Tag: voa

  • Austria rejects ‘girlish’ Iraqi asylum seeker

    People take part in a rally to protest for the rights of asylum seekers on World Refugee Day in Vienna, Austria June 20, 2018 Symbol copyright Reuters Symbol caption A Woman protesting for the rights of asylum seekers in Austria

    Austrian officers rejected an Iraqi migrant’s asylum utility as a result of he was too “girlish”, local media say.

    The 27-year-old’s claim to be gay was deemed “incredible”, in part due to his behaviour, in step with reviews. He can attraction towards the decision.

    It comes just days after Amnesty World criticised Austria’s asylum procedures as “dubious”.

    The govt has hit again at the criticism, announcing its asylum officials work appropriately.

    In the latest case, the Iraqi asylum seeker was felt to exhibit “stereotypical, in any case over the top ‘girlish’ behaviour (expressions, gestures)”, which appeared pretend, Austria’s Kurier newspaper suggested.

    Stated to be an energetic member in local LGBT teams, he’s understood to have fled Iraq in 2015, fearing for his life.

    However a spokesman for Austria’s asylum place of job mentioned the verdict had been reviewed, and rejected the accusation it contained any “clichéd phrasing” by officers in Styria state, Kurier delivered.

    The young Austrian chief sharing power with the a long way right Austria to seize migrants’ phones in asylum clampdown

    it is the second one controversial asylum case in contemporary days.

    Last week, activists mentioned that an 18-12 months-vintage Afghan asylum seeker had his software rejected because he did not “act or dress” like a gay.

    “The inhuman language in asylum claims doesn’t conform with the necessities of a fair, rule-of-legislation procedure,” Amnesty World stated in a report.

    Internal Ministry spokesman Christoph Poelzl additionally rejected the accusation officials used “inhuman” language, telling news agency AFP that every one employees who assess asylum claims receive training.

    However, the professional curious about the Afghan asylum seeker’s case is not any longer all in favour of assessing programs, he introduced.

    Austria is these days run by means of a coalition of the conservative People’s Celebration and the a ways-right Freedom Celebration, which got here to energy following an election dominated by means of Europe’s migrant situation closing year.

  • Venezuelans rush to Peru to beat passport cut-off date

    A Venezuelan migrant woman heading to Peru carries bags as she walks along the Panamerican highway in Tulcan, Ecuador, after crossing from Colombia, on August 21, 2018 Image copyright AFP Image caption Some Venezuelans who do not have cash for the bus are doing the adventure taking walks

    Venezuelans looking to to migrate to Peru are rushing to get there prior to Saturday whilst new regulations will come into power requiring them to have valid passports.

    So some distance, Venezuelans were allowed to go into Peru with just their ID playing cards.

    Many had been looking ahead to their passports for years with the government blaming “mafias” throughout the registry products and services for the delays.

    More than million Venezuelans have fled their usa due to the fact that 2014.

    They are fleeing a critical financial situation which has led to severe shortages of food, medication and fundamental goods.

    Image copyright AFP Symbol caption Venezuelans looking to make it to Peru have been bedding down via the Pan-American Freeway

    On Thursday, United Nations Prime Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi steered Peru, and Ecuador, which already placed an identical degree in position on 18 August, to “proceed to allow the ones in want of international coverage to get entry to protection and are searching for asylum”.

    How Venezuela’s crisis evolved and drove out thousands and thousands of people The bridge of depression Why has 7% of the population fled the rustic?

    according to UN figures, 26,000 entered Peru in 2017 but Peruvian migration leader Eduardo Sevilla says many more have arrived due to the fact that.

    He places the choice of Venezuelans currently in Peru at 400,000.

    Peruvian Top Minister César Villanueva mentioned requiring Venezuelans to turn their passport on the border didn’t imply that Peru was once “last the door” on Venezuelan migrants.

    He said that Venezuelan IDENTIFICATION cards did not supply sufficient information and will simply be solid.

    Peruvian International Minister Néstor Popolizio stated Peru could factor “humanitarian visas” to Venezuelans in “remarkable” cases reminiscent of the ones of aged people, pregnant women and younger children.

    He stated Venezuelans may just follow for the visa in Peruvian consulates in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador or even on the border crossing in Tumbes.

    Image copyright AFP Image caption Venezuelans who controlled to get on certainly one of the buses laid on by means of Ecuador confirmed their reduction

    one in every of the ones on board is Maly Avilés, who said: “We Are heading for Peru. there’s no turning again, returning to Venezuela could be suicide.”

    After news of the passport requirements spread, even longer queues have been suggested on the offices of the Saime, the government offices issuing passports in Venezuela.

    Some people in the queues said they’d been looking to get dangle of latest passports for two years. Others said having been asked to pay as so much as $1,000 (£775) as bribes to leap the queue and be issued with new files.

    When some mentioned urgent personal reasons for needing a passport, akin to travelling in a foreign country to visit ill spouse and children, the asked bribe reportedly jumped to as so much as $5,000.

    In June, 4 officials on the Saime had been arrested for extortion and a new director used to be named in July.

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  • Jeremy Hunt desires ‘malign’ Russia to stand tougher sanctions

    Jeremy Hunt Symbol copyright PA Symbol caption The New international secretary will say the united states and Europe will have to speak with “one voice” on Russia

    Europe will have to impose additional sanctions on Russia in response to its “malign” behaviour around the world, Jeremy Hunt will say on his first talk over with to the united states as international secretary this week.

    he’s going to call at the EU to replicate Washington’s “complete” reaction to the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

    The US is ready to ban Russian exports of safety-delicate goods following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

    Europe must engage with Russia however be “blunt” about its actions, he’s going to say.

    In a speech in Washington, he’s going to say Moscow must be mindful that there’s a “severe worth” to be paid for repeated violations of the dependent rules of international conduct.

    Image copyright Reuters Symbol caption Police have launched a homicide inquiry after the demise of Break Of Day Sturgess following her exposure to Novichok

    The Foreign Place Of Business mentioned Mr Hunt desired to be sure current sanctions on mates of President Putin and state-subsidized entities were having their supposed effect and to galvanise efforts to increase them the place needed.

    Mr Hunt will warn of more than one financial and security threats to the international order and say the as soon as “rock-forged” transatlantic alliance could be further undermined if fighters are “in any doubt about our crimson traces”.

    Arguments over the investment of Nato and world industry have soured members of the family among the u.s. and Europe when you consider that Donald Trump’s election last year.

    While accepting arguments of Russia’s potential culpability for the Salisbury attacks, Mr Trump has then again pressed for better relations with President Putin and solid doubt on evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

    In his speech, Mr Hunt will say popular make stronger for open democracies and economies in the West can’t be taken with no consideration and can recommend a lot of the issue championed by Mr Trump need to be addressed.

    “we are hanging our heads within the sand if we blame social media by way of pretending that a few of the reasons of that resentment don’t seem to be real – whether because of the decline in real earning for lots of American Citizens and Europeans, dislocation due to changes in generation or the identity concerns of many voters because of immigration.

    “Expressing such resentment is an affirmation and not a rejection of the core democratic instinct that a society must paintings for all its electorate – so the sooner we deal with those considerations the more potent our democracies will likely be.”

  • Italy bridge cave in: Genoa loss of life toll rises to FORTY THREE

    Collapsed Morandi bridge, in Genoa, Italy, 19 August 2018 Symbol copyright EPA Symbol caption Even Supposing all the ones missing at the moment are accounted for, the hunt is constant

    Rescue workers in Italy have discovered the our bodies of 3 extra other folks in the wreckage of Genoa’s collapsed dual carriageway bridge, bringing the loss of life toll to 43.

    Three contributors of the similar family recovered from a overwhelmed car on Sunday. They were the ultimate other people suggested missing from Tuesday’s tragedy.

    A 200m (656ft) component of the Morandi bridge all of sudden fell 45m, in conjunction with dozens of automobiles in busy traffic.

    The collapse has led to a fierce debate approximately Italy’s infrastructure.

    The corporate that operated the bridge has set up a fund for victim’s households. the government has set up a commission to examine the reasons of the crisis.

    Image copyright AFP Symbol caption Top Minister Giuseppe Conte (fourth from R) visited the scene of the disaster on Tuesday

    Mr Conte has mentioned that during long term the federal government could compel firms that had been granted concessions for Italy’s infrastructure to take a position more profits in repairs and safety.

    What happened to the Morandi bridge?

    The bridge is a major road in and out of Genoa, linking it to the A10 toll road and the street to France.

    Shortly sooner than midday on Tuesday, the segment collapsed amid extremely heavy rainfall.

    The result in is still uncertain. The bridge was having paintings done to shore up its foundations on the time.

    Interactive Genoa bridge cave in sooner than and after

    Italian police, August 2018

    This image shows the same bridge, shattered, with one of its vertical support columns missing

    Google, May 2015

    An image shows the bridge as it stood in May 2015, spanning the stream below

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  • EgyptAir hijack: Cyprus extradites suspect Seif al-Din Mustafa

    Seif al-Din Mustafa giving a V-sign as he is driven away after the hijacking, March 2016 Symbol copyright EPA Symbol caption Mr Mustafa fought extradition to his home united states for greater than years

    An Egyptian guy who hijacked a aircraft and diverted it to Cyprus has been deported to his home u . s . a . after a two-year extradition battle.

    Seif al-Din Mustafa is accused of the use of a fake suicide belt on an inner EgyptAir flight and forcing it to land in Larnaca in Cyprus in March 2016.

    He said his motivation had been to hunt asylum and highlight what he known as repression by means of the Egyptian government.

    He resisted extradition, arguing he wouldn’t face a good trial in Egypt.

    No-one was harm within the hijacking. at the time, Cypriot government stated the incident was once no longer terrorism-comparable.

    It used to be believed to had been sparked through a row among Mr Mustafa, now 61, and his ex-spouse, who lives in Cyprus.

    But Egyptian prosecutors had instructed Cyprus to hand Mr Mustafa over beneath a 1996 bilateral extradition treaty.

    Hijacking suspect emerges from airplane Timeline of flight MS181 hijack EgyptAir hijacker jokes: Funny?

    Last year the Cypriot Preferrred Court rejected his enchantment in opposition to the move.

    He arrived at Cairo airport amid tight safety past due on Saturday, officers say.

    Media playback is unsupported on your instrument

    Media captionEgyptAir Flight MS181 hijacking suspect passes through airport security

    EgyptAir flight MS181 was carrying 56 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, along with six workforce and a safety authentic, whilst it was diverted.

    During a stand-off lasting greater than six hours, just about all passengers and staff were freed as government negotiated with Mr Mustafa.

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  • Venezuelans pass into Colombia as trouble deepens

    Symbol caption The church in Cúcuta provides meals to these in want Image caption Loads of individuals come to eat here on a daily basis

    Verónica Mendoza, 24, is five months pregnant. She is tucking in to a meal of rice, beans, potatoes and mince with her mother, Mariluz.

    the two girls commute two hours every day from Venezuela to promote fruit at a marketplace in Colombia.

    they cannot in finding paintings back house. they come here for their handiest proper meal of the day.

    “have a look at the weight I Have lost,” says Mariluz, grabbing her once fleshy palms and showing the free skin. “I used to be wholesome and powerful. But we now have to stroll one of these good distance and paintings so hard.”

    Image caption Verónica Mendoza and her mother Mariluz rely on the meals they are given at the church in Cúcuta

    Mariluz’s case is not uncommon. Up To Date analysis in Spanish means that 3-quarters of Venezuelans misplaced weight within the earlier yr, a regular of 9kg (20lb).

    Dwelling on the streets

    The Colombian executive recently offered “border mobility cards” to permit Venezuelans to go back and forth across the border without the desire for a passport.

    more than SEVEN HUNDRED,000 other folks have carried out for the scheme so far.

    But a few like Carlos Alberto Ledesma, a certified jazz musician from Caracas, wish to keep in Colombia for just right.

    Symbol caption Carlos Alberto Ledesma says he can’t make a dwelling as a musician in Venezuela any longer

    Mr Ledesma arrived in Cúcuta 8 days in the past. “I spent a yr living at the streets,” he says.

    “i ended working in Venezuela because the bars aren’t open, half of the musicians have gone.”

    Reputable figures positioned the selection of Venezuelans who’ve left their homeland for Colombia on account of the challenge at 300,000. BUT THE exact quantity is assumed to be so much upper.

    The influx is putting pressure on communities in Colombia, that have lived through greater than 5 many years of armed battle among left-wing guerrilla groups, the militia and proper-wing paramilitaries.

    Luis Fernando Niño López is the secretary for sufferers, peace and publish-conflict for the province of Norte de Santander, the place Cúcuta is found.

    “on the second, there is a lovely large go with the flow but now not everybody remains,” he says of the Venezuelans arriving within the area.

    “However what is going on to occur once they can not return as a result of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro closes the border or because armed teams that keep an eye on the border would possibly not allow people return?”

    Sheltering Venezuelans

    At a refuge run by the Scalabrini International Migration Network in the centre of Cúcuta, the growing scale of the problem is evident.

    Between January and June, 650 people got here through its doorways. In August alone, there were 850 other people.

    Mr Franklin Díaz, who runs the shelter, says those who come to the shelter are in pressing want of attention and more should be performed to assist them.

    “The motion of the authorities is fundamental, they’re the ones who handle the tools.”

    lots of those crossing into Colombia from Venezuela initially fled the armed conflict in Colombia.

    Nereidis Ascanio is certainly one of them. Her father was killed by means of paramilitaries so her family left for Venezuela whilst she was once a child.

    Image caption Nereidis Ascanio’s family fled Colombia whilst she was once a kid however now she is again and searching for work

    A single mom, her little boys have Venezuelan nationality.

    She not too long ago back to Colombia and now lives in a bit shack made out of wooden beams and a corrugated iron roof at the outskirts of Cúcuta. The tarpaulin walls do not even duvet all the shack.

    Symbol caption Some Venezuelans have erected makeshift shacks at the outskirts of Cúcuta

    Ms Ascanio is determined. “i would like to search out food for my children,” she says even as she wipes away tears.

    “And i want to search out a role a good way to permit me to appear after my boys.”

    Getting stuck in Cúcuta

    Other Colombians left for Venezuela while the oil industry began booming there in the 1980s.

    With oil prices now low and the commercial main issue in Venezuela worsening, they too are returning in massive numbers.

    Many arrive in Colombia with great expectations of a brand new lifestyles.

    However Venezuela’s triple-digit inflation way their financial savings in Venezuelan bolivares are nugatory once converted into Colombian pesos, such a lot of get caught.

    within the heart of the city is a roundabout with a big sculpture which reads “i like Cúcuta”. Some people are curled up sleeping within the letters “c”.

    Jeferson José Gutierres is one of those snoozing tough at the side of his spouse and their three youngsters.

    Image caption Jeferson José Gutierres is still upbeat, he says lifestyles in Cúcuta is better than in Venezuela

    He came right here a month in the past and cannot to find work.

    However he says lifestyles in Cúcuta continues to be higher than in Venezuela and he is not making plans on going again whilst President Maduro is in energy.

    “I’ll return whilst Maduro goes,” he says.

    “He Is a president who spends money whilst his people die of starvation.”

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  • What’s behind the China-Taiwan divide?

    In this June 26, 2010 file photo, anti-China demonstrators hold placards denouncing the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) planned with China, in Taipei, Taiwan. Symbol copyright Related Press

    China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province so they can in the end be part of the rustic once more, however many Taiwanese want a separate nation.

    The dispute with China has left relations frayed and a relentless threat of a violent flare up that would drag the u.s. into the fray.

    What is the historical past and supply of this rigidity?

    the primary recognized settlers in Taiwan are Austronesian tribal people idea to have come from modern day southern China.

    The island first appears in Chinese records in AD239, when China despatched an expeditionary pressure to discover – a fact Beijing uses to again its territorial claim.

    After a short lived spell as a Dutch colony (1624-1661) Taiwan was unquestionably administered by way of China’s Qing dynasty from 1683 to 1895.

    Starting on the starting of the 17th Century, significant numbers of migrants started coming back from China, ceaselessly fleeing turmoil or trouble. Such A Lot were Hoklo Chinese Language from Fujian (Fukien) province or have been Hakka Chinese Language, largely from Guangdong. The descendants of these migrations now make up by way of some distance the most important population workforce.

    In 1895, following Japan’s victory within the First Sino-Japanese Warfare, the Qing government had no selection however to cede Taiwan to Japan.

    However after World Warfare Two, the Republic of China – one of the victors – began ruling Taiwan with the consent of its allies the u.s. and UK, after Japan surrendered and relinquished regulate of territory it had taken from China.

    However within the following few years, Chiang’s troops have been beaten again through the Communist armies beneath Mao Zedong.

    Image copyright Vital Press Symbol caption Chiang Kai-shek, as soon as the leader in China, fled together with his supporters to Taiwan

    Chiang and the remnants of his Kuomintang (KMT) govt fled to Taiwan in 1949. This group, referred to as Mainland Chinese and then making up 1.5m other people, ruled Taiwan’s politics for plenty of years, even supposing they simply account for 14% of the inhabitants.

    Having inherited an effective dictatorship, going through resistance from local community green with envy of the 228 Massacre and authoritarian rule, and under pressure from a growing democracy movement, Chiang’s son, Chiang Ching-kuo, began permitting a means of democratisation, which eventually resulted in the 2000 election of the island’s first non-KMT president, Chen Shui-bian.

    Where are things at now?

    After decades of opposed intentions and offended rhetoric, family members among China and Taiwan began improving within the 1980s. China put forward a method, referred to as “one u . s ., two techniques”, underneath which Taiwan could be given vital autonomy if it commonplace Chinese Language reunification.

    The be offering was once rejected, however Taiwan did loosen up rules on visits to and funding in China. It also, in 1991, proclaimed the conflict with the People’s Republic of China over.

    There were also limited talks among the 2 sides’ unofficial representatives, although China’s insistence that the Republic of China (ROC) govt is against the law prevented executive-to-executive contact.

    Symbol copyright AFP Image caption Chen Shui-ban used to be a backer of independence for Taiwan from China

    Beijing became alarmed in 2000, whilst Taiwan elected as president Chen Shui-bian, who had brazenly subsidized independence.

    Mr Chen was re-elected in 2004, prompting China to move a so-called anti-secession law in 2005, mentioning China’s proper to use “non-non violent manner” towards Taiwan if it attempted to secede from China.

    In 2008, Ma Ying-jeou was once elected president. He sought to improve relations with China, principally via financial agreements.

    Symbol copyright Associated Press Symbol caption Ma Ying-jeou sought to improve members of the family with China however was barred by way of Taiwan’s charter from in the hunt for a 3rd time period in office

    In elections in January 2016, Tsai Ing-wen defeated Kuomintang celebration candidate Eric Chu. Mr Ma used to be barred by means of Taiwan’s constitution from the in the hunt for a 3rd time period in place of job. Ms Tsai leads the Democratic Modern Party (DPP), which leans against independence from China.

    In December 2016, she spoke to the then US President-select Donald Trump in a phone call, in what was once a break with US policy set in 1979 whilst formal members of the family had been cut.

    So what is Taiwan?

    There May Be disagreement and confusion approximately what Taiwan is, and even what it’ll be called.

    Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China (ROC) govt, which fled the mainland to Taiwan in 1949, at first claimed to represent the entire of China, which it supposed to re-occupy. It held China’s seat on the United Countries Security Council and was once regarded by many Western international locations because the most effective Chinese govt.

    However in 1971, the UN switched diplomatic popularity to Beijing and the ROC govt was once pressured out. Considering The Fact That then the number of nations that understand the ROC executive diplomatically has fallen to approximately 20.

    China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province which it has vowed to retake, through drive if vital. However Taiwan’s leaders say it is clearly much more than a province, arguing that it’s a sovereign state.

    It has its own charter, democratically-elected leaders, and approximately 300,000 active troops in its armed forces.

    Given the large divide between these two positions, so much other nations appear satisfied to just accept the current ambiguity, wherein Taiwan has most of the characteristics of an unbiased state, although its legal status continues to be unclear.

    How a lot of a topic is independence in Taiwan?

    Even As political progress has been sluggish, links among the 2 peoples and economies have grown sharply. Taiwanese companies have invested approximately $60bn (£40bn) in China, and up to one million Taiwanese now are living there, many working Taiwanese factories.

    Some Taiwanese worry their economy is now depending on China. Others point out that closer trade ties makes Chinese army motion less most probably, on account of the cost to China’s own economy.

    A arguable trade agreement sparked the “Sunflower Motion” in 2014 the place students and activists occupied Taiwan’s parliament protesting against what they call China’s growing affect over Taiwan.

    Symbol copyright Associated Press Image caption Students and activists protested what they thought was a sign of growing economic dependence on China

    Officially, the Democratic Progressive Celebration (DPP) nonetheless favours eventual independence for Taiwan, whilst the KMT favours eventual re-unification. Opinion polls show only a small minority of Taiwanese beef up pursuing one or the other at the second, with such a lot who prefer to stay with the current middle ground.

    Yet extra and more other people say they really feel Taiwanese rather than Chinese. Toughen for the DPP higher at the January 2016 election. This was in part on account of dissatisfaction with the KMT’s handling of economic issues, from the wealth gap to high housing costs, and in part on account of worries that Mr Ma’s management used to be making Taiwan too depending on Beijing.

    What function does the united states play?

    the united states is by way of a ways Taiwan’s most vital loved one, and its best ally.

    the relationship, forged all the way through World Struggle Two and the Chilly Battle, underwent its sternest take a look at in 1979, when President Jimmy Carter ended US diplomatic popularity of Taiwan so as to concentrate on burgeoning ties with China.

    the us Congress, responding to the move, handed the Taiwan Members Of The Family Act, which guarantees to provide Taiwan with shielding weapons, and wired that any assault through China would be regarded as of “grave worry” to the united states.

    Due To The Fact then, US policy has been defined as one of “strategic ambiguity”, trying to balance China’s emergence as a neighborhood energy with US admiration for Taiwan’s financial good fortune and democratisation.

    The pivotal function of the united states was once most obviously proven in 1996, while China carried out provocative missile checks to take a look at and affect Taiwan’s first direct presidential election. In reaction, US President Bill Clinton ordered the biggest display of us army power in Asia because the Vietnam Struggle, sending ships to the Taiwan Strait, and a clear message to Beijing.