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UK to stop migration of foreign students’ families 

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The United Kingdom is set to announce a policy to restrict foreign students from bringing family members into the country.

According to government sources, officials of the British government will announce the immigration clampdown on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Under the policy, foreign students would have to obtain a work visa by getting a skilled job or leave the UK within six months after the end of their studies.

The policy, which will affect all master’s students and some other postgraduate students, arises from concerns over the rise in the number of family members joining foreign students.

However, the policy will not apply to PhD students who are highly skilled and whose courses last between 3 to 5 years.

Beyond the student and family travel, the British government is also concerned about the number of illegal migrants to its territory which resulted in a £148 million agreement to deport thousands of refugees to Rwanda last year. The agreement seeks to deter asylum seekers from trying to cross the English Channel from France in small boats.

According to the government, the size of the foreign-born population in the UK increased from about 5.3 million in 2004 to over 9.5 million in 2021. A large percentage of the foreign-born population, most of whom are Africans, migrated as families and dependants of students in varsities.

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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