LONDON/BOSCOMBE DOWN, England: Britain’s first flight to take asylum seekers to Rwanda was pulled at the eleventh hour on Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights issued injunctions to stop the deportation of the handful of migrants on board, a government source said.
The British government’s plan to send some migrants to the East African country has been criticized by opponents, charities, and religious leaders who say it is inhumane.
London argues that deporting migrants who arrived illegally by crossing the English Channel in small boats from Europe would deter the dangerous journeys and smash the business model of people-smuggling networks.
In the last few days at least 30 individuals scheduled to be on the first flight successfully argued that they should not be deported to Rwanda on health or human rights grounds.
Just a handful were due to fly from an air force base in southwest England on Tuesday but, hours before the plane was due to leave, the European court which rules on possible human rights violations granted injunctions to prevent their deportations.
“Last ticket canceled. NO ONE IS GOING TO RWANDA,” the charity Care4Calais, which has launched legal action on behalf of a number of the migrants, said on Twitter.
UK migrant flight to Rwanda grounded as European Court steps in
https://arab.news/pfc5f
UK migrant flight to Rwanda grounded as European Court steps in
- “NO ONE IS GOING TO RWANDA”: charity tweets after injunctions
- At least 30 individuals scheduled to be on the first flight
Germany plays down threat of US invading Greenland after talks
WASHINGTON: Germany’s top diplomat on Monday played down the risk of a US attack on Greenland, after President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to seize the island from NATO ally Denmark.
Asked after meeting Secretary of State Marco Rubio about a unilateral military move by Trump, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said: “I have no indication that this is being seriously considered.”
“Rather, I believe there is a common interest in addressing the security issues that arise in the Arctic region, and that we should and will do so,” he told reporters.
“NATO is only now in the process of developing more concrete plans on this, and these will then be discussed jointly with our US partners.”
Wadephul’s visit comes ahead of talks this week in Washington between Rubio and the top diplomats of Denmark and Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Trump in recent days has vowed that the United States will take Greenland “one way or the other” and said he can do it “the nice way or the more difficult way.”
Greenland’s government on Monday repeated that it would not accept a US takeover under “any circumstance.”
Greenland and NATO also said Monday that they were working on bolstering defense of the Arctic territory, a key concern cited by Trump.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to growing Arctic activity by Russia and China as a reason why the United States needs to take over Greenland.
But he has also spoken more broadly of his desire to expand the land mass controlled by the United States.
