(1) Asylum applications to the European Union surge to 7-year peak
On Wednesday, the European Union Agency for Asylum announced that it received around 9,66,000 asylum applications in 2022. This is not only 50% more than last year’s but also a 7-year high figure.
This high figure was attributed to the removal of COVID-19-related restrictions and longer-term underlying trends such as conflicts and food insecurity in many regions of origin, applications by nationals from visa-free countries who arrived legally and the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan. There weren’t many surprises about where most of the applicants were coming from, with Syrians remaining the largest group.
On the other hand, an interesting trend was seen in countries like India, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Moldova among others where record applications were received. For instance, from India, the number of applicants increased from 3,855 in 2021 to 25,757 in 2022.
The EU’s migration problem was evident in 2015 when it received asylum applications after the Syrian war pushed out millions to seek asylum elsewhere. The EU’s Schengen border code and free borders were Britain’s talking points in 2016 when it was on the edge of leaving the EU. EU nationals saw migrants as threats to security after a 2016 terror attack in Brussels. Job insecurity added to the flames. Even national identity felt under threat by migrants. Some EU members have protested. In 2015, Germany demanded a redistribution of refugees arriving in the EU and said it cannot go on absorbing a disproportionate number.
Also read | Why migrants are Europe’s litmus test
Since then, the Union has been trying to manage its refugees better. In 2016, it made a controversial deal with Turkey to stop immigrants coming from Greece in exchange for directly taking in Syrian refugees landing in Turkey. However, an overhaul to the EU’s asylum system is making little headway.
The Ukraine refugees are different, though. Ukrainians do not need a visa to stay in the EU for 90 days. The E.U. will use a “temporary mass protection” law to extend refugees’ residency status without having to go through complex asylum procedures. This makes the current situation different from 2015.
(2) Financial Action Task Force adds South Africa and Nigeria to grey list
On Friday, Global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF added South Africa and Nigeria to its “grey list” of countries for failing to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, in a setback to Africa’s two largest economies. Being on the grey list indicates to global banks, financial institutions and investors that these countries are not fully compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing standards.
The FATF conceded that there had been significant progress by South Africa on many of the recommendations previously made to the country, but that more needed to be done in terms of increasing investigations and prosecutions related to cases of money laundering, as well as the seizure of assets which were the proceeds of criminal activities.
According to South Africa’s Mutual Evaluation Report in 2021, between 2015 and 2019, around 401 money laundering investigations were carried out, out of which 59 cases (on average) went for prosecution and conviction. This puts the percentage of investigations leading to convictions at 15%. For 2019, this percentage rose to 28% from 14% in 2015.
Last year, Pakistan was removed from the FATF grey list four years after it was put on the list. Its satisfying progress on the action plan set out by FATF led to its removal.
Also read |Explained | Why is Pakistan off FATF ‘grey list’?
(3) Palestinian fatalities due to Israeli Forces and civilian settlers
On February 22, 2023, 11 Palestinians were killed due to a raid by the Israeli military forces in West Bank. The raid, which injured hundreds, was targeted towards three suspected Palestinian suspected militants. The following day, Israel also launched airstrikes in Gaza targeting weapons manufacturing and storage sites. IDF said that earlier that day, five rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israeli territories.
On February 24, Palestinian health officials say Israeli settlers have shot and seriously wounded two Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank, in what officials describe as the latest incident in a wave of settler violence. The graphics below showcase the deaths and injuries of Palestinians over the years, caused due to Israeli forces and civilian settlers.
(4) Supreme Court allows Edappadi Palaniswami to remain at AIADMK helm
The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a Madras High Court Division Bench decision upholding the conduct of a Special General Council meeting of the AIADMK on July 11 last year, which appointed former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami as interim general secretary and expelled rival O. Panneerselvam from the primary membership of the party.
Justice Maheshwari, who authored the 80-page verdict, directed that an interim order of the top court on July 6, 2022 in the case was “absolute”. The interim order had permitted the July 11 meeting to be held. It had further directed that no restrictions should be placed on the agenda of an earlier General Council meeting held on June 23, 2022.
Here’s a timeline of the courtroom tussle between Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam on capturing AIADMK leadership.
The Supreme Court’s verdict has injected life to the “1.50 crore” cadres of AIADMK, Edappadi K. Palaniswami said, in Madurai, adding that it has put an end to comments that the party had broken into several factions and it has no future. The Leader of the Opposition said the judgment has also ripped apart the facemask of the party’s betrayers, who were functioning as ‘B’ team of the ruling DMK.
Also Read | Erode East bypoll | AIADMK hopeful of overcoming legal hurdle in two leaves symbol issue
(5) Sania Mirza bids tennis adieu
Sania Mirza, a former World No. 1 in doubles, bid goodbye to tennis in her last event in WTA Dubai Open on Tuesday. Sania and her American partner Madison Keys lost 4-6 0-6 to the formidable Russian pair of Vernokia Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in exactly one hour at the WTA Dubai event. She left an inspirational legacy and set a daunting benchmark with her stupefying string of achievements in a 20-year-long tennis career.
Not many in Indian sport could have warded off the challenges Sania encountered - on the court or off it. Mirza, regarded as her country’s greatest women’s tennis player, has won six Grand Slam doubles titles. She bagged the women’s doubles crown in 2016. Mirza became the first Indian to win a WTA singles title when she won her hometown Hyderabad event in 2005. She broke into the top 30 by 2007 and reached her career-high ranking of world number 27.
Also Read | Tennis is very important but not everything in my life: Sania Mirza, on retirement
The 36-year-old conjured up wins against one the best players of her era — then US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, Swiss legend Martina Hingis, Nadia Petrova, and Flavia Penneta. The list of achievements is endless and Indian tennis history will be incomplete without Sania being right there at the top.
