In the UK, Sri Lankan refugees to enter after 3 years
The United Kingdom will permit 64 Tamil refugees, including 16 children, to enter the country after spending three years stranded on the British-controlled island of Diego Garcia when their boat was damaged while fleeing persecution in Sri Lanka.
The refugees had filed claims for protection, the first to do so from the island. Earlier this year, United Nations said the group was held unlawfully and reported widespread abuse, starvation and suicide attempts among refugees, calling for immediate relocation. Legal representatives for refugees were meant to see the U.S. Supreme Court, but the hearing was canceled due to alleged safety concerns.
“The change in the UK government’s position is a very welcome step,” Simon Robinson, a lawyer representing members of the Tamil community, told The Guardian. “After three years living in inhumane conditions, having to fight various injustices in court on numerous occasions, the UK government has now decided that our clients should come directly to the UK.”
The UK government previously argued that the Tamils could be sent back to Sri Lanka but reversed their stance after criticism from the UN and other international humanitarian groups, but the country’s legal representatives now say it is now committed to the safety and security of the Tamils. Numerous refugees have already been sent to Rwanda for medical treatment and will be relocated to the UK afterward.
Country officials confirmed that all members of the stranded group will be airlifted to the UK, with the exception of three with criminal convictions who may be sent to British territory in the Caribbean for their sentences.
“It looks like a dream,” one Tamil said, according to the BBC. “I don’t know what to think.”
In Australia, heatwaves threaten northern borders
A major heatwave is sweeping across Queensland — Australia’s northeastern state — with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees celsius, making the region one of the hottest places in the world this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology has called for hundreds of residents in Dirranbandi, a small town on the Queensland-NSW border, to evacuate, and set up a center in St. George for the displaced citizens. No injuries or deaths have been reported.
The heatwave is expected to worsen across the country, particularly in the Channel Country region where extreme fire warnings are in place. Meteorologists also warn that potential subsequent thunderstorms in the area could strengthen the winds, fueling rather than containing the fires. The bureau issued a statement emphasizing that the conditions can be especially harmful to seniors, children and other people especially vulnerable to health risks.
“Seek a place to keep cool, such as your home, a library, community center or shopping center,” the capitalize said. “Close your windows and draw blinds, curtains or awnings early in the day to keep the heat out of your home.”
Other parts of Australia, including the Mallee district in Victoria, also face heat warnings — with fires spreading rapidly and temperatures expected to range between 33 to 38 degrees Celsius.
In Germany, coalition crumbles amid economic strain
Germany’s three-party ruling coalition collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner Wednesday night, leaving the country with a destabilized center-left government.
The dismissal came after Lidner leaked a position paper, now known as the “divorce document,” that called for deep budget cuts and challenged the fiscal policies of the coalition’s other partners. The governing coalition — which includes Scholz’s Social Democrats, Lidner’s pro-business Free Democrats and the Green Party — had disagreed on the 2025 federal budget and fiscal policies, among other issues, and members had stopped talking to each other for several weeks prior.
Scholz announced that he will continue governing with the Green Party as a minority until January, when he will be subject to a confidence vote. If Sholz loses the vote — as many news organizations speculate he will — the country will hold an early election in March, one of few since World War II.
“Coalition governments can sometimes be challenging. Scholz said, according to The New York Times. “But the government is elected, and there are issues that need to be resolved.”
The political turmoil in Germany speaks to the larger rising instability faced in the European Union, including tensions in the French government and Russia’s ongoing military actions in Ukraine. In recent years, Germany has forced budget cuts and seen its economy stagnate, bolstering Scholz’s persistent criticism.
Contact Liyana Illyas at [email protected].
