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Claims of witch-hunt as 4 million Bengalis risk losing India citizenship

India has published a list which effectively strips some four million people in the north-eastern state of Assam of their citizenship

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India has published a list which effectively strips some four million people in the north-eastern state of Assam of their citizenship.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a list of people who can prove they came to the state by 24 March 1971, when Bangladesh was created.

India says the process is to root out hordes of illegal Bangladeshi migrants. But it has sparked fears of a witch hunt against ethnic minorities in Assam. Fearing violence, officials say that no-one will face immediate deportation.

However, they say that a lengthy appeal process will be available to all – even if it means millions of families will live in limbo until they get a final decision on their legal status.

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But this did not reassure Hasitun Nissa, who spoke to the BBC’s Joe Miller days before the list was published. She has never known a home outside the floodplains of Assam.

It’s where the 47-year-old schoolteacher spent her childhood, where she studied, where she got married and where she had her four children.

But she said she expected to be stripped of her Indian citizenship, and feared her land rights, voting rights and freedom would be in peril.

She’s not alone. Around four million Bengalis – a linguistic minority in Assam – have now fallen foul of the long, bureaucratic process.

Musings From Abroad

India arrests 35 Somali pirates as part of operations around Red Sea

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Following 100 days of anti-piracy operations east of the Red Sea, where piracy has reappeared for the first time in almost a decade, the Indian navy turned up 35 Somali pirates to the police in Mumbai on Saturday.

After a hundred days of anti-piracy operations east of the Red Sea, where piracy has reappeared for the first time in almost ten years, the Indian navy turned up 35 Somali pirates to the Mumbai police on Saturday.

Three months after it was taken over off the coast of Somalia, India, the biggest country in the Gulf of Aden and northern Arabian Sea, apprehended the pirates from the cargo ship Ruen last week.

Pirates have attempted more than 20 hijackings since November, taking advantage of Western forces’ attention being diverted to defending shipping against attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants. The development has increased insurance and security costs and created a crisis for international shipping companies.

The Houthis, who declare their support for Palestinians in Gaza in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, have been attacking the area since November, and as a result, shipping via the region has decreased by half as ships are choosing to circumnavigate southern Africa instead, according to the Indian navy.

According to the navy, India has responded to 18 instances by rotating the deployment of 21 ships and 5,000 people, boarding and inspecting more than 1,000 vessels. Several days have seen the deployment of almost a dozen warships due to its unparalleled presence.

“The task is to ensure that there is safety, security and stability” in the region, Kumar said.

“We can live up to the requirement of being a first responder and a preferred security partner… to ensure that the Indian Ocean region is safe, secure and stable.”

Before the Ruen was captured, Somali pirates had not been able to seize control of a cargo ship since 2017. In January, India sent at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to fend off pirate attacks and has examined more than 250 vessels.

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Musings From Abroad

EU hints Cyprus could consider migrant deal with Lebanon

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European Union (EU) commissioner, Margaritis Schinas, has revealed that the bloc could strike a deal with Lebanon as part of moves to manage the influx of migrants.

The revelation comes after Cyprus complained it was being inundated by a surge in arrivals from the Middle East.

To assist them in coping with the burden of rising migration and, ultimately, stop it from spreading to the other 27 members of the bloc, the EU has agreements in place with several nations. The pacts have drawn harsh criticism from rights groups.

Vice president of the European Commission for promoting the European way of life Schinas suggested that a deal with Lebanon could be mediated similar to the one the EU made on March 17 with Egypt. He remarked that a great deal of planning was necessary.

“We had worked with Egypt for quite some time, but I consider that it’s realistic to move correspondingly with Lebanon,” he said during a visit to Cyprus.

Situated within 100 miles (160 km) from Syria and Lebanon, Cyprus is the easternmost state of the European Union. Asylum seekers have started arriving there more frequently in recent months. In addition to facing a severe economic crisis, Lebanon is also home to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

On March 11, 458 Syrians came to Cyprus in six tiny boats within a single day. Compared to 36 in March of last year, authorities have recorded 533 arrivals by sea this month alone.

“Our country … is facing asphyxiating pressure because of the large number of Syrians arriving in Cyprus,” Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said after meeting Schinas.

Nicosia wants the EU to take into consideration designating areas of war-torn Syria as safe, allowing authorities to repatriate refugees who arrive from that country.

According to the United Nations. data, over 34,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to join the EU illegally so far this year. There are many cultural, economic, and environmental commonalities throughout the Middle East between the countries of Northern Africa, including Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and others. Through the Mediterranean and desert, African migrants have attempted to enter portions of Europe.

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