NOVA SCOTIA
A nun kidnapped her from a residential school

Jan 4, 2022
CBC News

A Mi’kmaw woman was the last student to leave the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School in Nova Scotia when it closed in 1967. Instead of going home, Debbie Paul was kidnapped by a nun and forced to live with a white family. 

To read more: https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/f... 

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools and those who are triggered by these reports. A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for residential school survivors and others affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

They say they fought for democracy. Border guards argue they supported a terror group. Will they get to stay in Canada?

These asylum seekers backed Egypt’s first democratically elected government. Now, they’re facing accusations of belonging to subversive groups.

By Nicholas Keung

Immigration Reporter

TOR STAR
Tue., Jan. 4, 2022



Attia Elserafy remembers taking to the streets with his family.

A human rights and labour activist all his life, the 60-year-old had been encouraged, he says, by the Arab Spring and saw hope for a new and democratic Egypt.

With his wife and five children in tow, he braved a military crackdown to join thousands of his compatriots at peaceful protests calling for “Bread, Freedom and Social Justice,” under then president Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic government.

The 2011 Egyptian revolution would topple that regime and Elserafy, the head of the General Petroleum Union, was invited to join the leading Freedom and Justice Party, which later formed the country’s first democratically elected government.

“It was a peaceful revolution. The world celebrated it with us. People in Egypt, for the first time, experienced freedom and democracy, and the belief in democracy and our ability to stop corruption,” Elserafy reminisced through an Arabic interpreter recently.

That fledgling democracy, however, was short lived — and today, Elserafy has found himself trying to justify his role and his political allegiances from that tumultuous period in Egypt so that he might start a new life a world away in Canada.

His case is one of a cluster now being highlighted by advocates, who say it shows the unevenness of Canada’s immigration system and the whims to which asylum-seekers can fall prey.

It was in 2013 that the elected president, Mohammed Morsi, was removed by a coalition led by army Chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

Elserafy said he refused the demand of the new regime to publish a declaration of support and was dismissed from his union job.

Like many supporters and sympathizers of the deposed Morsi government, Elserafy began a life in exile, first in Turkey and then in Canada, where he arrived in 2018 with his wife and three of his five children, claiming political persecution.

In the past six years, until September, 3,381 Egyptians have sought asylum in Canada, many of them on similar grounds, and 2,679 have been granted protection in this country.

However, Elserafy is not among those successful claimants, despite the union’s leader’s profile with the Freedom and Justice Party, which has been dissolved by the Egyptian court.

Instead, he has found himself among a group of Egyptian asylum-seekers facing inadmissibility in Canada for their alleged membership with the party, which was founded in 2011 by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Canada border service agents in Vancouver allege both the Freedom and Justice Party and the Muslim Brotherhood are terrorist groups that promoted violence, and engaged in subversion against a democratic government, even though Canada and most western countries, including the United States, don’t designate them as such.

The Vancouver agents’ position is far from a universal one.

“In other jurisdictions in Canada, individuals who are a member of these organizations actually relied upon that as their refugee claim and were approved,” says Vancouver immigration lawyer Erin Roth, who represents five of these emerging inadmissibility cases against Egyptian claimants.

“We found a whole stack of decisions that were made in those jurisdictions that contained allegations about the Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party, where it was not made an issue. I do not know of any cases in other regional offices where these allegations have been presented.”

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in Egypt, advocating for the return to the Quran to guide the building of a healthy modern Islamic society that centred on education and much needed social services. It evolved to become a political group, challenging colonialism and authoritarian regimes.

Roth said there are a lot of geopolitical pressure and international propaganda about the nature of the Brotherhood’s activities then and now.

“When CBSA officers are researching, depending on how their own biases appear, they’re going to be pulled or attracted to one side of information versus another,” said Roth.

Mohamed Abdelhameed also has ties to the Freedom and Justice Party, but when he came to Canada, he says, it was not held against him.

Abdelhameed, a former Egyptian parliamentarian and professor of medicine at the University of Alexandria, sat on the Supreme Council of the party, an executive committee of the group, and came to Canada for asylum in January 2017.

The 65-year-old claimed he was persecuted by the current regime and was granted protection by a refugee judge in Quebec in November 2018. He said the border agent in his hearing did not raise any issue with his membership to the political party.

Abdelhameed, who is not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the border agents’ allegations against the Egyptian claimants in Vancouver mirrored the rhetoric of Al-Sisi’s regime.

“I was an elected member of the parliament. I have never advocated for violence and neither did my colleagues. And then my name is being put into these military and national security courts (in Egypt), no witnesses, no evidence, no charges,” he said. “It’s all political.”

The Federal Court has made it clear that officials have the authority to order a foreign national inadmissible even if the group the person is alleged to belong to is not on the Canadian government’s designated terrorism list.

Border agents and immigration tribunal adjudicators are independent decision-makers who are given the discretion to rule on admissibility. All it requires are reasonable grounds to believe someone is inadmissible as a security threat by membership to a group that “engages, has engaged and will engage” in espionage, subversion and terrorism.

In Elserafy’s case, the border agency alleged the Muslim Brotherhood promoted violence from 1928 to the 1980s and engaged in subversive activities, including sending its members to fight Israel in 1948 and participating in the revolution against the British colonial rules.

They also claimed the Freedom and Justice Party is the same as the Muslim Brotherhood and it engaged in subversion against the democratic process of drafting and passing the constitution in Egypt.

Elserafy said neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor his party promote violent or terrorist acts.

“The world welcomed the Freedom and Justice Party. It was recognized as a legitimate party from all governments. The Canadian ambassador twice had diplomatic meetings with the Freedom and Justice Party,” said Elserafy, who is not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Those viewpoints are inaccurate and are based on evidence by the Egyptian government and anti-Muslim groups.”

Critics have pointed to the arrests of tens of thousands of political opponents by the Al-Sisi regime since the current president dethroned Morsi.

Egyptian Canadian Khaled Al-Qazzaz has seen the reality first hand. He was the foreign secretary for Morsi, and was arrested at the president’s office in July 2013 by soldiers armed with machine guns. Al-Qazzaz was detained, initially incommunicado, between July 3, 2013 and June 15, 2015.

“What happened in Egypt in 2013 is a full-fledged military coup against a democratically elected president,” said Al-Qazzaz today. “The removal of all forms of democracy, dissolving the parliament, dissolving the constitution that many Egyptians had participated in is actually the act of subversion and not the other way around.

Former Conservative foreign minister John Baird flew to Egypt to lobby for Al-Qazzaz’s release in 2015 on medical grounds while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government successfully brought him back to Canada a year later.


Al-Qazzaz, who has been called as a witness in some of the inadmissibility proceedings against the Egyptians in Vancouver, said he was surprised by evidence the border agency has relied on, including one 2015 report by London-based 9 Bedford Row, “The History of the Muslim Brotherhood,” commissioned by the current Egyptian government.

“These families who have suffered for being part of the democratic process in Egypt have continued to suffer and struggle even when they are theoretically in safe haven in Canada, a place that respects democracy and respects human rights,” said Al-Qazzaz, a member of Human Rights Watch’s Canada Committee.

“It is counterintuitive not to see that those who stood for democracy are the ones now being punished by individual members with the Canada Border Services Agency.”

While some of the Egyptians’ inadmissibility cases only started slowly trickling into the judicial system, Abdelrahman Elmady is believed to be the first person to be found inadmissible in Canada for his membership in the Muslim Brotherhood. His appeal was recently heard by the Federal Court and a decision is pending.

Elmady was excluded from seeking asylum by the border agency upon his arrival in Vancouver in 2017 because he was alleged to be a member of the Freedom and Justice Party. His case was referred to the immigration tribunal, which sided with the border agency.

Roth called the fight between the border agency and these claimants a David and Goliath battle.

“It’s one thing to ask somebody whether they are or not a member and have them provide evidence of their membership. My biggest issue is that these individuals on a case-by-case basis are being asked to prove or disprove the conduct of an organization,” she said.

“One officer or tribunal member can say, ‘Yes, it’s a terrorist organization’ and the next can say, ‘no, it’s not a terrorist organization’ based upon their personal review of the evidence and the specific file. To the extent, it places individuals in a monumental task of basically a parliamentary inquiry.”

Ideally, the Canadian Parliament should create a binding list of designated terrorist organizations to guide inadmissibility decisions made by border agents when applying the provisions on memberships to groups engaging in terrorism and subversion, Roth said.

At the very least, she added, the border agency should establish its own list to ensure some level of consistency in its decision making.

“These individuals shouldn’t have to litigate whether something is or is not a terrorist or subversive organization. That should be left to the parliament,” said Roth. “An individual should be able to go into a hearing or any system of law and have a reasonable expectation as to the outcome.”

According to Roth, even if a person is ultimately recognized as inadmissible by court, they can still be found to be a protected person and can’t be removed if they can show their lives would be at risk if deported. But then they will just languish here with little prospects of getting permanent residence.

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @nkeung

Experts say Canada must defend itself from the Arctic ambitions of China and Russia

AND AMERICA

By Janet E Silver. Published on Jan 3, 2022 

A street in Arctic Bay, Nunavut

As global warming melts glaciers in Canada’s Arctic and sea levels continue to rise, countries like Russia and China are eyeing the shipping routes that have opened up as a result, and threatening our national security in the process, experts say.

China and Russia view the North as a source of oil, gas, minerals, and seafood. To access and defend those resources, both countries are investing in ports, satellites, ballistic-missile submarines, hypersonic missiles, and icebreakers. They also want to gain control of the Northwest Passage, which is the sea route along the northern coast of North America between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Unlike Russia, China isn’t an Arctic state, but in 2013 it became a member of the Arctic Council — a forum for governments to promote co-operation in the Arctic — and has become more active in the region ever since. To support its shipping routes through Arctic waters, earlier this year, China unveiled more details of its “Polar Silk Road” plan to build infrastructure like ports, marine corridors, satellites, and ice-breaking tankers.

The biggest challenge for Canada and the U.S. is modernizing NORAD to prevent the possible encroachment on our countries’ sovereignty, says Troy Bouffard, director of the Center for Arctic Security and Resilience in Fairbanks, Alaska.

NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is headquartered in Colorado and provides air security and an aerospace warning system for Canada and the U.S.

“We do lack effective defence systems in the North,” Bouffard said. “How do we deal with threats like hypersonic cruise missiles (from Russia)? Decision-makers, working together, have to commit a lot more dollars (to NORAD).”

Russia has been testing and launching hypersonic cruise missiles from warships in its northern waters for years. Tracking these missiles is difficult, because they’re manoeuvrable in flight and travel more than five times the speed of sound.

Even though opinion is divided on how much to increase its budget, Bouffard says Canada and the U.S. need to invest in NORAD “right now,” calling its underfunding “a very large problem (that will) affect both nations’ political systems.”

Conservative MP James Bezan says that, under NORAD, Canada has a responsibility for continental security.

Bezan was parliamentary secretary to the minister of Defence from 2013 to 2015, and has been his party’s Defence critic for years.

“Currently, the North warning system only exists on the continent of North America,” Bezan said. “It doesn’t include the Arctic archipelagos — consisting of 94 major islands almost entirely covered by ice — with the exception of Resolute Bay and Alert (in Nunavut).”

We need more satellites in the area, and we need to update our Air Force bases that have high strategic and tactical importance, he said. Once we buy a new surveillance system, whether for the Super Hornets or the F-35s, hangars and runways will need to be modernized, too. (The government is expected to announce next year which of the two fighter jets will replace its aging fleet of CF-18s.)

Meanwhile, foreign vessels are entering waters near Nunavut, and people in the North feel threatened by their presence, says NDP MP Lori Idlout, who won the riding of Nunavut in the September election. Furthermore, national discussions of security in Canada’s North need to include the people of Nunavut, she said.

“We know our lands,” she told iPolitics in November. “The best way to make sure that security is appropriate is to make sure it’s done with a strong partnership and relationship with the inhabitants of the Arctic.”

Ottawa says its Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, published two years ago, commits it to consulting provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners.

It also states that “Canada will enhance the Canadian Armed Forces’ presence in the region over the long term by setting out the capability investments that will give the Canadian Armed Forces the tools they need to help local people in times of need, and to operate effectively in the region.”

In a statement to iPolitics in November, Defence Minister Anita Anand confirmed Canada’s financial commitment: “In Budget 2021, our government announced initial investments of over $250 million in continental defence, which will lay the groundwork for NORAD modernization. Canada continues to work hand-in-glove with our American allies to protect our North and modernize our continental defence and deterrence capabilities.”

But to prevent China and Russia from encroaching further on the North, Canada and the U.S. must spend millions more than what they’ve already set aside, say Bezan and Bouffard.

“If we don’t start making investments and adapting to the changing threat, government has failed to protect Canadians from what could come in the future,” Bezan said.

This article was first published in the iPolitics Holiday Magazine that was printed in early December.

After press conference arrest, Ron DeSantis bashes ‘authoritarian’ Joe Biden

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 4, 2022

The Governor's press conference was delayed, but the fundraising email was not.

Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ Tuesday press conference in Jacksonville started late, after community activists refused to leave when asked by aides.

After the arrest of 72-year-old Ben Frazier, the remarks went as scheduled.

Also appearing as scheduled: An email during the press event from the Governor’s political operation, ironically bashing “authoritarian” President Joe Biden for COVID-19 policies.

“Back in August, Biden told me to ‘get out of the way’ if I wouldn’t go along with his administration’s authoritarian, lockdown COVID policies, guided by Dr. (Anthony) Fauci and his ‘science,'” DeSantis asserted.

“Fortunately, I never caved to Biden’s ineffective and authoritarian government lockdowns and mandates in Florida,” DeSantis added in an email full of familiar attacks.

DeSantis bashed Biden for having “demagogued” former President Donald Trump throughout the 2020 campaign, only to pronounce that there is “no federal solution to COVID.”

“When the going got tough, Joe ran back to his basement,” the email contends.

The timing of the email and its worries about authoritarianism came after a tense morning at the Duval County office of the Florida Department of Health. Frazier and others stood their ground, wondering why they were being compelled to leave a public press conference in a public building.

Frazier was told by a man who described himself as a facilities manager that the conference was only for “credentialed press” and asked everyone to leave “who is not media.” A former broadcast journalist, Frazier serves as president of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville.

As police handcuffed him, Frazier asked “Why am I being handcuffed? Am I being arrested?”

In the end, he was charged with trespassing, and given a notice to appear, as first reported by Jim Piggott of WJXT.

The Governor had no explanation for the delay.

“I have no idea what happened,” DeSantis said when asked about the incident after his prepared remarks.

Fire at vital tech factory could worsen global computer chip shortage

Deneen Broadnax

Photolithography systems are used to manufacture computer chips
Paul Raats/ASML

ASML Holding, which supplies a vital technology used in computer chips has reported a fire at a manufacturing plant, but the extent of the damage is not yet known

4 January 2022
By Matthew Sparkes

A fire at a factory owned by the sole provider of a vital technology used to manufacture computer chips could exacerbate an already serious global shortage of semiconductors used in everything from phones to cars.

The blaze broke out overnight on Sunday at a plant in Berlin owned by ASML Holding. Although far from a household name, the Dutch company is the world’s largest supplier of photolithography systems and the only source of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) photolithography machines, which are more advanced. These devices are used to etch circuits onto silicon wafers and create computer chips used by Apple, IBM and Samsung. In the third quarter of last year, ASML sold €5.2 billion worth of this equipment.

The world is experiencing a computer chip shortage due to a perfect storm of problems including a global pandemic, a trade war, drought and snowstorms. It has coincided with a period of soaring, unprecedented demand – in January 2021 alone, chip sales reached a record $40 billion.

Semiconductor factories have limited capacity, and building new plants requires massive investment and often takes several years. Although semiconductor companies are racing to increase production and governments are signing deals to bring plants to their own shores to guarantee supply, if ASML can’t provide as many machines as expected, the shortage could continue for much longer.

ASML declined a request for interview, but said in a press release that it was too early to tell how significant the damage was and whether it will have any impact on production. “The fire was extinguished during the night and fortunately no persons were injured during this incident,” the release said. “It will take a few days to conduct a thorough investigation and make a full assessment.”

Vladimir Galabov at technology analysts Omdia says some of the end products that rely on ASML machinery have already been in “dire shortage”. The impact of the fire will depend on what was damaged and whether that affects the most advanced chip-making technology, which has been less affected by existing shortages, or older equipment.

“If it’s components used for lithography machines used to manufacture bleeding edge processors, we might manage slightly better. If the fire-damaged components used to manufacture the older nodes, we’re in trouble because we need to urgently ramp up the manufacturing of such processors,” says Galabov.

“We’re entering 2022 with a lot of pent-up demand,” he says. “If the fire is severe and if ASML struggles to recover quickly, we might need to get used to a tough semiconductor supply situation for the next two years.”

UN suspends Yemen relief projects over funding shortages

January 5, 2022 \

Yemeni refugees are seen as they are living under miserable conditions at makeshift tents during cold weather in Taiz, Yemen on November 20, 2021. [Abdulnasser Alseddik - Anadolu Agency]

January 5, 2022 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) yesterday announced the suspension of vital relief programmes in Yemen due to a lack of funding.

"Lack of funding is forcing aid agencies to cut or reduce some critical assistance programs, including food, nutrition, health and WASH," OCHA said on Twitter.

The UN organisation stressed that funding was "urgently needed to sustain life-saving interventions for millions who rely on humanitarian assistance."

The UN said recently that some 24 million Yemenis, out of the country's 30 million population, were "in need of humanitarian assistance."

For nearly seven years, impoverished Yemen has been mired in a bloody war between the pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who control several governorates, including the capital city of Sanaa.

The conflict has led to one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the world, and left its entire population dependent on aid, according to the UN official data.

READ: Funds shortage forces UN WFP to cut food aid to Yemen

Tunisia's labour union slams president's 'e-platform'

January 5, 2022 

Tunisian General Secretary of Labour Union (UGTT) Noureddine Taboubi in Tunis on November 22, 2018 [FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images]

January 5, 2022

The Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labour Union, Noureddine Taboubi, yesterday criticised an electronic platform which was launched by President Kais Saied, describing it as "useless and does not replace dialogue."

His remarks came at a press conference held in the northeastern city of Hammamet.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Communication launched an electronic poll to collect citizens' opinions on various political, social and economic issues. Saied had ordered that the initiative be set up.

"The platform does not replace popular dialogue, and the Tunisian people are not all tech-savvys," Taboubi stressed.

Saied has held nearly total power since 25 July when he sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and assumed executive authority citing a national emergency.

He appointed a prime minister on 29 September and a government has since been formed. Last month, Saied announced that a referendum will be held on 25 July to consider 'constitutional reforms' and elections would follow in December 2022.

The majority of the country's political parties slammed the move as a "coup against the constitution" and the achievements of the 2011 revolution. Critics say Saied's decisions have strengthened the powers of the presidency at the expense of parliament and the government, and that he aims to transform the country's government into a presidential system.

On more than one occasion, Saied, who began a five-year presidential term in 2019, said that his exceptional decisions are not a coup, but rather measures within the framework of the constitution to protect the state from "imminent danger".

Rights group: Israel killed 313 Palestinians in 2021

January 4, 2022

A photo taken on July 17, 2021 shows Suleiman al-Hazalin, living in Umm al-Khair village of Hebron, resisting Israeli forces in West Bank [Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency]

January 4, 2022 

Israeli occupation forces killed 313 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, including 71 minors, Israeli rights group, B'Tselem, said in a report issued on Tuesday.

The report stated that 236 in the Gaza Strip, mostly during the Israel offensive on Gaza between 11 and 21 May, and 77 in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

According to B'Tselem, three other Palestinians were killed either by armed settlers or by soldiers who were escorting the settlers.

It also stated that "another Palestinian minor was shot by an Israeli civilian and, later, by Border Police officers; and two Palestinians were killed by armed settlers."

Human Rights Watch has reported a United Nations report saying that "during the May fighting, attacks by the Israeli military killed 260 Palestinians". The report also said that this number included 66 children.

READ: Israel settler runs over, kills elderly Palestinian woman in West Bank

About the Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank, B'Tselem said that 32 of them "killed by the Israeli security forces, including nine minors, were killed at or near demonstrations or in incidents in which Palestinians hurled stones."

It added: "Among them were Islam Dar Nasser, 16, and Muhammad Tamimi, 17, whom soldiers shot from behind."



No human rights in Gaza – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

B'Tselem also stated that the "14 May 2021 was the deadliest day in the West Bank since 2002: 13 Palestinians were killed… Among them were Nidal Safadi, 'Awad Harb and Isma'il Tubasi – all three killed by armed settlers or by soldiers escorting them."

The Israeli rights group said that it investigated 336 incidents of settler violence in 2021, compared to 251 in 2020.

"These incidents make it abundantly clear that settler violence is not a private initiative but another, less formal tool, that Israel's apartheid regime uses to take over more and more Palestinian land," B'Tselem said.

In its report, B'Tselem said, "Israel's lethal, wanton, unlawful open-fire policy resulted in the killing of hundreds of Palestinians this past year. About 70 per cent were killed in the Gaza Strip when the criminal policy of bombarding densely populated areas was implemented."

B'Tselem said that senior Israeli officials "insist that lethal fire is used as a last resort, in accordance with Israeli and international law, and stress that the incidents are investigated.

"Yet the facts show otherwise: lethal shootings are a routine affair, and no one is held accountable."

Israel demolished 295 Palestinian residential structures in 2021

January 4, 2022 

Palestinian residents react as their house, located in Area C, is demolished by Israeli forces allegedly for being "unlicensed", in Hebron, West Bank on December 28, 2021 [Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency]

January 4, 2022 

Israeli occupation demolished 295 Palestinian residential structures in occupied territories in 2021, leaving 895 Palestinians, 463 of them minors, homeless, Israeli rights group, B'Tselem, reported on Tuesday.

According to a report issued by B'Tselem, the demolition of Palestinian homes carried out by the Israeli occupation in 2021 was the highest number since 2016.

"Throughout the year, another 548 non-residential structures were demolished on Israeli authorities' orders, including cisterns, warehouses, agricultural structures, businesses, and public structures – the highest number since 2012," B'Tselem said.

The Israeli rights group added: "In East Jerusalem alone, 160 structures were demolished, 96 of which were homes."

It continued: "In the West Bank, recent years have seen a steady increase in home demolitions: in 2021, Israeli forces demolished 199 structures, as opposed to 151 residential structures in 2020 and 104 in 2019."

READ: Israel demolishes 10 Palestinian commercial properties in Jerusalem

B'Tselem denied the Israeli claims that these demolitions were carried out as a matter of "law enforcement," pointing out that the "Palestinians who build without permits are not "criminals."

However, the rights group said: "The Israeli apartheid regime blocks almost all Palestinian development in vast parts of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem – while building massively for Jews.

"This policy leaves Palestinians no choice but to build without permits, so as to have a roof over their heads. At that point, the Israeli authorities issue the structures demolition orders."

UK funded company with $1m to discourage Afghans from migrating, report reveals

January 4, 2022 

Internally displaced Afghans are seen in a camp in Balkh, Afghanistan on 13 November 2021 [Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency]

January 4, 2022

The British government has granted over £700,000 ($950,000) to a company that encouraged Afghans not to escape Afghanistan prior to the Taliban's takeover of the country in August last year, an investigation by the Independent has revealed.

Posing as a non-profit organisation, the Hong Kong-based company, Seefar, reportedly ran online campaigns to advise asylum seekers and potential migrants not to make the journey to Europe and the United Kingdom, citing the dangers and risks that they would face.

Established in 2014, Seefar focused on "the risks of irregular migration" and the importance of "safe and legal alternatives," despite not providing any details of how to claim asylum in the UK or how to apply for a resettlement.

According to the company, it describes itself as "a recognised leader in understanding migration behaviour change", with "extensive experience developing and deploying innovative monitoring and evaluation approaches for irregular migration communication campaigns".

The Independent's investigation has now revealed that Seefar operated through the funding given to it by the British government, with the Home Office providing it with at least £702,000 since 2016. Further sums could have also reportedly been given to the company by the Foreign Office.

The paper cited the Home Office's public spending records, which list 12 separate grants and payments – each of them up to £120,000 ($162,451) – to the company between 2016 and 2018. Those payments are categorised as being under the governmental body's "capability and resources group" or for "advertising, media and publicity".

Between December 2020 and April 2021, over £23,000 ($31,134) was also paid by the Home Office to the social media companies, Facebook and Instagram, in order to push targeted adverts linking to one of Seefar's websites named 'On The Move'. On that site, it told potential migrants viewing it that "You have a choice … Don't risk your life and waste hard-earned money trying to reach the UK."

Despite not officially listing the British government as a donor on that site, it did list its "supporters" as including the governments of the UK, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands, as well as the European Commission.

READ: UK government urged to provide safer routes for refugees

It was between February and December of 2020 that Seefar and its websites specifically focused on a campaign to target migrants from Afghanistan, however, labelling it a "migration communications campaign". In a press release, it announced that the campaign "successfully resulted in more than half of consultees making safer and more informed migration decisions, and avoiding potentially deadly encounters on the journey to Europe".

According to the investigation, the funding has not yet ended: the British government is set to grant Seefar a further £500,000 ($676,777) of public money under a new contract – announced in March last year – for an "organised immigration crime deterrence and influencing communications strategy."

In August, too, the company was awarded another three-year contract to provide a "training provision framework" to a government department that "delivers strategic capability development programmes overseas on behalf of the Home Office".

A spokesman for the Home Office told the paper that "we make no apology for using every possible tool at our disposal to provide potentially lifesaving information to migrants … Highlighting the threats of these deadly journeys is vitally important in making clear that people risk their lives if they turn to people-smugglers." It also backed cited the proposed controversial Nationality and Borders Bill as being able to "fix the broken asylum system. We will welcome people through safe and legal routes whilst preventing abuse of the system".

As the UK government continues to tackle asylum seekers' attempts to cross the English Channel and criminalise smugglers who reportedly enable them, many criticise the government as focusing too much on discouraging migration to the country rather than providing safe alternative routes and speeding up the asylum process.

Egypt's grand mufti legalises use of contraceptives to limit population growth

January 4, 2022

A pharmacy in Cairo, Egypt on 9 November 2016

 [KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images]

January 4, 2022

Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawki Abdel-Karim Allam has announced that the use of contraceptives was "permissible and does not cause any harm to the family or women" and can be used to control population growth.

Allam added that there was "no problem in taking steps to maintain development and achieve positive goals for the family and the state."

The country's Health and Population Committee yesterday discussed the country's population growth, with members saying there "should be one entrusted body to manage the population problem," stressing that a "competent authority must be unified to manage the matter."

With over 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa (after Nigeria and Ethiopia), and the fourteenth-most populous in the world.

For decades, Egyptian authorities have urged Egyptians not to bear as many children to deter the growing population.

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has blamed the economic deterioration of the country on the large population, warning Egyptians not to have more than two children to keep costs on the state down.