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Matteo Salvini has called on his supporters to converge on Rome to protest against the coalition that is being formed between his former allies and Italy’s centre-Left. The leader of the hard-Right League told Italians that they have not seen the last …
August 30, 2019Read More
The US Treasury on Friday announced penalties against Taiwanese and Hong Kong shipping firms it says are helping North Korea circumvent United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang’s oil exports and imports.
August 30, 2019Read More
More than 600 refugees arrived by boat to the Greek island of Lesbos on Thursday, the highest single influx since the height of the migrant crisis. Sixteen rubber dinghies carrying about 650 mostly Syrian and Afghans, including 240 children, reached the Aegean island, while some had to be rescued from the water. “It surprised us. It’s highly unusual to have so many boats at the same time, it’s an anomaly,” Boris Cheshirkov, spokesman for the United Nation’s refugee agency in Greece told the Telegraph. “It’s the highest number in a single day for three years. We can’t say for certain what the reason is.” Hundreds have been arriving in Greece from Turkey each week, despite a deal struck between Turkey and the European Union which saw Ankara receives billions in funding from the bloc in return for stemming the flow. The refugees were transferred to Moria Reception and Identification Centre Credit: REX But Thursday’s mass arrival was the largest of its kind since 2016, when the agreement came into effect. Nikos Dendias, Greece’s foreign minister, summoned the Turkish ambassador to “express Greece’s deep discontent” at the recent increase in arrivals with Turkey. The ambassador said Ankara was “committed” to the deal and that its policy had not changed after being asked how so many were managing to make it Greek shores. In the first two weeks of August 1,929 migrants arrived on Lesbos, compared with 479 in the same period last year. They have joined the 10,000 others being held in Moria detention facility, which has been described by humanitarian organisations as overcrowded, unsafe and inhumane. “Usually the factors that drive people to cross the sea from Turkey are warm weather and an increased volatility in their home countries, such as Syria and Afghanistan,” Mr Cheshirkov said. Syrians from the country’s northern countryside demonstrate by the Bab al-Hawa crossing between Turkey and Syria’s northwestern Idlib province Credit: AFP Turkey’s foreign minister warned on Friday that an assault by President Bashar al-Assad’s government on Idlib province in neighbouring Syria, the last rebel-held territory in the country, was threatening to trigger a fresh exodus of refugees trying to flee. Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the continued attacks by the Syrian regime, supported by Russia, could unleash another wave to Europe. Turkey is hosting more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees – three times the number accepted by the whole of Europe. It has been warning that it cannot accommodate any more refugees and has in recent weeks been deporting hundreds back to the war-torn country in contravention of international law. The regime’s offensive on Idlib, which is home to over three million people, began in April and has intensified in recent weeks. According to war monitors more than 1,500 civilians have been killed and as many as 500,000 have been internally displaced, with the UN saying it threatens to be the biggest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. On Friday, thousands protested at Syria’s closed border with Turkey. Some managed to break through the barriers, where they were met by live bullets and tear gas fired by Turkish forces. There were unconfirmed reports of casualties. hashtag/Idlib?src=hash&ref;_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>Idlib today: Erdogan portraits and Turkish flags are being burned by jihadists pic.twitter.com/HK8j5coeCK — Cahîda Dêrsim (@dersi4m) August 30, 2019 Syria’s opposition has been backed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government in the fight against Assad and his sponsor Russia. However, Turkey has in recent months become closer with Moscow, leaving some in Idlib to feel betrayed. Protesters burned pictures of Mr Erdogan, who was photographed on Thursday eating ice cream with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit by the former to Moscow. “You disappointed us and you can’t protect us, so open your borders,” one demonstrator chanted. “Let us go to Europe.”
August 30, 2019Read More
Sweden’s foreign minister said Friday she was heading to the Middle East in an attempt to relaunch talks between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the country’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Margot Wallstrom told Swedish Radio that she wa…
August 30, 2019Read More
Chinese police are warning mainland students enrolled in university programs in Hong Kong to stay away from “illegal mass protests and street violence,” The Telegraph can reveal, as authorities try to suppress the unrest. Students received text message alerts from local police this week that said “please stand firm on the position, ‘love the country, love Hong Kong,’ and by no means should you participate in any form of illegal assemblies, marches or demonstrations.” The notice added: “Take care of your personal safety and remember to strictly abide by China’s national laws and regulations, and local Hong Kong laws,” suggesting students keep close contact with the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong. The messages, viewed by The Telegraph, popped up on phones as Chinese students prepared to return to Hong Kong for the fall semester and ahead of another weekend of mass demonstrations, which have largely been youth-driven. A citywide strike is also planned for early next week, with protest organisers calling on university and secondary school students to boycott the first day of classes. A pro-China activist marches on the streets of Sydney during a rally against ongoing protests in Hong Kong Credit: SAEED KHAN/AFP “The true purpose [for the alerts] is so Chinese authorities can send a warning to mainlanders that police know they are in Hong Kong,” said Frances Eve, a researcher for the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a coalition of rights groups. “Threats are implicit, because mainland citizens know they won’t have protection from the wrath of the Chinese Communist Party once they cross the invisible red line,” Ms Eve said. “If they get involved in the demonstrations, they or their families back home could face reprisals.” China has issued increasingly ominous threats of a forceful crackdown as protests continue. The demonstrations represent the biggest political crisis in the former British colony since its Beijing resumed control in 1997. They’re also a public affront to Xi Jinping, head of the ruling Communist Party, at a delicate moment – in a few weeks, China will celebrate 70 years of party rule, a time when elite leadership typically values stability above all else. Border officials have stepped up checks, detaining and interrogating people travelling between Hong Kong and the mainland, searching through photos and apps on phones and laptops, as well as physical belongings. Chinese activists with links to Hong Kong and the protests have also been subject to interrogation and detention in recent weeks, and some have been placed under house arrest. China sent a new batch of air, land and maritime forces to Hong Kong on Thursday, describing it as a “routine annual rotation.” State media, however, warned that if violence continued, the troops “will have no reason to sit on their hands.” Demonstrators are demanding an independent inquiry of police response during protests Credit: Vincent Thian/ AP Police again rejected protest organisers’ plans to hold a large march through city streets to China’s representative office in Hong Kong on Saturday; last month, activists defaced the building. A police ban, however, is unlikely to keep protesters at home, many of whom are enraged by the government’s lack of concessions. Protesters first took to the streets in early June against an extradition proposal that would have sent suspects to face trial in mainland China, where Communist Party influence contributes to a 99.9 percent conviction rate. Although city leaders suspended the bill, protesters have continued to call for its formal withdrawal to prevent it from being tabled and passed quickly in the future. Demands have since expanded to include an independent inquiry of police response during protests, direct leadership elections, and the resignation of Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive. Many also say freedoms are fast-eroding in Hong Kong under Communist Party control, even though liberties are guaranteed for at least 50 years under an agreement that kicked in when the territory was returned to China. All mainland Chinese students approached by the Telegraph for this story declined to be interviewed, even on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the protests. Some, however, shared the messages received from local authorities. “I imagine a lot of them are taking these messages seriously,” said Ms Eve. “Chinese police have repeatedly shown they will resort to collective punishment against families, or hold families in the mainland hostage to prevent some people from speaking out.”
August 30, 2019Read More
(Bloomberg) — With time running out before U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s planned suspension of Parliament begins, the coming weeks promise a confusing scramble as courts in three cities deliberate whether the controversial move is legal.And what…
August 30, 2019Read More
(Bloomberg) — The U.S. sanctioned a supertanker hauling Iranian oil across the Mediterranean, two weeks after announcing plans to seize the vessel.The Adrian Darya 1 and its captain are both being targeted by the Treasury Department, according to a st…
August 30, 2019Read More
Leaders of the European Union can see the "rough shape" of what needs to be done to help Britain and Brussels agree a new Brexit deal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday. "We want to do a deal, that is why we are working so hard…
August 30, 2019Read More
Syrian government forces will soon begin a unilateral cease-fire in northwestern Idlib province, Russia’s military said Friday, as hundreds of protesters were met with tear gas marching toward a border crossing with Turkey demanding that Ankara either …
August 30, 2019Read More
The European Union will work to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and would welcome any moves to add to its conditions, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Friday. Again if something else can be built on it, this would be welcom…
August 30, 2019Read More
Lawmakers who are seeking to block a no-deal Brexit are making it more likely that Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday. Johnson has pledged that Britain will leave the EU on Oct. 31, ei…
August 30, 2019Read More
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