European Union countries could be offered €6,000 (£5,346) per person to host migrants in secure centres on their territory, as the EU searches for a political answer to managing tens of thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean.

The “controlled centres” would aim for “orderly and effective processing” of the asylum claims of people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, according to a European commission paper published on Tuesday. Brussels hopes the payments will ease the pressure on Italy, where the far-right interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has refused to allow boats carrying migrants to dock at Italian ports. Softening this line on Monday, the Italian government said it would allow boats to dock for five weeks while the EU works out a new asylum policy.(NU)…[+]

A Kuwaiti social media star is facing a backlash after criticising new laws improving conditions for the country’s Filipino domestic workers. Sondos Alqattan, an Instagram star and makeup artist with over 2.3 million followers, criticised new laws giving Filipino workers a day off per week and preventing employers from seizing their passports. “How can you have a servant at home who keeps their own passport with them? What’s worse is they have one day off every week,” she said in a video posted online, which has gone viral and attracted criticism in the Middle East and the Philippines.

Alqattan slated reforms introduced in May to protect the rights of Filipino domestic workers: “If they run away and go back to their country, who will refund me? Honestly I disagree with this law. I don’t want a Filipino maid any more.” She is facing a storm of criticism for her comments, including from Migrante International, an advocacy group for overseas Filipino workers, which likened Alqattan’s comments to those of “a slave owner”, and said she was clinging “to a backward outlook which literally belongs to the dark ages”. Critics are pushing for Alqattan’s sponsors to drop lucrative endorsement deals following her comments, which cap months of diplomatic controversy between the Philippines and Kuwait over the Gulf nation’s treatment of domestic workers.(theguardian)…[+]

Iran has dismissed Donald Trump’s threats of “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before” after the US president’s late-night Twitter tirade at the Islamic Republic. Hostile rhetoric between Washington and Tehran escalated on Sunday after a tit-for-tat between Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani. Trump responded to Rouhani’s warning that the US shouldn’t “play with the lion’s tail” by posting a tweet in capital letters addressed to the Iranian president.

Iranian officials were dismissive of Trump’s tweet, which called on Rouhani to “never, ever threaten the United States” and “be cautious”, but the US president’s remarks provoked jitters in the Iranian market. The Iranian national currency was sent into a tailspin when trading opened on Monday, exacerbating months-old fluctuations that have prompted protests in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. The rial, which has been rapidly depreciating against the dollar after Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal in May, hit a fresh all-time low. On Monday, £1 bought 92,000 rials on the black market, though many exchange bureaux had stopped trading.(theguardian)…[+]

Port of Spain, Trinidad. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) sat in St Vincent and the Grenadines today, July 20, 2018 for the first time in its 13-year history. The Ceremonial Sitting concluded the Court’s inauguration activities for its recently sworn- in President, the Honourable Mr. Justice Adrian Saunders. Hosted in the House of Assembly, Kingstown the sitting was attended by various members of local government including Dr the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday, Speaker of the House of Assembly Mr Jomo Thomas and Heads of regional judiciaries, Court of Appeal judges, diplomats and numerous local attorneys.

During his presentation, the CCJ President explained the decision to host the Sitting in St Vincent and the Grenadines. He stated that it resulted from a desire “to provide an opportunity for the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines to see and meet with the Judges of the CCJ. And, naturally, it gives the Judges, only one of whom is Vincentian, the opportunity to experience the flavour and nuances of the rich diversity of the Caribbean and SVG in particular.” In an afternoon in which, speakers quoted various regional musicians, poets, eminent academics and jurists; there were many who both lauded the character, temperament and integrity of the CCJ’s third President and who also called upon regional nations to complete the circle of independence and accede to the Appellate Jurisdiction of the CCJ…[+]

Israel has evacuated hundreds of members of the volunteer Syrian civil defence forces known as the White Helmets to Jordan, with Amman claiming it had struck a deal for them to be resettled in the UK, France and Canada. The Israeli operation was undertaken at the request of London, Paris and Ottawa, the UK’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said in a joint statement. Jordan had been refusing entry to refugees crossing the border from Syria, even though many were under severe bombardment from a joint Syrian-Russian air and ground offensive, saying its refugee camps were already full.(theguardian)…[+]

A draft of Cuba’s new constitution omits the aim of building a communist society, recognises private property and opens the door to same-sex marriage, although it keeps the Communist party as the guiding force of the one-party system.

Cuba’s national assembly was this weekend debating a draft of the document to replace its Soviet-era constitution, reflecting political, social and economic changes designed to make its brand of socialism sustainable. Once lawmakers have approved the draft, it will be submitted to a popular consultation. The final document, which could include changes, will then be put to a national referendum. The draft omits a clause in the 1976 constitution on the ultimate aim of building a communist society, instead simply focusing on socialism.(theguardian)…[+]

The FBI has released documents related to the surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, as part of an investigation into whether he conspired with the Russian government to undermine the 2016 US election.

A surveillance application filed in October 2016, a month before polling day, said: “The FBI believes that Page has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government.” Page has denied being an agent of the Russian government and has not been charged with any crime. In an interview with CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Page reiterated his denials and described the FBI’s application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (Fisa) court as “so ridiculous it’s beyond words”. He accused law enforcement of misleading the court. “I’ve never been an agent of a foreign power by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.(theguardian)…[+]

An al-Qaida bomb-maker who plotted a knife attack on MPs and police outside the Houses of Parliament has been handed three life sentences with a minimum term of 40 years. Khalid Ali, 28, had three knives when he was arrested by armed police in Parliament Square in April 2017 following surveillance by counter-terrorism police.

Ali, a plumber, had been tracked by police since he returned from Afghanistan, where he spent five years making Taliban bombs used to maim and kill coalition troops.

In late 2016, the FBI matched his fingerprints to those on two caches of explosives recovered in 2012. Following an Old Bailey trial in June, Ali was found guilty of preparing terrorist acts in Britain and two charges of possessing explosive substances with intent abroad. Sentencing, Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC handed Ali three life sentences. He gave a minimum of 40 years for making IEDs for the Taliban in 2012 and 25 years for the plot to kill in Britain and attract “maximum publicity and instil terror”.

He said: “I am absolutely sure you were in Afghanistan. You were a valued member of a team making IEDs that were detonated in combat between January and July 2012.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that there is a very considerable risk of your committing offences of violence in the future and cause death or serious injury as a result. I’m sure your plan was to attack and kill someone in central London.(theguardian)…[+]

A total of 364 of the more than 2,500 children separated from their parents in a US-Mexico border crackdown on illegal immigration have been reunited, officials disclosed in court late on Thursday, days before a reunification deadline.

The government has six more days to comply with the reunification order by the US district judge Dana Sabraw, who summoned the government attorneys to appear in his San Diego courtroom on Friday to account for progress. Lawyers for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had reported in a court filing late on Thursday that less than a fifth of the families with children aged five and older had been reunited since Sabraw’s order was issued more than three weeks ago.It was unclear from the status report, filed as part of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit challenging parent-child separations at the border, exactly how many more reunifications were likely before the 26 July deadline.

Nearly 850 parents have been interviewed and cleared for reunification so far but another 229 parents have been deemed ineligible because of criminal records, or because they “waived” reunification or for other reasons, the report said. The rest are pending review.(theguardian)…[+]

Port of Spain-

The public and private sector and civil society groups in St. Kitts and Nevis participated in a second national consultation from July 10-12, 2018 to develop a National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy to address the impacts of climate change and build resilience.

The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) co-facilitated the national consultation with the Department of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources, Cooperatives, Environment and Human Settlements in St. Kitts and Nevis. The aim of the consultation was to enable stakeholders to review and refine the priorities and strategies for adaptation and the framework for implementation of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, including the institutional arrangements for coordinated cross-sectoral action, the key implementing organisations and financing. The consultation included a series of focused meetings with key sectors and a national workshop that brought together stakeholders from government, private sector and civil society organisations representing various sectors and interests.

Ms. Cheryl Jeffers, Conservation Officer, Department of the Environment noted in her opening remarks at the national workshop: “Adaptation is everyone’s business. The input and support of key sectoral agencies, including agriculture, fisheries, health, water and tourism, and civil society groups in St. Kitts and in Nevis is critical and there needs to be a collaborative approach to effectively address climate change and related impacts.” She also highlighted the importance of investing in adaptation and the critical need for support from the Green Climate Fund and other climate finance mechanisms…[+]