Tensions rise in migrant standoff at Poland-Belarus border

Migrants gather near a barbed wire fence on the Poland - Belarus border in Grodno District, Belarus, in this still image taken from a social media video on November 9, 2021. (Reuters)
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Updated 10 November 2021
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Tensions rise in migrant standoff at Poland-Belarus border

  • Independent journalists have limited ability to operate in Belarus, and a state of emergency in Poland kept reporters and others away from its side of the border

WARSAW, Poland: Poland reinforced its border with Belarus with more riot police on Tuesday, a day after groups of migrants tried to storm through a razor-wire fence on the eastern frontier where thousands have camped on the Belarusian side in the tense standoff.
The European Union accuses Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of using the migrants as pawns in a “hybrid attack” against the bloc in retaliation for imposing sanctions on the authoritarian government for a brutal internal crackdown on dissent. Thousands were jailed and beaten following months of protests after Lukashenko won a sixth term in a 2020 election that the opposition and the West saw as rigged.
Polish authorities said all was calm overnight on the border — which is also the eastern edge of the 27-nation EU — but they were bracing for any possibility. The Defense Ministry said a large group of Belarusian forces was moving toward the migrant encampments.
During a special session of parliament, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described the situation at the border as part of an effort by Russia to disrupt a region that it controlled during the Soviet era that ended three decades ago.
“It must be strongly emphasized that the security of our eastern border is being brutally violated. This is the first such situation in 30 years when we can say that the integrity of our borders is being tested,” Morawiecki said.
Speaking during a UN Security Council meeting, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected similar accusations, and noted that the migrants are not seeking to stay in Belarus but to get to Europe.
“So who is creating the crisis, building fences with barbed wire and concentrating troops at the border?” Nebenzia said, adding that the EU doesn’t want to accept the migrants, and “it is time to stop playing the blame game.”
Polish Maj. Katarzyna Zdanowicz estimated 3,000-4,000 migrants were along the border, including about 800 near the makeshift camps. Belarusian security services also were there to “control, steer and direct these people,” she added.
She said Poland’s assessment came from aerial observations, alleging that Belarus authorities were taking journalists to the area to promote their version of events.
Independent journalists have limited ability to operate in Belarus, and a state of emergency in Poland kept reporters and others away from its side of the border.
The scene was quiet as night fell, and migrants were seen getting water and other supplies on the Belarusian side, according to Zdanowicz, based on what observations from across the frontier. She said guards prevented some small groups from crossing, part of hundreds of such attempts Tuesday.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry summoned the Polish military attache to protest what it called “unfounded and unlawful Polish allegations” against the Belarusian military at the border. It also voiced concern about the buildup of Polish troops there, saying Warsaw did not notify or invite Belarusian observers per international rules for activity involving more than 6,000 troops.
Speaking on Belarusian state television, Lukashenko threw the allegation of a “hybrid war” back at the EU, pointing at its sanctions against Belarus and adding: “And you, bastards, madmen want me to protect you from migrants.”
“I am afraid that this confrontation at the border because of migrants might lead to an active phase. These are grounds for provocations. All provocations are possible,” he said, accusing Poland’s military of flying its helicopters low at the border, frightening the migrants.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the West bore responsibility for triggering the flows of migrants through their “aggressive wars in the Middle East and North Africa.” The migrants, he said, don’t want to stay in Belarus and “want to get to Europe that has advertised its way of living for many years.”
The crisis has simmered for months after Poland, Lithuania and Latvia accused neighboring Belarus of encouraging thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, to illegally enter those nations. Many of the migrants often end up stuck in a forested area of swamps and bogs, pushed back and forth between Belarusian and Polish forces.
The Belarusian opposition urged the West to strengthen its sanctions on Minsk.
“It’s necessary to introduce tough sanctions, trade embargo and a full stop of transit of goods between the EU and Belarus,” Pavel Latushka, a leading opposition figure, said on a messaging app, urging Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, “as countries on the front line of a hybrid attack launched by the regime, to stop transit.”
On Tuesday, the EU tightened visa rules for Belarus officials, saying it was “partially suspending” an agreement with Minsk. The move affects Belarusian government officials, lawmakers, diplomats and top court representatives by requiring them to provide additional documents and pay more for visas.
Lawmakers in Lithuania voted to declare a state of emergency for a month along the Belarus border, restricting the movement of vehicles and banning all entry, except for residents, in a zone reaching 5 kilometers (3 miles) inland. Guards can check vehicles and people, and gatherings also are banned. It also applies to migrant accommodations in the capital of Vilnius and elsewhere.
At least 170 migrants were stopped from entering Lithuania on Tuesday.
In videos posted on Twitter by Polish police, the migrants were seen in tents and cooking over campfires in near-freezing temperatures. The police blared announcements that border crossing is allowed only at official posts, with visas, and the nearest crossing point in Kuznica was closed early Tuesday.
Refugee agencies UNHCR and International Organization for Migration called the situation “alarming,” and said they contacted governments in both Poland and Belarus to urge them to ensure that those in the makeshift camp get humanitarian assistance.
A man in the Polish village of Bialowieza told The Associated Press he has met many migrants who often are thirsty, hungry and in need of boots or medical care. He is among volunteers distributing food and other aid, and spoke on condition of anonymity because Polish authorities discourage such help.
“They are in really bad condition and the situation is getting worse” as temperatures drop, he said.
Some of the migrants believed they were in Germany and appeared to have been “very disinformed by Belarusian soldiers and guards,” the man said.
At least eight migrant deaths have been recorded by Polish and Belarusian authorities, most of them in Poland.
Morawiecki went to the border Tuesday, accompanied by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, to meet with border guards and other security officials.
“We do not know what else Lukashenko’s regime will come up with — this is the reality,” Morawiecki said, praising the guards.
Poland has received strong signals of solidarity from the EU and Washington in the confrontation with Belarus.
Germany’s outgoing interior minister, Horst Seehofer, said all EU countries “must stand together, because Lukashenko is using people’s fates — with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin — to destabilize the West.”
Many migrants have flown to Minsk on tourist visas and travel by taxi to the border. The EU is seeking to pressure airlines not to facilitate such trips. Although direct flights from Iraq were suspended in August, migrants have been arriving in Belarus from Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and even Russia, according to recent internal EU reports seen by the AP. Smugglers use social media to advertise transportation from Belarus to Germany by car.
Pavel Usau, head of the Center for Political Analysis and Prognosis, said Lukashenko expects the West to make concessions.
“Lukashenko is provoking the West to take aggressive action, but, on the other hand, he expects that Western countries will yield to pressure and will be forced to engage in negotiations,” Usau said in an interview from Warsaw.


Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash

Updated 4 sec ago
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Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash

Tesla’s sales have been slowing worldwide as Musk faces anger over his role overseeing cuts to the federal workforce
Musk has faced particular hostility in Germany after he vocally backed the far-right Alternative for Germany

FRANKFURT: Tesla sales plunged again in Germany last month even as the broader electric car market rebounded, data showed Thursday, the latest sign of a growing backlash against billionaire owner Elon Musk.
Just 2,229 of Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in March, about 43 percent fewer compared with the same period last year, the KBA federal transport authority said.
Overall electric vehicle registrations rose 35.5 percent in Germany year-on-year as sales continue to rebound from very low levels seen in early 2024.
Like elsewhere in Europe, EV sales slowed in Germany last year against a weak economic backdrop, with the situation worsened in the region’s biggest auto market by the withdrawal of government subsidies.
Tesla’s sales have been slowing worldwide as Musk faces anger over his role overseeing cuts to the federal workforce in US President Donald Trump’s administration, and due to factory upgrades.
But he has faced particular hostility in Germany after he vocally backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) — which is shunned by mainstream parties — ahead of February elections.
Some German Tesla drivers have put “I bought this before Elon Went crazy” stickers on their vehicles, Teslas have been targeted in suspected arson attacks in Berlin and Dresden, and protesters have staged demonstrations against the carmaker.
Over the first three months of the year Tesla registrations fell a whopping 62.2 percent compared to the same period in 2024, the KBA said.
Overall in March, the number of new vehicle registrations in Germany fell to 253,497, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, the latest sign of weakness in the market.
German auto manufacturers are now facing another headache after Trump slapped 25-percent tariffs on car imports into the United States.

Eid break brings Indonesian capital respite from notoriously polluted air

Updated 7 min 11 sec ago
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Eid break brings Indonesian capital respite from notoriously polluted air

  • Millions of people traveled to their hometowns for Eid, leaving streets of the capital empty
  • Jakarta regularly records above 100 air quality index and ‘unhealthy’ levels of PM 2.5

JAKARTA: The long Eid Al-Fitr break in commercial activities has cleared the skies over Indonesia’s notoriously polluted capital, offering a respite for residents who throughout the year are regularly exposed to some of the world’s most toxic air.

The Jakarta metropolitan area — home to about 31 million people — recorded “good” and “moderate” air on Thursday afternoon, with an air quality index reading between 22 and 76, according to data released by the Ministry of Environment.

The numbers showed a marked improvement for a city that regularly records above 100 AQI and “unhealthy” levels of PM 2.5, a measurement of particulate matter — solid and liquid particles suspended in the air that can be inhaled and cause respiratory diseases.

“These ‘good’ and ‘moderate’ levels of air quality are possibly due to a drop in public activities during Eid holidays, as there has been a marked decrease in transportation and industrial activities in the city,” Edward Nixon Pakpahan, air quality protection and management director at the ministry, told Arab News.

“We are working to keep the air quality index for Jakarta metropolitan area below 100.”

Jakarta residents have long complained about the health risks posed by persistent air pollution from heavy traffic, industrial emissions and coal-fired power plants, which have consistently placed Jakarta among the 10 most polluted cities globally.

The streets of Jakarta and its satellite cities have been mostly empty since last weekend, after millions of people traveled back to their hometowns for Eid holidays.

Across the city, those who did not travel for Eid have been making the most of the rare good weather and clear skies.

“I love it. The sky is blue and the weather isn’t miserable or scorching hot,” Jodi Baskoro, a 40-year-old office worker based in Jakarta, told Arab News.

“It’s such great weather for those who are making their way around Jakarta to visit their families for Eid.”


Amnesty International urges Belgium to end violations of asylum-seekers’ rights

Updated 58 min 39 sec ago
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Amnesty International urges Belgium to end violations of asylum-seekers’ rights

  • ‘Belgium is actively manufacturing a homelessness crisis. Without urgent intervention, this crisis will deepen’
  • Organization interviewed people, including Palestinians, navigating country’s asylum system

LONDON: Amnesty International on Thursday condemned Belgium for denying asylum applications from thousands of people, “forcing them into homelessness.”

Amnesty accused the EU member of “discrimination against racialized single men,” which has “impacted the lives, dignity and human rights of people seeking asylum.”

It added: “To date, national and international courts have ordered the authorities in Belgium to provide reception more than 12,000 times.

“Belgium has consistently refused to fully comply with the judgments, despite these being final and legally binding.”

Amnesty interviewed people who have experienced homelessness while navigating Belgium’s asylum system since 2021. Many said as well as being denied accommodation, access to healthcare is a major problem.

Sayed, who traveled from Afghanistan, spent time in a squat in Brussels with other homeless migrants from October 2022 to 2023.

“In the beginning it was good enough, there were toilets and showers, and some people brought food in the afternoon,” he told Amnesty.

“But slowly it was turned completely into a graveyard. Showers and toilets were broken, with the passage of time … Pee was coming up to the place where you were sleeping.”

He said ordinary Belgians and local charities had been welcoming, but the state had not been. “People were feeling our pain, but not the authorities,” he added.

Palestinian refugees Ahmet and Baraa, who fled the war Gaza last year, were also forced to live in a squat.

“It was cold … You can be starving, and no one will know about it. No one will help you,” Ahmet said. “I lost a lot of relatives and friends (in Gaza). My mother is severely wounded, my brothers and sister as well. I was thinking in their shoes: I just need to survive.”

Baraa said he just wants a “simple life, basic rights, a job, food in (my) stomach and just to live like a normal person. We had a life back in Gaza, but we just lacked the security and the safety there and that is why we left. That is why we came here: to find a safe place.”

Amnesty said it fears that Belgium will continue to exacerbate the problem after its new government pledged to adopt “the strictest migration policy possible.”

Amnesty urged the government “to immediately provide sufficient reception places and ensure that all people seeking asylum are given adequate housing.

“They must ensure people have access to adequate healthcare services, including specialized psychological support, regardless of their housing situation.”

It also called on the EU to “ensure that Belgium restores compliance” with its legal obligations to asylum-seekers, “including by launching infringement procedures if necessary.”

Eva Davidova, spokeswoman for Amnesty International Belgium, said the country’s “failure to provide reception is not due to a lack of resources but a lack of political will.”

She added: “The previous government had ample time to resolve the homelessness situation and failed to do so.

“The current government is more concerned with reducing the number of people who receive asylum rather than addressing the very real harm inflicted on people seeking asylum currently in the country. 

“The scale and duration of Belgium’s persistent disregard for court orders raises questions as to how rights holders can have any hope of holding the Belgian government accountable, especially marginalized and racialized persons like those affected by this situation.”

Davidova continued: “Belgium is actively manufacturing a homelessness crisis which is bound to have a lasting adverse impact on people’s lives and dignity, while civil society is left to pick up the pieces.

“Without urgent intervention, this crisis will deepen, further violating asylum-seekers’ rights and eroding both the country’s and the EU’s commitment to human rights.”


Family of British aid worker killed by Israel slam UK govt ‘silence’

Updated 03 April 2025
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Family of British aid worker killed by Israel slam UK govt ‘silence’

  • James Kirby, 47, was killed last year alongside 6 other aid staff in Gaza
  • ‘The government’s response has been nothing but empty apologies, which are, and will never be, sufficient’

London: The UK government has given “nothing but empty apologies” over Israel’s killing of a British aid worker in Gaza, the BBC reported his family as saying.

James Kirby, 47, was killed last April along with six other World Central Kitchen aid workers in an Israeli drone attack.

They were traveling in a convoy of marked vehicles, with the Israeli military having prior knowledge of their planned route. Three Britons, including Kirby, were killed in the attack.

The matter was raised in Parliament on Tuesday as MP Hamish Falconer told colleagues that he had met the victims’ families in November last year together with the foreign secretary.

Israel must “quickly and thoroughly conclude” its investigation into the attack, Falconer said, describing it as an “appalling tragedy,” and adding that the victims’ families “are determined to see justice.”

Yet the “lack of justice and accountability” has been as “equally devastating” as Kirby’s death, his cousin Louise Kirby said.

His family have been “met with silence” from the government “despite repeated calls for answers” over the killings, she added.

“It is disheartening to note that after all this time, we still have no concrete proof of accountability from any responsible party,” she said.

“The government’s response has been nothing but empty apologies, which are, and will never be, sufficient.”

The family thanked the Muslim community in Bristol for their “ongoing solidarity” and supporting them in “our quest for justice.” They also received letters of condolence from the king and queen, who they thanked.

A lack of British investigation into the drone attack has left the family “deeply concerned that breach of policy or laws” might have taken place, Louise Kirby said.

“We want justice for James and the truth to be known, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable that may be.”

Israel’s attack also killed Britons John Chapman, 57, and James Henderson, 33. Four others were killed: Australian Lalzawmi Frankcom, 43, American-Canadian Jacob Flickinger, 33, Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, and Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25.

The Israeli Embassy in the UK last year attributed the attack to a “serious failure” that was “made due to mistaken identification.”

The Israel Defense Forces dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others over the attack.


US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands

Updated 03 April 2025
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US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands

  • The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10% tariffs on all its exports

WASHINGTON: The world’s remotest corners couldn’t hide from US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs onslaught Wednesday — even the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands.
The Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean was slapped with 10 percent tariffs on all its exports, despite the icy archipelago having zero residents — other than many seals, penguins and other birds.
Strings of ocean specks around the globe, including Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands and the Comoros off the coast of Africa, were likewise subjected to 10 percent new tariffs.
Another eye-catching inclusion in the tariffs list was Myanmar, which is digging out from an earthquake that left nearly 3,000 people dead, and whose exports to the United States will now face 44 percent in new levies.
Britain’s Falkland Islands — population 3,200 people and around one million penguins — got particular punishment.
The South Atlantic territory — mostly famous for a 1982 war fought by Britain to expel an Argentinian invasion — was walloped with tariffs of 41 percent on exports to the United States.
The Falklands’ would-be ruler Argentina only faces 10 percent new tariffs.
According to the Falklands Chamber of Commerce, the territory is ranked 173 in the world in terms of global exports, with only $306 million of products exported in 2019. This included $255 million in exports of mollusks and $30 million of frozen fish.