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Britain’s ‘failing’ asylum system in numbers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

LONDON —  Rishi Sunak has pledged again and again to “stop the boats.” It’s easier said than done.The British prime minister is staking his political reputation on making the simple slogan real, vowing to reduce the numbers of asylum seekers making the perilous journey across the English Channel.But the data tells a more complex story. POLITICO crunched the numbers to illustrate the pressures on Britain’s asylum system — recently described as “failing” by one of the Conservative Party’s own top figures — and the challenges Sunak must confront as he tries to convince the public he is getting a grip.

Mount an airlift to feed Nagorno-Karabakh

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

Lara Setrakian is a journalist and the president of the Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia. Benyamin Poghosyan is the co-rapprteur of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Joint Expert Group and a senior research fellow at the Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia.It’s been eight months since Azerbaijan launched its blockade of the Lachin corridor, isolating some 120,000 ethnic Armenians from the outside world — a move that has had devastating consequences for everyday life and regional stability, while eroding the trust needed to build long-term peace in the South Caucasus.According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been barred from reaching the area since mid-June, access to food and medicine is deteriorating. Fruit, vegetables, dairy products and cereal are now beyond the reach of many residents, and a lack of transport fuel is restricting movement from village to village. All this is adding to the now chronic stress of 30,000 children and their familie...

Indictments returned in Georgia as grand jury wraps up Trump election probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

By Kate Brumback, Associated Press A Georgia grand jury that has been investigating former President Donald Trump over his efforts to undo that state’s 2020 election results arrived at a frenzied conclusion late Monday, returning indictments even as prosecutors offered no clarity about who had been charged and for what.The existence of indictments became apparent around 9 p.m., when the Fulton County judge who for months has been presiding over the grand jury investigation was presented by courthouse officials with a set of papers in a courtroom packed with reporters anticipating news.But neither the judge nor county officials revealed any details about the documents — though at least some of the indictments appeared to be for cases other than Trump. Even so, all signs pointed toward the grand jury moving toward an indictment in the Trump investigation: The panel worked late, some witnesses scheduled to appear Tuesday testified instead on Monday and the judge who’s been ...

Indictments returned in Georgia election probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

ATLANTA — A Georgia grand jury that has been investigating former President Donald Trump over his efforts to undo that state’s 2020 election results arrived at a frenzied conclusion late Monday, returning indictments even as prosecutors offered no clarity about who had been charged and for what.The existence of indictments became apparent around 9 p.m., when the Fulton County judge who for months has been presiding over the grand jury investigation was presented by courthouse officials with a set of papers in a courtroom packed with reporters anticipating news.But neither the judge nor county officials revealed any details about the documents — though at least some of the indictments appeared to be for cases other than Trump. Even so, all signs pointed toward the grand jury moving toward an indictment in the Trump investigation: The panel worked late, some witnesses scheduled to appear Tuesday testified instead on Monday and the judge who’s been handling the matter, Robe...

Alex Collins, former Seahawks and Ravens running back, killed in motorcycle crash at age 28

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Former NFL running back Alex Collins, who played five seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens, was killed in a motorcycle crash in South Florida, authorities said. He was 28.Collins was driving a motorcycle that crashed into a sport-utility vehicle Sunday night in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.The SUV was making a left turn when Collins’ motorcycle hit its rear passenger side. The impact caused Collins to go through a window of the SUV and come to rest inside the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. Collins was pronounced dead at the scene.The SUV driver, whose name was withheld, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, authorities said.The Seahawks released a statement from Collins’ family Monday night“Alex was cherished by his family and friends as well as supporters from all around the world. All who truly know him can attest to his drive, determin...

Indictments returned in Georgia as grand jury wraps up Donald Trump election probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

A Georgia grand jury that has been investigating former President Donald Trump over his efforts to undo that state’s 2020 election results arrived at a frenzied conclusion late Monday, returning indictments even as prosecutors offered no clarity about who had been charged and for what.The existence of indictments became apparent around 9 p.m., when the Fulton County judge who for months has been presiding over the grand jury investigation was presented by courthouse officials with a set of papers in a courtroom packed with reporters anticipating news.But neither the judge nor county officials revealed any details about the documents — though at least some of the indictments appeared to be for cases other than Trump. Even so, all signs pointed toward the grand jury moving toward an indictment in the Trump investigation: The panel worked late, some witnesses scheduled to appear Tuesday testified instead on Monday and the judge who’s been handling the matter, Robert McBurney, encourage...

Japanese economic growth surges on strong exports and tourism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economic growth jumped at an annual pace of 6% in the April-June period, marking the third straight quarter of growth as exports and inbound tourism recovered.Real gross domestic product, which measures the sum value of a nation’s products and services, grew 1.5% in the fiscal first quarter for the world’s third largest economy, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.The annualized pace shows what the growth would have been if what was marked during the quarter had continued for a year. The rate outpaced what analysts had forecast at 3.1% growth. The latest quarter showed the strongest growth since October-December 2020, when Japan’s GDP grew 1.9% on-quarter, and 7.9% annualized rate.Exports grew 3.2% in the three months through June, according to the government. Auto exports have grown lately, after a period in which they had stalled on the shortage of computer chips and other parts. Production was crimped because of social restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemi...

City of Yellowknife declares state of local emergency due to wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — Hundreds of northerners were being airlifted from at least three communities in the face of wind-whipped wildfires as the Canadian Forces arrived in the Northwest Territories and ashes rained down on its capital city, where a state of local emergency has been declared.“Over the past 24 hours or so there has been an airlift like this territory has never seen,” N.W.T. fire information officer Mike Westwick said Monday.“Planes flying out of Hay River, planes flying out of Fort Smith, planes flying out of Jean Marie River.“The highways are compromised. It’s a very serious situation.”Jane Groenewegen was helping a friend leave the hamlet of Enterprise just south of Hay River on Sunday evening when RCMP officers knocked on the door.“They said, ‘No, you have to evacuate immediately.’ It was probably only 30 to 45 minutes after that when basically the entire town of Enterprise burned down,” she said in a phone intervi...

Police say brother of Colombian Women’s World Cup player Carabalí has been shot dead at a nightclub

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The younger brother of Colombian Women’s World Cup player Jorelyn Carabalí was killed in the early hours of Monday in a nightclub shooting, local police in the city of Cali said.Jorelyn Carabalí was one of the key players in Colombia’s run that ended in a 2-1 quarterfinal loss to England in Sydney on Saturday.Colombia’s soccer federation issued a statement saying the welcome-home festivities for the squad’s return from Australia will go ahead as scheduled on Tuesday despite the incident.Local media reported that Carabalí’s 23-year-old brother died after the shooting in a Cali nightclub, where police said he worked as a DJ.The national soccer federation said Carabalí thanked her teammates for their support after her brother’s death, but did not say whether she will attend the official team functions on Tuesday.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cu...

Indonesian protesters begin hunger strike as bill to protect domestic workers stalls in parliament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:57:39 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian domestic workers and activists began a hunger strike on Monday to protest against the parliament’s delay in passing a bill to protect domestic workers.Sunrise-to-sunset fasting protests were happening simultaneously in the capital, Jakarta, and other major cities and will be held every day until the bill is passed, said Lita Anggraini of the National Advocacy Network for Domestic Workers.“The hunger strike reflects the situation of many domestic workers in this country who don’t have protection from the government,” Anggraini said. “We call on lawmakers to immediately pass the domestic worker protection bill into law. The more delays, the more workers who will experience violence and discrimination.”In Jakarta, about 40 fasting activists from the Domestic Workers Alliance sat under tents in front of the parliament compound. They held clocks, baby pacifiers, napkins and other cleaning equipment, as well as chains they said symbolized t...