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Europe: Migrants bring along their tradition of TAHARRUSH GAMEA, ‘group sexual harassment in crowd’…
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27 January 2016
Danish parliament approves controversial migrant bill
Once a champion of refugee rights, the Scandinavian country’s goal is now to become “significantly less attractive for asylum-seekers”, Stojberg said.
“The tone in the public debate about refugees and immigrants has undoubtedly become tougher,” Kashif Ahmad, the leader of the National Party, which hopes to enter parliament by targeting the immigrant vote, told AFP.
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COPENHAGEN: Denmark’s parliament on Tuesday (Jan 26) adopted reforms aimed at dissuading migrants from seeking asylum by delaying family reunifications and allowing authorities to seize valuables, under legislation that has sparked widespread condemnation.
The government insists the law is needed to stem the flow of refugees even though Denmark and Sweden recently tightened their borders – a move that prompted Germany and Austria to turn back new arrivals heading for Scandinavia.
After just under four hours of debate, the bill presented by the right-wing minority government of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen was approved by 81 of the 109 lawmakers present.
Approval had been widely expected, as the main opposition party, the Social Democrats, backed the measures as did two small rightwing parties.
“There’s no simple answer for a single country, but until the world comes together on a joint solution (to the migrant crisis), Denmark needs to act,” MP Jakob Ellemann-Jensen of Rasmussen’s Venstre party said during the debate.
The legislation had stirred great controversy, but Rasmussen defended it as “the most misunderstood bill in Denmark’s history.”
International outrage focused on plans to allow police to seize cash and valuables from refugees to help pay for their stay in asylum centres, while rights activists blasted a proposed three-year delay for family reunifications as a breach of international conventions.
Some likened the Danish proposals to the confiscation of gold and other valuables from Jews by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/danish-parliament/2461102.html?cid=twtcna
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25 January 2016
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SputnikNo go: Belgian town mulls pool ban for #migrants after teen girls assaulted http://sptnkne.ws/a4Z2 #MigrantCrisis
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#Belgian mayor seeks to ban male asylum seekers from pool #migrantcrisis http://bit.ly/1SedPX2
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A Belgian mayor said he would propose banning male refugees from a smimming pool for a month on Monday (Jan 25) after complaints from female bathers, earning a swift rebuke from the migration minister who said it would be ill-advised.
The proposal underlined an increasingly highly-charged debate over immigration in Europe, particularly since authorities in neighbouring Germany accused gangs of migrants of sexually assaulting women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve.
“We had women complain because they felt stared at and selfies had been taken with them. It’s escalating. We never had any complaints before,” said Marc Vanden Bussche, mayor of the coastal town of Kokzijde.
Bussche said he had decided to act after police were called in to investigate an Iraqi man who had caught an 11-year-old girl as she came off a slide.
The politician from the Dutch-speaking liberal party Open VLD, said he would propose a one-month ban at a council meeting on Monday to allow tempers to cool. The town recently took in 300 asylum seekers.
“In the meantime we will teach them about our way of life and explain the rules of the pool to them,” he said, adding the ban would not affect children and their mothers.
Belgium’s state secretary for migration, Theo Francken, advised against the move. “It’s never wise to punish a whole group for the transgressions of a few,” he said in a tweet. “Asylum seekers live in open centres, they’re free to go swimming. But hands off!”
http://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/belgian-mayor-seeks-to-ban-male-asylum-seekers-from-pool
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24 January 2016
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#France: #Calais, a flashpoint in Europe’s migrant crisis #CalaisJungle http://youtu.be/5Jw5ETu520E
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BBC News
Calais port delays after migrants board P&O ferry amid protest
The port of Calais was temporarily closed and services were disrupted after a group of migrants briefly boarded a ship, the city’s mayor Natacha Bouchart has said.
It is understood that about 50 migrants in Calais boarded a P&O ferry named the Spirit of Britain, while it was unloading.
The incident happened during a protest at the port, in favour of migrants.
The port has since reopened, with sailing services returning to normal.
P&O Ferries said the “security incident” had been resolved but warned passengers to expect delays of up to 45 minutes.
The demonstration was held in support of migrants and, according to AP news agency, attracted a crowd of 2,000 people.
Some of the protesters at the demonstration carried banners saying “refugees welcome here”. People from Britain were among the demonstrators.
On Saturday evening, a statement from the Port of Dover said: “The Port of Calais is currently experiencing migrant activity which has caused disruption to ferry services.
“Therefore services to and from Calais via the Port of Dover are affected, but DFDS Seaways [ferry] services are still running to Dunkirk as normal.
“The Port of Dover remains open for business, but the duration of this disruption to services remains unknown.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35393423
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#Calais police detain 35 after crowd of migrants breaks onto ferry, halting port operations http://on.rt.com/72kt
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Calais port delays as migrants board P&O ferry amid protest #news
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Calais Port closes as migrants storm ship http://typewriterintl.com/2016/01/23/calais-port-closes-migrants-storm-ship/ …
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Refugees Storm Calais Port to Board British Ferry http://bit.ly/1OFJAGa
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VICE NewsCalais port closed after protesting migrants storm onto UK-bound ferry: http://bit.ly/1PLugW3
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Migrants storm Spirit of Britain leading to Calais port closure NEWS >> http://ift.tt/1PdUpRk #news #post #press
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16 January 2016
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Desperate migrant families carry their shacks to safety in Calais http://dailym.ai/204tpHg
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Calais migrants in race to dodge bulldozers http://u.afp.com/ZWUW
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“The Jungle,” dismantled. Migrants carry belongings as they leave France’s largest refugee camp in Calais.
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France: Calais Refugees Vow to Peacefully Defy Eviction of “Jungle” Camp http://owl.li/X0xqa
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Male asylum seekers banned from public pools after women complain of harassment
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BERLIN (AFP) – A town in Germany has banned male asylum seekers from public swimming pools after complaints from women that they were being harassed by migrants, AFP learnt Friday.
A spokesman for the local government of Bornheim said the ban on male asylum seekers above the age of 18 came after six people filed complaints “over the sexually offensive behaviour of some migrant men at the pool”.
The measure aimed at “making it clear to the men that the right of women in Germany is inviolable”, he added.
Officials have gone personally to three asylum seeker shelters near the pools to deliver news of the ban and emphasise how people should behave in swimming pools, said the spokesman.
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Public distrust of asylum seekers has grown in Germany after it emerged that hundreds of women were groped and robbed in a throng of mostly Arab and North African men during New Year’s festivities in Cologne.
An opinion poll for public TV broadcaster ARD found that 48 per cent of respondents said they were afraid of refugees, while 50 per cent said they did not feel that way.
A separate poll for public broadcaster ZDF also found that seven in 10 people fear that a record influx of asylum seekers will lead to more crime, compared to 62 per cent in October.
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weehingthong 