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Despite worldwide prorests, UK judge rejects bid to stop asylum seekers’ deportation to Rwanda

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A British judge, on Friday, rejected lawsuits filed in attempts to halt UK’s bid to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda next week, but gave the migrants permission for a last-minute appeal.

The Judge, Jonathan Swift, in his ruling, refused a request from a group of the asylum-seekers, backed by a trade union and refugee groups, for an injunction grounding the flight.

But he said an appeal could be heard on Monday, and a full legal challenge to the British government’s new Rwanda deportation policy is to be held before the end of July.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Britain’s Immigration Minister, Home Secretary Priti Patel, both welcomed the ruling with Patel saying the government would “not be deterred” by further challenges in carrying out the deportations.

“Rwanda is a safe country and has previously been recognized for providing a safe haven for refugees.

“We will continue preparations for the first flight to Rwanda, alongside the range of other measures intended to reduce small boat crossings,” Patel said.

The first one-way flight which is supposed to airlift 30 of the migrants who were arrested while crossing the English Channel into the UK, has been scheduled to leave next Tuesday but several human rights groups had filed suits on behalf of the migrants, many of whom had threatened to commit suicide if they were forcefully deported.

The Tuesday flight which will be the first under a controversial deal between the U.K. and the East African country, will see Britain sending the migrants who arrived in the UK either as stowaways or in small boats to Rwanda, where their asylum claims will be processed.

The deal said to be worth millions of pounds in compensation to the African country, with the UK already paying Rwanda £120 million ($158 million) upfront for the plan, will see successful migrants staying in Rwanda, but human rights groups have called the idea unworkable and inhumane.

The British government has not provided details of those selected but refugee groups say the group includes people fleeing from Syria and Afghanistan who arrived in Britain across the English Channel.

Metro

Nigerians plunged into darkness as national grid collapses again

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The hopes of many Nigerians celebrating the Easter period in the comfort of their homes may be truncated after the national electricity grid collapsed again on Thursday.

The national grid’s collapse was the fourth time
in the first three months of the year, despite assurances from the Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, that everything had been put in place to curb the incessant collapse of the grid.

This recent blackout occured when the national electricity grid centrally managed from Osogbo, Osun State, suffered a collapse at 4:30 pm on Thursday, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power.

According to a statement from several distribution companies (DisCos) across the country, the collapse caused their feeders to become inactive resulting in widespread blackouts across the country.

Data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN’s) further showed that the grid collapse had left to power dropping from 2,984 megawatts (MW) to zero in an hour, with all 21 plants connected to the grid ceasing operations by 5 pm.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a statement on the situation, said the power outage was due to a system failure from the national grid.

“The system collapsed at about 16:28 hours today 28 March 2024, causing the outage currently being experienced across our franchise area,” the AEDC said in a statement.

“We appeal for your understanding as all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply,” it added.

In a notice to its customers, the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said the system collapse resulted in a loss of power supply across its network.

“We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as the power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us,” EKEDC said.

Major power generation plants which were affected by the grid collapse included th Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Ibom Power, Jebba, Kainji, Odukpani, and Olorunsogo, among others, which remained dormant, further exacerbating the electricity deficit nationwide.

Over the past 10 years since the privatisation of the electricity industry, the grid has experienced collapses a staggering 141 times, underscoring the magnitude of the systemic challenges facing the sector.

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Egypt’s population growth declines by 1.4%

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Egypt’s planning ministry has announced that the country’s population went down to its lowest rate of population increase in decades in 2023, at 1.4%.

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, saying the country’s budget and services are being overburdened by the country’s high birth rate.

 

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, blaming the country’s budget and services for being overburdened by the country’s recent high birth rate. The population is currently estimated by Egypt’s official statistics office to be just over 106 million.

 

It is believed that 60% of the population lives below or near the poverty line in a nation plagued by a shortage of water, a dearth of employment possibilities, and congested hospitals and schools.

 

World Bank data from 1961 indicates that Egypt’s population growth peaked in 1984–85 at 2.8%, declined to 1.9% in 2006, and then increased to 2.3% in 2014. It has progressively decreased since then, reaching 1.6% in 2022.

 

Sisi has started many massive projects that critics claim waste money and add to Egypt’s debt load, but he claims will create jobs and infrastructure for the country’s expanding population.

 

Egypt started a family-planning campaign called “Two Is Enough” in 2019 intending to question the customs of large families in rural areas.

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