- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
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UK archbishop raises 'ethical questions' on Rwanda migrants plan
The Church of England's most senior cleric, Justin Welby, on Sunday criticised the British government's plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda to process their claims.
The scheme has sparked outrage and widespread criticism from human rights organisations and even the UN.
And Welby, who as the Archbishop of Canterbury is the Church of England's highest-ranking cleric, added his voice to the dissent in his Easter Day address.
While "the details are for politics and politicians", Welby suggested that sending asylum-seekers overseas posed "serious ethical questions".
"The principle must stand the judgement of God and it cannot," Welby said.
A country like Britain informed by Christian values cannot "sub-contract out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well like Rwanda," the church leader continued.
It "is the opposite of the nature of God".
When unveiling the policy last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had already suggested there could be legal challenges to the plans.
But the interior ministry, or Home Office, which is in charge of implementing the policy, argued that Britain's current system was "broken" and pointed to unprecedented global migratory pressures.
- 'Whatever it takes' -
Johnson has pledged to do "whatever it takes" to ensure the plans work -- but the UN refugee agency UNHCR condemned the scheme as an "egregious breach of international law".
According to an exchange of letters published by the Home Office, the ministry's top civil servant, Matthew Rycroft, stressed on the eve of the announcement his doubts about both the expected "deterrent effect" of the scheme and its cost.
But Home Secretary Priti Patel said it would be "imprudent" to delay a measure that "we believe will reduce illegal migration, save lives, and ultimately break the business model of the smuggling gangs".
According to Rwanda, the British government will fund the deal by up to 120 million pounds ($157 million, 144 million euros) and migrants would be "integrated into communities across the country".
"I recognise your assessment on the immediate value for money aspect of this proposal. However, I note that without action, costs will continue to rise, lives will continue to be lost," Patel added in the letter.
British media from the left-leaning Guardian to the conservative Daily Telegraph on Saturday warned the policy could spark a "mutiny" among civil servants tasked with making the scheme operational.
For Tahsin Tarek, a 25-year-old glazier from Arbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, who is saving up to finance a new trip to Europe, the British announcement is a game changer.
"(I) will think about another country," he told AFP on Saturday.
"To live here and endure the difficulties here is better than living in Rwanda.
"I don't think anyone will accept this decision and go live there. If they give the refugees a choice between being expelled to Rwanda or their country, they will choose their own country."
S.F.Lacroix--CPN