The first group of white South Africans left our refugee status
The first group of white South Africans recognized refugee status under a program launched by former US president Donald Trump. It left Johannesburg for a US-funded charter flight with 49 passengers. Africans, a white minority descended from mostly Dutch, German and French settlers, were the centre of the apartheid regime, but are one of the wealthiest and most privileged groups in South Africa. Trump signed an executive order in early February. This describes government-sponsored racially-based discrimination to “African refugees,” including racist property forfeiture referencing South Africa’s Land Reform Act, which aims to address apartment inequality.
Ends visa routes for care workers from the UK and closes immigration rules
The UK has announced plans to abolish visa routes for care workers. This is expected to affect thousands of people seeking employment in the UK’s health and social care sector. The government has also introduced stricter deportation rules for foreign criminals. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the visa routes frequently used by immigrants will be phased out as part of an effort to curb overall migration. The decision was intended to end what was called a “failed free market experiment” in overseas recruitment. The change will reduce annual arrivals by about 50,000, but she refused to set specific targets for net mobility. The government also plans to restrict skilled workers visas to graduate-level roles and to limit access to non-graduate visas to strictly restricted positions related to industrial needs.
Africans are unlikely to break down rich countries due to climate change, research reveals
A major opinion survey conducted in 39 African countries between 2021 and 2023 revealed that despite the minimal contribution to the continent’s global emissions, many Africans are primarily responsible for climate action towards national governments. The survey was published this week in the journal Communications Earth and Environment. Research shows that 45% of people who know about climate change believe their government should lead their efforts, 13% say that wealthy countries should lead their efforts, and 8% say that businesses should lead them. This view is the strongest in West Africa, with Nigeria, Liberia and Niger showing particularly high expectations for government actions. Approximately 30% of those surveyed said that ordinary people in their countries should be the most responsible for dealing with climate change. This view was most common in Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zambia.
The Congo Flood Dr. Kills Over 100 People
The severe flooding in the southern Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo killed more than 100 people and destroyed several villages, local officials reported. Children and the elderly were the most affected. The flood caused major damage, but rescue operations were hampered by disruption in the lines of communication and limited services, with the Red Cross being the only aid organization. Such natural disasters occur frequently, especially on the coasts of the Great Lakes in the country, as Dr. Congo, especially the surrounding hills are weakened by deforestation. In 2023, the floods killed 400 people in several communities located on the coast of Lake Kivu in southern Kivu, but last month 33 people were killed in floods in the capital Kinshasa. Such natural disasters are common in the area due to deforestation and unstable topography, resulting in similar flooding in 2023, killing 400 people. Meanwhile, the country continued to face armed conflicts, including a fatal January attack on Goma by the M23 rebel group that killed nearly 3,000 people and deepened a shocking crisis of over 7 million people.
Record-breaking hunger warnings in West and Central Africa
Sign up for the AllAfrica newsletter for free
Get the latest African news
success!
Almost finished…
You need to check your email address.
Follow the instructions in the email you sent to complete the process.
error!
There was a problem processing the submission. Please try again later.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that millions of people in West and Central Africa are facing record levels of hunger as conflict, displacement, economic difficulties and repeated extreme weather have set the region towards a major crisis. Over 36 million people will struggle to meet their basic food needs from June to August, with the number expected to exceed 52 million. This included around 3 million people facing emergency conditions and 2,600 people in Mali, who are at risk of catastrophic starvation. Margot van der Belden, regional director of West and Central Africa, said without immediate funding, WFP would be forced to further expand both the number of people reached and the size of food items being distributed. WFP believes it has put a crisis of partially hungry starvation driancis in the ongoing conflict that has driven away more than 10 million vulnerable people across the region. An additional 8 million people were evacuated internally, mainly in Nigeria and Cameroon.
