Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Biodun Iginla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biodun Iginla. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Migrant crisis dominates as EU holds final summit of 2015

  • 31 minutes ago

by Isabelle Roussel and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Berlin

From the section Europe
Migrants wrapped in metal blankets on their arrival in EuropeImage copyright AP
Image caption A proposal for EU members to accept migrants directly from Turkey is under consideration

Germany and several other nations are to discuss with Turkey ways of settling thousands of Syrian refugees ahead of the final EU summit of the year.
Those attending the meeting will discuss a proposal to resettle Syrians straight from camps in Turkey.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the driving force behind the plans, faces resistance from other EU states.
Thursday's full EU summit in Brussels is set to focus heavily on the migrant crisis which has divided members.
Record numbers of people have arrived in Europe this year, prompting some states to build fences and introduce border controls in defiance of the EU's border-free Schengen area.
The resettlement proposal would see EU countries accept Syrian refugees directly from Turkey under a voluntary scheme.
It is hoped the plan will stop people making the dangerous sea journey to Greece and will be more palatable for EU members than obligatory quotas.
Turkey and European leaders struck a deal last month in which Ankara tries to prevent migrants leaving in exchange for financial aid and political concessions.

At a glance: The summit agenda

  • Migration - How have the decisions taken in response to the migrant crisis been implemented?
  • Terrorism - Border controls, radicalisation, exchange of information and counter-terror co-operation after the Paris attacks
  • UK referendum - British Prime Minister David Cameron has proposed a number of reforms as the UK gears up for an in/out vote on EU membership
  • Single market - Measures designed to boost the continent's single market
  • Economic and monetary union - In a year that could have seen Greece ejected from the euro, leaders will discuss proposals from EU chiefs
The wider EU summit will discuss European Commission plans to create an EU coast guard, and other ways to strengthen external borders.
The fight against terrorism is also expected to dominate the summit after it emerged that at least two of the Paris attackers used the migrant route to travel to France.
Many migrants are themselves fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, seeking to reach northern Europe.
Keen to keep migration and terror as separate issues, European Council President Donald Tusk said "the protection of our external borders is not intended to scare off those who flee wars or persecution".
"Europe is a community of freedom and will always provide shelter for those in danger," he wrote in a summit invitation.

Analysis: Chris Morris, BBC Europe Correspondent

Migrants walk alongside a railway in HungaryImage copyright Getty Images
Image caption The route from Greece to western Europe is now a well-worn path
As a tumultuous year draws to a close, European leaders are struggling to maintain unity. They have been overwhelmed by weight of numbers, as nearly a million migrants and refugees have arrived on European shores.
Now Angela Merkel is once again taking the lead trying to work out ways to admit Syrian refugees straight from camps in Turkey.
Initially figures in the hundreds of thousands were being discussed - already that has fallen to tens of thousands. And plans for resettlement will only move forward if Turkey takes decisive steps to cut off the illegal flow of people crossing the Aegean Sea.
Plans to relocate 160,000 refugees who have already arrived in Europe are moving extremely slowly - so far only around 200 have actually been transferred from one country to another.
The summit will also discuss British efforts to renegotiate its membership of the EU before holding a referendum, by the end of 2017, on whether to say or leave.
Leaders discuss Cameron's reforms
Chancellor Merkel has stressed the "enormous importance" of avoiding a British exit but said she was not prepared to give in to all of Prime Minister David Cameron's demands for reform.

Migrant crisis

Features and analysis

Video

In depth


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Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Trump’s Muslim ban call 'endangers US security'

Donald Trump speaking and gesturing with his handImage copyrightGetty Images
Image captionTrump's remarks "bolster" the narrative of IS, the Pentagon says

Donald Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric undermines US national security by boosting the Islamic State (IS) group, the Pentagon has warned.
The leading Republican presidential candidate has said Muslims should be banned from entering the US, in the wake of the deadly California attacks.
But Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said such talk "bolsters Isil's narrative," referring to IS.
There has been a global outcry since Mr Trump made his remarks.
US Secretary of State John Kerry joined the onslaught of condemnation on Tuesday afternoon when he said they were "not constructive" in the fight against IS.
The IS militants are the target of a US-led bombing campaign in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Trump announced his plan days after an attack in California raised US fears about homegrown terrorism.
Memorial in San BernardinoImage copyrightAP
Image captionMakeshift memorials mark the tragedy in San Bernardino

A Muslim couple, believed to have been radicalised, opened fire and killed 14 people at a health centre in San Bernardino.
One of the two perpetrators, Tashfeen Malik, reportedly pledged allegiance to Islamic State on the day of the tragedy.
But responding to Mr Trump's remarks, the US Pentagon said a border closed to Muslims would harm American efforts to counter extremist ideology.
Without mentioning Mr Trump by name, Mr Cook said: "Anything that bolsters Isil's narrative and pits the United States against the Muslim faith is certainly not only contrary to our values but contrary to our national security."

Analysis - Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

With Mr Trump's latest rhetorical flourish, Republicans can likely "write off" the support of Muslim US citizens.
And his ongoing diatribes against immigration from Latin America aren't going to win the hearts of Hispanics, either.
Even if he doesn't capture the nomination, he's pulled his party to the anti-immigrant, nativist right and forced his fellow candidates to take positions that could be harmful when the general election comes around next November.
In perhaps the greatest irony, Mr Trump is waging his war with the Republican establishment and the US media with tools that the conservative movement fashioned and had previously used with gusto.
The Pentagon's view echoed a tweet from Hillary Clinton that said Mr Trump's proposed ban is "not only counter to our values - it plays right into the hands of terrorists".
The outcry was swift as soon as Mr Trump said in a statement on Monday night that Muslims nursed a "hatred" towards America and should be banned "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on".
The property billionaire and reality TV star later said it would not apply to people living in the US.
He defended the idea on Tuesday, comparing it to policies implemented by President Franklin Roosevelt during World War Two against Japanese, German and Italian people in the US.
Media captionMr Trump defended the ban proposal saying the US is "at war"

But Muslim leaders, the UN and foreign leaders have criticised the call as dangerous and divisive, while the White House said Mr Trump should be disqualified from the race.
Attempting to explain his comments, Mr Trump said parts of London were "so radicalised the police are afraid for their lives".
London Mayor Boris Johnson said that was "ridiculous" and added: "The only reason I wouldn't go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump."
Republican leaders were strong in their condemnation. House Speaker Paul Ryan said: "What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for. And more importantly, it's not what this country stands for."

More on this story

Tough talk- Katty Kay on why his rhetoric wins
Free speech v hate speech - Would Trump get in trouble in Europe?
'Will the camps have wifi?' - Trump's proposal met with humour online
Police 'afraid' in 'radicalised' London- Trump claims officers "are afraid for their lives"
Degree disagreement - calls to strip Trump of honorary Scottish degree
Most of Mr Trump's rival Republican candidates were equally forthright.
But Ted Cruz praised the frontrunner "for standing up and focusing America's attention on the need to secure our borders", although he said he disagreed with the policy.
It is not the first time Mr Trump has come under fire for anti-Muslim remarks.
After the terror attacks in Paris, he suggested they register on a database and he said the US should refuse all Syrian refugees.

Road to the White House


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