The EU is to consider the idea of building migrant processing centres in north Africa in an attempt to deter people from making life-threatening journeys to Europe across the Mediterranean, according to a leaked document. The European council of EU leaders “supports the development of the concept of regional disembarkation platforms”, according to the draft conclusions of an EU summit due to take place next week. The EU wants to look at the feasibility of setting up such centres in north Africa, where most migrant journeys to Europe begin. “Such platforms should provide for rapid processing to distinguish between economic migrants and those in need of international protection, and reduce the incentive to embark on perilous journeys,” the document says.Migration is high on the agenda of the two-day summit, which opens on 28 June. EU leaders will attempt to reach a consensus on how to manage the thousands of refugees and migrants arriving each month.(theguardian)…[+]

Prince Harry called for Donald Trump to be “given a chance” his father-in-law has revealed in his first broadcast interview. Thomas Markle told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that he was angry about something Trump had done when he spoke by phone to Harry for the first time last year.

“I’ve always have a bad attitude about Donald Trump and that’s never going to change,” he said. “My God, I’ve got to apologise to the rest of the world for my president. All Harry actually did was say because Trump was new, he said: ‘Give him a chance.’” Markle speculated that his son-in-law may have since changed his attitude to the president. “I think Harry has probably changed his mind by now – I certainly hope he has,” he said.

Markle’s remarks underline the controversy of Trump’s visit to the UK next month. The prospect of an awkward meeting between Trump and the Queen was delayed after an invitation for an official state visit was postponed. Asked what Harry thought about Brexit, Markle said: “He said he was open to it. He didn’t know one way or another, he was just saying he had to be open to it, and see how it went. That’s pretty much what’s his attitude. This is just conversation between two guys about politics nothing cast in stone, just the way you talk.”(theguardian)…[+]

Melania Trump’s spokeswoman has said the first lady “hates to see children separated from their families”, in what at first appeared to be a rare public statement at odds with her husband’s policy of separating children from their parents at the Mexico border. Stephanie Grisham said the first lady believed “we need to be a country that follows all laws”, but also one “that governs with heart”. She added: “Mrs Trump … hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform.”

Former first lady Laura Bush has made a similar plea, writing in the Washington Post that a zero-tolerance policy was “cruel” and “immoral”. But unlike Melania Trump, Bush placed responsibility firmly on the Trump administration’s policy, not “both sides”. “The reason for these separations is a zero-tolerance policy for their parents, who are accused of illegally crossing our borders,” she wrote.(theguardian)…[+]

Russia appears to have upgraded a nuclear weapons storage bunker in its Kaliningrad enclave, in the latest sign of Moscow’s increased emphasis on nuclear arms in its standoff with Nato, according to a new report. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has published satellite images which the group says show a storage facility in the Baltic coast enclave between Poland and Lithuania being deepened and then covered with a new concrete roof in recent months. “It has all the fingerprints of typical Russian nuclear weapons storage sites,” said Hans Kristensen, the director of the nuclear information project at FAS. “There is a heavy duty external perimeter of multilayered fencing. The bunkers themselves have triple fencing around them as well. These are typical features from all the other nuclear weapons storage sites that we know about in Russia.”

The work on the bunker began in 2016, and the new roof was put on earlier in the summer. “Its a site we have been monitoring for quite some time and there have been and there have been some upgrades in the past but nothing as dramatic as this one. This is the first time we’ve seen one of the nuclear bunkers being excavated and apparently renovated,” Kristensen said. “These pictures don’t prove that there are nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad now, but they do show it is an active site,” Kristensen said.(theguardian)…[+]

A US drone strike in north-east Afghanistan has killed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah, according to Pakistani and Afghan officials. A spokesperson for Afghanistan’s ministry of defence said two other Taliban militants were also killed in the strike in Kunar province. Fazlullah led the insurgency in Pakistan’s Swat valley between 2007-09 and ordered some of the most shocking attacks in the country’s history, including an assault on a school that killed 132 children and the shooting of the young activist Malala Yousafzai.

“I confirm that Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has been killed in an joint air operation [with the US] in the border area of Marawera district of Kunar province,” Mohammad Radmanish told Reuters. A spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan said a strike had been launched against a “senior leader of a designated terrorist organisation” but did not name Fazlullah or announce the death. The US had offered $5m (£3.8m) in March for information about his whereabouts.(theguardian)…[+]

Germany’s ruling coalition remains in a state of heightened suspense over a growing dispute on refugee policy between Angela Merkel and her interior minister that could yet bring down the fledgling government. Horst Seehofer remained poised to carry out his threat to introduce police controls on Germany’s southern border, according to reports, as leading members of his Christian Social Union, junior partners in Merkel’s government, urged the chancellor to back down over her opposition to turning away refugees if they have already applied for asylum in another EU country or had their applications rejected in Germany.

Merkel, who is in her fourth term as chancellor, has rarely found herself in such a precarious position. If Seehofer goes ahead and implements the most contested part of his immigration “masterplan”, she will have little choice but to sack him. But that would also lead to the collapse of her government, which has been in power for less than 100 days, and would almost inevitably end her chancellorship. A source from the interior ministry told German media that Seehofer would be able to implement his plan at any time. “All that’s needed is a phone call,” the source said.(theguardian)…[+]

BRIDGETOWN – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) have signed an agreement to enhance capacity for mental health and psychosocial support in disaster management in the Caribbean.

“Despite the high vulnerability of the Region to these types of events, too often we have approached recovery and rehabilitation efforts by focusing on infrastructure and physical mitigation plans only. While ‘building back better’ is indeed necessary and critical, there is also a need to prepare populations to better cope with natural hazards by focusing on mental and psychosocial well-being. Strengthening social and individual resilience is—and always should be—a key component of any response to disasters,” said Monica La Bennett, Vice-President (Operations), CDB.

“As we begin the 2018 hurricane season, we are pleased to launch this project and partnership with CDB,” said Jessie Schutt-Aine, PAHO’s Subregional Program Coordinator for the Caribbean. “It is imperative that we support our Member States’ preparedness and response efforts. Mental health and psychosocial support needs to be a key part of this process.” Experiences and lessons learnt by the PAHO Health Emergencies team and key stakeholders from last year’s hurricanes Irma and Maria will be incorporated in project implementation to ensure better preparedness. The project aims to build capacity for mental health and psychosocial support within the health sector through regional and in-country training within the sector, as well as with agencies outside the sector, and the broader community. In addition, the project is expected to lead to the establishment of a roster of mental health professionals in the Caribbean, who can be mobilised to affected countries in the event of an emergency.

Other project components include strengthening countries’ competencies to conduct mental health and psychosocial support needs assessments and create action plans for mental health care and psychosocial support in disaster management. A communications campaign will also be developed for rollout during the Atlantic Hurricane Season, to increase awareness and acceptance of the need for mental health services in the aftermath of a disaster. Special attention will be paid to emphasizing the different needs of various groups that are often at greater risk during a disaster situation, such as children and adolescents; women; the elderly; indigenous people; those with pre-existing mental disorders; migrants; the disabled; homeless persons; and those living in shelters.(CDB)…[+]

A Canadian man is suing the country’s government after he was arrested by border agents and detained for eight months – despite producing evidence of his citizenship.

Olajide Ogunye, 47, is seeking $10m in compensation from the Canadian government after he spent months incarcerated in what his lawyer has described as a “profoundly disturbing” case of mistaken identity. Ogunye was approached by border agents and detained outside his Toronto home in June 2016, even though he produced citizenship papers and a government-issued health card.

The agents disputed the validity of the documents and brought him to a detention facility near Toronto Pearson airport, where they fingerprinted him and alleged his prints matched those of a fraudulent refugee claimant who was deported to Nigeria in the 1990s. “It is shocking,” said Adam Hummel, Ogunye’s lawyer. “Even people who are having their citizenship revoked … are not detained like this.” The results of the fingerprint analysis – which Hummel says were never shown to his client – were contradicted by numerous sworn affidavits by friends and neighbours who had known Ogunye for years. Ogunye, who immigrated to Canada from Nigeria with his family and became a citizen in 1996, was moved between Maplehurst correctional facility and Central East correctional centre.(theguardian)...[+]

Italian prosecutors dropped a sexual harassment case against a former head of the country’s football federation in part because they thought the woman who made the complaint was old enough not to be intimidated, it can be revealed. A report by prosecutors in Rome, compiled earlier this year and obtained by the Guardian, said the allegations of harassment and groping against Carlo Tavecchio were likely to be accurate, but that the case was not pursued because it had been reported too late to authorities. However, the prosecutors outlined further reasons for their decision not to pursue the allegations against Tavecchio, made by Elisabetta Cortani, the president of the Lazio Women’s football club, who was 50 at the time. The report said that Cortani’s age and the fact she had dealt with Tavecchio in the past, meant she would not have been in a state of fear or subjugation.

Tavecchio’s controversial tenure as head of Italy’s football federation ended in November. He resigned after the men’s national team – four-time winners of the World Cup – failed to qualify for this year’s tournament. Tavecchio had also been frequently criticised for a series of racist remarks. According to the prosecutors’ report, Cortani’s complaint, filed on 24 November 2017, was based on two incidents reported to authorities.. Tavecchio has denied that the incidents occurred.(theguardian)…[+]

The lower house of Argentina’s congress has narrowly approved a bill that would legalise abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy in what has been described as a historic move. The bill was narrowly passed by the chamber of deputies by 129 to 123 votes on Thursday and will now go before the senate. Argentina’s president, Mauricio Macri, has said he will sign it if it is approved.

The vote in favour means the homeland of Pope Francis could become one of Latin America’s most progressive countries on reproductive rights. “We are dealing with a public health issue that cannot be addressed with blinders, nor with morals and ethics and much less religion,” opposition congresswoman Mayra Mendoza, one of the driving forces of the proposal, said in a speech. “This is also a matter of social justice.”

The opposition, as well as allies of President Mauricio Macri, were divided on the issue. Macri has encouraged his party members to vote as they see fit even though he is personally opposed to the proposal. Mariela Belski, Amnesty International executive director in Argentina, welcomed the move. “New legislation could end a vicious circle where women have no option but to risk their lives, their health, and their freedom if they are sent to prison,” she said.(theguardian)…[+]