After the end of the three-month state of emergency , Poland is restricting access to the border area with Belarus with a new law. The regulation passed by the Polish parliament and signed by President Andrzej Duda makes it possible, on the recommendation of the national border protection authority, to deny access to an area 15 kilometers wide for security reasons. Exceptions should only be made for residents or for people who work or study there.
At a crisis meeting on migration across the English Channel, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany agreed to crack down on smugglers. From Wednesday, an aircraft belonging to the EU border protection agency Frontex is to monitor the coast of the English Channel.
For weeks, the news situation on the Polish-Belarusian border was the same: Thousands of people were stuck in catastrophic humanitarian conditions between the two countries, lured by the false promise of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko to get safe conduct into the EU. In the past week something suddenly seemed to move: The EU decided on further sanctions against the regime in Minsk, at the same time Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Lukashenko on the phone. Suddenly he agreed to provide overnight accommodation and buses to bring people back inland from the forests in the border area.
Britain and France blame each other after at least 27 people died in the English Channel. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for stricter controls on France.
The measures taken so far have not been enough to deter migrants from making the dangerous crossing, he said. The mayor of the French coastal city of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, accused Johnson of cowardice in return. The prime minister takes no responsibility.
In the refugee dispute with Belarus, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke out in favor of sanctioning options for travel companies. The EU Commission is proposing a blacklist for all transport companies involved in human trafficking and human smuggling, said von der Leyen in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The legislative proposal had been submitted to the European Parliament and the member states.
International media reported the ICRC President Peter Murray's comments support the position of UN Special Representative for Afghanistan.
He warned this week that Afghanistan was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe and that its collapsing economy was increasing the risk of extremism.
Several people were injured in violent clashes between Polish security forces and refugees on the Belarusian border. Polish security forces said they used tear gas and water cannons against refugees after stones were thrown at them from their ranks. Seven police officers, a border guard and a soldier were injured. According to Belarusian sources, several refugees also had to receive medical treatment.
Polish security forces used water cannons against migrants on the border with Belarus. The people waiting at the Kuźnica-Bruzgi border crossing on the Belarusian side threw stones at the border guards beforehand, according to video footage from the security authorities. A spokesman for the Polish police said the people had been equipped with fire grenades and tear gas from the Belarusian side. According to unconfirmed reports, tear gas was also used by the Polish side.
According to the ruler Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is trying to return migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border to their home countries. "Active work is being done to convince people to please return home. But nobody wants to return," said Lukashenko, according to the state news agency Belta. Belarus also wants "no border conflict" with Poland. This is "absolutely harmful to us," Belta quoted the Belarusian ruler as saying. The refugee crisis should not develop into a conflict.
According to the Polish police, a group of around 50 migrants broke the barrier on the border with Belarus and got to Poland. As a police spokesman said, the incident occurred on Saturday evening near the village of Dubicze Cerkiewne. The officers arrested 22 Iraqis. According to the police, another larger group tried to cross the border not far from the village of Klukowicze-Kolonia - but to no avail. The refugees threw stones at the officers, and one officer was slightly injured.
Dawn newspaper's report was announced after EU pressure by the Turkish Civil Aviation Authority, according to which he had refused to bring the citizens of Minsk, capital of Belarus from the Middle East.
The case began when thousands of EU asylum seekers entered Poland, Lithuania and Latvia over the summer, many still trying to enter or being deported.
In the midst of the confusing situation surrounding thousands of stranded migrants, Belarusian and Russian soldiers are holding an exercise near the Belarus- Poland border . The Ministry of Defense in Minsk justified the maneuver on Telegram with an "increase in military activity" at the border. A "joint tactical battalion group" with paratroopers from both countries is holding the exercise in the Grodno region in western Belarus, it said.
Russia has dispatched two nuclear weapons-grade warplanes on a training mission over Belarus. Observers see this as a signal of Russian support for its ally in the dispute over the tense situation on the Polish border.
The Ministry of Defense in Minsk announced that two strategic Tu-160 fighter planes had carried out a series of test flights on the Ruschanski military site, including bombing. As part of the joint exercise, Belarusian fighter jets simulated an interception maneuver.
Daily flee currently around 4,000 to 5,000 Afghans from the Taliban, according to an aid organization in Iran. "Thousands of exhausted women, children and men cross the border from Afghanistan into Iran every day in search of safety," said the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Jan Egeland, during a visit to Iran. One cannot expect Iran to take in so many Afghans if the international community gives so little support.
The Acting Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is in favor of sanctions against anyone involved in the smuggling of refugees to Belarus. "Nobody should be allowed to take part in Lukashenko's inhumane activities with impunity," said the SPD politician, referring to the behavior of the ruler Alexander Lukashenko. This applies to countries of origin and transit, but also to airlines that enable people to be transported to Belarus. The European Union is ready to "draw clear conclusions here".
The UN Security Council has called for an end to the violence in the crisis country Ethiopia. The UN body demanded that the conflicting parties "negotiate a permanent ceasefire and create the conditions for the start of an inclusive Ethiopian national dialogue".
The 15 members of the Security Council expressed deep concern about the escalating violence and the humanitarian situation in the country. "Hate speech and incitement to violence and division" must be avoided.
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