CARACAS, Venezuela: The number of Venezuelans who have left their country in recent years has surpassed 4 million, the United Nations said Friday ahead of a visit to the region by UNHCR envoy Angelina Jolie.
The UN refugee agency said the number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants rose by 1 million after November, indicating a rapid escalation as economic conditions deteriorated and a conflict between the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition intensified.
“These alarming figures highlight the urgent need to support host communities in the receiving countries,” said Eduardo Stein, the UN’s Joint Special Representative for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, in a statement. “Latin American and Caribbean countries are doing their part to respond to this unprecedented crisis but they cannot be expected to continue doing it without international help.”
The exodus comes amid a grinding political standoff between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
Guaidó, who heads the opposition-controlled congress, revived a flagging movement in January by declaring himself interim president, quickly drawing recognition as Venezuela’s rightful leader from the US and more than 50 nations.
But Maduro, with the support of the military and allies Cuba and Russia, has defiantly held on to power in the face of US oil sanctions that are adding to misery in a nation hit hard by hyperinflation and widespread fuel, food and power shortages.
A record number of Venezuelans have fled the country’s crisis, with Latin American countries hosting most of them.
More than 1.3 million Venezuelans are in Colombia, followed by 768,000 in Peru and large numbers of migrants in Chile, Ecuardor, Brazil and Argentina, UNHCR said. Mexico and countries in Central America and the Caribbean are also hosting significant numbers of refugees and migrants.
On Friday, Jolie planned to start a two-day trip to the Colombian border with Venezuela to assess the migrant crisis caused by the country’s tumult. She is scheduled to visit a border camp where Venezuelan migrants are staying in tents and hold a news conference in the Colombian region of La Guajira on Saturday.
Jolie last visited the region in October, when she met Venezuelan refugees in Peru.
UNHCR says the goal of operations at its camp in Maicao is to provide shelter and food to the most vulnerable migrants and refugees, while partner organizations help legalize their status, find housing, or relocate them to other areas of Colombia. When a camp resident leaves, the space is given to someone else who has recently arrived from Venezuela.
One initiative known as the Quito Process has brought together countries affected by the migrant crisis to formulate a coordinated response, while another plan was launched last December with the aim of helping 2.2 million Venezuelans and 580,000 people in 16 countries.
Venezuela exodus surpasses 4 million, Angelina Jolie to visit region: UN
Venezuela exodus surpasses 4 million, Angelina Jolie to visit region: UN
- More than 1.3 million Venezuelans are in Colombia, followed by 768,000 in Peru and large numbers of migrants in Chile, Ecuardor, Brazil and Argentina, UNHCR said
UK pro-Israel group slammed for suggesting war could reduce Gaza obesity
- Comments follow warnings by UN, aid agencies that enclave faces imminent famine
- Council for Arab-British Understanding, Palestine Solidarity Campaign label remarks ‘atrocious’, ‘utterly sickening’, ‘repulsive’
LONDON: A pro-Israel pressure group in the UK has been condemned for suggesting that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip may benefit from a reduction in obesity levels arising from the war, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
The comments — made by Jonathan Turner, head of UK Lawyers for Israel — followed a series of warnings by the UN and aid agencies that Gaza faces imminent famine.
Turner, on behalf of UKLFI, was responding to a motion set to be debated at the annual general meeting of the Co-operative Group, a major British retailer.
The motion calls for the Co-operative to stop stocking Israeli products, as part of the worldwide Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. UKLFI urged the Co-operative council to withdraw the motion.
In doing so, Turner highlighted the motion’s reference to a letter published last year by The Lancet, a leading medical journal, which said the death toll in Gaza could be far higher than the 52,000 put forth by the enclave’s Health Ministry.
Turner said the letter “ignored factors that may increase average life expectancy in Gaza, bearing in mind that one of the biggest health issues in Gaza prior to the current war was obesity … These factors include the possible reduction in the availability of confectionery and cigarettes.”
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, said on X that Turner’s comments represent “atrocious views,” adding: “How very kind of Israel to put 2.3 million Palestinians on an enforced diet to improve their obesity levels.”
The Lancet has published several studies relating to Israel’s war in Gaza. One found that life expectancy in the enclave plunged by 34.9 years during the first year of the war. Gaza’s pre-war life expectancy was 75.5 years.
Since March, Israel has implemented a total blockade on the entry of humanitarian goods to the enclave.
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “As children in the Gaza Strip face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death, the suggestion by the head of UK Lawyers for Israel that they might benefit from weight loss is utterly sickening.
“These repulsive comments illustrate exactly what it means to be ‘for Israel’ and how low its apologists are prepared to sink in their attempts to justify genocide in Gaza.”
UKLFI previously faced controversy over the removal of artwork made by Palestinian children in a London hospital.
The organization submitted a complaint to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in 2023, claiming that artwork created by Palestinian children and displayed in the facility made Jewish patients feel “vulnerable, harassed and victimized.” The hospital removed the works.
Amnesty International says at least 30 dead in separatist attack in southeastern Nigeria
- No group has claimed responsibility for the attack
- The rights group said “international law requires the Nigerian government to promptly investigate unlawful killings”
ABUJA: At least 30 people have been killed after gunmen attacked travelers on a major highway in the southeastern part of Nigeria, rights group Amnesty International said.
The rights group said more than 20 vehicles and trucks were set ablaze during the Thursday attack along the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Imo state. Police confirmed the attack but not the death toll.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police suspect the Eastern Security Network, the paramilitary wing of the proscribed separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra.
The secessionist campaign in southeastern Nigeria dates back to when the short-lived Republic of Biafra fought and lost a civil war from 1967 to 1970 to become independent from the West African country. An estimated 1 million people died in the conflict, many from starvation.
The rights group said “international law requires the Nigerian government to promptly investigate unlawful killings with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice.”
One suspect connected to the attack was killed in a joint operation by law enforcement agencies, police spokesperson Okoye Henry said in a statement.
“An intensive manhunt is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice,” Henry said.
Two of the group’s prominent leaders, Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpa, are in custody in Nigeria and Finland, respectively.
Kanu is standing trial on a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Nigerian government said Friday it has not begun extradition proceedings but is in talks with Finnish authorities to ensure Ekpa is held accountable for his alleged actions.
For many years Nigeria — Africa’s most populous nation with at least 210 million people — has been wracked by violence related to the activities of armed extremist groups.
Polish nationalists stage anti-immigration demo ahead of polls
- The protest, organized by the nationalist opposition, drew demonstrators from across Poland
- Immigration is a central issue in the central European country ahead of the May 18 election
WARSAW: Several thousand people demonstrated in Warsaw on Saturday against illegal immigration and the pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a week before the EU member chooses a new president.
The protest, organized by the nationalist opposition, drew demonstrators from across Poland, who carried the red and white national flag and chanted slogans such as “no to immigration.”
Immigration is a central issue in the central European country ahead of the May 18 election.
Poland currently hosts around one million refugees from the war in neighboring Ukraine, and has accused Russia and Belarus of orchestrating a wave of immigration into the European Union member.
The protesters made their way toward the seat of government in central Warsaw, chanting the name of nationalist presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki.
The 42-year-old fan of US President Donald Trump has the backing of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party and outgoing President Andrzej Duda.
He is polling second in the presidential race, with around 25 percent support.
The frontrunner, Warsaw’s pro-European Union Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, has the support of Tusk’s Civic Coalition and is polling on 32 percent.
“Poland has to defend itself against illegal immigration. These migrants have their own countries. They should stay there,” 66-year-old farmer Boguslaw Uchmanowicz told AFP.
Taliban arrest 14 people for playing music and singing
- Those detained were under investigation
- Wedding halls are no longer allowed to play music
KABUL: Taliban authorities have arrested 14 people in northern Afghanistan for playing musical instruments and singing, activities they restricted since taking power, provincial police said on Saturday.
The Taliban government has steadily imposed laws and regulations that reflect their austere vision of Islamic law since seizing power in 2021.
This includes cracking down on music in public, from live performances to playing at gatherings, in restaurants, in cars or on radio and TV.
The police said in a statement that on Thursday night in the capital of northern Takhar province “fourteen individuals... took advantage of the nighttime to gather in a residential house where they were playing musical instruments and singing songs, which caused disturbance to the public.”
Those detained were under investigation, it added.
After their takeover, Taliban authorities shuttered music schools and smashed or burned musical instruments and sound systems, saying music caused “moral corruption” and public disturbance.
Wedding halls are no longer allowed to play music, though segregated women’s sections often do so secretly.
Many Afghan musicians fled the Taliban takeover out of fear or in need of work after losing their livelihoods in one of the world’s poorest countries.
The Taliban authorities have encouraged former musicians to turn their talents to Islamic poetry and unaccompanied vocal chants — the only forms of music allowed under their previous rule from 1996-2001.
Newly elected Reform UK councillors face scrutiny over Islamophobic social media posts
- Party made major breakthrough at last week’s local elections
- Campaign group: ‘They have yet to drop any of the candidates that have been exposed’
LONDON: Up to a dozen newly elected councillors from Reform UK have been accused of posting Islamophobic and far-right content on social media, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
It comes a week after the party made a major breakthrough in local elections across the country, winning 677 of the more than 1,600 contested seats.
Reform UK councillors at three country councils have shared social media content from Britain First, a far-right party known for its anti-Islam views.
Paul Harrison, who was elected to Leicestershire’s county council, retweeted and voted “yes” to an X poll asking if the UK should conduct mass deportations.
The post was accompanied by an image, generated by artificial intelligence, of Muslim men holding Pakistani flags.
Reform UK officials are facing greater scrutiny in the wake of the local elections, with many of the social media posts being revealed by counter-extremism campaign group Hope Not Hate.
Its director of campaigns, Georgie Laming, said: “(Party leader) Nigel Farage has claimed that Reform UK have the ‘most in-depth vetting procedure’ of any party. Our investigation shows that their processes leave much to be desired.
“Not only have they admitted using ‘AI techniques and other things’ to do the vetting, but Reform UK continue to shirk responsibility for their candidates’ online behaviour. They have yet to drop any of the candidates that have been exposed.”
The campaign group previously uncovered Islamophobic content posted by Reform candidates on social media, as well as far-right conspiracies and support for extremist figures including Tommy Robinson and David Irving.
