The UK says it will sanction those who enable migrant journeys across the English Channel
The U.K. said the new powers target smugglers and those who supply them with money and equipment. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the measures are 'the world's first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers.'
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Winnipeg Free Press
8 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hong Kong police offer rewards for information leading to arrest of 19 overseas activists
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police announced rewards for information leading to the arrest of 19 overseas-based activists for their roles in what they called a subversive organization abroad, accusing them of violating a national security law imposed by Beijing. Police said in a statement Friday that the group, Hong Kong Parliament, aimed to promote self-determination and establish a so-called 'Hong Kong constitution,' alleging it was using illegal means to overthrow and undermine China's fundamental system or overthrow the institutions in power in the city or China. On request by the police, the city's court issued arrest warrants for activists Elmer Yuen, Johnny Fok, Tony Choi, Victor Ho, Keung Ka-wai and 14 others. They are alleged to have organized or participated in an election abroad for the Hong Kong Parliament, as well as setting up or becoming members of the group. According to a Facebook statement by the group on Jun. 30, its election drew some 15,700 valid votes through mobile app and online voting systems. It said the candidates and elected members came from various regions, including Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, the U.S., Canada and Britain. While the group calls itself Hong Kong Parliament, its electoral organizing committee was founded in Canada and its influence is limited. Among the 19 activists, police have already offered 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,400) for information leading to the arrest of Yuen, Ho, Fok and Choi when previous arrest warrants were issued against them. For the remaining 15 people, rewards of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars ($25,480) were offered, urging residents to provide information about the case or the people. 'The investigation is still ongoing. If necessary, police will offer bounties to hunt down more suspects in the case,' police said. They also called on those wanted to stop their actions while they still can, saying that they hoped the activists 'will take this opportunity to return to Hong Kong and turn themselves in, rather than making more mistakes.' Over the past two years, Hong Kong authorities have issued arrest warrants for various activists based overseas, including former pro-democracy lawmakers Nathan Law and Ted Hui. They also canceled the passports of some of them under a recent security law introduced to the city last year. The moves against overseas-based activists have drawn criticism from foreign governments, especially given the former British colony was promised that its Western-style civil liberties and semi-autonomy would be kept intact for at least 50 years when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. In March, the United States sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who it alleged were involved in 'transnational repression' and acts that threaten to further erode the city's autonomy. But Beijing and Hong Kong insist the national security laws were necessary for the city's stability. Hong Kong police have maintained that the Beijing-imposed law applies to permanent residents in Hong Kong who violate it abroad. In retaliation to the U.S. move, China in April said it would sanction U.S. officials, lawmakers and leaders of non-governmental organizations who it says have 'performed poorly' on Hong Kong issues.
Winnipeg Free Press
8 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Tens of thousands of people sought refuge on Friday as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second day, heightening fears of a broader conflict. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs a regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate. The Health Ministry on Friday said more than 58,000 have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected Thai border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 4,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border. The fighting has killed at least 14 people in Thailand, while Cambodia confirmed its first fatality on Friday. Tensions over a disputed border area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the border on wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday. Clashes break out across border areas The Thai military reported clashes early Friday in multiple areas, including along the border at Chong Bok and Phu Makhuea in Thailand's Ubon Ratchathani province, at Phanom Dong Rak in Surin province, and near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple. Associated Press reporters near the border could hear sounds of artillery from early morning hours. The Thai army said Cambodian forces had used heavy artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket launchers, prompting what Thai officials described as 'appropriate supporting fire' in return. Thailand said one soldier and 13 civilians were killed, including children, while 15 soldiers and 30 civilians were wounded. Cambodia's chief official in Oddar Meanchey province, Gen. Khov Ly, said a man died instantly Thurday after a Thai rocket hit a Buddhist pagoda where he was hiding. At least four civilians were also wounded in Thursday's fighting there. Thailand's army on Friday denied it targeted civilian sites in Cambodia, and accused Cambodia of using 'human shields' by positioning their weapons near residential areas. Thousands flee villages near the border As the fighting intensified, villagers on both sides have been caught in the crossfire, leading many to flee. Around 600 people took shelter at a gymnasium in a university in Surin, Thailand, about 80 kilometers from the border. Evacuees sat in groups, on mats and blankets, and queued for food and drinks. Seamstress Pornpan Sooksai was accompanied by four cats in two fabric cages. She said she was doing laundry at her home near Ta Muen Thom temple when shelling began Thursday. 'I just heard, boom, boom. We already prepared the cages, clothes and everything, so we ran and carried our things to the car. I was frightened, scared,' she recalled. Rattana Meeying, another evacuee, said she had also lived through the 2011 clashes between the two countries but described this flare-up as worse. 'Children, old people, were hit out of the blue,' she said. 'I never imagined it would be this violent.' At the nearby Phanom Dong Rak hospital, periodic explosions could be heard Friday, and a military truck arrived with three injured Thai soldiers, including one who had both legs severed. Thursday's shelling shattered windows at one of the hospital's buildings and damaged its roof. In the neighboring Sisaket province, more villagers took their belongings and left homes in a stream of cars, trucks and motorbikes after they received an evacuation order on Friday. Across the border in Cambodia, villages on the outskirts of Oddar Meanchey province were largely deserted. Homes stood locked, while chickens and dogs roamed outside. Some villagers earlier dug holes to create makeshift underground bunkers, covering them with wood, tarpaulin and zinc sheets to shield themselves from shelling. Families with children were seen packing their belongings on home-made tractors to evacuate, though a few men refused to leave. Several hundred Cambodian villagers have evacuated to a remote Buddhist temple surrounded by rice fields. Women rest in hammocks, some cradle babies, while children run about. Makeshift plastic tents are being set up under the trees. Veng Chin, 74, pleaded with both governments to negotiate a settlement 'so that I can return to my home and work on the farm.' ASEAN chair calls for calm The conflict marks a rare instance of armed confrontation between member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation, though Thailand has tangled with Cambodia before over the border and has had sporadic skirmishes with western neighbor Myanmar. Malaysia, the current ASEAN chair, expressed concern. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday he spoke to both Cambodian leader Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and urged them to open space for 'peaceful dialogue and diplomatic resolution.' Malaysia is willing to facilitate talks, he said. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also called for restraint and urged both countries to resolve disputes through dialogue, according to U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq. A longstanding border problem Border tensions between the two nations are not new. Their 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier has been disputed for decades, with past confrontations typically limited and brief. The last major flare-up in 2011 left 20 dead. The current tensions broke out in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation. The two countries said afterwards they agreed to de-escalate the situation, but both continued to implement or threaten measures including trade and travel restrictions, keeping tensions high. But things got worse when a land mine wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday. That led Bangkok to withdraw its ambassador from Cambodia and expel Cambodia's envoy to Thailand. Thailand also sealed all land border crossings and urged its citizens to leave Cambodia. Officials said all seven Thai airlines were willing to help evacuate nationals. Cambodia retaliated by downgrading diplomatic ties and recalling all Cambodian staff from its embassy in Bangkok. On Thursday, clashes broke out along the border. Both militaries accused the other of using drones before escalating to artillery and rockets. Thailand said it responded with airstrikes after Cambodian forces launched truck-mounted rockets. The Thai air force said F-16 jets carried out two bombing runs on Cambodian positions. Cambodia claimed those bombs landed near the Preah Vihear temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site that has been at the center of past disputes. Authorities in Phnom Penh released photos they said showed damage to the site and pledged to seek international justice. The border dispute has also roiled Thailand's domestic politics. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, under scrutiny over a phone call with Cambodia's former Prime Minister Hun Sen, still a power broker in his country, was suspended from office on July 1 pending an investigation into possible ethics violations over the matter. ___ Associated Press writer Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
French court to decide if Assad can be stripped of immunity and tried for Syrian chemical attacks
BRUSSELS (AP) — France's highest court is ruling Friday on whether it can strip the head of state immunity of Bashar Assad, the former leader of Syria now in exile in Russia, because of the brutality of the evidence in accusations against him collected by Syrian activists and European prosecutors. If the judges at the Cour de Cassation lift Assad's immunity, it could pave the way for his trial in absentia over the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013 and Douma in 2018, and set a precedent to allow the prosecution of other government leaders linked to atrocities, human rights activists and lawyers say.
