit judicial oversight on government decisions and legislation. Supporters say it is meant to restore power to elected legislators and rein in what they say is an interventionist and liberal-leaning justice system.
There are about 20,000 Eritrean asylum seekers living in Israel. Many of them arrived in Israel illegally over Israel’s border with Egypt.
Netanyahu’s office issued a statement Saturday saying that the prime minister would convene a special ministerial team Sunday “to examine measures to be taken against illegal infiltrators who took part in the disturbances, including steps toward deportation.”
The Eritreans say they will face persecution if they are repatriated.
After heavy rainfall caused thick mud to inundate roadways, tens of thousands of Burning Man revelers were left stranded in a remote section of the Nevada desert.
Videos shared on social media on Saturday show ankle-deep mud throughout Black Rock City, a temporary city erected for the annual week-long event, where people could be seen sloshing around with garbage bags or Ziploc bags over their feet to avoid getting stuck in the pasty mud.
Access to and from Black Rock City was closed "for the remainder of the event" after rainfall pummeled the area Friday night and Saturday morning, turning the sandy desert into thick mud, organizers said in a statement that was posted on social media Saturday. The weather was so severe it triggered a "shelter in place" alert, where attendees were urged to conserve food and water.
Burning Man is held annually in a remote part of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada roughly 100 miles from Reno. The event, which dates to 1986, draws more than 60,000 attendees to Black Rock City to dance, make art and witness the burning of a massive wooden effigy known as the Man, according to the festival's website. The event, held this year from August 27 to September 4, has been postponed as attendees, also called "burners" are trapped by the inclement weather hitting the area.
Burning Man, according to the website, is not a festival but rather a "community and global cultural movement" that is based on 10 countercultural principles, such as radical self-expression and radical self-resilience.
The Burning Man website warns that attendees are responsible for their own survival and must be ready for harsh desert conditions.
The Burning Man Project, a non-profit group headquartered in San Francisco, California that organizes the event told Newsweek in an emailed on Saturday night that the people attending the event are prepared extreme weather.
Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley, a spokesperson for the Burning Man Project, told Newsweek that attendees are urged to "wait it out."
"Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another," Debucquoy-Dodley said to Newsweek. "We have come here knowing this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive. It is because of this that we are all well-prepared for a weather event like this."
The Burning Man Project, according to the statement, has conducted "table-top drills for events like this" and is working to set up mobile-cell trailers and busses off site. Attendees are urged to follow Burning Man accounts on social media and check the website for more information and updates
"Get some rest and spend some quality time with your campmates," Debucquoy-Dodley said. "We will all get out of this, it will just take time."
The gate and airport into Black Rock City are closed and no driving is permitted into or out of the city except for emergency vehicles, the organizers said on X, formerly Twitter.
With more rain in the forecast, conditions are expected to get worse. All burns are postponed as of Saturday evening, including the famed igniting of the Man, according to the website.
Some burners decided to ditch their muddy campsites by hiking several miles to the nearest road, according to videos shared on social media.
In one clip, DJ Diplo told his 2.4 million X followers that he hiked five miles with his friend, comedian Chris Rock, before they were able to hitch a ride from a fan.
"Just walked 5 miles in the mud out of burning man with chris rock and a fan picked us up," Diplo posted.
just walked 5 miles in the mud out of burning man with chris rock and a fan picked us up pic.twitter.com/0uxSXLHgY6
Shortly after Diplo shared the video on X, the Washoe County Sheriff's Department posted about the closure of the entrance to Burning Man for the remainder of the event. Officials warned that anyone driving near the area will be "turned around."
Newsweek reached out via email to the Washoe Sheriff's Office for comment.
Philip Lewis, an editor for HuffPost, shared a roughly 40-second video on X that shows burners and their campsites covered in mud.
"Tens of thousands of people attending the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert are being told to conserve food, water and fuel as they shelter in place after a heavy rainstorm," Lewis posted.
Tens of thousands of people attending the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert are being told to conserve food, water and fuel as they shelter in place after a heavy rainstorm https://t.co/63N6id7vynpic.twitter.com/sc0VeClt9Y
A viral TikTok video, which garnered more than a million views in four hours on Saturday after it was posted by user ninja__natalie, appears to show a jeep stuck in deep mud.
A group strike by Russian drones overnight to Sunday destroyed fuel storage facilities supplying the Ukrainian military in the Odessa Region's Reni port, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"Tonight the Russian armed forces carried out a group strike by unmanned aerial vehicles against storage facilities supplying fuel for military equipment of the Ukrainian armed forces in the port of Reni in the Odessa Region. The strike achieved its target. All designated facilities were hit," the ministry said.
During the special military operation, the Russian military has used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) expertly to accomplish tasks without loss of personnel.
In June, Ukraine attempted a counteroffensive that resulted in little more than heavy losses in manpower and military equipment supplied by the West. The latter has proved useless in helping Kiev achieve its objectives, much to the chagrin of Ukraine's Western partners.
Ukraine reported port infrastructure damage in Odessa Region
Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian drone over Russia's Belgorod Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
"Today (September 3), at around 12:30 Moscow time [09:30 GMT], an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by an unmanned aerial vehicle against objects in Russia was thwarted. The Ukrainian drone was destroyed by air defense over the territory of the Belgorod Region," the ministry said in a statement.
On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian armed forces shot down a Ukrainian airplane-type drone over the Belgorod Region and became one of at least five Ukrainian drones shot down over the Belgorod Region over the past two days
Ukrainian troops resorted to drone warfare in last several months after loss of several strategic locations and growing number of casualties. Military experts stress that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia pursue no meaningful military goal apart from boosting morale among Ukrainians.
Washington and its allies in Europe and elsewhere continue to support Kiev despite it acting increasingly like the Nazis during World War II, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a Telegram post on Saturday. Moscow should abandon hope of reconciling with the West and see it for what it is, he believes.
The leaders of Ukraine are “increasingly talking about ‘holding all Russians accountable’,” Medvedev said, adding that Kiev sees all Russian citizens as ‘Russians’ regardless of their ethnic background. In a thinly veiled reference to the Nazis’ plans for the Soviet Union, the former president said that the world had already seen similar aspirations.
Medvedev noted that Ukraine is still being supported by almost every single Western leader, as well as by the heads of Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. All of them “are direct and obvious Nazi accomplices,” he stated, adding that “they should be treated as the leaders of a pro-Nazi coalition.”
The former president, who now serves as the deputy head of Russia’s National Security Council and the Military Industrial Committee, then insisted that Russia should not “lapse into sweet daydreaming” about achieving reconciliation with the West and joining what he called a “big polyamory family of non-binary genders.”
Medvedev had earlier condemned what he called open glorification of Nazism in Ukraine, pointing to an initiative calling for the establishment of the Stepan Bandera Order that would supposedly be awarded to Ukrainian servicemen. Bandera was a notorious Ukrainian nationalist leader during World War II whose organization was responsible for mass killings of Jews and Poles in Ukraine.
The petition requesting the creation of such an order in Ukraine appeared on the official website of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in May. It has since received nearly 2,300 signatures of the required 25,000.
Medvedev blasted the initiative by comparing it to Germany establishing an order of Adolf Hitler or Italy introducing an order of Bennito Mussolini. “What is there to be ashamed of?” Medvedev mockingly wrote on Telegram at the time. “Let’s just glorify all European Nazis at once. This appears to be the new European ideology,” he added.
About 280,000 individuals enlisted by contract from January 1 - Medvedev
Around 280,000 individuals were enlisted by contract with the Russian Armed Forces from January 1, 2023, Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said.
"Let us continue discussing the critical topic that gathered us here this time in the Far Eastern District. This time I meet heads of regions of the [Russian] Federation in person, in view of significant of the staffing work," Medvedev said when opening the meeting. "According to data of the Defense Ministry, about 280,000 persons were enlisted by contracts to ranks of the [Russian] Armed Forces since January 1," he noted.
Some of them were in the reserve and the other ones are volunteers, Medvedev added.
Menteri Investasi/Kepala BKPM Bahlil Lahadalia (kelima kiri), Sekretaris Jenderal Perhimpunan Bangsa-Bangsa Asia Tenggara (Sekjen ASEAN) Kao Kim Hourn (keempat kiri), Executive Secretary ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana (keempat kanan), ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Chair Arsjad Rasjid (ketiga kanan), Deputy Secretary General of Board of Investment Thailand Sonklin Ploymee (kedua kiri), Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Malaysia Teuku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Bin Teuku Abdul Aziz (ketiga kiri), Minister at the Prime Minister's Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Brunei Darussalam Amin Liew Abdullah (kelima kanan), Deputy Director General, Foreign Investment Agency, Ministry of Planning and Investment Vietnam Nguyen Anh Tuan (kiri), Deputy Director General of Investment Promotion Department Ministry of Planning and Investment Laos Thavichanh Thiengthepvongsa (kedua kanan), Director Cambodia Investment Coordination Board Sar Senera berfoto seusai pembukaan ASEAN Investment Forum 2023 di Jakarta, Sabtu (2/9/2023). Bisnis/Abdurachman
Mengangkat Tema Berkelanjutan
Penyelenggaraan ASEAN INVESTMENT FORUM 2023 merupakan kolaborasi antara Kementerian Investasi/BKPM dengan ESCAP, Bloomberg, serta World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), yang didukung oleh ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC).
Tema kegiatan AIF 2023 sejalan dengan salah satu pilar prioritas dalam Keketuaan Indonesia pada ASEAN 2023 yaitu keberlanjutan, di mana ASEAN perlu mempersiapkan dan mengarah ke tujuan yang sama dalam transisi menuju ekonomi hijau yang dapat dicapai melalui investasi berkelanjutan.
Investasi berkelanjutan dapat menjadi salah satu penggerak dalam mencapai SDGs seperti penyediaan energi bersih dan terjangkau; mendorong industri, inovasi, dan penciptaan infrastruktur yang berkelanjutan; mendukung upaya penanganan perubahan iklim; dan juga penyediaan lapangan pekerjaan serta membantu pertumbuhan ekonomi.
Ketua ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid menyatakan, investasi dan perdagangan sebagai urat nadi perekonomian negara-negara ASEAN harus dikelola secara bersama-sama untuk menciptakan kemakmuran.
"Kita tidak bisa berdiri sendiri, ASEAN harus menyadari kekuatan dan potensi investasi yang dimiliki untuk makin memantapkan posisi ASEAN sebagai surga investasi global," kata Arsjad pada pembukaan ASEAN Investment Forum 2023 di Hotel Sultan, Jakarta, Sabtu, 2 September 2023.
Arsjad mengungkapkan, kawasan Asia Tenggara memiliki potensi dan peluang investasi sangat menjanjikan di bidang pertanian dan pangan, ekonomi digital, kesehatan swasta-publik, kendaraan listrik, pasar karbon, dan sistem pembayaran QT regional.
Keunggulan sumber daya
Potensi dan peluang yang dimiliki, menjadikan ASEAN sebagai target investasi asing langsung (Foreign Direct Investment/FDI) dan menunjukkan peningkatan signifikan dalam beberapa tahun terakhir.
Pada 2010, FDI di Asia Tenggara hanya sekitar USD23 miliar. Jumlah itu melonjak menjadi USD47 miliar pada 2021. "Selain potensi investasi, Asia Tenggara juga memiliki keunggulan berupa sumber daya energi alam yang besar, untuk memenuhi permintaan energi global," kata dia.
Di sisi ekonomi digital, ASEAN juga mengalami pertumbuhan signifikan. Pada 2022, ekonomi digital ASEAN tercatat mencapai USD194 miliar dan diproyeksikan berkembang menjadi USD330 miliar pada 2025. Arsjad mengatakan, dengan potensi dan peluang investasi yang ada, ASEAN memiliki fundamental ekonomi yang kuat untuk pembangunan berkelanjutan.
ASEAN-BAC secara konsisten terus mendorong Forum Investasi ASEAN atau ASEAN Investment Forum dapat memperkuat fundamental ekonomi tersebut untuk menjadikan kawasan ASEAN sebagai surga Investasi global. Di bawah kepemimpinan Indonesia, lanjutnya, ASEAN-BAC telah melakukan roadshow ke negara-negara ASEAN dan mitra eksternal, seperti Inggris, Jepang, Korea Selatan, Australia, Kanada, dan Tiongkok untuk menawarkan potensi dan peluang investasi di ASEAN.
"Kami meyakinkan para pemimpin dan pengusaha bahwa ASEAN wajib diperhitungkan karena memiliki fundamental ekonomi yang kuat, dan ASEAN Investment Forum 2023 dapat dijadikan momentum untuk memperkuat posisi ASEAN sebagai surga investasi global," ujar dia.
Dia menambahkan, ASEAN Investment Forum 2023 diselenggarakan untuk menampilkan peluang investasi ASEAN yang juga berkontribusi bagi pembangunan inklusif dan berkelanjutan.
Ketegangan geopolitik
Sementara itu, Menteri Investasi/Kepala BKPM, Bahlil Lahadalia, dalam sambutan saat meresmikan ASEAN Investment Forum 2023, menyampaikan di tengah kondisi dunia yang tidak dalam keadaan baik-baik saja akibat ketegangan geopolitik dan perubahan iklim, ASEAN menjadi harapan.
Dana Moneter Internasional (IMF) menyatakan ASEAN menjadi cakrawala bagi pemulihan ekonomi global dengan rata-rata pertumbuhan ekonomi sebesar 3,8 persen. Angka tersebut, di atas rata-rata pertumbuhan ekonomi global yang mencapai 2,6 persen. Selain itu, ASEAN juga menunjukkan pertumbuhan FDI.
Ketika FDI global turun, ASEAN justru mencatat sejarah pertumbuhan FDI tertinggi, yakni penerima FDI terbesar kedua di dunia. Meski demikian, Bahlil menyampaikan ASEAN sebagai sentra pembangunan ekonomi global yang inklusif, harus mendorong investasi untuk pembangunan yang berkelanjutan.
Ketika FDI global turun, ASEAN justru mencatat sejarah pertumbuhan FDI tertinggi, yakni penerima FDI terbesar kedua di dunia. Meski demikian, Bahlil menyampaikan ASEAN sebagai sentra pembangunan ekonomi global yang inklusif, harus mendorong investasi untuk pembangunan yang berkelanjutan.
"Aliran investasi ke ASEAN sangat massif, namun tujuan kita bukan meningkatkan nominal, melainkan bagaimana investasi tersebut dapat mewujudkan pembangunan berkelanjutan khususnya SDGS dan rakyat dapat menikmati hasil dari investasi," ujar Bahlil.
Peluang investasi
ASEAN Investment Forum 2023 diadakan pada 2 September 2023, di Hotel Sultan, Jakarta, Indonesia. Forum ini diselenggarakan dalam format hybrid, sebuah pameran area di tempat yang menampilkan stan untuk menampilkan peluang investasi di ASEAN, dan memfasilitasi pertemuan antara investor dan perusahaan yang mencari investasi.
Tujuan utama penyelenggaraan kegiatan ini adalah untuk menyediakan platform bagi ASEAN negara-negara untuk memamerkan proyek investasi andalan kepada investor internasional dan regional pemangku kepentingan, sehingga merangsang aliran investasi asing langsung (FDI) ke wilayah tersebut.
Dengan menampilkan inisiatif mereka yang paling menjanjikan, negara-negara yang berpartisipasi dapat mempercepat dan meningkatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi pembangunan infrastruktur, mendorong inovasi, dan mendorong penciptaan lapangan kerja bagi mereka sendiri dan seluruh dunia wilayah ASEAN.
Fokus isu dalam ASEAN Investment Forum 2023 adalah investasi yang berkontribusi dalam mempromosikan kesetaraan gender, peningkatan akses terhadap layanan kesehatan dan vaksin, pembangunan berkelanjutan dan berketahanan iklim infrastruktur, antara lain menjembatani kesenjangan digital, dan mendukung transisi energi ramah lingkungan, dan pasar karbon.
Menyadari potensi yang sangat besar untuk inisiatif investasi kolaboratif, ASEAN Investment Forum 2023 telah disusun berfungsi sebagai katalis bagi integrasi ekonomi regional dan pembangunan berkelanjutan.
Hadir pada acara itu, Menteri Investasi/Kepala Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia, Sekjen ASEAN Kao Kim Hourn, Menteri Investasi, Perdagangan, dan Industri Malaysia Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Menteri Keuangan dan Ekonomi Brunei Darussalam Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, serta Sekretaris Eksekutif Komisi Ekonomi dan Sosial untuk Asia dan Pasifik (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana.
