ALGIERS: Algerian authorities rounded up more than 1,800 migrants and left them at the Nigerien border in a record expulsion earlier this month, a Niger-based migrant rights group said Thursday.
Alarmphone Sahara, which monitors migration across the region, said the migrants were bused to a remote desert area known as “Point Zero” after being apprehended in Algerian cities.
Abdou Aziz Chehou, the group’s national coordinator, told The Associated Press on Thursday that 1,845 migrants without legal status in Algeria had been counted, arriving in Niger’s border town of Assamaka after the April 19 mass expulsion.
That pushed the total number of expelled migrants arriving in Assamaka this month beyond 4,000, he said.
The figure does not include those who may attempt to return north into Algeria, Chehou added.
The mass deportations come amid rising tensions between Algeria and its southern neighbors, all now led by military juntas that ousted elected governments previously aligned with Algiers. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdrew their ambassadors from Algeria earlier this month over border security disputes.
For migrants fleeing poverty, conflict or climate change, Algeria serves as a transit point en route to Europe. Many cross vast stretches of the Sahara en route before attempting dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean. But reinforced maritime patrols have stranded increasing numbers in transit countries with checkered human rights records and limited humanitarian aid.
In 2024, Alarmphone Sahara recorded more than 30,000 migrants expelled from Algeria. Similar pushbacks have also been reported in neighboring Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.
Neither Algerian nor Nigerien officials have commented on the latest expulsions, which are rarely reported in Algerian press. In the past, Nigerien authorities have said such actions appear to violate a 2014 agreement that allows only Nigerien nationals to be deported across the border.
More than 1,800 migrants expelled from Algeria into Niger, rights group says
https://arab.news/5qvh8
More than 1,800 migrants expelled from Algeria into Niger, rights group says
- The UK government is struggling to stop undocumented migrants embarking on dangerous boat journeys across the Channel from France
- Ukrainian and Afghan migrants face uncertainty under new policies
Death toll rises to 27 in Pakistan building collapse as rescue ends
Rescuers pulled 11 more bodies from the rubble of the building that collapsed on Friday, according to Dr. Summayya Tariq, the Karachi police surgeon. Ten people were injured and one of them died at a hospital, she said.
Authorities said they were investigating the cause of the collapse.
Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials, and safety regulations are often overlooked to reduce costs.
In June 2020, an apartment building collapsed in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, killing 22 people.
Iraq War a factor in 2005 London bombings: Ex-counterterror chief
- Neil Basu warns of ‘soul-destroying’ legacy of hate ahead of 20th anniversary of attacks
- ‘Foreign policy and Iraq ... radicalized and made extremists of people,’ he tells The Guardian
LONDON: British foreign policy, including the Iraq War, contributed to motivations for the attacks in London on July 7, 2005, a former counterterrorism chief has said, warning that the atrocity left a “soul-destroying” legacy of hate.
Neil Basu’s remarks were made to The Guardian ahead of the 20th anniversary of the attacks, which were carried out by Islamist extremists and left 52 people dead and more than 750 injured.
British foreign policy has a direct effect on domestic security, said Basu, adding that one driver of the attacks was “foreign policy and Iraq,” referring to Britain’s central role in the conflict alongside the US.
“That does not excuse in any way what they did. That foreign policy decision has radicalized and made extremists of people who might not have been radicalized or extreme,” he said.
In the wake of the attacks, the shock in Britain was compounded by the revelation that the group of suicide bombers had been supported by Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terror group.
“All terrorists will have a freedom fighter story,” Basu said: “Bin Laden would have had a freedom fighter story. We might think it’s crap. We might think it’s self-justification, but he will have had a story about liberating his lands from the great invaders.”
The ringleader of the attacks was Mohammed Sidique Khan. The husband and father said in a self-recorded video before his death by suicide: “We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you, too, will taste the reality of this situation.”
Basu warned that the new threat level to the UK from terrorism is far higher than in 2005. “There is no one path for any single individual to go down a terrorist route. There’s a multiplicity of paths, and one of them is: ‘I’m right, you’re wrong.’ Now that looks obscene to us … they are on God’s side. We are on Satan’s side,” he said.
“When terrorists hide behind a religion to commit an atrocity, people blame every follower of the religion and the religion itself. We ought to stop doing that.”
As a result of that behavior on a national scale, people in Britain are suspicious of those who “don’t look like you, think like you, eat like you, worship like you,” Basu said.
“That has got worse, not better, and that has been caused exactly as terrorists want, by dividing a society by committing the shocking act.”
The attacks also led to a reversal of decades of progress in race and religious relations, Basu said, highlighting a surging suspicion of Muslims in Britain in the decades since.
The “trajectory of tolerance” seen in the UK since the 1980s has been wiped out, he added, citing the July 7 bombings and 9/11 attacks in the US as crucial factors.
“That’s what I think has been most soul-destroying … It has interrupted a trajectory of tolerance that I was becoming very familiar and happy with,” Basu said.
“It started with 9/11 … 7/7 accelerated that in this country. The relationship between races is worse today, or as bad today as it was in the 70s and 80s. That period of tolerance is over, and feels very much over.”
For Muslims in Britain, the events of that decade led to wider damage within the community as members risked being tarred with suspicion by the public, Basu said.
A cycle of hatred and intolerance had been set in motion as a result, he added, warning of surging right-wing extremism and racism.
“I look at the rise of extreme right-wing terrorism in this country … of right-wing, racist attitudes toward black and brown people, and I look at the rise in hate crime reporting … and can’t help but think we’ve got a vicious cycle that started when certain vicious groups started killing people on western soil. I think they were intending to do that, and they have succeeded,” he said.
Korean man opens musalla at home to serve Muslim migrant workers
- Often called the ‘Hawaii of South Korea,’ Jeju Island increasingly relies on migrant workers
- Many employed in fisheries come from Muslim-majority Indonesia and Pakistan
SEOGWIPO, Jeju: On the southern coast of Jeju Island, far from the honeymoon resorts and tourist beaches, a modest home near a fishing village has quietly become a spiritual refuge for a largely invisible community: Muslim migrant workers.
Step past the shoe rack and the quiet hum of a record player, and you will find a small musalla. Clean, carpeted and softly lit, the space offers something rare for Muslims living on South Korea’s remote holiday island: a place to pray, rest, and feel recognized.
The prayer space was created by Nasir Hong-suk Seong, 35, a Korean fish farm operator who converted part of his home into a musalla after moving to Jeju earlier this year.
The island’s only masjid is in Jeju City, more than an hour by car from the southern coast where most migrants work in fisheries.
“Fish farm workers are on call 24 hours, so they can never make the time to go to the masjid for Jummah prayers,” Seong told Arab News.
“When I first arrived, I asked where they prayed. I was very sad when I heard it was almost impossible for them to attend Friday prayers and that they mostly prayed in the corner of their small dorm rooms.”
Often called the “Hawaii of South Korea,” Jeju is better known for its volcanic peak and tourist beaches than for labor migration. Yet, the island’s economy has been increasingly reliant on migrant workers, many of whom are Muslim men coming mainly from Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Jeju Province officially recorded 3,567 migrant workers in 2024. Seong estimates that in his region alone, 300 fish farms employ about 1,500 of them, with half identifying as Muslim.
Seong moved to Jeju from the port city of Incheon, where he used to run a guesthouse and often hosted Muslim guests. Getting to know them helped him see through the negative stereotypes of Islam in the West, and in 2023 he converted to the Muslim faith.
“About 30 percent of my guests were from Muslim-majority countries. As I got to know them through hosting, they turned out to be incredibly kind and respectful,” he said.
“There are so many people who misunderstand the religion. I think when people talk about Islam in Korea, they think of something foreign, something unknown. But it can be as simple as taking care of your neighbors.”
Such, too, was the purpose of Seong’s musalla. He spent a month preparing it at the home belonging to his grandfather. Starting in March, he spent all his after-work hours furnishing the space.
“When I moved in, I had nothing. Not even furniture or a pillow. This musalla was the first thing I made,” he said.
“I always keep it open. People can come for group prayer anytime ... and seeing them pray here makes me happy.”
Modest but maintained with care, the musalla is fitted with prayer rugs lined on the floor. A low shelf holds editions of the Qur’an in English, Arabic and Korean. Arabic calligraphy decorates the walls. A handmade qibla sign marks the direction of prayer.
Khalid Hussein, a 38-year-old from Pakistan, has been working in Jeju for the past 15 years. Employed at Seong’s fish farm, he has been visiting the musalla regularly, also to be in touch more with his identity.
“It became easier for us,” Hussein said.
“Jeju is 100 percent different. The culture, religion — everything is different. So, we need to compromise.”
He was at the musalla with his colleague, Zahaid Hussain, who also came from Pakistan on a contract that brought him to Jeju.
“I felt good when I was finally able to offer Friday prayers,” Zahaid said. “I was happy.”
Thousands of Buddhists gather in north India for Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday
- Dalai Lama announced that the institution of Tibet’s spiritual leader would continue after his death
- Followers and friends, including actor Richard Gere, took part in week-long celebrations
NEW DELHI: Thousands of Buddhists gathered in Dharamshala in northern India on Sunday to mark the 90th birthday of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
A Nobel peace laureate and one of the world’s most influential figures, the 14th Dalai Lama has been living in India since 1959, after he fled Tibet with thousands of others following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
Dharamshala, a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, has been his place of residence over the past six decades and also hosts the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Followers, monks, Indian officials and friends — including American actor Richard Gere — surrounded the Dalai Lama at the Tsuklakhang Tibetan Buddhist complex, where, despite monsoon rain, they greeted him with prayer and traditional Tibetan music and dance.
They celebrated his birthday and recent announcement that the 600-year-old institution of the Dalai Lama would continue after his death.
“This institution of the Dalai Lama is our identity, and I am glad it will be there. I came here for the Dalai Lama’s birthday from Delhi; you can understand how important he is for us,” said Loden, a Tibetan garment merchant living in New Delhi.
“This Dalai Lama is very popular and the whole world knows him, respects him, follows him. So yes, there is a bit of concern about the future Dalai Lama, about his acceptability in the world. I am sure this Dalai Lama would have thought about it. He has done great work for us Tibetans.”
When a Dalai Lama dies, Tibetan Buddhists believe he is reincarnated. Senior monks and members of the Tibetan government-in-exile will then search for the child who is the reincarnation, relying on dreams and visions, rituals at sacred lakes, signs at the Dalai Lama’s death, and other omens.
The 14th Dalai Lama was 2 years old when a search party decided he was the 14th reincarnation of Tibet’s spiritual leader.
Over the years, he has indicated that the continuation of the institution was ultimately up to the Tibetan people, and, if they no longer found it relevant, it could cease to exist, and there would be no 15th Dalai Lama.
He confirmed plans for a successor on Thursday.
“I am very happy that the Dalai Lama chose reincarnation. There should not have been any debate around it. It is our faith, and we trust every decision that the Dalai Lama makes. We can sacrifice our lives for him,” said Gatsog, a Tibetan refugee and monk in Dharamsala who attended the birthday celebrations.
The Dalai Lama has long led the Tibetan diaspora — most of whom live in India — in their struggle for autonomy and resistance against Chinese domination in Tibet.
His succession has drawn concerns among Tibetans living abroad that China might try to appoint the next Dalai Lama to tighten its control over Tibet, a region it invaded in 1950 and has governed ever since.
“China has no role in our religion. It is a matter of our faith. It is only about the decision of the Dalai Lama. We support his decision,” said Sonam Dolma, a Tibetan translator who has been living in India since 2007.
“I don’t have any concerns about the future Dalai Lama as he would be chosen by this Dalai Lama. So, it would be good for us. We just hope the world accepts him.”
A man is injured in a struggle with an escaped lion in southern Turkiye
- Kir Suleyman, a farmer, was hospitalized with wounds to his head, shoulder and legs
ISTANBUL: A farmer was seriously injured when he was attacked by a lion that had escaped a zoo in southern Turkiye on Sunday, local media reported. The lion was later shot dead.
The male lion, named Zeus, escaped his cage at Land of Lions in Manavgat, a resort city on the Mediterranean coast, in the early hours, the private Demiroren News Agency said. A few hours later, he attacked the 53-year-old man, who was sleeping outdoors after watering pistachio trees.
“I heard a whispering sound. When I lifted the blanket, the lion fell on me,” Suleyman Kir told the agency. “We struggled and fought. ... I grabbed his neck and squeezed. At that moment, he ran off a little.”
The Ilhas News Agency reported that police officers searching for the lion heard the noise of the struggle and scared it off by shooting into the air. Ilhas also showed footage of the lion strolling outside homes before disappearing into scrubland.
Kir was hospitalized with wounds to his head, shoulder and legs. Police teams and drones found the lion in a nearby wooded area.
Land of Lions’ website boasts that the park holds “the world’s largest lion family” of more than 30 animals. It also contains tigers, bears and wolves.
It wasn’t clear how the lion escaped but an investigation has been launched. The zoo did not comment on Sunday.
