Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | A team of refugees will again take part at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday, after 10 refugees competed at the Rio Games. The decision was approved at the 133rd IOC meeting in Buenos Aires. Deputy general director …
Read More »Canada looks to stem illegal migration from Nigeria
Montreal, Canada | AFP | Canada is trying to curb the number of asylum seekers from Nigeria who are flooding into Canada via the United States, officials said Monday. About 2,500 migrants, mostly Nigerian nationals, entered Canada illegally in April, bringing the total so far this year to more than …
Read More »Rohingya will be safe in areas ‘designated’ for them: Myanmar army chief
Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Rohingya refugees who return to Myanmar will be safe as long as they stay in the model villages built for them, the country’s army chief has said, renewing fears they will be kept in settlements indefinitely. Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to Bangladesh …
Read More »Kadaga appeals for more UN refugee support
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | Uganda needs more financial support to be able to properly accommodate the growing number of refugees, the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has told a high level United Nations delegation. Kadaga, who was meeting various UN agencies including UNDP, UNOPS, UNICEF, UNFPA, WFP and UN …
Read More »UN Security Council to press for Rohingya solution: envoy
Dhaka, Bangladesh | AFP | The UN Security Council will press Myanmar to ensure that Rohingya who fled the country can return home in safety and freedom, an envoy said Monday after UN diplomats ended a tour of Bangladesh’s refugee camps. “This is a humanitarian crisis and a human rights …
Read More »Double curse: After drought, Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps hit by floods
Dadaab, Kenya | AFP | The children can’t believe their luck: storms and showers have turned their dirt football pitch into a lake. Youngsters scamper and splash through the murky water, chasing one another, leaping and laughing. Any entertainment is welcome in Dadaab, one of the biggest refugee bases in …
Read More »Cholera outbreak kills 40 Congolese refugees in Uganda
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | More than 40 people who fled fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo have died from cholera at a refugee camp in Uganda, the Red Cross said Thursday. DR Congo’s eastern neighbour has been coping with a surge of refugees following the resumption in December …
Read More »Kadaga blames African leaders for worsening refugee crisis
Kampala, Uganda | GODFREY SSALI | Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has criticized African leaders for the influx of mainly African refugees to Europe and North America. Kadaga said African refugees make dangerous crossings through the Mediterranean, fleeing harsh economic conditions and conflicts in their countries. “Today, many of our countries are independent, …
Read More »Ugandan aid workers held for stealing refugee rations
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan police said Friday they had arrested 10 officials working at a camp housing refugees, mainly from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, for stealing food aid. Benon Byamukama, police chief for the region in western Uganda where the Kyaka II refugee camp is located, …
Read More »Equity Bank eyes refugee clientele
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Equity Bank Uganda in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund has intensified its drive for financial inclusion in Uganda by unveiling a new program called Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P) that will ride on agency banking targeting refugees. The two partners recently …
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