Musings From Abroad

Prince Charles slams British government over plan to send refugees to Rwanda

Published

2 years ago

June 12, 2022

UK’s Prince Charles has slammed the British government over its plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, describing the move by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as appalling.

The heir to the British throne who is not allowed to publicly criticise the government by law, is reportedly concerned that the controversial asylum agreement the UK entered into with the African country will overshadow a Commonwealth Summit in Rwanda where he is due to represent his mother, Queen Elizabeth, at the end of June.

Under the UK’s unwritten constitution, the royal family should remain politically neutral and while Queen Elizabeth has steadfastly kept her opinions to herself during her seven-decade reign, Prince Charles, however, has in many instances, expressed his views about subjects close to his heart.

As the first flight which is scheduled to leave UK on Tuesday with about 30 migrants confirmed after a judge rejected lawsuits filed in attempts to halt the deport bid, Prince Charles is said to have been heard criticising the policy.

“He said he was more than disappointed at the policy. He said he thinks the government’s whole approach is appalling. It was clear he was not impressed with the government’s direction of travel,” a palace source revealed to a journalist.

A spokesperson for Prince Charles did not also deny he had expressed his personal opinions about the policy in private when contacted by the journalist.

“We would not comment on supposed anonymous private conversations with the Prince except to restate that he remains politically neutral. Matters of policy are decisions for government,” the spokesperson reportedly said.

The British government had announced in April it had struck a deal worth £120 million with Rwanda to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers to the East African country in a bid to undermine people-smuggling networks.

Up to 130 asylum seekers have been notified they could be sent to Rwanda and lawyers for almost 100 of the migrants had submitted legal challenges asking to stay in the UK.

On Friday, a British judge, Jonathan Swift, refused a request from a group of the asylum-seekers, backed by a trade union and refugee groups, for an injunction grounding the flight scheduled to airlift 30 of the migrants to Rwanda on Tuesday, June 14.

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Musings From Abroad

EU withdraws Niger diplomat after junta accuses it of mismanaging aid

Published

15 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The European External Action Service (EEAS) has announced that the European Union would return its ambassador from Niger after the governing military in the nation questioned how an EU team handled humanitarian supplies intended for flood victims.

In a statement released on Friday, the junta in Niger accused the EU ambassador in the West African nation of distributing a 1.3 million euro flood relief grant to many foreign nongovernmental organisations in an opaque way and without working with the government.

Consequently, it mandated an audit of the fund’s administration.

“The European Union expresses its profound disagreement with the allegations and justifications put forward by the transitional authorities,” the EEAS said.

“Consequently, the EU has decided to recall its ambassador from Niamey for consultations in Brussels.”

Niger has been under military rule since the junta seized power in a 2023 coup.

Musings From Abroad

Mpox remains health emergency, WHO insists

Published

16 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has insisted that the Mpox epidemic remains a public health emergency.

WHO first declared an emergency when a new strain of mpox spread from the severely affected Democratic Republic of the Congo to neighbouring countries in August.

The WHO Director-General has decided that the increase in mpox still qualifies as a public health emergency of worldwide significance after the WHO called a meeting of its Emergency Committee and followed its recommendations.

According to WHO, the decision was made in light of the growing number and ongoing geographic dispersion of cases, field operating difficulties, and the requirement to establish and maintain a coordinated response across nations and partners.

Mpox is a virus that is spread by close contact and usually manifests as pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. Although it is typically minor, it can be fatal.

More than 1,000 suspected deaths and more than 46,000 suspected cases have been reported this year throughout Africa, primarily in Congo.

The WHO’s highest level of warning, known as a “public health emergency of international concern,” was previously used to describe a worldwide epidemic of a different type of mpox in 2022–2023.

This year’s notice was issued in response to the transmission of a novel viral variation known as clade Ib. Among other nations, cases of this variation have been verified in the UK, Germany, Sweden, and India.

Following criticism for moving too slowly on vaccinations, WHO approved Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine in September and listed Japan’s KM Biologics vaccine for emergency use earlier this month.