Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun has documented her bid to flee her allegedly abusive family with minute-by-minute social media updates, intensifying the global spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s rights record.

As public pressure heightened, an Australian minister appeared to go beyond Canberra’s initial bureaucratic promise to consider her case if and when UN experts judge her fear of mistreatment justified.

“If she is found to be a refugee, then we will give very, very, very serious consideration to a humanitarian visa,” health minister Greg Hunt told public broadcaster ABC.

    Hunt said he had spoken to immigration minister David Coleman about Qunun’s case late on Tuesday.

The young woman has said she was fleeing from Saudi Arabia to Australia but was stopped en route by Thai and Saudi officials.

Her plight shot to public attention when she barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to avoid deportation and shared dozens of fearful but defiant messages online insisting on her right to asylum.

Thai authorities initially said Qunun would be sent back, but they abruptly changed course as the story pinballed across social media.

Even Australia’s hardline home affairs minister, a former policeman and staunch supporter of anti-immigration policies, expressed sympathy.

“There is no special treatment in this case,” Peter Dutton said Wednesday.

But, he added, “nobody wants to see a young girl in distress and she has obviously now found a safe haven in Thailand”.

Video footage posted on Twitter by a Saudi human rights activist appeared to show a Saudi official complaining that Thai authorities should have confiscated Qunun’s smartphone.

“When she arrived, she opened a new (Twitter) account and her followers grew to 45,000 in one day,” he said in Arabic.

“It would have been better if they had confiscated her mobile instead of her passport.”

AFP was unable to contact Saudi authorities for comment on the footage.

Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s toughest restrictions on women, including a guardianship system that allows male family members to make decisions on behalf of female relatives.

The kingdom’s human rights record has been under heavy scrutiny since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the country’s embassy in Istanbul last year.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar since a military crackdown started in 2017 — most to sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh — but many have been living in limbo on the border, unwilling to enter the camps or return home.

They are now caught on the sidelines of fighting between Myanmar troops and the Arakan Army, a militant group seeking more autonomy for western Rakhine state’s Buddhist-majority population.

“Heavy fighting is going on between the government troops and Arakan Army inside Myanmar,” Rohingya leader Dil Mohammad told AFP.

    “The situation is very tense,” he said, adding the security build-up and daily gunfire had created “panic”.

Myanmar troops last week set up security camps and bunkers along the border after fighting saw 13 police killed.

Some of the fortifications are directly adjacent to a border fence running alongside a stream, and overlook shacks erected by an estimated 4,500 displaced Muslims living in the narrow strip of land.

Refugee community leader Nur Alam said gunfire could frequently be heard after dark on the other side of the border.

“Every night it is close by. The Myanmar border guard have set up 10 new posts near our camp. It’s very intimidating,” he told AFP.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the United Nations said it was “deeply concerned” about the situation in the area.

A Bangladesh official said they were aware of the border tensions.

“We will talk to the relevant authorities to discuss what to do,” local administrator Kamal Hossain said.

Rohingya in Buddhist-majority Myanmar have suffered decades of persecution. Impoverished western Rakhine state in particular is scarred by deep ethnic and religious hatred.

Refugees pouring into Bangladesh have detailed mass killings, arson and rape at the hands of Myanmar troops and Buddhist mobs.

Myanmar has denied any wrongdoing, saying it was defending itself against Rohingya militants who attacked police posts.

The United Nations has called for a genocide investigation into the crackdown.

PUTRAJAYA: A former top official of Tourism Malaysia and a chief executive officer of a private firm were brought to the magistrate’s court here by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to be remanded.

The 64-year-old top official and the 32-year-old woman CEO were arrested on Tuesday over allegations of involvement in a questionable RM99.693mil project.

MACC officials brought the two in separate cars to the Putrajaya court complex at 9am Wednesday (Jan 9).

The two were clad in the orange MACC lock-up garb and both covered their faces from the press.

The contract was for the firm to act as a go-between for Tourism Malaysia and a China-based firm to promote Malaysia on social media.

The deal was said to be done against Tourism Malaysia’s procurement regulations and done hastily without due diligence.

Policemen stand guard outside Xuanwu Normal Experimental Affiliated Number One Primary School after 20 primary school pupils were wounded in an attack at the school, in Beijing, China, 08 January 2019. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

A male suspect was brought “under control” and the wounded pupils were admitted to hospital, the Xicheng district government said.

    Surnamed Jia, the 49-year-old assailant was a contractor hired by the school for daily maintenance work.

His contract was scheduled to terminate at the end of January, stated the district government on its official Twitter-like Weibo account in a post that has since been deleted.

Though the school was discussing another job posting for Jia, he used a hammer and attacked students to “vent his resentment”, they said.

Police have taken “compulsory measures” against the suspect.

 Policemen stand guard outside Xuanwu Normal Experimental Affiliated Number One Primary School while parents pick up their children after 20 primary school pupils were wounded in an attack at the school, in Beijing, China, 08 January 2019. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Beijing police did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Violent attacks targeting schoolchildren are not uncommon in China, which has seen a slew of deadly incidents over the past few years, usually involving knives.

In April last year, a 28-year-old man killed nine middle-school students as they were returning home in one of the country’s deadliest knife attacks in recent years.

The killer, who said he had been bullied when he attended the school in northern China’s Shaanxi province, was executed in September.

Later in 2018, a knife-wielding woman injured 14 children at a kindergarten in Sichuan province.

The 39-year-old assailant slashed students while they were returning to the classroom after morning exercises.

In January 2017, a farmer armed with a kitchen knife wounded 12 children at a kindergarten in southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He was executed on Friday.

Such incidents have forced authorities to increase security around schools and led to calls for more research into the root causes of such acts.

– ‘Death and destroy’ –

Violent crime has been on the rise in China as the nation’s economy has boomed in recent decades and the gap between rich and poor has widened rapidly.

Studies have also described a rise in the prevalence of mental disorders, some of them linked to stress as the pace of life becomes faster and support systems wither.

In November, a driver rammed his car into a group of children crossing a street in front of an elementary school in northeastern Liaoning province, killing five people and injuring at least 19.

The man had been contemplating suicide “due to quarrels” with his spouse before the tragedy occurred, according to a report by official news agency Xinhua.

Earlier that month, at least 13 people died when a bus plunged off a bridge in Chongqing municipality, after the driver got into a fist fight with a passenger who had missed her bus stop.

In June 2017, a bomb blast that killed eight people and injured dozens outside a kindergarten in Fengxian, eastern China, was blamed on a 22-year-old introvert with health problems who had written the words “death” and “destroy” on the walls of his apartment.

Initial reports said the fire was probably caused by an electrical shortcircuit in an elevator on the fifth floor of Genting Casino at about 11pm.

The fire then spread up through the elevator’s shaft, with the flames spreading throughout the floors and causing a massive blaze that could be seen from far away.

The town is adjacent to Aranyaprathet district in Thailand’s Sa Kaew province. Poipet town is infamous for its casino, with most gamblers and visitors coming from Thailand.

Thai authorities in Sa Kaew also dispatched firefighters and fire engines to help their counterparts fight the blaze.

Rescuers had to break the glass at the front of the building to evacuate people as thick smoke engulfed the stairways.

The bid to snuff the flames was achieved shortly after midnight, but smoke could still be seen.

An initial investigation showed that the casino is run by a Chinese firm.

Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad said taking the oath of office would mean that the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong would be able to take on his responsibilities immediately.

He was explaining the decision of the Conference of Rulers on Monday (Jan 7) to hold a special meeting on Jan 24 to choose the new King, and on Jan 31 for the swearing-in ceremony.

“Officially there are two occasions: One, the day the Rulers meet to choose the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and two, the day they take their oaths of office.

“These are referred to as Mesyuarat Khas Majlis Raja-Raja (special meeting of the Conference of Rulers). This is to differentiate from the normal routine meetings – usually three in number – as scheduled annually.

“The former is a restricted meeting which only involves the substantive hereditary Rulers from the nine states and the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, who is the person appointed by the Conference of Rulers pursuant to Schedule V of Article 38 of the Constitution as the Secretary.

“The latter meeting (taking of Oath of Office) is formally a special meeting of the Conference involving all the members, meaning the Rulers and Yang di-Pertua Negeri (or their nominated representatives) in the presence of the Chief Justice of Malaysia (or the next most senior judge should he be absent).

“The oaths to be taken by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Deputy must be witnessed by two Rulers who are selected by the Conference of Rulers,” said Syed Danial.

He further explained that the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong would then sign a proclamation that he had taken office from that date.

“That proclamation will be read by the Prime Minister. For that special meeting (of taking Oath of Office), guests are invited to witness the august and important occasion.

“They include the official advisers to the Rulers such as all the Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers, the Federal Ministers and other VIPs,” said Syed Danial to The Star.

Dr Mohammad Shamsuddin, an expert on Malay customs from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said the newly sworn-in King would then decide when he wanted to hold the ceremonial installation.

“He will be advised by the Conference of Rulers on a proper date to hold the ceremony. Usually, it is within a year of the swearing-in.

“However, the King can immediately assume all the duties of the King right after taking the oath of office, even though he has yet to be installed as the King ceremonially.

“While the taking of Oath of Office is done among the Conference of Rulers themselves, the installation ceremony is largely a public affair and it is to announce to the public and the world that the country has installed a new King,” said Dr Mohammad.

Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Muhammad V, resigned as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on Sunday (Jan 6).

    Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun arrived at Bangkok’s main airport over the weekend on a flight from Kuwait after running away from her family who she alleges subjected her to physical and psychological abuse.

The 18-year-old said she had planned to seek asylum in Australia, fearing she would be killed if sent back by Thai immigration officials who stopped her at the airport on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia’s parlous rights record has been under heavy scrutiny since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

    Initially, Thai authorities said Qunun would be sent back to Saudi Arabia.

But as her plight pinballed across social media — including tweets about how she had barricaded herself in a hotel room — they abruptly changed course and allowed her to leave the airport late Monday in UNHCR’s care.

The agency said it was “very grateful” that officials did not send Qunun back against her will.

“It could take several days to process the case and determine next steps,” the UNHCR representative in Thailand, Giuseppe de Vicentiis, said in a statement.

Thailand is not a signatory to a UN convention on refugees, and asylum seekers are typically deported or wait years to be resettled in third countries.

The UNHCR insists anyone with an asylum claim should not be sent back to the country they fled under the principle of non-refoulement.

Saudi Arabia’s embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

But in an extensive explanation released on Twitter, the embassy denied sending officials to Suvarnabhumi airport to meet Qunun as she arrived from Kuwait, where her family live.

It also said her passport had not been impounded as alleged while explaining it is in contact with her father, a senior regional government official in the kingdom, “to inform him on her situation”.

Another official told a Saudi-owned TV channel that Qunun’s father had contacted the mission for “help” in bringing her back.

Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s toughest restrictions on women, including a guardianship system that allows male family members to make decisions on behalf of female relatives.

Qunun has said she believes she will be imprisoned or killed if sent back and that her family is so strict it once locked her in a room for six months for cutting her hair.

Under the hashtag #SaveRahaf, the young woman’s desperate pleas became a social media sensation, where she was able to post live updates and videos from the Bangkok airport in both Arabic and English, racking up more than 80,000 followers.

Late Monday, her Twitter account said that her father had arrived in Bangkok. AFP was not able to independently verify the news.