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Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at supply boats
Manila [Philippines], March 23 (ANI): The Philippines has accused China's coastguard of firing water cannons at one of its supply boats in South China Sea, Al Jazeera reported. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that BRP Cabra managed to manoeuvre and reach Unaizah May 4 to provide assistance to the Philippine supply boat, which had sustained "significant damage."According to the Philippine military, the confrontati.....»»
Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at supply boats
Manila [Philippines], March 23 (ANI): The Philippines has accused China's coastguard of firing water cannons at one of its supply boats in South China Sea, Al Jazeera reported. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that BRP Cabra managed to manoeuvre and reach Unaizah May 4 to provide assistance to the Philippine supply boat, which had sustained "significant damage."According to the Philippine military, the confrontati.....»»
US Officials Warn of New Axis of Evil With China at the Fore
WASHINGTON - U.S. military and defense officials are increasingly concerned that as China and Russia forge ever stronger ties, they might attempt to challenge Western unity and eventually alter the balance of power on the world stage.The commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee that the evolving relationship between Beijing and Moscow is a "big portion" of.....»»
Texas Governor Signs Extreme Immigration Bill
This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed three measures into law that will harm migrants, asylum seekers, and communities in Texas.The laws build on Operation Lone Star, the state government's now almost $12 billion "border security" program that has not been shown to reduce migrat.....»»
Refugees in the US Shouldn t Pay the Price for Aid to Ukraine
The Biden administration is reportedly considering accepting mandatory detention of asylum seekers, one of the demands of Republican Party lawmakers to "secure the border" in exchange for passing the administration's supplemental aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, and US border enforcement.The US Immigra.....»»
Americas: Migrants Pushed to Cross Darien Gap, Abused
(Washington, DC) - Restrictions on movement imposed by governments in the Americas have pushed migrants and asylum seekers to risk their lives crossing the Darien Gap, a swampy jungle at the Colombia-Panama border, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today......»»
Tunisia: African Migrants Intercepted at Sea, Expelled
(Tunis) - The Tunisian National Guard collectively expelled over 100 migrants from multiple African countries to the border with Algeria on September 18 and 20, 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. Those expelled, which included children and possibly asylum seekers, had been interce.....»»
Armenians out of Nagorno-Karabakh as UN mission arrives
A United Nations mission arrived for the first time in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan on Sunday to assess humanitarian needs of ethnic Armenians fleeing the enclave. Later on Sunday, an Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson told Agence France-Presse that the mission had visited a checkpoint at the Karabakh border with Armenia. He said the mission — headed by the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva — was expected to hold a press conference on Monday. Nearly all of Karabakh’s estimated 120,000 residents have fled the territory, sparking a refugee crisis in Armenia. An AFP journalist at a border crossing along the Lachin corridor that links Karabakh with Armenia, saw only one car arrive from the now-deserted enclave. Sergei Astsaryan, 40, said he was among the last Armenians to leave the region. “I have no idea of where to go, maybe Europe,” he told AFP, adding however that he hoped many of the refugees would return if Azerbaijan “gives guarantees, provides help.” “I’ve talked to Azerbaijani police and they said there would be no problems if we want to return, that we can live in our homes,” he said. The exodus followed Azerbaijan’s defeat of Armenian separatists, who had controlled the region for three decades, in a one-day military offensive last week. The separatists agreed to disarm, dissolve their government and reintegrate with Baku. The Azerbaijani presidency said Baku’s migration service began operating in Karabakh’s main city of Khankendi (Stepanakert in Armenian) to register Armenian residents to ensure their “sustainable reintegration... into the Azerbaijani society,” promising them the “patronage of the Azerbaijani state.” WITH AFP The post Armenians out of Nagorno-Karabakh as UN mission arrives appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
France evacuates five Afghan women ‘threatened by Taliban’
Paris, France — France on Monday was due to receive five Afghan women “threatened by the Taliban” after repeated requests it create a humanitarian corridor for women shut out of public life, an official said. Since returning to power in August 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed a strict interpretation of Islam, with women bearing the brunt of laws the United Nations has labelled “gender apartheid.” Women and girls have been banned from attending high school and university as well as barred from visiting parks, fairs and gymnasiums. They have also mostly been blocked from working for UN agencies or NGOs, with thousands sacked from government jobs or paid to stay at home. French immigration authority chief Didier Leschi told AFP that by presidential order, “special attention is being paid to women who are primarily threatened by the Taliban because they have held important positions in Afghan society... or have close contacts with Westerners.” “This is the case for five women who will arrive today,” Leschi said. The women include a former university director, an ex-NGO consultant, a former television presenter, and a teacher at a secret school in Kabul. One of the women was accompanied by three children. The women had been unable to leave Afghanistan on airlifts to Western countries when the Taliban returned to power in 2021. They fled to neighboring Pakistan where they sought temporary refuge. From there, the French authorities organized their evacuation, Leschi said. Once they arrive in France, they will be registered as asylum seekers and given housing while their applications for refugee status are considered, Leschi said. Leschi said that such evacuations were “likely to be repeated” for other Afghan women with a similar profile. However, Delphine Rouilleault, the head of the France Terre D’Asile NGO working for refugees, said the evacuations were “not the fruit of a political decision” but gained “after a hard fight” to obtain visas for them. The women will be initially housed in a center run by her organization, which has been rallying for months for the evacuation of more Afghan women facing a similar situation. Rouilleault said “hundreds” of Afghan women were “hiding” in Pakistan. In the middle of 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron had pledged that France would “be by the side of Afghans.” French authorities say nearly 16,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since then. An NGO working for Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, Accueillir les Afghanes, in April deplored that Afghan women, especially those who were single, had been largely abandoned and asked Paris to put in place an “emergency” program to take them in. The post France evacuates five Afghan women ‘threatened by Taliban’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants — HRW
Saudi border guards fired "like rain" on Ethiopian migrants trying to cross into the Gulf kingdom from Yemen, killing hundreds since last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday. The allegations, described as "unfounded" by a Saudi government source, point to a significant escalation of abuses along the perilous route from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia, where hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians live and work. One 20-year-old woman from Ethiopia's Oromia region, interviewed by HRW, said Saudi border guards opened fire on a group of migrants they had just released from custody. "They fired on us like rain. When I remember, I cry," she said. "I saw a guy calling for help, he lost both his legs. He was screaming; he was saying, 'Are you leaving me here? Please don't leave me'. We couldn't help him because we were running for our lives." HRW researcher Nadia Hardman said, "Saudi officials are killing hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers in this remote border area out of view of the rest of the world," according to a statement. "Spending billions buying up professional golf, football clubs, and major entertainment events to improve the Saudi image should not deflect attention from these horrendous crimes," she said. Longtime Saudi ally the United States urged "a thorough and transparent investigation". "We have raised our concerns about these allegations with the Saudi government," a State Department spokesperson said. "We urge the Saudi authorities... to meet their obligations under international law," the spokesperson added. A Saudi government source told AFP that the allegations were unreliable. "The allegations included in the Human Rights Watch report about Saudi border guards shooting Ethiopians while they were crossing the Saudi-Yemeni border are unfounded and not based on reliable sources," said the source, who requested anonymity. 'Concerning allegations' The New York-based group has documented abuses against Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia and Yemen for nearly a decade, but the latest killings appear to be "widespread and systematic" and may amount to crimes against humanity, it said. Last year, United Nations experts reported "concerning allegations" that "cross-border artillery shelling and small-arms fire by Saudi Arabia security forces killed approximately 430 migrants" in southern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen during the first four months of 2022. In March of that year, the repatriation of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia began under an agreement between the two countries. Ethiopia's foreign ministry said about 100,000 of its citizens were expected to be sent home over several months. The HRW report said there was no response to letters it sent to Saudi officials. But the Huthi rebels who control northern Yemen alleged "deliberate killings of immigrants and Yemenis" by border guards, in response to a letter from HRW. According to the rights group, migrants said Huthi forces worked with people smugglers and would "extort" them or keep them in detention centers where they were "abused" until they could pay an "exit fee". The Huthis denied working with people smugglers, describing them as "criminals". In 2015, Saudi officials mobilized a military coalition in an effort to stop the advance of the Iran-backed Huthis, who had seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa from the internationally recognized government the previous year. Yemen's war has created what the UN describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with millions dependent on aid. Mortar fire Many of the abuses described by HRW would have occurred during a truce that took effect in April 2022 and has largely held despite officially expiring last October. The HRW report draws from interviews with 38 Ethiopian migrants who tried to cross into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, as well as from satellite imagery, videos, and photos posted to social media "or gathered from other sources". Interviewees described 28 "explosive weapons incidents" including attacks by mortar projectiles, the report said. Some survivors described attacks at close range, with Saudi border guards asking Ethiopians "in which limb of their body they would prefer to be shot", the report said. "All interviewees described scenes of horror: women, men, and children strewn across the mountainous landscape severely injured, dismembered, or already dead," it said. Other accounts described forced rape and beatings with rocks and iron bars. HRW called on Riyadh to end any policy of using lethal force on migrants and asylum seekers and urged the UN to investigate the alleged killings. The post Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants — HRW appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
BBM: Nothing wrong with ‘Barbie’
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday clarified that he does not see any issues to allow the controversial “Barbie” film to be released in Philippine theaters, saying that the movie is just a work of fiction. The President’s statements come in response to concerns raised about the potential inclusion of a map depicting China’s disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea using the nine-dash line. “They say it’s good,” Marcos said in a chance interview on the sidelines of his series of official engagements in Northern Samar. “Of course, what they’re referring to is included in that boundary line they made. My response to that is, what do you expect? It’s a work of fiction.” To recall, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board have decided to allow the summer blockbuster Barbie to be released in the country after a weeklong review involving “two meticulous screenings.” “Rest assured that the Board has exhausted all possible resources to arrive at this decision,” the MTRCB wrote in a letter on Tuesday. MTRCB, an agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion pictures and home videos, explained that there is “no basis to ban the film.” However, the agency asked the movie’s distributor Warner Bros. to blur part of a scene that could be misinterpreted. Previously, “Barbie” has faced criticism for including a map that some claim represents the disputed “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea. This maritime border, rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, is continuously promoted by China to assert extensive territorial claims in the region. The approval for screening in the Philippines comes just one day before the seventh anniversary of The Hague ruling and follows Vietnam’s decision to ban the release of Barbie due to the depiction of the controversial map. The inclusion of this map has also drawn criticism from US lawmakers who accuse the filmmakers of promoting Chinese propaganda. The post BBM: Nothing wrong with ‘Barbie’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PBBM no problem with ‘Barbie’ film showing
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. does not see any issues with allowing the forthcoming "Barbie" film to be released in Philippine theaters, saying that the movie is just a work of fiction. The President made his statement in response to concerns raised about the potential inclusion of a map depicting China's disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea using the nine-dash line. "They say it's good," Marcos said in a chance interview on the sidelines of his series of official engagements on Friday in Northern Samar. "Of course, what they're referring to is included in that boundary line they made. My response to that is, what do you expect? It's a work of fiction," Marcos added. For context, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has decided to allow the summer blockbuster film "Barbie" to be released in the country after a weeklong review involving "two meticulous screenings." “Rest assured that the Board has exhausted all possible resources to arrive at this decision,” the MTRCB wrote in a letter on Tuesday. MTRCB, an agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion pictures, and home videos, explained that there is “no basis to ban the film.” However, the agency asked the movie’s distributor Warner Bros. to blur part of a scene that could be misinterpreted. The film "Barbie" has faced criticism for including a map that some claim represents the disputed "nine-dash line" in the South China Sea. This maritime border, rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, is continuously promoted by China to assert extensive territorial claims in the region. The approval for screening in the Philippines comes just one day before the seventh anniversary of The Hague ruling and follows Vietnam's decision to ban the release of _Barbie_ due to the depiction of the controversial map. The inclusion of this map has also drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers who accuse the filmmakers of promoting Chinese propaganda. The post PBBM no problem with ‘Barbie’ film showing appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Migrants pack truck as U.S. opens off-border ‘waiting rooms’
More than a hundred migrants packed inside a cargo truck have been intercepted in Mexico as the United States has opened processing centers for asylum seekers in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala to keep them away from the country’s border. The 129 migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and India were found Friday night in the eastern state of Veracruz, the National Institute of Migration said on Saturday. Fifty-one Guatemalan migrants were returned to their country while 19 unaccompanied minors from Guatemala and Honduras were transferred to a special shelter, NIM said. The rest were transferred to a migration station. Like the thousands of people fleeing Central American countries and crossing Mexico daily, the 129 migrants found inside the truck and braving heat of 44 degrees Celsius are suspected of trying to enter the US. The US migrant processing centers, also called Safe Mobility offices, opened in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala since 11 May, when Washington ended the Title 42 rule that turned away asylum seekers as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, addresses the continuous influx of visa-less migrants to the Mexico-US border. The centers will interview migrants for legal pathways to the US, Canada and Spain. The interviews must be scheduled through virtual appointment on the movilidadsegura.org website, which is supported by the United Nations Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration. In Costa Rica, Safe Mobility offices will facilitate ways for Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to migrate legally as long as they were in the country prior to 12 June. A State Department official said going to the offices is safer than “making the dangerous journey to try to enter irregularly.” How the processing centers will operate and what the procedures will be is not clear, however, according to Gabriela Oviedo, Human Mobility Project coordinator at the Center for Justice and International Law. The post Migrants pack truck as U.S. opens off-border ‘waiting rooms’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden extends protection for Central Americans, Nepalese in US
President Joe Biden's administration said Tuesday that the United States would not deport for another 18 months hundreds of thousands of people from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal, reversing a move by Donald Trump. Under the extension of so-called Temporary Protected Status, around 337,000 immigrants who have lived for years in the United States will not be forcibly removed, with the Biden administration judging conditions in their home countries to be unsafe. "We will continue to offer support to them through this temporary form of humanitarian relief," Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. The administration, however, stopped short of extending protection to additional people from the four countries. It will apply only to Hondurans and Nicaraguans who have been in the United States since 1998, Salvadorans since 2001, and Nepalese since 2015, with anyone who arrived afterward without authorization subject to deportation. Trump, who is running again for president, made cracking down on immigration from non-European countries a signature issue and rescinded the protected status for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal. Trump's move was put on hold due to a lawsuit, which the Biden administration's action likely makes moot. Salvadorans are the biggest beneficiary of the system. They were granted protected status after devastating earthquakes and it has been extended as the country remains mired in widespread violence. Nepal was granted protected status after a major earthquake in 2015. Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a faith-based group that supports migrants, called the Biden extension "welcome relief" to people who face instability, violence, and environmental disasters. "However, this acknowledgment of dire circumstances also underscores a missed opportunity to expand protections to more recent arrivals, whose return to danger would be no less devastating," Vignarajah said. Biden has tried to walk a tightrope on migration, criticizing the Trump policy as inhumane but also seeking to curb unauthorized entries. The administration last month ended pandemic-era restrictions that made claiming asylum at the border all but impossible but opened more ways for migrants to apply remotely. The post Biden extends protection for Central Americans, Nepalese in US appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
App poses hurdle to migrants
Thousands of Asian and Latino migrants are pinning their hopes of entering the United States from Mexico to a US app intended to manage the mass crossing. Others are turning themselves in to American authorities for processing, ahead of the change in US border regulations scheduled for midnight Thursday that could complicate their entry into the country. The fate of tens of thousands of people seeking asylum at the US’ southern border will, from Friday, hinge on the Custom and Border Protection’s CBP One app which would-be migrants must access to register their name, date of birth, details of their travel documents, and upload a photograph. However, for poor, exhausted people whose phones don’t work, or who have no access to WiFi or electricity, using the app is an almost-impossible hurdle. It’s harder still for those whose phones were broken or stolen on the long trek north. “It’s amazing that an app practically decides our lives and our future,” Jeremy de Pablos, a 21-year-old Venezuelan who has camped out in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez for weeks, told Agence France-Presse. De Pablos, who has dark skin, said the hardest part of using the CBP One app was the facial recognition — an issue that many migrants with darker complexions have pointed to. Those who have phones search for exposed wires from street lights to charge them, and save every penny they have to buy credit to access the Internet. But the challenge does not end there. Venezuelan Ronald Huerta on Wednesday couldn’t get past the application’s language settings. Ana Paola, a 14-year-old Venezuelan, cried disconsolately because the application had been updated and all the information for her family had been deleted. WITH AFP “I’m tired! I can’t take it anymore!” the teenager shouted as she repeatedly clicked “Submit” to recreate the family’s profiles — receiving an “Error 500” message every time. Meanwhile, at Border Patrol checkpoints, authorities separate men from women and transfer them to different processing centers. “When they detain us, they take good care of us. They take us to a cell, they bring us food, and a process of questions begins, as well as a DNA sample, a routine process I imagine for migrants. After that, they are given the freedom to go,” Rossi Carrillo, 26, explained in downtown Brownsville, Texas. “They give us a paper for an appointment with the judge” who decides if migrants can remain in the country, she said. The post App poses hurdle to migrants appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Don’t pee or poop here’
No orinar ni defacar aqui por favor!! The Spanish message on a sign in an alleyway of downtown El Paso, Texas, United States, which translates to “don’t pee or poop here, please,” is just one indication of the migrants crisis confounding US southern border cities. Migrants waiting for the processing of their asylum application in the US have been camping on sidestreets of El Paso and their number is expected to increase with the expiration on 11 May of Title 42, a US pandemic regulation restricting entry of asylum seekers as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19. The campers are posing sanitation and health problem aside from being exposed to danger like the running over of eight migrants by an SUV in Brownsville, Texas on Sunday. The fatalities were waiting at a bus stop outside a migrant aid center when they were hit. Aside from the signage, an alleyway dumpster in El Paso was seen overflowing and people were cutting hair next to it despite the smell of feces, KTSM reported. Laura Cruz Acosta, a spokesperson for the City of El Paso, said restrooms have been closed and the number of portable toilets and washing stations have been increased to address the sanitation problem, according to KTSM. The Texan cities of El Paso, Brownsville and Laredo have declared a state of emergency, as they struggle to cope with hundreds of people — most from Latin America, some from China, Russia and Turkey — who are already there. In El Paso, people sleep on the streets, cowering from the sun under sheets, or sleeping on cardboard. Grubby children beg for change. The city’s mayor, Oscar Leeser, said his officials were readying for many more on Friday, judging by a recent tour of the neighboring Mexican city of Cuidad Jaurez. “On the street we estimated somewhere between eight to 10,000 people,” he said. “There is a caravan... that will be here probably close to 11 May, so I say the real number that we’ll be dealing with is between 12 to 15,000 people.” WITH AFP The post ‘Don’t pee or poop here’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
EU border agency ‘involved in illegal asylum pushbacks’
Europe’s border security agency Frontex has been involved in several illegal “pushbacks” of asylum seekers crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, media including Germany’s Der Spiegel reported Saturday. The investigation “shows for the first time that senior Frontex officials know about illegal practices by Greek border guards — and that some of them […] The post EU border agency ‘involved in illegal asylum pushbacks’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Europe still mired in division after migrant crisis
Since taking in more than a million people fleeing war and poverty in 2015, Europe has stepped up border controls but still falls short on common migration and asylum policies......»»
Baltimore bridge accident: Freighter pilot called for tugboat help before plowing into bridge
BALTIMORE — The pilot of the cargo freighter had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes before the Baltimore bridge accident, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship’s “black box” data recorder. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a.....»»
Squirrel involved in power outage provided shelter and care by More Power
Squirrel involved in power outage provided shelter and care by More Power.....»»