Latest news with #foreigners
CNA
5 days ago
- CNA
Malaysian authorities say situation at land border with Singapore back under control following day of auto-gate chaos
Malaysian authorities say the situation at a major land border with Singapore is back under control after some auto-immigration gates resumed normal operations on Saturday evening. Thousands of travellers had reported hours-long wait, due to issues affecting auto-gate functions for foreigners since Friday afternoon. Visitors from 63 countries and regions, including Singapore, have used this system to cross the border since June last year. Nicolas Ng with more.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Gunmen kill 2 Indians and abduct a third in Niger
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Gunmen killed at least two Indians and abducted a third during an attack in Niger's southwest Dosso region, according to Indian authorities, the latest such violence targeting foreigners in Niger's conflict-battered territories. The Indian Embassy in Niger said in a statement on X on Friday that the attack occurred on Tuesday, and that it was in touch with local authorities to repatriate the bodies of the victims and ensure the safe release of the kidnapped individual. Local media in Niger identified the victims as workers at a construction site in Dosso, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) from the country's capital of Niamey. Foreigners are increasingly becoming targets of armed groups in Niger. Several of them have been kidnapped this year, including an Austrian woman who has lived in Niger as an aid worker for more than 20 years, a Swiss woman seized from her home in April and five Indian workers, also in April. Niger has for many years battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a security crisis that analysts say has worsened since the military toppled the country's government in July 2023, and has since struggled to restore peace in hot spots. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, June was one of the country's deadliest months on record as IS-backed fighters launched a major offensive across the Tillaberi and Dosso regions, killing more than 100 civilians in what marked a return to mass atrocities in rural areas. The Associated Press Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Malay Mail
7 days ago
- Malay Mail
Woman flees Immigration raid in Ipoh, leaves husband and children behind
IPOH, July 19 — A foreign woman, believed to be from Sulawesi, fled and left behind her husband and two young children during a pre-dawn immigration raid at a construction site in Persiaran Panorama Lapangan Perdana here today. The family was among over 200 foreigners screened in the joint operation by the Perak Immigration Department and the General Operations Force. Her husband and children, aged two and three, were detained, while she escaped. Perak Immigration director Datuk James Lee said about 120 individuals were arrested for offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and related regulations. 'Our main focus tonight was on those using fake or expired documents, or staying in the country illegally,' he said. He urged employers to deal directly with the Immigration Department and avoid using middlemen. Those detained will be sent to the Home Ministry Complex, while undocumented children will be placed in a special depot. — Bernama
National Post
18-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
EU to triple travel permit fee to 20 euros
Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) — The digital travel permit for foreigners to enter the European Union should cost 20 euros ($23), almost triple the original planned fee, under a proposal published Friday. Article content The adjustment to the yet-to-be implemented ETIAS scheme for visa-exempt nationals comes as the European Commission seeks to boost its financial resources to fund an array of priorities from defence to agriculture. Article content Article content The change reflects inflation and additional operational costs, the commission said. Article content Article content 'It will also bring the cost for a travel authorisation to the EU in line with similar travel authorisation programmes,' the EU's top executive body said. Article content Adopted in 2018, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) regulation originally envisaged a fee of seven euros. Article content Britain's equivalent, known as ETA, comes with a 16 pound fee ($21), while the United States' ESTA permit costs $21. Article content Obtainable online, the European Union's ETIAS permit will be required for the bloc's 27 countries with the exception of Ireland, as well as for Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Article content The permit, valid for three years, will be required for non-EU nationals from countries whose citizens do not need a visa for short stays in Europe, such as Canada, Britain and the United States. Article content Those aged under 18 or over 70 years will be exempt from the fee. Article content Brussels said the scheme was created to identify security, irregular migration and other risks as well as to facilitate border crossing for regular travellers. Article content But its implementation, which was supposed to go hand-in-hand with a new automated border check system, has suffered from delays. Article content The European Parliament and member states have two months to review the new 20-euro fee, which will enter into effect as soon as ETIAS becomes operational — now expected for the last quarter of 2026. Article content This week the commission proposed a boosted two-trillion-euro long-term budget for 2028-2034, which has already upset some of the EU countries that will have to chip in most of the money. Article content As part of the blueprint, which is subject to negotiation, Brussels said it will seek to raise about 58 billion euros a year collecting money directly through measures like its carbon border tax and a levy on electronic waste.
CNN
18-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Why has Japan set up a task force to deal with foreigners?
Japan has worked hard to attract foreigners to boost its sluggish economy but now the perception there are too many has prompted the creation of a new task force, as competition for votes heats up ahead of Sunday's national election. The issue is on the political agenda ahead of the upper house election, in part because of a fringe party promoting 'Japanese first' policies, in a nod to the nativist rhetoric of US President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba launched the task force – formally named the Office for the Promotion of a Society of Harmonious Coexistence with Foreign Nationals – on Tuesday, citing 'crimes or nuisance behaviors committed by some foreign nationals,' as well as 'inappropriate use of various' government systems. The world's fourth-largest economy has a long history of strict immigration policies, and a strong cultural strain of isolationism. But with a rapidly aging population and plunging birth rates, Japan has been gradually opening up to foreign workers and seeking more international tourists. Pulling up the drawbridge could exacerbate the demographic crisis and jeopardize the tourism industry, experts warn. Here is what we know about the task force and why foreigners have become an election issue: Ishiba described the new office as a 'command center' coordinating policies for both Japanese citizens and foreigners. Among the areas it will cover are immigration, land acquisitions by foreigners, and unpaid social insurance, Ishiba added. He pledged to 'take strict action against those who do not follow the rules.' There have been no more concrete details, but the government said last month it plans to revise policies to ban tourists and foreign residents with unpaid medical bills from getting a visa or returning to the country. Though Japan's population of foreign residents has jumped from 2.23 million to 3.77 million over the past decade, they still only account for 3% of the total population of more than 120 million people. Much more notable is a surge in tourism over the past few years, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. A record 21.5 million foreign tourists visited Japan in the first half of this year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Last year, Japan was the world's 8th most-visited country by tourists, according to UN Tourism, and the top in Asia. The influx has irritated many residents, whose lives have been disrupted by tourists flocking to their neighborhoods for sightseeing, shopping or a scenic photo opportunity. It prompted authorities to temporarily block a popular view of Mount Fuji from a convenience store due to a surge in residents' complaints of overcrowding, and a hot spring resort area to warn against low water levels as visitors demanded private baths. Some blame tourists for triggering inflation and contributing to shortages of certain supplies, including rice, Japan's most cherished staple. Others take issue with foreign residents reportedly evading public health insurance and investors snatching up properties in the country and pushing up prices. A retiree in Tokyo who used to work for a trading company told CNN that he believed foreign workers were taking Japanese people's jobs. 'They came to Japan because they couldn't make a living in their countries,' said the 78-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the discussion. 'Because the cultures are different, it is impossible to live together.' Office worker Kouyama Nanami, 23, said she read on the news that a lot of welfare assistance goes to non-Japanese residents. 'I think the aids haven't been prioritized for Japanese people,' she said. Shunsuke Tanabe, a sociology professor at Waseda University in Tokyo, said many of the negative beliefs around migration – such as the idea of rising crime – stem from falsehoods and misleading claims from the campaign trail. 'There are visibly more foreigners around; they start to assume that public safety must be getting worse, too,' he told CNN. 'As a result, negative campaigns spread on social media resonate with many, leading them to think that parties promising to 'protect' society from these imagined threats are the better choice,' he added. He noted that crime in Japan has declined in the past 20 years, despite an uptick in tourists and foreign residents. 'There is virtually no difference between Japanese nationals and foreign nationals in terms of crime rates,' he said. In 2023, 9,726 foreigners were arrested for alleged crimes, accounting for 5.3％ of total people arrested, according to a white paper by the Ministry of Justice. The figure includes both tourists and foreign residents. Ishiba's hand has been forced as the election campaign, entering its final stretch, has focused on anger over irresponsible foreign citizens and unruly tourists, according to political pundits. Sanseito, a minor right-wing party that has been rallying against immigrants and advancing 'Japanese first' policies, has been gaining traction and media coverage. The upstart party is far from being able to compete for a majority, but is projected to win 10 to 15 seats, which could chip away at the majority of Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP and its coalition partner Komeito last year lost their majority in the lower house, for the first time in 15 years. Ishiba could face further pressure to step down if they lose the upper house this weekend. 'Anti-immigration parties such as the Sanseito are using this as an opportunity to take advantage of public misconceptions, public fears about immigration and about foreigners to take away votes from the LDP,' said Jeffrey Hall, a Japanese studies lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba. While out campaigning Sunday, Sanseito Secretary General Sohei Kamiya said his party was 'simply saying it's unreasonable to spend public money to hire foreigners or hand over profitable businesses' to foreigners. 'This is not discrimination or hate speech,' he said. Hall said setting up the new office could help the LDP demonstrate 'they're being tough on the issue,' though there will be a price to pay. 'If Japan becomes a society that strictly monitors foreigners to the point where they feel unwelcome, it could have a damaging effect on the ability of businesses to get the foreign workers they need,' Hall said. The country's birth rate plunged to another record low of 1.15 in 2024, well below the 2.1 needed to keep a population stable in the absence of immigration, meaning that the working population will continue to shrink in decades to come. This is worsening the outlook for a Japanese economy that has already suffered stagnation since the early 1990s. To attract foreign workers, the government has been easing requirements for visas and trying to improve conditions. The number of foreign employees hit a record high of 2.3 million last October, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The government has been granting 'specific skilled workers' visas to work in a range of industries from nursing and hospitality to construction and aviation, the Foreign Ministry's website shows. During Tuesday's announcement, Ishiba acknowledged the importance of Japan remaining open-minded. 'As Japan faces the challenges of a declining birthrate and aging population, it is essential for us to incorporate the vitality of the international community, through the acceptance of a certain number of foreign workers and the expansion of inbound tourism, to ensure a smooth transition to a growth-oriented economy,' he said.
