#UK: Gov't To Start Shipping Illegal Immigrsnts To Rwanda

[world politics news]

The UK government's announcement that it plans to send migrants illegally entering the UK to the East African nation of Rwanda for processing has outraged many from politicians and charities to the Church of England.

The UK will reportedly pay Rwanda £120m and refugees could be sent to east Africa within weeks.

The government has defended the policy, with Foreign Minister Priti Patel stating in the House of Commons that the current dispersal system is "unfair" and overwhelmed, with local authorities sharing the burden "disproportionately". Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was the "morally right thing to do."

Little reported is the fact that for several days straight, migrant crossings in the English channel have completely stopped.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#POLAND: Prime Minister Asks EU Help After Migrant Incursion From Belarus

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Poland's border police have announced that about 50 migrants have made it across the border this past weekend into the EU from Belarus after forcing their way through fences and barriers, amid a standoff which has seen multiple thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers set up camps just meters from Polish guards. 

NATO must take "concrete steps" to resolve the migrant crisis on the Belarus border, the Polish prime minister was quoted as saying on Sunday, adding that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia may ask for consultations under Article 4 of the alliance's treaty.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#BELARUS: Parliament Blocks Migrant Crossings

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Lawmakers in Belarus have voted to suspend an agreement with the European Union obliging the ex-Soviet nation to take back migrants that crossed its territory into the EU.

The vote in the upper house of the Belarusian parliament formalizes the move that was announced by Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko in June.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#DENMARK: New Law To Make Migrants Apply For Asylum Outside Of The Country

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Denmark's parliament has passed a law that will see asylum seekers sent to countries outside of Europe to have their cases considered.

The legislation -- which was approved by 70 votes to 24 on Thursday -- is the latest anti-migration measure passed by the Danish parliament and aims to discourage migrants from ever setting foot in the country.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CROATIA: Italian EU Parliament Members Investigating Migrant Abuse Claims Stopped At Croatian Border

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Croatia’s Interior Minister, Davor Bozinovic, condemned a failed visit by a group of Italian European Parliament Members to the Croatia-Bosnia border as having “the obvious intention to damage Croatia’s reputation."

He spoke out after the MEPs and accompanied reporters tried to reach the Croatian border with Bosnia and Herzegovina to check allegations that Croatian police routinely mistreat migrants and refugees trying to enter the EU member state.

The delegation was thwarted in its mission by Croatian police officers.

“This is another in a series of provocations related to the actions of the Croatian police in fulfilling their tasks, and that is the protection of the state border,” Bozinovic told the media.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#SPAIN: Vox Party Demands Deportations Of Moroccans Increase

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Spain's anti-immigration Vox Party has accused Spain’s government of “discriminating against Spaniards” because of its inability to deport Moroccan and Algerian irregular migrants.

“We demand that this illegal immigration, which has become genuine discrimination against Spaniards, be stopped,” declared Vox President Santiago Abascal.

The Spanish politician made the statement in a populist speech on December 5 during a visit to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

Spain's Socialist government has actually increase deportations as pressure mounts on it to take action against what many call a migration crisis in the country.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#BOSNIA: Security Minister Calls For Deportation Of Migrants Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

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Bosnia’s security minister on Thursday proposed the deportation of migrants from the Balkan country, alleging that they pose a potential security threat and a severe economic burden amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fahrudin Radoncic also said migrants who could not provide passports or other identification documents should be imprisoned rather than accommodated in migrant camps in Bosnia.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EU: European Court Rules Three Countries Broke EU Law By Refusing Migrants

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The European Court of Justice  has ruled that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic breached their obligations under EU law by refusing to take in refugees.

The court says in its ruling that these countries had failed to accept their share of 120,000 asylum seekers who had arrived in Italy and Greece, under a relocation programme agreed by the European Council in 2015.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HUNGARY: PM Orban Will "Use Force" To Protect Borders If Turkey Unleashes New Wave Of Migrants On Europe

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned he will 'use force' to fend off migrants if Turkey delivered on its threat to "open the gates" and allow 3.6 million refugees to flood into Europe if EU leaders continue to oppose Turkey's military action in northern Syria.

Orban built a steel fence on Hungary's border with Serbia to seal off the Balkans route of migration, where hundreds of thousands of people marched through from the Middle East to Western Europe at the peak of the migrant crisis in 2015.

'If Turkey sets off further hundreds of thousands (on top of those it has already), then we will need to use force to protect the Hungarian border and the Serbian-Hungarian frontier and I do not wish for anyone that we should need to resort to that,' Orban said Wednesday night. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EU: Euro Parliament Rejects Commission Candidates From Romania, Hungary

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The European parliament has rejected EU commissioner candidates from Hungary and Romania over alleged conflicts of interest, in a blow to the incoming president, Ursula von der Leyen.

The unprecedented move by MEPs ratchets up pressure on Von der Leyen, who must get her team of 26 EU commissioners approved next month if her new commission is to be ready for its launch day on November 1st.

The rejections will be seen by many in Hungary and Romania as politically motivated. Hungary in particular has been highly critical of the EU, which has voted in the past to restrict the country's voting rights over its legal reforms.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#IRELAND: YouTube Bans Controversial Political Activist, Freelance Journalist Gemma O'Doherty For "Hate Speech"

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YouTube has permanently removed former European parliament candidate and political activist Gemma O’Doherty’s account for what it says are violations of its policies aimed at protecting against hate speech.

O’Doherty last week posted a video which included criticism of ethnic minorities in Ireland. Her anti-immigration views have riled many in Ireland's political and media establishments.

O'Doherty, a former award-winning journalist and anti-corruption crusader, ran as a candidate in the European Parliamentary elections in May, and previously sought a place in Ireland's presidential ballot.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#SPAIN: Socialists Retain Power, But Rightist Vox Party Makes Huge Gains

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As expected, Spain's ruling socialist Party and its leader, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, won the most seats in the country's parliamentary election Sunday but must seek support from smaller parties in order to stay in power, which they expected to do, easily.

The election's real story is the anti-migrant right-leaning Vox Party was set to enter the lower house of Parliament for the first time with about 10% of the vote, which Will give it 24 seats.

The new nationalist party burst onto the scene this year, dramatically increasing its vote over the previous election's tally. In 2016, 47,182 people voted for Vox. In 2019, the figure increased to 2,673,828.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#AUSTRIA: Interior Minister Warns Of "Massive New Migration Wave" If Action Isn't Taken By EU

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Austrian interior minister Herbert Kickl has written to the European Union, warning of a renewed migrant crisis and calling for immediate preventative measures to be taken. In the letter, published by the Krone newspaper, Kickl cited figures from European Union law enforcement agency Europol suggesting that a “large-scale movement of people from Turkey to Europe” is about to take place.

There are presently “tens of thousands” of migrants in these areas already, including about 5,000 each in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as well as about 60,000 asylum seekers in Greece, and about 5.6 million Syrian refugees in the Middle East, according to Kickl, who said there is "a clear potential for a massive new migration wave if action is not taken quickly."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Populist Party Stuns Establishment In Election; PM's Party Loses Senate Majority

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The governing center-right coalition of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has lost its senate majority after a populist party surged in provincial elections.

Forum for Democracy won most votes and secured more seats in the upper house than Rutte's People's Party. The party holds two seats in parliament after entering politics just three years ago. It will have 13 seats in the Senate, one more than Rutte’s party.

Forum for Democracy Party leader Thierry Baudet, 36, has bitterly criticized Rutte's immigration policies. The party Forum is projected to win 12 percent of the Dutch votes in the European Parliament election in May.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: Christian Democrats Fight To Restore Credibility After Merkel's Unpopular Immigration Policies

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Saying they had "learned their lesson" about the deeply unpopular, unfettered immigration policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, her party, the Christian Democrats, have met in an effort to shore up their image. The party, which now has a new leader, has seen support hemorrhage since the 2015 refugee crisis.

Leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the party had to prevent any repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, which saw hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees arrive in Germany. "We must do everything we can to prevent this from happening again," she said. "We have learned our lesson."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ITALY: Mayor Of Village Who Welcomed Illegal Immigrants Says Human Traffickers Are Also "Victims"

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The mayor of an Italian village known for openly welcoming illegal immigrants has sparked outrage by calling those who traffic in migrants "victims."

Domenico Lucano, mayor of Riace, said, "To alleviate the shameful media of its serious responsibilities, the Italian government said that the responsibility lies with the traffickers, but I say that they, too, are victims." His comment comes after Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that he wants to stop the smuggling of immigrants at all costs by directly hitting those who work to make this flow possible: the traffickers of migrants.

This week, a judge said he cannot reside in his home town while he awaits trial. In October 2018, Italian police put Lucano under house arrest for allegedly helping illegal migrants to stay in the country by organizing "marriages of convenience." He has been suspended from office, as well.

[FULL STORY HERE, HERE AND HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THENETHERLANDS: Dutch "Yellow Vest" Protesters Vowing To Weed Out The Politicians Among Them

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"Yellow Vest" protesters in the Netherlands say they are taking action to exclude "political infiltrators" from joining their marches and protests, in an attempt to be more "apolitical."  The movement's spokesman in Luxembourg Province, Zoran Starcevic, said, "If politicians want to come into our group, let them say so publicly, but not by infiltrating it with little parliamentarians or little aldermen."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: New Party Breaks Away From "Alternative For Germany" Party; Claims It's "Shifted To The Left"

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A German politician has left the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany Party to set up a new party after accusing AfD of a "shift to the Left." André Poggenburg resigned from his post as the AfD’s regional leader in eastern Saxony-Anhalt state last year after labeling Turkish immigrants “camel drivers” and immigrants with dual nationality a “homeless mob we no longer want." He announced his resignation from the party in an email sent to the leadership earlier this week. His new party Aufbruch der deutschen Patrioten (Awakening of German Patriots) will use a cornflower against the background of a German flag. Opponents note that the flower was used by Austrian Nazis before World War II.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GERMANY: Chairman Of Anti-Migrant Party Brutally Attacked; Police Seek Three Hooded Attackers

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Frank Magnitz, chairman of the city of Bremen’s Alternative For Germany Party, was left with a gaping wound in his head after he was reportedly knocked unconscious by three attackers Monday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel led the condemnations of the attack, which was labeled as an assassination attempt by party officials. The AfD party is the official opposition in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#DENMARK: New Citizens To Be Required To Shake Hands With Female Mayors (Including Muslim Citizens)

[world politics news]

New rules require people who have been awarded Danish citizenship to shake hands when they tak part in citizenship ceremonies. The rule, supported by the Conservative and Danish People's Party, as well as Social Democrats, is said to be squarely aimed at Muslims, many of whom don't shake hands, especially with women. Participants are also required to sign a document promising to respect Danish values.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.