UK Passes Bill to Send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda After Two Years of Debate |
The United Kingdom (UK) legislature last night approved (FT) a controversial bill to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda. The ruling Conservative Party has pushed (NYT) for the measure since 2022, despite the country’s Supreme Court having ruled it unlawful and immigration experts saying it is unworkable. The UN refugee agency said the policy sets (CNN) “a worrying global precedent.” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the first flights to Rwanda could begin in July.
Under the plan, the United Kingdom would send asylum seekers who arrive at its borders to Rwanda, where their claims will be evaluated. If asylum is granted, the people would remain in Rwanda. Sunak said the plan is designed to deter irregular migration across the English Channel. |
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“Deals that externalize asylum processing raise questions in terms of human rights standards but also on political and financial costs,” the Migration Policy Institute’s Camille Le Coz tells Al Jazeera. “[These deals’] legal grounds are pretty shaky, and so far, they have provided no solutions while incurring many costs.”
“There is a difficult discussion to be had as to whether the conventions signed in the aftermath of the Second World War are still fit for purpose,” King’s College London’s Anand Menon tells the New York Times. “The problem is that Western countries want to portray themselves as kind, generous and humanitarian—and to keep people out.”
At this CFR Meeting, International Organization for Migration Director General Amy Pope discusses the state of global asylum protections. |
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IEA: Over Half of All Electric Vehicles Made in 2023 Were by Chinese Carmakers |
By 2030, nearly one in three cars driving in China and more than one in five in the United States and Europe are expected to be electric (Nikkei), a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. This year alone, the report predicts about 20 percent of cars sold globally will be electric.
U.S./North Korea/South Korea: North Korea conducted its first drill simulating a nuclear counterattack yesterday while the United States and South Korea prepared to discuss (Japan Times) cost-sharing regarding Seoul hosting U.S. troops, North Korea’s official news agency said today. |
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Iranian, Pakistani Leaders Announce Plans to Boost Bilateral Trade on Visit |
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi began (Reuters) a three-day visit to Pakistan yesterday in an effort to mend ties after tit-for-tat military strikes earlier this year. The two countries hope to increase (Dawn) bilateral trade from its current level of around $2.3 billion per year to $10 billion over the next five years.
Australia/India: Australian journalist Avani Dias has left (The Guardian) India due to the government obstacles impeding her reporting, she said. The government ordered a video report she did about the killing of a Sikh separatist be taken down from YouTube and told her it would not renew her visa because of the story, she said. Though her visa was restored after an Australian government complaint, Dias said that it remained “too difficult” to do her job.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Turkish President Visits Iraq, Signs Deal on Iraq-Europe Transport Corridor |
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited (Al-Monitor) Baghdad for the first time in almost thirteen years yesterday. During his visit, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on a transport corridor to link Iraq to Europe via railway and road, and a cooperation deal regarding the modernization of Iraqi irrigation systems.
Palestinian territories: An independent review commissioned by the United Nations found that Israel provided no evidence (NYT) to support its claim that many members of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees are members of militant groups. The review did not address Israel’s claim that some agency employees were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
This In Brief by CFR’s Christina Bouri details the UN Palestinian aid controversy.
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Truce Collapses in Western Sudanese City of Al-Fashir |
Al-Fashir had been the last major city in Sudan’s Darfur region that was not under control of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country’s civil war. Local leaders had negotiated a truce that protected the city from fighting, but the agreement unraveled as the RSF overtook nearby towns earlier this month, effectively blockading Al-Fashir. Some 1.6 million people are residing there, Reuters reported, and the collapse of the truce prompted warnings about humanitarian risks.
This In Brief by CFR’s Mariel Ferragamo and Diana Roy explains the extent of Sudan’s humanitarian crisis.
South Africa: The party of former President Jacob Zuma announced (Bloomberg) a platform that includes nationalizing land and banks, drawing similarities with the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party. The EFF’s leader suggested he would be open to governing with Zuma’s party. Meanwhile, polls show that the ruling African National Congress party could lose its parliamentary majority in South Africa’s upcoming election for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994.
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Russian Drone Attack on Odesa Wounds Nine People |
Ukrainian air defense systems shot down fifteen out of sixteen drones launched at several regions of Ukraine during today’s attack, which wounded nine people (RFE/RL) in the port city of Odesa, officials said. |
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Argentina’s Milei Announces Country’s First Quarterly Fiscal Surplus Since 2008 |
President Javier Milei celebrated (Bloomberg) the surplus of 0.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in a speech yesterday, saying it was evidence that his economic reforms are working. Argentina’s economy likely dropped 5.9 percent year-on-year in February amid Milei’s austerity drive, according to a Reuters poll.
This Backgrounder by CFR’s Diana Roy unpacks Argentina’s struggle for stability.
Nicaragua/Panama: Panama recalled (Reuters) its ambassador to Nicaragua yesterday, objecting to what Panama City called illegal protection of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli at Nicaragua’s embassy in the country.
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Construction Begins on High-Speed Rail Line From Las Vegas to Southern California |
The line has been described as the first true high-speed rail line in the United States and is due to be operational (CNBC) by the time Los Angeles hosts the Summer Olympics in 2028. The project received $3 billion in federal funding. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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