UK charities call for inquiry into treatment of children placed in hotels for asylum seekers

UK charities call for inquiry into treatment of children placed in hotels for asylum seekers
A baby is taken to the vessel of the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms, after being rescued in the Central Mediterranean Sea, 72 km from Al-Khums, Libya. (File/AP)
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Updated 05 March 2024
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UK charities call for inquiry into treatment of children placed in hotels for asylum seekers

UK charities call for inquiry into treatment of children placed in hotels for asylum seekers
  • Report exposes official's inappropriate guessing game to reveal foster care placements to children
  • Report that found basic checks to ensure unaccompanied children were safe in these hotels were not carried out

LONDON: Charities and campaigners have called for a public inquiry into the treatment of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK, the BBC reported on Monday.

At one point, the Home Office contracted seven hotels to provide temporary accommodation for children while foster care placements were being arranged with local authorities. According to a recently published official report, however, basic checks to ensure unaccompanied children were being kept safe in these hotels were not carried out.

The report, by the former chief inspector of borders, David Neal, and published by the Home Office last week, also revealed a particularly disturbing practice in which a team leader would have children take part in a guessing game to find out who had received a place in foster care.

Inspectors described the practice as “insensitive in the extreme and undoubtedly upsetting to the children.” They noted that it was not widely adopted but nor was it internally questioned when it was.

Eighteen organizations, including the Refugee Council and the British Association of Social Workers, have now signed an open letter in which they highlight this “appalling revelation” that some children were forced to play a game to guess which of them had been allocated a foster home. They described the wider findings of the report as “disturbing, distressing and dystopian.”

The letter also said that hundreds of unaccompanied children who have gone missing from hotels have yet to be found, and that children incorrectly assessed as being of adult age were forced to share bedrooms with grown-up strangers.

The signatories called for an extensive independent investigation into the treatment of asylum seekers aged 17 and younger.

“In our work with refugee children, we repeatedly see how they are being failed... There is a culture of callous disregard for children’s basic right to dignity,” they said in their letter.

“We urgently need to see a fundamental change towards an asylum system that is fair, humane and protects those who are some of the most vulnerable children in the country.”

The Home Office said the welfare of the children was of “utmost priority.” A full investigation into the “inappropriate behavior” of the worker responsible for the guessing game has been launched, it added, and he was removed from his position as soon as his actions were revealed. It also said hotels are no longer used to house child refugees, the BBC reported.

The report was based on inspections of two hotels in Kent that took place in September 2023.

It stated: “Inspectors found that two years on from when the Home Office first moved children into hotels, it was still grappling with the challenges of managing an operation that was only ever envisaged to provide a short-term solution.”


Saudi ambassador urges Bangladeshi companies to join FIFA World Cup 2034 projects

Saudi ambassador urges Bangladeshi companies to join FIFA World Cup 2034 projects
Updated 8 sec ago
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Saudi ambassador urges Bangladeshi companies to join FIFA World Cup 2034 projects

Saudi ambassador urges Bangladeshi companies to join FIFA World Cup 2034 projects
  • Ambassador cites Bangladeshis’ experience of 2022 World Cup Qatar projects
  • Bangladeshi expat workers in Saudi Arabia are hardworking and intelligent, he says

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Dhaka has invited Bangladeshi companies to bid for FIFA World Cup construction projects as the tournament, to be hosted by the Kingdom in 2034, will require the construction of new stadiums and supporting infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia won the bid to host the world’s largest sporting event, with plans to hold games across 15 stadiums in five cities. Many migrant workers will be involved in building new sports facilities, transport networks, and hotel infrastructure.

“Bangladeshi workers already have experience with the World Cup in Qatar,” Ambassador Essa Al-Duhailan told Arab News at his office in the Bangladeshi capital on Tuesday.

“I urge the construction companies from Bangladesh to go to Saudi Arabia because we will build 11 stadiums and renovate five other existing stadiums. So this will also be a big opportunity for the companies and for the workers to go and participate in this ... And not only the construction of stadiums, but hotels and resorts. This will be a very good opportunity for Bangladesh.”

Some 2 million expatriate workers in Qatar were crucial in making the 2022 World Cup mega-projects a reality. Most of them were Bangladeshis. They have constructed and renovated eight stadiums, a whole new city, Lusail, the Doha Metro, hotels, and new transportation routes.

“You have enough numbers of skilled workers. We are happy to accommodate them and to welcome them. And they will have very good opportunities,” Al-Duhailan said.

“Bangladeshi workers and migrants are hard workers, and they are intelligent, and you can rely on them.”

Around 3 million Bangladeshi nationals live and work in Saudi Arabia. They are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh. Many are employed in the construction sector and more are likely to find jobs in the industry in the next few years, as the Kingdom prepares to host not only the 2034 World Cup, but also the AFC Asian Cup in 2027, the Asian Winter Games in 2029, and the World Expo in 2030.

“The business of construction will be in high demand (of workers),” Al-Duhailan said.

“We already started preparations ... We are processing 5,000 to 7,000 visas (for Bangladeshis) every day. And we are (willing) to accommodate more.”


Sweden’s worst mass shooting leaves at least 11 dead at an adult education center

Sweden’s worst mass shooting leaves at least 11 dead at an adult education center
Updated 42 min 7 sec ago
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Sweden’s worst mass shooting leaves at least 11 dead at an adult education center

Sweden’s worst mass shooting leaves at least 11 dead at an adult education center

OREBRO, Sweden: Sweden’s worst mass shooting left at least 11 people dead, including the gunman, at an adult education center west of Stockholm as officials warned that the death toll could rise.
The gunman’s motive, as well as the number of wounded, hadn’t been determined by early Wednesday as the Scandinavian nation — where gun violence at schools is very rare — reeled from an attack with such bloodshed that police early on said it was difficult to count the number of dead among the carnage.
The school, called Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. It is on the outskirts of Orebro, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Stockholm.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called the shooting “an event that shakes our entire society to its core.” King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the Royal Palace and government buildings. The Swedish news agency TT reported that officials have planned a news conference for Wednesday morning.
The shooting started Tuesday afternoon after many students had gone home following a national exam. Students sheltered in nearby buildings, and other parts of the school were evacuated following the shooting.
Authorities were working to identify the deceased, and police said the toll could rise. Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police, told reporters that the suspected gunman was among the dead.
There were no warnings beforehand, and police believe the perpetrator acted alone. Police haven’t said if the man was a student at the school. They haven’t released a possible motive, but authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point.
Police raided the suspect’s home after Tuesday’s shooting, but it wasn’t immediately clear what they found.
“Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people,” the prime minister told reporters in Stockholm late Tuesday. “This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. Many questions remain unanswered, and I cannot provide those answers either.
“But the time will come when we will know what happened, how it could occur, and what motives may have been behind it. Let us not speculate,” he said.
While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.


Trump says he would love to make a deal with Iran

Trump says he would love to make a deal with Iran
Updated 05 February 2025
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Trump says he would love to make a deal with Iran

Trump says he would love to make a deal with Iran

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would love to make a deal with Iran to improve bilateral relations, but added that Tehran should not develop a nuclear weapon.

“I say this to Iran, who's listening very intently, 'I would love to be able to make a great deal. A deal where you can get on with your lives,”” Trump told reporters in Washington.

“They cannot have one thing. They cannot have a nuclear weapon and if I think that they will have a nuclear weapon ... I think that's going to be very unfortunate for them,” He said.


Drone attack sparks blaze at oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar, governor says

Drone attack sparks blaze at oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar, governor says
Updated 05 February 2025
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Drone attack sparks blaze at oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar, governor says

Drone attack sparks blaze at oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar, governor says

A Ukrainian drone attack overnight sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s southern region of Krasnodar that has since been extinguished, regional officials said on Wednesday.
A series of drone attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s energy facilities have sparked fires in recent days at a major oil refinery in the Volgograd region, as well as at the Astrakhan gas processing plant.
“The fire in a tank with oil product residues in the village of Novominskaya in the Kanevsky District was fully extinguished,” the region’s operational authorities said on the Telegram messaging app.
Earlier, Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of the Krasnodar region, said that there were no injuries in the fire that was caused by a falling drone debris. A team of 19 people wielding 19 items of equipment were fighting the flames, he said.
Kondratyev did not say which depot was on fire or detail the extent of damage.
The Russian defense ministry said that four Ukrainian drones were destroyed over the Russian territory overnight, but did not mention the Krasnodar region in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The ministry only reports drones that its air defense systems destroy, not how many were launched.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Kyiv says that its attacks inside Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow’s war in Ukraine and are in response to Russian continued bombing of Ukraine.


5 people wounded in shooting at Ohio cosmetics warehouse

5 people wounded in shooting at Ohio cosmetics warehouse
Updated 05 February 2025
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5 people wounded in shooting at Ohio cosmetics warehouse

5 people wounded in shooting at Ohio cosmetics warehouse
  • Police say five people have been wounded in a shooting at a cosmetics warehouse in New Albany, Ohio
  • A spokesperson for New Albany says victims of Tuesday night’s shooting have been transported to the hospital

NEW ALBANY: Five people were wounded in a shooting Tuesday night at a cosmetics warehouse in Ohio, officials said.
The victims have been transported to the hospital and the suspect is no longer believed to be at the building, said Josh Poland, a spokesperson for the city of New Albany.
The shooting happened at the warehouse for a company that makes products including cosmetics and toiletries. Police did not immediately provide details of the circumstances surrounding the shooting or the conditions of those wounded.
Police were working to evacuate all the employees following the shooting, which happened just before 11 p.m., police said in a statement.