Germany&rsquo;s new government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has said that it plans to turn away asylum-seekers and will increase the number of border police for stricter migration policies.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Germany will turn some asylum-seekers away at its borders,&rdquo; said the new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, though he added that exceptions would be made for &lsquo;vulnerable groups&rsquo; like pregnant women and children. During his election campaign, the newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz had argued that Germany is surrounded by European Union member states and Switzerland, and so any potential asylum applicants should present their case with them before they reach Germany. He added that as per the EU agreements, asylum-seekers must apply for protection in the first EU country they enter.
Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/justice-is-served-indian-army-india-launches-operation-sindoor-strikes-9-terror-targets-in-pakistan-pok-9042294" rel="dofollow noopener" target="_blank">&lsquo;Justice is served&rsquo;: Indian armed forces launch &lsquo;Operation Sindoor&rsquo;, strike 9 terror targets in&nbsp;Pakistan,&nbsp;PoK</a>
Interior Minister Dobrindt further said, &ldquo;We are not going to close the borders, but we are going to control the borders more strictly, and this stronger control of the borders will also lead to a higher number of rejections.&rdquo; &ldquo;We will gradually increase this higher number of rejections and implement stronger controls at the borders. We will ensure that more police forces are deployed at the borders and can carry out these push-backs,&rdquo; he added.
Like most EU countries, Germany is part of the visa-free Schengen area, where internal borders are open for EU citizens and many non-EU nationals to travel freely without passport checks.
Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/pakistan/operation-sindoor-pakistan-defence-minister-khawaja-asif-retracts-pow-claim-says-no-indian-soldiers-captured-9042569" rel="dofollow noopener" target="_blank">Operation Sindoor: Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif retracts PoW claim, says no Indian soldiers captured</a>
Merz, meanwhile, is on his first official trip to France and Poland.
<h2>Polish PM Donald Tusk issues warning</h2>
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Warsaw on Wednesday evening and hailed a &lsquo;new opening&rsquo; in German-Polish relations. However, Tusk warned the new chancellor against unilateral migration policies such as national border controls or deportations, which could leave migrants stranded on Polish territory.
Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/civil-defence-on-alert-to-handle-any-situation-amit-shah-directs-states-after-operation-sindoor-9045642" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Civil Defence be on alert to handle any situation': Amit Shah directs states after Operation Sindoor</a> &ldquo;There can be no impression that anyone, including Germany, would like to send any groups of migrants to Poland. Poland will not accept this,&rdquo; he said at a news conference. Tusk said the problem of asylum seekers should be dealt with at the European Union&rsquo;s outer border. &ldquo;We must help each other to protect EU territory against illegal migration. I will expect the new German government to cooperate fully on securing the EU&rsquo;s external borders,&rdquo; he said. Internally, it is in the interests of both Poland and Germany to maintain the EU&rsquo;s free-movement Schengen Zone, he said.

World: Chancellor Friedrich Merz added that, as per the EU agreements, asylum-seekers must apply for protection in the first EU member country they enter.

Germany’s new government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has said that it plans to turn away asylum-seekers and will increase the number of border police for stricter migration policies. “Germany will turn some asylum-seekers away at its borders,” said the new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, though he added that exceptions would be made for ‘vulnerable groups’ like pregnant women and children. During his election campaign, the newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz had argued that Germany is surrounded by European Union member states and Switzerland, and so any potential asylum applicants should present their case with them before they reach Germany. He added that as per the EU agreements, asylum-seekers must apply for protection in the first EU country they enter. Also read: ‘Justice is served’: Indian armed forces launch ‘Operation Sindoor’, strike 9 terror targets in Pakistan, PoK Interior Minister Dobrindt further said, “We are not going to close the borders, but we are going to control the borders more strictly, and this stronger control of the borders will also lead to a higher number of rejections.” “We will gradually increase this higher number of rejections and implement stronger controls at the borders. We will ensure that more police forces are deployed at the borders and can carry out these push-backs,” he added. Like most EU countries, Germany is part of the visa-free Schengen area, where internal borders are open for EU citizens and many non-EU nationals to travel freely without passport checks. Also read: Operation Sindoor: Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif retracts PoW claim, says no Indian soldiers captured Merz, meanwhile, is on his first official trip to France and Poland. Polish PM Donald Tusk issues warning Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk welcomed Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Warsaw on Wednesday evening and hailed a ‘new opening’ in German-Polish relations. However, Tusk warned the new chancellor against unilateral migration policies such as national border controls or deportations, which could leave migrants stranded on Polish territory. Also read: 'Civil Defence be on alert to handle any situation': Amit Shah directs states after Operation Sindoor “There can be no impression that anyone, including Germany, would like to send any groups of migrants to Poland. Poland will not accept this,” he said at a news conference. Tusk said the problem of asylum seekers should be dealt with at the European Union’s outer border. “We must help each other to protect EU territory against illegal migration. I will expect the new German government to cooperate fully on securing the EU’s external borders,” he said. Internally, it is in the interests of both Poland and Germany to maintain the EU’s free-movement Schengen Zone, he said.

Germany’s new govt to turn away asylum-seekers from border, deploy more forces

Clashes broke out on Sunday (April 22) between asylum-seekers and groups of locals on Lesbos, police said, in one of the most serious bouts of violence on the Greek island in months.

The violence erupted late Sunday after members of the radical "Patriotic Movement" gathered on the central square of the island's main city Mytilene, where some 200 Afghan asylum-seekers launched a sit-in protest last week against their miserable living conditions. The asylum-seekers were demonstrating against conditions in the island's camp and delays in asylum applications.

The clashes raged all night until security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd and evacuate the square, forcing the Afghans to return to the island's overcrowded migrant camps.

A dozen migrants were lightly hurt and had to be taken to hospital, police said.

The clashes, which began on Sunday evening, lasted well into the early hours of Monday, the official said.&nbspTensions spiraled further when Left-wing activists arrived in support of the migrants and started fighting with the far-Right supporters.

Lesbos was the main gateway to Europe for nearly a million refugees and migrants in 2015. Its main camp, Moria, suffers from overcrowding, with more than double the number of people it can handle, and conditions have deteriorated. Acts of violence and protests are often reported in the camp.

The clashes, which began on Sunday evening, lasted well into the early hours of Monday, the official said

Clashes broke out on Sunday (April 22) between asylum-seekers and groups of locals on Lesbos, police said, in one of the most serious bouts of violence on the Greek island in months. The violence erupted late Sunday after members of the radical "Patriotic Movement" gathered on the central square of the island's main city Mytilene, where some 200 Afghan asylum-seekers launched a sit-in protest last week against their miserable living conditions. The asylum-seekers were demonstrating against conditions in the island's camp and delays in asylum applications. The clashes raged all night until security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd and evacuate the square, forcing the Afghans to return to the island's overcrowded migrant camps. A dozen migrants were lightly hurt and had to be taken to hospital, police said. The clashes, which began on Sunday evening, lasted well into the early hours of Monday, the official said.&nbspTensions spiraled further when Left-wing activists arrived in support of the migrants and started fighting with the far-Right supporters. Lesbos was the main gateway to Europe for nearly a million refugees and migrants in 2015. Its main camp, Moria, suffers from overcrowding, with more than double the number of people it can handle, and conditions have deteriorated. Acts of violence and protests are often reported in the camp.

Asylum-seekers and locals clash on Greek island of Lesbos over migrant crisis

More than 2,000 leaked reports detailing allegations of sexual assault, child abuse and self-harm in Australian immigration centres on Nauru were published Wednesday, prompting rights groups to renew calls for refugees to be resettled elsewhere. 
 
Under Canberra&#39;s current policy, asylum-seekers arriving by boat are sent to the remote Pacific island nation of Nauru or to Papua New Guinea&#39;s Manus Island. 
 
They will not be allowed to resettle in Australia even if they eventually win refugee status. 
 
While the flow of asylum boats to Australia has dried up, some 442 people remain on tiny Nauru and almost double that number on Manus. 
 
The incident reports leaked to The Guardian Australia include allegations that asylum-seekers, including children, on Nauru face assaults, sexual abuse and mental distress. 
 
The reports allege incidents such as guards threatening a boy with death and only allowing a young woman a longer shower in return for sexual favours. 
 
Mental stress caused by prolonged detention was deemed to be the cause of alleged cases of self-harm, including a woman trying to hang herself and a girl sewing her lips together. 
 
One girl wrote in her school book in 2014 that &quot;she was tired, doesn&#39;t like camp and wants to die&quot;. The report said she wrote: &quot;I want DEATH&quot; and &quot;I need death&quot;. 
 
The Guardian said the reports, published in redacted form to remove identifiers, were written by staff in the detention centre and were the largest cache of leaked documents released from inside Australia&#39;s immigration regime. 
 
While some of the incidents had been reported by the media before or detailed in inquiries, The Guardian said its analysis of the 2,116 reports showed that children were the subject of more than half of them. 
 
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the material would be examined &quot;to see if there are any complaints there or issues there that were not properly addressed&quot;. 
 
But the government stressed the reports were allegations, not findings of fact, adding Canberra would continue to support Nauru to provide for the welfare of those on the island. 
 
Australia&#39;s government has strongly defended its immigration policy despite criticism, saying it has halted the spate of boat arrivals -- and drownings -- of earlier years. 
 
But rights groups called for Australia to take in those asylum-seekers still on Nauru. 
 
&quot;Australia&#39;s offshore processing of refugees must end, and all of the refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and Manus Island must be resettled immediately,&quot; Amnesty International&#39;s Anna Neistat said Wednesday. 
 
- &#39;Tip of iceberg&#39; - 
The leak prompted former workers from Nauru including social workers, teachers and child protection specialists from Save the Children to come forward to corroborate the reports. 
 
&quot;These incident reports were not leaked by us, or by any person known to us,&quot; former case worker Natasha Blucher said. &quot;However, now that this information is on the public record, it enables us to speak out in an unprecedented way.&quot; 
 
The Australian government said the documents were evidence of the &quot;rigorous reporting procedures that are in place in the regional processing centre&quot;. 
 
But Former Save the Children teacher Jane Willey, who recognised her own handwriting in some of the reports, said the published data was nowhere near the full extent of those written. 
 
&quot;What you are seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg,&quot; said Willey, who worked on Nauru between July 2014 and March 2015. 
 
Willey said seeing children deteriorate over time was one of the worst aspects of her work. 
 
&quot;Seeing children refer to themselves as a boat number, seeing evidence of self-harm... I dread to think of how those kids are doing,&quot; she told AFP.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

The reports detail allegations of sexual assault, child abuse and self-harm in Australian immigration centres on the island of Nauru

More than 2,000 leaked reports detailing allegations of sexual assault, child abuse and self-harm in Australian immigration centres on Nauru were published Wednesday, prompting rights groups to renew calls for refugees to be resettled elsewhere. Under Canberra's current policy, asylum-seekers arriving by boat are sent to the remote Pacific island nation of Nauru or to Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. They will not be allowed to resettle in Australia even if they eventually win refugee status. While the flow of asylum boats to Australia has dried up, some 442 people remain on tiny Nauru and almost double that number on Manus. The incident reports leaked to The Guardian Australia include allegations that asylum-seekers, including children, on Nauru face assaults, sexual abuse and mental distress. The reports allege incidents such as guards threatening a boy with death and only allowing a young woman a longer shower in return for sexual favours. Mental stress caused by prolonged detention was deemed to be the cause of alleged cases of self-harm, including a woman trying to hang herself and a girl sewing her lips together. One girl wrote in her school book in 2014 that "she was tired, doesn't like camp and wants to die". The report said she wrote: "I want DEATH" and "I need death". The Guardian said the reports, published in redacted form to remove identifiers, were written by staff in the detention centre and were the largest cache of leaked documents released from inside Australia's immigration regime. While some of the incidents had been reported by the media before or detailed in inquiries, The Guardian said its analysis of the 2,116 reports showed that children were the subject of more than half of them. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the material would be examined "to see if there are any complaints there or issues there that were not properly addressed". But the government stressed the reports were allegations, not findings of fact, adding Canberra would continue to support Nauru to provide for the welfare of those on the island. Australia's government has strongly defended its immigration policy despite criticism, saying it has halted the spate of boat arrivals -- and drownings -- of earlier years. But rights groups called for Australia to take in those asylum-seekers still on Nauru. "Australia's offshore processing of refugees must end, and all of the refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and Manus Island must be resettled immediately," Amnesty International's Anna Neistat said Wednesday. - 'Tip of iceberg' - The leak prompted former workers from Nauru including social workers, teachers and child protection specialists from Save the Children to come forward to corroborate the reports. "These incident reports were not leaked by us, or by any person known to us," former case worker Natasha Blucher said. "However, now that this information is on the public record, it enables us to speak out in an unprecedented way." The Australian government said the documents were evidence of the "rigorous reporting procedures that are in place in the regional processing centre". But Former Save the Children teacher Jane Willey, who recognised her own handwriting in some of the reports, said the published data was nowhere near the full extent of those written. "What you are seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg," said Willey, who worked on Nauru between July 2014 and March 2015. Willey said seeing children deteriorate over time was one of the worst aspects of her work. "Seeing children refer to themselves as a boat number, seeing evidence of self-harm... I dread to think of how those kids are doing," she told AFP. (AFP)

Abuse rife in Australian immigration centre: Leaked reports

Australia has intercepted a boat of Vietnamese asylum-seekers, officials said today, as the government accused people-smugglers of using the upcoming election to drum up new business. 
 
Rhetoric around Canberra&#39;s controversial immigration policy has ramped up ahead of July 2 polls, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denounced a Labour opposition pledge to allow illegal migrants already in Australia to stay permanently. 
 
The Vietnamese boat was discovered north of Australia this month, with the 21 men, women and children on board processed at sea and then flown home, immigration minister Peter Dutton said. 
 
&quot;They claimed that they were wanting protection. It was found that they weren&#39;t owed protection and they were returned back to Vietnam,&quot; he said. 
 
Under Canberra&#39;s tough measures, asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are either sent back to where they departed or to remote Pacific island camps, where living conditions have been criticised. 
 
While Labour backs the policy of turning back illegal boat arrivals, it has said it would permanently settle the bulk of the 30,000 boatpeople who came ashore under the previous Labour governments of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, most of which are still waiting to be processed. 
 
&quot;This will send an absolutely unequivocal signal to the people-smugglers that under a Labor government, anyone who manages to get to Australia on a boat will be able to stay here permanently,&quot; Turnbull told reporters. 
 
&quot;The people-smugglers are starting to market again and we know... they are marketing that there will be, or could be, a change of government in Australia and the way the opportunities to smuggle people to Australia will be open again.&quot; 
 
Since the start of its &quot;Operation Sovereign Borders&quot; in September 2013, the government has managed to halt the flood of boat arrivals, and drownings, that characterised previous Labour administrations. 
 
Turnbull said since the Conservatives came to power, 28 boats carrying 734 people have been turned back with no successful arrival in almost 700 days. 
 
(AFP)

The immigration minister said the 21 aboard did not need protection as claimed and sent them back to Vietnam

Australia has intercepted a boat of Vietnamese asylum-seekers, officials said today, as the government accused people-smugglers of using the upcoming election to drum up new business. Rhetoric around Canberra's controversial immigration policy has ramped up ahead of July 2 polls, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has denounced a Labour opposition pledge to allow illegal migrants already in Australia to stay permanently. The Vietnamese boat was discovered north of Australia this month, with the 21 men, women and children on board processed at sea and then flown home, immigration minister Peter Dutton said. "They claimed that they were wanting protection. It was found that they weren't owed protection and they were returned back to Vietnam," he said. Under Canberra's tough measures, asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are either sent back to where they departed or to remote Pacific island camps, where living conditions have been criticised. While Labour backs the policy of turning back illegal boat arrivals, it has said it would permanently settle the bulk of the 30,000 boatpeople who came ashore under the previous Labour governments of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, most of which are still waiting to be processed. "This will send an absolutely unequivocal signal to the people-smugglers that under a Labor government, anyone who manages to get to Australia on a boat will be able to stay here permanently," Turnbull told reporters. "The people-smugglers are starting to market again and we know... they are marketing that there will be, or could be, a change of government in Australia and the way the opportunities to smuggle people to Australia will be open again." Since the start of its "Operation Sovereign Borders" in September 2013, the government has managed to halt the flood of boat arrivals, and drownings, that characterised previous Labour administrations. Turnbull said since the Conservatives came to power, 28 boats carrying 734 people have been turned back with no successful arrival in almost 700 days. (AFP)

Australia intercepts Vietnam asylum-seeker boat

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