The US has agreed to allow 24.000 migrants from Venezuela to stay legally for up to two years

The proposed program is similar to the one implemented for Ukrainians after the Russian invasion. Under the program, a maximum of 24,000 migrants of Venezuela can enter the U.S. and stay legally for up to two years. It will be necessary for each of them to have a sponsor in the U.S. who will guarantee financial support for the person. After approval of their applications, they would take the air route to the US. However, those who cross the Mexican border without authorization will not be eligible. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said, “Those who follow the lawful process will have the opportunity to travel safely to the United States and become eligible to work here.” The administration believes this to be a way to reduce the rising numbers of migrants crossing the border without authorization. U.S. to allow some Venezuelan migrants to enter. Others will be sent to Mexico. In the last fiscal year ending in September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 2 million encounters with migrants at the border — a record high.

In recent months, there has been an increase in the number of border crossers from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Border agents have processed many of the cases and released them to pursue their asylum claims within the U.S. Migrants from Cuba and Venezuela are more difficult to deport and U.S. officials face difficulties to send them back to their home countries in significant numbers. Due to deteriorating economic conditions and an authoritarian government, many Venezuelans have left the country. Officials of the administration are hopeful that creating an orderly process for Venezuelans to enter the U.S. will discourage them from crossing the border illegally. That will reduce the load on overwhelmed Border Patrol agents. The administration had focused on rolling back Trump-era restrictions at the border. In that context, this appears to be a new approach that could pay dividends.

Some popular stories of this blogger –

Odisha prepares for possible cyclonic strikes in October-November

Kim Jong-un attends opening ceremony of new massive greenhouse farm, Ryonpho Greenhouse

Egypt will host COP27, the annual United Nations climate talks

Hundreds of pilot whales stranded on remote islands off the east coast of New Zealand

Fort William restarts heritage walk for civilians

At least 25 people dead in central Venezuela landslide after days of torrential rain and floods

Tragedy at Durga Puja immersion in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal when flash flood sweeps away at least 8 persons

Death of over 65s in England highest in summer 2022 compared to 2004 due to heatwaves

America imposes fresh sanctions on North Korea after it conducts more ballistic missile tests

Discarded life jackets of migrants being converted to cash to help out the refugees

The staggering number of migrants that are arriving in to European countries from Syria, Iraq and other such locations has brought with them a new menace and, a couple of enterprising individuals have converted that into an opportunity to make some money. The migrants usually prefer the sea route and use life jackets for safety. And - once they reach land, they discard these jackets and they keep piling up on the beaches. These discarded jackets have been converted into a business by a couple of Americans.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 4 May 2016.

The two Americans are Xander Schultz (30) and fiancee Zoe Pappis (26) - they were holidaying in Europe when they decided to volunteer on the island of Lesbos to extend help to some of the thousands of refugees arriving on people smuggler boats from Turkey. It was then that they hit upon the idea of turning the abandoned life vests into a money-making initiative in order to to raise funds for those fleeing countries like war-torn Syria.
They created the "Zoe Bands" which are unisex bracelets and are created from the discarded vests of the refugees that they had worn during their dangerous journey across the Aegean Sea. Profits from the sale of these bands go towards providing refugees with basic necessities like clothing and food. (Zoe in Greek means Life.)
The bands are manufactured on Lesbos by locals, and are purchased locally to help the island's economy which has suffered since the crisis. There are a few local Greek men employed to clean up the beaches of Lesbos and another five local seamstresses who wash the vests and cut the material to make the bands.
The orange Zoe Band sells from $20.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Didi wants to move around fast and wants a solution (satire)

Lord Shiva intrigued by the writing on the walls (satire)

Moody hates hotels and feels more at home in his aircraft (satire)


Taj Mumbai welcomes Prince William and Kate, the fourth generation of British monarchy

Huge 26ft python found in Penang - could become a new a Guinness Record holder

Lok Sabha ethics committee probing Narada sting feels the videos are genuine


ISIS still holding 30 workers out of 300 kidnapped from cement factory in Dumeir

Another Bangladeshi blogger killed in Dhaka because of his views on religion

Florida hunters bag a 15-foot 800-pound massive alligator


James Cameron, writer director of Avatar, promises his fans four sequels

'Deadpool' sequel planned and in the pipeline with Ryan Reynolds

Indonesian pop star dies after being bitten by a cobra on stage

Australia completes 600 days without any asylum-seeker intrusion

Europe is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants fleeing ravages of war, torture and poverty from different regions but, Australia has completed 600-days without any intrusion of asylum seekers. This is a result of decision taken by Australia to turn back asylum-seeker boats. In the past 600 days no vessel has arriving, and almost 700 people have being repelled since the controversial policy was launched.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 17 March 2016.

In view of the hardline measures, asylum-seekers who are trying to reach Australia by boat are turned back to their country of departure or sent to remote Pacific island camps, where living conditions have been criticized with allegations of rape and other abuse. These asylum seekers are not allowed to resettle in Australia even if they are found to be refugees. This policy of the conservative government aims at preventing deaths at sea.
Under the previous Labor government, at least 1,200 people had lost their lives in trying to reach Australia by boat between 2008 and 2013. When the new government took over, they began "Operation Sovereign Borders" in September 2013. As a result, 25 boats carrying 698 people had been turned back and "safely returned to their country of departure".
Incidentally, Amnesty wants an independent review into allegations that Australian authorities had paid crew on a people-smuggling boat US$30,000 to return 65 asylum-seekers to Indonesia.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Lord Shiva does the treadmill as Sarasawti advises students (satire)

Moody & Co to invite Eskimos for the Yoga meet (satire)

Didi announces holiday for Maha Shivratri (satire)


Jaipur Railway Station goes solar - will mean annual savings of Rs 7.2 lakh on power bills

Alphonso mango, the King of Fruits, make its appearance in Mumbai

Legalise cannabis and pick up £1bn a year in taxes


Tila Tequila evicted from Celebrity Big Brother because of her praise of Hitler

West Bengal tourism to ride piggy-back on Amitabh Bachhan starrer 'Te3n'

‘Heidi’ based on the children’s novel of 1881 becoming a movie from Hollywood


Russia to train five dolphins for its underwater combat fleet

Iran gets ready to launch its Somorgh missile into outer space

Mastermind of Paris terror attacks entered Britain through Dover easily

With 13000 migrants arriving at Munich in a single day, Germany plans to introduce controls

Germany is faced with a crisis – already more than 13,000 migrants have poured into Munich in a single day and it expects 800,000 migrants to arrive this year. Hence, Germany's vice-chancellor has admitted that it was "at the limit of its capabilities" and it was necessary to reintroduce some form of controls on its border with Austria to tackle the influx of migrants.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 13 September 2015.

However, specific measures proposed to be introduced have not yet been spelt out. As per information released by Germany's Bild newspaper and Austria's Kronen Zeitung, there would probably be controls in place on the Bavaria-Austria border.
Kronen Zeitung hints that Bavarian police could begin to check "to determine immediately who is entitled to asylum" – details have yet to be made public.
The problem of migrants arriving from Syria and also Afghanistan is one that Europe as a whole is facing and struggling to deal with this huge influx of people most of whom are fleeing from violence and poverty. These migrants are travelling from Greece, through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, to Austria and Germany.
Hungary has plans to complete erecting a 13ft high fence along the border with Serbia by 15 September. Subsequently, tougher measures, including arresting illegal immigrants, would come into force.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Animals in Green Island private zoo in Russia die in sudden floods

CIA and Special Operations forces targeting high value ISIS operatives

Toilets hog the limelight in New Delhi – men to women ratio would be 50-50


Antonio Banderas gifted a pair of monkeys to Salma Hayek on her birthday

Elijah Wood of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ fame is in India on a music tour

SpongeBob musical in the offing – David Bowie to provide music


US warns Russia about it setting up a ‘forward operating base’ in war torn Syria

Robber gang in Paris blows Devil’s Breath on people to rob them

Man follows wife to Shanghai to chop off her hands suspecting infidelity


Bengalis and their ‘dada-giri’ lifestyle

Rasgulla, the juice-dripping sweet that Bengalis swear by

Bengalis are a politically conscious lot

Desperate migrants set to walk 240-Km from Budapest Railway station to Vienna

Migrants from Syria and other countries who have been stuck at a Budapest railway station for days have now decided to walk to Austria in view of non-availability of trains. The Hungarian authorities are trying to prevent them but they are desperate to reach Western Europe.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 4 September 2015.
In the meantime, the EU states are trying to evolve a common strategy to deal with the crisis as the head of the UN refugee agency wants EU nations to mobilize "full force" and accept up to 200,000 refugees.

It is a real chaotic scene in Hungary which is a main transit country for migrants who are seeking to claim asylum in Germany and other countries in north and west Europe. Many of the migrants who had been waiting for days at Budapest's Keleti station have left and plan to walk to Vienna, in the absence of trains, a journey of 240-Km.
The stand-off between police and passengers on a train held at Bicske station continues. Those who have boarded the train do not want to go to a transit camp. Riot police have reportedly entered the station. A large group of migrants are believed to have escaped from the train.
Moreover, hundreds of people have escaped from a refugee camp at Roszke near the Serbian border. They are being pursued by police while thousands more are still inside and are threatening to break out too.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Qatar Airways changes its policy of sacking cabin crew for getting pregnant or getting married

Women’s hockey team into 2016 Rio Olympics after 36-years on Dhyan Chand’s birthday

Mumbai’s 9000-tonnes of daily plastic waste a major environment issue


Tila Tequila evicted from Celebrity Big Brother because of her praise of Hitler

‘Phantom’ – a Saif Ali Khan Katrina Kaif starrer with Mumbai 26/11 as backdrop

Cate Blanchett to be honored with BFI Fellowship at London Film Festival


Foolish robbers caught in London - they wore burqas but did not walk like women!!

Horror of free access to firearms – West Virginia 14-year-old takes 27 classmates hostage at gunpoint

Trained jihadists from Iraq and Syria returning to Europe to strike terror


A street food named jhal muri
A tribute to Kishore Kumar, the legend, on his 86th birthday

Indian kitchens must have ‘besan’

Several hundred feared dead as two migrant boats sink off coast of Libya

The toll could rise to several hundred after two boats packed with migrants sank just miles off the Libyan coast. One of the boats had about 50 people on board and, had signaled for help. The second boat, with about 400 passengers, capsized later.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 28 August 2015.

The Libyan coast guard managed to rescue around 200 people, who have been sent to a detention facility in Sabratha, west of Tripoli. The migrants are believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, Syria, Morocco and Bangladesh.
In an earlier incident, the Swedish navy ship Poseidon had found the bodies of 51 migrants dead due to suffocation below the deck of a boat off Libya's coast. Poseidon was already engaged in rescuing 130 migrants from a raft when it got a call to assist a nearby wooden vessel.
Zuwara, Libya's most western town located near the Tunisian border, is a major launchpad for smugglers who ship out migrants who are desperate to flee the conflict and poverty and seek shelter in Italy.
More than 2,300 deaths have already been reported so far this year in their attempts to reach Europe by sea. The corresponding figure was 3,279 in the past 12 months, as per the International Organisation for Migration. Thousands of migrants and refugees are travelling daily between Greece to Hungary hoping for a better life in the European Union.
(Image courtesy wikiimediacommons.org)


Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Anaconda in a pothole of Bengaluru to galvanize the authorities to act

Cochin airport goes ecofriendly – to become only solar powered airport in the world

V Festival in Chelmsford could face tornadoes, hail and thunderstorms


Ice Cube would love to have dinner with Barack Obama once he leaves White House

Indian names of Pallavi Sharda and Dev Patel in Hollywood film ‘Lion’

Hugh Jackman of Wolverine fame could portray the role of Greek hero Odysseus


White House discloses – 2nd in command of ISIS killed in drone strike in Mosul

Bomb blast outside temple of Lord Brahma in Bangkok leaves at least 27 dead

Scuba diver smuggles cocaine across US-Mexico border via underwater tunnel


Indian kitchens must have ‘besan’

The lost world of ‘kabiraji cutlets’

Growing up days – I begin to go to the daily market

Red Cross chief worried about plight of migrants trying to enter Europe

#migrants #EuropeanUnion #Frontex #IFRC Elhadj As Sy, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has blamed the indifference of leaders for Europe's biggest migrant crisis since World War II. He has requested the world to "wake up" to the real extent of the problem.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 22 August 2015.

There has been a dramatic rise in the number of migrants and refugees who are pouring into the European Union in recent months and it was predictable and expected. He has said that apathy in Europe was to blame because everyone saw such a situation this coming.
As per statistics of EU border agency Frontex, a record of 107,500 migrants reached the European Union's borders last month. Half of them landed in crisis-hit Greece - nearly 21,000 landed on the overstretched Greek islands last week itself.
Germany expects to receive a record 800,000 asylum seekers this year – this is far in excess of 202,000 requests received last year. Unless checked immediately, this migrant crisis could spiral into chaos because the migrants are fleeing from war in their countries.
The Red Cross chief has also remarked that European countries were among the richest on the planet and were well equipped to deal with the numbers arriving. With checks on known entry points to heck illegal migration, the human traffickers were looking for alternate routes and other entry points.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Britain battered by heavy rains - parts of England saw 40mm rain in an hour

Sri Lanka get the better of a star studded India – Rangana Herath wreaks havoc

Controversy around Maggi, the 2-minute noodle: Bombay HC lifts ban, orders fresh tests


60-years of Pather Panchali – the Bengali movie of Satyajit Ray that was a pathbreaker

Spider-Man will be seen in his traditional costume in ‘Captain America: Civil War’

Big-B and Deepika Padukone’s ‘Piku’ gets best movie award at Indian Film Festival, Melbourne


ISIS planned to carry out ‘lone wolf’ terror attacks, target the Queen and the Royal family

Terrorism a family affair in London – 5 of a family arrested by counter-terror police

At least 60 killed in truck bomb explosion by ISIS in a Baghdad food market


Independence Day as I have seen it

The days of mughlai parathas

Khichudi – the favorite monsoon recipe for Bengalis

Europe facing serious migrant crisis – Italy Navy recues 52 from dinghy

#Lampedusa #mediterranean #migrants The exodus of people from the war ravaged Syria, Iraq and other Middle East countries is posing a major challenge to Europe who have to accept the migrants on humanitarian grounds. In one of the latest such cases, Italy's navy has rescued 52 migrants from a sinking rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean – another 50 others are believed to be missing.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 12 August 2015.

It seems a warship was able to pick up about half of those on board and, later, another two who were spotted clinging to a floating barrel. The survivors have been shifted to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The arrival of migrants on the Greek island of Kos is giving rise to tensions and the European Commission has described the situation as "beyond urgent". In its opinion, it is necessary that there be a "collective European response" to deal with the hundreds of thousands of people who are desperate to reach European shores.
As revealed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, about 250,000 migrants have crossed by sea to Europe so far this year – out of them, 124,000 have come to Greece and 98,000 to Italy. The Italian navy has confirmed rescue of 1,700 people on Tuesday alone.
(Image courtesy wikmediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

Take care of the heart – a few dos and don’ts

Chinese research finds that spicy food is the secret to a long life

Swatchh Bharat campaign takes a beating in Delhi itself


Dame Julie Andrews to direct new ‘My Fair Lady’ in Sydney for 60th birthday of Opera Australia

There is a fight scene between Captain America and Spiderman in ‘Civil War’

Shah Rukh Khan’s fond wish - to see Ethan Hunt and James Bond in one movie


Parts of lost plane MH370 of Malaysia Airline washes up on Reunion Island

Niloy Neel, fourth blogger of Bangladesh, hacked to death in Dhaka

Suicide bombers attack Kabul –kill dozens of innocents


A street food named jhal muri

A tribute to Kishore Kumar, the legend, on his 86th birthday

The world of fuchka, golgappa and panipuri

Over 600 stranded migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar rescued by local fishermen

Migrants trying to escape from Bangladesh and Myanmar are finding themselves in literally deep waters because the people smugglers have left them stranded in the sea and in the latest rescue efforts, over 600 of them have landed in Indonesia's Aceh province.
They were rescued by local fishing boats as reported in bbc.com dated 16 May 2015.
Thousands of these migrants, mainly from the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, have been abandoned at sea by people smugglers and nearly 2,000 of them have already come ashore in Aceh. They are being provided with medical assistance and food.

Subsequently, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been turning the boats away.
However, 210 of the latest arrivals that landed in Aceh were from Myanmar and 395 from Bangladesh. As per medical officials, eight of the persons on board were critically ill.
The boat was heavily packed and had been abandoned by people smugglers who also disabled the engine. The migrants included women and babies and they had revealed that they had no food or water and that 10 of them had already died. The UN refugee agency has requested neighboring countries to co-ordinate a search and rescue operation because nearly 8,000 migrants are believed to be trapped on boats in the area.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


More than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped last year by Boko Haram have vanished

Journey to freedom – 5800 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean

Indonesian smugglers stuff yellow-crested cockatoos into plastic bottles to get past customs

Engineering graduate of Hyderabad goes astray, dies because of links with ISIS

Dozens of corpses found in bamboo cages in Thai human trafficking camp

Quick tour of Delhi by ITDC bus

Ignoring threats from Kalashnikov wielding gunmen, Italian coastguard rescues 2000 migrants

#mediterranean #migrants #libyancoast #italy #UNHCR It was a major rescue operation undertaken by the Italian coastguard when it managed to rescue over 2,000 Mediterranean migrants off the Libyan coast as reported in bbc.com dated 15 February 2015. At the time of rescue, the search teams were threatened by Kalashnikov-wielding men. They had approached in a speedboat from Libya.
This rescue effort involved a plane, four coastguard ships, two tugboats and a navy vessel and, as informed by local media, the migrants were crammed into 12 boats – they have, since, been shifted to Italy.
It may be recalled that only last week, at least 300 migrants met a watery grave in the Mediterranean Sea. They were travelling in dinghies and ran into trouble when they faced stormy weather after leaving the coast of Libya. In between, another 600 migrants were rescued about 50 miles off the coast of the North African country.
Statistics of UNHCR reveal that almost 3,500 people died while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and land in Europe in 2014. Such a large number of casualties makes this sea crossing the most dangerous one for migrants who are attempting to enter the European Union. Of course, during the same period, more than 200,000 people have been rescued also.

Over 200 migrants headed for Europe meet a watery grave in the Mediterranean Sea

#marenostrum #triton #UNHCR #mediterraneansea #migrants UNHCR spokeswoman in Italy has confirmed that more than 200 migrants have met a watery grave in the Mediterranean Sea after the motorboats they were travelling in sank as reported in bbc.com dated 11 February 2015.
It was possible to rescue only nine after they had been four days at sea and the remaining 203 were drowned. The UNHCR's spokeswoman described the situation as a "horrible and enormous tragedy".
Moreover, on Monday, at least 29 migrants died after the inflatable boat carrying them overturned in high seas. Seven of them were already dead when they were picked up near the Italian island of Lampedusa. Another 22 succumbed to hypothermia after they had spent over 18 hours on the open deck of the vessel which picked them up.
As informed by the International Organization for Migration, the two boats involved in the latest tragedy had departed from the Libyan coast on Saturday and each of the boats was carrying in excess of 100 people when they capsized.
Italy has to deal with migrants from African countries regularly and, hence, had started its Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue mission in October 2013 – that was as a result of a tragedy off Lampedusa in which 366 people died. The aim of this mission was to look for ships carrying migrants that may have run into trouble off the Libyan coast. However, it was disbanded after a year.
The European Union is now running a border control operation, called Triton – it has less number of ships and a much smaller area of operations. In the opinion of human rights groups, the closing down of Mare Nostrum would endanger lives. And, the mayor of Lampedusa, Giusi Nicolini, has said that Triton is not Mare Nostrum.