#visa curbs

[firefly-fez]

Me: [looking at the P4A perks now that the Tiltify campaign is online] okay digital download bundle, standard, some tiktok drafts - I wonder if John would accept P4A bribes in exchange for becoming tumblr mutuals, maybe he should make that a perk - ooh nerdfighter art! maybe i can afford that this year…. between that and the self care bunny coaster… hmmm… no, it’ll take up too much of my P4A budget. i want to be able to vote in the polls and write messages, gotta allow for that. maybe next year nerdfighter art :( let’s see… a $20 perk to send them to RAX? haha i must do that… first 1000 people only better get to it quickly…. signed john green book….tempting but almost my entire P4A budget… let’s see…a hanklerfish? i wish they look really good this year but that’s waaaaay more than my P4A budget…. yeah all these ones are too expensive but they’re fun to look at. sarah’s art i bet that’s cool. watercolour from sydney green? ooh i love watercolour i bet that’s amazing. A ZOOM CALL WITH JOHN GREEN HIMSELF TO TALK ABOUT LITERATURE AND HAVE HIM CURATE A BOOKLIST FOR YOU? FOR $1500?!? 😭😭 *cries in broke*

[soon-palestine]

The report, “Handcuffed like dangerous criminals”: Arbitrary detention and forced returns of Sudanese refugees in Egypt, reveals how Sudanese refugees are rounded up and unlawfully deported to Sudan – an active conflict zone – without due process or opportunity to claim asylum in flagrant violation of international law. Evidence indicates that thousands of Sudanese refugees have been arbitrarily arrested and subsequently collectively expelled with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimating that 3,000 people were deported to Sudan from Egypt in September 2023 alone.

“It is unfathomable that Sudanese women, men and children fleeing the armed conflict in their country and seeking safety across the border into Egypt, are being rounded up en masse and arbitrarily detained in deplorable and inhumane conditions before being unlawfully deported,” said Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Egyptian authorities must immediately end this virulent campaign of mass arrests and collective expulsions. They must abide by their obligations under international human rights and refugee law to provide those fleeing the conflict in Sudan with safe and dignified passage to Egypt and unrestricted access to asylum procedures.”

For decades, Egypt was home to millions of Sudanese people studying, working, investing or receiving healthcare in the country, with Sudanese women and girls, as well as boys under 16, and men over 49 exempt from entry requirements. Around 500,000 Sudanese refugees are estimated to have fled to Egypt after the armed conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023. However, in the following month, the Egyptian government introduced a visa entry requirement for all Sudanese nationals, leaving those fleeing with little choice but to escape through irregular border crossings.

The report documents in detail the ordeals of 27 Sudanese refugees who were arbitrarily arrested with about 260 others between October 2023 and March 2024 by Egypt’s Border Guard Forces operating under the Ministry of Defence, as well as police operating under the Ministry of Interior. It further documents how the authorities forcibly returned an estimated 800 Sudanese detainees between January and March 2024 who were all denied the possibility to claim asylum, including by accessing UNHCR, or to challenge deportation decisions.

The report is based on interviews with detained refugees, their relatives, community leaders, lawyers and a medical professional; as well as a review of official statements and documents and audiovisual evidence. The Egyptian ministries of defence and interior did not respond to Amnesty International’s letters sharing its documentation and recommendations, while the Egyptian National Council of Human Rights, the national human rights institution, rejected the findings claiming that authorities comply by their international obligations.

The spike in mass arrests and expulsions came after a prime ministerial decree issued in August 2023 requiring foreign nationals in Egypt to regularize their status. This was accompanied by a rise in xenophobic and racist sentiments both online and in the media as well as statements by government officials criticizing the economic “burden” of hosting “millions” of refugees.

It has also taken place against the backdrop of increased EU cooperation with Egypt on migration and border control, despite the country’s grim human rights record and well-documented abuses against migrants and refugees.

In October 2022, the EU and Egypt signed an €80 million cooperation agreement, which included building up the capacity of Egyptian Border Guard Forces to curb irregular migration and human trafficking across Egypt’s border. The agreement purports to apply “rights-based, protection oriented and gender sensitive approaches”. Yet, Amnesty International’s new report documents the involvement of the Border Guard Forces in violations against Sudanese refugees.

A further aid and investment package, under which migration is a key pillar, was agreed in March 2024 as part of the newly announced strategic and comprehensive partnership between the EU and Egypt.

“By cooperating with Egypt in the migration field without rigorous human rights safeguards, the EU risks complicity in Egypt’s human rights violations. The EU must press Egyptian authorities to adopt concrete measures to protect refugees and migrants,” said Sara Hashash.

“The EU must also carry out rigorous human rights risk assessments before implementing any migration cooperation and put in place independent monitoring mechanisms with clear human rights benchmarks. Cooperation must be halted or suspended immediately if there are risks or reports of abuses.” Arbitrary arrests from streets and hospitals

The mass arrests have mostly taken place in Greater Cairo (encompassing Cairo and Giza) and in the border areas in the governorate of Aswan or inside Aswan city. In Cairo and Giza, police have conducted mass stops and identity checks targeting Black individuals, spreading fear within the refugee community leaving many afraid to leave their homes.

Following arrest by police in Aswan, Sudanese refugees are transferred to police stations or the Central Security Forces camp, an unofficial detention place, in Shallal region. Those arrested by Border Guard Forces in Aswan governorate are detained in makeshift detention facilities including warehouses inside a military site in Abu Simbel and a horse stable inside another military site near Nagaa Al Karur before being forced into buses and vans and driven to the Sudanese border.

Conditions in these detention facilities are cruel and inhumane, with overcrowding, lack of access to toilets and sanitation facilities, substandard and insufficient food, and denial of adequate healthcare.

Amnesty International also documented the arrest of at least 14 refugees from public hospitals in Aswan, where they were receiving treatment for serious injuries sustained during road accidents on their journeys from Sudan to Egypt. Authorities transferred them – against medical advice and before they had fully recovered – to detention, where they were forced to sleep on the ground after surgery.

Amira, a 32-year-old Sudanese woman who fled Khartoum with her mother was receiving treatment at an Aswan hospital following a car crash on 29 October 2023 that left her with fractures to the neck and the back. Nora, a relative of Amira, told the organization that the doctors told her she would need three months of medical care, but after just 18 days police transferred her to a police station in Aswan where she was forced to sleep on the ground for around 10 days. Cold and rat-infested detention facilities before collective expulsions

Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab reviewed photos and verified videos from January 2024 of women and children sitting on dirty floors amidst rubbish in a warehouse controlled by Egyptian border guards. The former detainees said the warehouses were infested by rats and pigeon nests and those detained endured cold nights with no appropriate clothing or blankets. Men’s warehouse conditions were overcrowded, with over a hundred men crammed together and limited access to overflowing toilets, forcing them to urinate in plastic bottles at night.

At least 11 children, some under the age of four, were detained with their mothers at these sites.

Israa, who has asthma, told Amnesty International that guards at the overcrowded horse stable near Nagaa Al Karur village ignored her request for an inhaler, even when she asked to buy one at her own expense.

After periods of detention ranging from a few days six weeks, police and Border Guard Forces handcuffed males and drove all detainees to the Qustul-Ashkeet border crossing and handed them to Sudanese authorities, without individualised assessment of risk of serious human rights violations if returned. None was given the opportunity to claim asylum even when they had registration appointments with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), asked to speak to UNHCR or pleaded not to be sent back. Such forced returns violate Egypt’s international obligations under human rights and refugee law, including the principle of non-refoulement.

Border Guard Forces expelled Ahmed, his wife and two-year-old child together with a group of roughly 200 detainees, on 26 February 2024, after detaining them for six days in Abu Simbel military site.

Since the conflict in Sudan began, Egyptian authorities have failed to provide statistics or acknowledge their policy of deportations.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Having just tucked his oldest son into bed on Wednesday evening, Sebastian Ibarra walked into his living room at home in British Columbia's North Okanagan district and saw a text from his spouse asking if he'd seen the news.

He did a quick online search and learned that the federal government was reimposing some visa requirements on visiting Mexican nationals to curb the number of asylum claims in Canada and stem the flow of people crossing into the United States.

Taken aback, Ibarra said he thought of his parents and brother — who are supposed to visit him from Mexico this summer.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[darkmaga-retard]

Five Republican US lawmakers from both the House and the Senate have written to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, a Democrat, arguing in favor of new rules that would deny, or revoke existing visas to foreign officials considered to be acting against free speech principles.

The letter’s signatories have Brazil’s current authorities, and specifically, justice of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes in mind – as well as other members of this court considered as complicit in the anti-free speech behavior.

We obtained a copy of the letter for you here.

Alexandre de Moraes, the letter spells it out, is “acting as a totalitarian dictator.” Strong words, to say the least – yet the group of US lawmakers describe Moraes as having a history of curbing free speech – not least at home, in what the letter says are Brazil’s conservative figures and groups, including opposition politicians and journalists.

[i-mean-technically]

the truck pt. 1

warnings: none

word count: 675

summary: Miko Nakadai

Edit: forgot to give credit for some ideas in this! Thanks @justawannabearchaeologist for brainstorming ideas with me ❤️❤️

what's one more?

It was closer to three in the morning than Miko was comfortable with to be out in this part of town but she didn’t have the option to go anywhere else. She couldn’t go back to her parents in Tokyo, they had all but disowned her when she presented the signed forms of her international transfer. And her hosts had all but packed her bags for her.

She had nothing but her guitar, her duffel, and four hundred US dollars to her name.

It had taken her almost two hours to get to the edge of town on foot, nothing around her but rundown buildings and trash near the half destroyed bus stop. Tears burned her eyes as she dropped her duffel, sitting on it near the edge of the curb.

Her visa was up in less than a month and she has no one else to call to help her. No one that could help her. No friends, no family, the government worked too slowly to provide anything for her to use.

Miko shivered as the wind blew through the buildings around her, whispering in the cold dark. “It’s fine,” she mumbled to herself in an effort to stop the growing fear. “It’ll be fine, you’ve had worse.”

There was nothing but the silence beyond the wind and it ate at her. Silence gave her time to think.

“I want to go home,” she whispered as she curled her knees up to her chest. Miko buried her face in her arms as she lost the fight against the tears.

Time passed strangely to Miko for a while, until she felt like she could face the world again. After wiping her eyes and nose she looked up.

Then screamed profanity  and threw herself backwards, toppling off of her duffel and crashing onto the cracked concrete.

A massive semi was parked directly in front of her, so close she could see her warped reflection in the chrome around the edges. She lay sprawled out on her elbows, gaping, as her mind caught up with the sight in front of her.

“What-how-,” Miko scrambled upright, fear flashing through her about the horror stories her parents told her about what happens to little foreign girls in America before a different thought came through.

It was something she had heard from some of the kids at school, a little Hispanic boy with wild hair and thick-rimmed glasses and a teen with raven dark hair. They were the only ones to talk to her like she was a person and not gawk at her like she was a monkey at the zoo. They had told her about a local legend they called The Truck that only the kids knew about.

About how he protected the kids in Jasper.

About how kids with bad home lives suddenly disappear for a few days, then turning back up with smiles and new clothes and packed lunches and restraining orders against their former families that the kids themselves enforce with tasers.

Jasper, Nevada didn’t have a single homeless person under twenty-five.

Because The Truck took them home.

At least, that’s what the kids here believed. Miko always thought it was just something that they told themselves to keep this dead city interesting.

But with this huge long hauler semi truck sitting quietly in front of her Miko started to believe.

“What the fuck,” she breathed, feeling frozen to the spot.

“Are you in need of aid, youngling?” A deep voice asked. It came from the truck.

Miko blinked. “What?”

“Do you require assistance?”

He sounded like a walking dictionary, but…

It had been so long since someone had asked that genuinely. Miko had to blink a few times to keep herself from crying again, staring at the huge tires less than a foot from her. Once she had herself under control she glanced up to the driver to answer.

A gasp ripped from her throat and she took a step back, stumbling over her duffel and hitting the ground again.

There was no driver.

[viciousewe]

Ok so I spun up about 800yds of dk yarn and kinda wanna make a long swishy cardigan out of it and then dye it with logwood but that would ofc need about 800 more yds of yarn.

Should I:

1. Buy more wool? (It was Rosie’s cloud top from the woolery so it’s only 20$ for a 1lb bag and probably 10$ for shipping)

2a. Use a different wool I have a lot of, don’t dye it, and alternate the yarns to hide the slightly off cream colors. (It’s the lonk which is rougher and not as “pearlescent” for lack of a better word so I think it would dye drastically different. But! I don’t currently have a plan for it other than some kind of sweater so this would be perfect)

2b. Use the lonk, alternate the skeins and then use an acid dye in a dark color in the hope it would hid the variation in fiber type.

2c. Use the lonk, and then low immersion dye the skeins so the the color is a lil tyedye and hope that hides it

3. Accept the amount of yarn I have and make a sweater vest instead. (The vest is also in the queue.)

Additional notes:

Between my package woes and my desire to travel next year I am trying incredibly hard to curb online shopping and save money this year but I do have a visa gift card that would significantly mitigate the cost of buying more wool. However I do have a lot of wool top with no immediate plans hanging around. I’m also trying to focus more on fleece processing; but I’ve accepted that I will always have some amount of top in my house I just don’t really want to add to it currently, even if I plan to spin the new top right away. I’m also kinda bored of the white top!!! I busted a 1lb bag in like 6 days yes, but I had new wheel mania going on….

[emailsfromanactor]

The Hamlet cast's arrival in Boston was a nightmare, especially for Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Hume Cronyn wasn't on the plane so his account is secondhand, but here he also recounts an incident he experienced personally:

Representative Michael Feighan of Ohio had called the Burton-Taylor relationship “a public outrage” and urged the revocation of Richard’s visa on the grounds of moral turpi­tude. Now that they were Mr. and Mrs. Burton it might have been expected that all the furor would fade away. Not a bit of it. If anything, it grew worse. The Hamlet company’s move from Toronto to Boston by chartered jet ended with a nightmare reception at Logan Airport. Crowds broke through the police barriers and surrounded the aircraft. The company couldn’t disembark. The combined forces of police and airport person­nel were inadequate to control the mob—and a mob it had become. After a considerable delay, the plane was towed from the runway into an empty hangar, but even there the most persistent and manic of the fans and a good number of press managed to get inside. Two limousines were brought into the hangar. The first to leave was a decoy. The second carried Dickenliz off to the Copley Plaza Hotel. There the crowd was even bigger and more unruly. Press photographs taken in the lobby show a shoulder-to-shoulder mass of people with a grim-looking Burton (he kept saying, “I told them—I told them”) with his arm around an uncharacteristically terrified Elizabeth, attempting to make their way to the elevators. It was bedlam. Once they were safely in their suite, a doctor was summoned, and he ordered a se­dated Elizabeth to bed. Weeks later, long after the play had opened in New York, Richard asked Jess and me to join him and Elizabeth for something to eat between the matinee and evening perfor­mances. I’ve never forgotten that limousine ride. It was the only time in my life that I remember being frightened by a crowd. We walked down the theater alley out onto 45th Street to be faced by about two thousand people. Vehicular traffic was at a standstill. A great roar went up when Elizabeth and Richard appeared. Mounted police kept a passage open across the sidewalk between the alley and the open door of the limo. But it was still a gauntlet of snatching hands, cheers, jeers (“Liz is a baaad girl”) and waving autograph books. To have paused to sign one would have been fatal. Elizabeth, Jessica and Rich­ard climbed into the back of the car, I got in front with the driver. Suddenly, on the opposite side of the windshield ap­peared two grinning gargoyle faces—upside down. A couple of teenagers had managed to get onto the roof of the limou­sine and were hanging there, not three feet from me, peering inside between the windshield wipers. Doors locked and windows tightly dosed, we moved at snail’s pace out from the curb into a sardine can of humanity. Even with mounted police clearing the way, it wasn’t easy, and God forbid that anyone should get bumped, let alone run over. Jess’s memory of that ride—as vivid as my own—is of a sweet, smiling Elizabeth, waving like royalty while silently mouthing, “Fuck you—and you—and you, dear.” This was not Elizabeth’s usual style with her public. But in this instance she’d simply had it. Usually, she was charming, patient and polite to a degree I thought remarkable, but the Hamlet episodes were as bad as anything she’d endured during the making of Cleo­patra—and there, paparazzi had literally been chased out of the trees surrounding her house, from where they had a clear view of bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs.

[mythologeekwriter]

God this is horrifying

[Note: I am not copying the whole of these articles, please do read them, I'm just sharing the bits that I think illustrate why you should in fact read them.]

Five-point plan to cut UK immigration raises fears of more NHS staff shortages | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian

Cleverly told MPs on Monday that “migration is far too high and needs to come down … enough is enough”. He added: “Today I can announce that we will go even further than those provisions already in place, with a five-point plan to further curb immigration abuses that will deliver the biggest ever reduction in net migration. “In total, this package, plus our reduction in student dependants, will mean about 300,000 fewer people will come in future years than have come to the UK last year.” Along with raising the salary threshold and scrapping the “shortage occupation list”, Cleverly announced that social care workers would no longer be allowed to bring their dependants when they came to work in the UK. He also said people living in the UK – including British citizens – would now be allowed to sponsor family members to move to the UK only if the person living in the UK earned £38,700, up from £18,600 currently. Finally, the government is asking the Migration Advisory Committee to review the rules for those who have completed undergraduate degrees in the UK. A spokesperson for Downing Street called the package “the biggest clampdown on legal migration ever”. They added: “We believe this is a package which will enable us to significantly reduce numbers whilst achieving economic growth.” It forms one part of a two-part plan to reduce the numbers of people coming into Britain legally and illegally. This week Cleverly is likely to fly to Kigali to sign a new asylum treaty with Rwanda, with ministers ready to bring forward new legislation in an effort to finally kickstart the government’s Rwanda plan.

Families face being split up by UK plan to cut legal migration, lawyers say | Migration | The Guardian

Data suggests this could make it impossible for between 60 and 70% of workers to bring their family into the UK. The crackdown has caused concern among some senior Tory MPs. Alicia Kearns, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said on Tuesday she was worried the package as a whole risked dividing families. She told LBC: “It risks being very unconservative”. Madeleine Sumption, the director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “This is definitely completely different to what any other high income country does.” Under the new rules, someone will be able to bring a family member into the country if they earn £38,700 year. If the partner is already in the UK, both people’s incomes will be taken into account. If someone does not qualify under those rules, they will still be allowed to bring in family members if they have sufficient savings. Under current rules that figure is £62,500, but the government is consulting over whether to increase it.

Lawyers and applicants say, however, that it has led to distress and confusion, with many families already in the process of applying for visas now unsure of what the changes will mean for them. Kelly Robinson, an American PhD student living in Norwich with her partner, Owen Sennitt, had applied for her spousal visa last week, confident Sennitt’s job as a local journalist would be enough to qualify for it. Now she believes she may have to return to the US after eight years living in Britain. “It is a real shock,” she said. “The entire life we have built is being taken away from us overnight.” Nick Gore, a partner at Carter Thomas solicitors, said: “This is devastating for many people that just about meet the existing financial requirements. There is a huge spectrum of people who are affected – some are on minimum wage jobs, others have started their own businesses. This will split families up.”

Thanks to James Cleverly, I may never live in the same country as my kids again | Claire Armitstead | The Guardian

When I mentioned their predicament to a lawyer friend he was dismissive, saying that middle-class families always found a way round these problems. Other friends suggested we remortgage our house to raise the £62,500 capital that was the alternative route to a spousal visa. But it would have to have been in their bank account for a minimum of six months before they even reapplied; this was time their soaring stress levels meant they didn’t have. And anyway, they wanted to pay their own way. The Home Office said any change to the capital threshold would be announced in due course. At the old salary rate, they probably would eventually have worked something out, but at the new one there is no chance. Their relationship will always be based on them both working, and while their combined income would very probably exceed £38,700 a year, neither is going to make that much on their own. My eldest and his partner are now happily settled, so wouldn’t want to move back anyway. The sort of social care work she does is more highly valued in Spain. Meanwhile, my Australian daughter-in-law is in the crazy bind facing citizens of so many of the UK’s former colonies: expected to bend the knee to the monarch of a British state that doesn’t want them. Australia asks the foreign partners of its citizens only to prove their relationship is genuine.

[briarpatch-kids]

the "why are you staying in a community that hates you" thing bothers me so much like who has the money to move to another country??? Especially a disabled person??? And even if I got money, I'm supposed to leave everyone I know and love because a city doesn't want to even out the grades and put in curb cuts??? Not to mention the fact that countries often reject disabled people for visas because they don't want us to "burden" their systems.

Right? Also ableism and shit are global issues not just North American ones. I highly doubt they're even doing anything to improve the community in their host country too. It's always people like this that call disabled people a drain on society when like... my God, have they even picked up litter off the street? Do they have any generative hobbies or interests? Imagine having the world built for you and being rich and privileged enough to move countries and doing absolutely NOTHING with all that privilege and ability. Embarrassing.

[primaverea]

bitches get stitches.

trigger warning: domestic violence.

Coppery and salty across his mouth, blood pools and wells in a cut just inside Emilio’s lower lip. The cause; a backhanded slap that had knocked him clean off his feet. It’s not exactly how he’d expected the confrontation of his boyfriend cheating on him to go. If anyone should have been sporting a busted lip, it should have been Stefan, who’d pushed the smaller man outside the hotel room (that Emilio had paid for) with his bag strewn open at his feet.

He'd come to Milan just two days before Stefan was supposed to head back to Dresden, for good. The man’s working visa had finally come to an end after a year of being in and out of Italy, and – well, whatever the hell the two of them had going on.

At first, it’d been sunshine, flowers, secret kisses around corners and stupid pet names like Stefanovski. In the end, black eyes and tears, lots of tears, and derogatory words being thrown around like cunt. The German man wasn’t worth dog food scraps, but he’d been Emilio’s first. His first love, his first boyfriend and someone he had even considered a friend. So, even when he’d been flung into walls and cursed at, he could never find the strength in himself to leave.

Moments before the hit had landed, Emilio had confronted Stefan about him hanging out with a woman that Emilio’s own friends had seen Stefan kissing, in some piazza late one night before he’d arrived in Milan. The news had made him violently ill and even though part of him knew that saying something would end in a brutal screaming match, Emilio wanted to give Stefan the benefit of the doubt. Again, as he always had, without paying mind to his better judgement.

Instead of coming clean, Stefan had decided to settle with ‘if you want to act like a bitch, I’ll treat you like one,’ and dealt one of his harshest blows yet. Not only because the force had rocked his entire body into the ground, but because Emilio finally understood that Stefan had never loved him in the way he so wholly had.

let the light in At your back door yelling 'cause I wanna come in

Sobs wrack his frame as he knocks on the door over and over again, loud and harsh despite the time nearing 2AM. “Please, Stefan, just open the fucking door! It’s so late, just let me in so I can sleep and leave in the fucking morning!” His English is heavily accented but he makes do as his fist comes down on the wood again and again.

turn your light on Look at us, you and I, back at it again

“Qual è il problema? Cos'è tutto questo rumore?” A voice comes from a room the other side of the hall, an Italian woman in a robe pulled tight around her with a frown on her face. Milan was supposedly the city of smiles – you could be fined $100 for frowning –but all Emilio had done since he’d gotten to Milan was cry.

“Sorry, my–” what was he? “…friend won’t open the door and I’ve left some things inside.” He lies, wiping at his face, but he knows how he looks to her. Like a batshit crazy foreigner, with his blonde hair a mess on his head and eyes almost swollen shut from all the crying he’d done.

She takes a contemplative moment before she responds, as if weighing out what scene was unfolding before her, an exasperated sigh coming out as she shoves hair behind her ears. “Cazzo... Call the reception and shut up then, or I’ll call the police.” She huffs, before shutting the door hard behind her.

The slam makes him wince with his shoulders, and the silence that follows is deafening. He’s alone in the hallway again and the tears continue to roll down hot over his cheeks. “Please, Stefan.” He mumbles, trying the doorhandle one last time as the last shred of dignity leaves his body.

Only silence fills the space.

-

“Emilio? Stai bene? Sono le due del mattino...” His mother grumbles through sleep from the other end of the line. Hearing her voice is enough to spark another crying fit as he sits on the curb just outside of the hotel, and he’s suddenly very thankful that it’s a weekday. Not many people are out to witness the lowest point of his life.

He’s silent for a long moment despite the questions on the other end, so his crying can’t be heard, because he doesn’t want to worry her. “I’m okay. I’m sorry for calling so late, but can you…” He swallows down a sob and takes a breath before trying to speak again, “…wake papa and tell him to come and get me? Per favore, mama. Right now. I want to come home.”

-

Emilio loves his parents for many reason but especially because they don’t question him. Not even as his father pulls up to see the bloodied lip and the distraught look on his face some hours later. Not even as his father rubs his back continuously as he cries with his head tucked between his knees for the entire trip back to Monterosso Al Mare.

Pick you up around quarter to two Usually we got nothin' to do

The only thing his dad, Antonio, asks is “Is it over? Whatever it is, is it done, Emilio?”  

A weakened nod is enough to get the message across. It’s over. He doesn’t love me, and he never did. You don’t hurt the people you love. Not like this.

It’s over, it’s over, it’s over.

And the words resonate inside his chest hard enough to make his ribs reverberate to the point he feels like throwing up. There’s no food in his stomach to vomit, so he spends the ride choking around tears that at some point seem to stop coming.

Until they start like clockwork all over again when his mother greets the two of them at the front door, a look of shock settling onto her graceful features as she sees a bruised, bloody mouth. “Emilio, who…” But she doesn’t finish her sentence as her own eyes well with tears, and Antonio gives her a look from over Emilio’s shoulder that translates to something like; ‘I don’t know, he wouldn’t say.’

They expected that much from their son after all; always secretive about the wrong things so not to worry his, supportive, loving parents. This was no exception, seeing as they didn’t know he was gay let alone the fact that he’d had a boyfriend who had been downright abusive for several months.

So, as they normally do, they wait in silence for him to come to them, always kind and encouraging and never overly forceful, yet ready to spring to action. But as the days of being bedridden and force fed slowly out of his heartache, his parents realise he’ll never mention it – and they never ask.

Not even when he’s finally gotten back to being okay, and then suddenly breaks down in the kitchen one morning, a mess of snot and tears. All because Stefan had decided he wanted to get back together, and when Emilio had shut him down – which had taken every ounce of strength he could muster – he’d turned to all of Emilio’s friends and chopped and changed the story to make Emilio the bad guy. The one who’d cheated first.

Look at us, you and me back at it again

He thinks it finally over when he blocks Stefan's number and all the bullshit he’d been spurting, but then a new number texts him. A new email messages him, and no matter how many numbers and email's he churns through, he’s forced to change it time and time again, until he’s almost strangely missing it on the days where Stefan doesn’t message. As though he's been conditioned to expect them, to want them.

They continue to come,

and they never stop.

They won’t stop until I’m dead, Emilio thinks. He won’t stop until he makes me suffer one last time.

[beardedmrbean]

BERLIN -- The leaders of Hungary, Austria and Serbia met Monday in Budapest to find solutions on how to stem the increasing number of migrants arriving in Europe, among them many young men from India.

The three leaders agreed to take joint action to control the new arrivals along the migration route that leads through Serbia.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer told reporters after the meeting that the joint action plan would include increased police cooperation along the borders as well as supporting Serbia when it comes to deporting migrants back to their home countries.

"We will directly support Serbia to carry out repatriations and not only support technical know-how, but also do everything possible that is necessary, and financially support them,” Nehammer said.

The Austrian chancellor lauded Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's announcement that by the end of the year Serbia would align its visa policies with the European Union — Serbia is an EU candidate country but not a member yet — so that the visa-free regime with some non-EU countries is no longer used for migration purposes.

“We will thus prevent the situation when someone uses Serbia as a country of arrival but not because of their real needs but for illegal migration toward the west,” Vucic said.

Hungarian President Viktor Orban called for an overall political change in how to approach migration and suggested so-called hot spot centers outside the European Union where asylum-seeker requests should be processed. He added that "we are not satisfied at all with the situation that has developed.”

That procedure would, however, undermine the national laws of some European countries, among them Germany, which has enshrined in its constitution every foreigner's right to apply for political asylum and have his or her request individually checked while staying in the country.

Among the migrants recently detained in Austria who have applied for asylum to avoid immediate deportation, Indians accounted for the biggest group in September, according government data.

Indians are not allowed to enter the EU without a visa but have taken advantage of being able to travel to Serbia which they can enter without a visa. From there, many are trying to reach Western European countries with the help of traffickers.

Monday's meeting in the Hungarian capital came after announcements by the Czech Republic and Austria last week that they would launch temporary border controls at their crossings with Slovakia to stop migrants from entering.

In addition to the meeting in Budapest, the interior ministers of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia called on the European Union on Monday to better protect the outer borders to curb the latest increase of migration.

“We’re facing problems that affect the entire Europe,” said Vit Rakusan, the interior minister of the Czech Republic.

[head-post]

Germany expands border controls, angers EU neighbours

Germany is expanding border controls at its borders with all nine of its neighbours from Monday to stop illegal migrants, prompting protests from other EU members.

Berlin announced the sweeping measure on Sunday after a series of deadly terrorist attacks that sparked public fear and boosted support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the move was aimed at curbing illegal migration and “putting an end to criminals, identifying and stopping them at an early stage.”

The border controls will be in place for six months and are expected to include temporary facilities at land border crossings and random checks by federal police. Poland and Austria have expressed concern and the European Commission has warned that members of the 27-nation bloc should only introduce such measures in exceptional cases.

Germany is at the heart of Europe and borders nine countries that are part of the visa-free Schengen zone, designed for the free movement of people and goods.

Before the restrictions were announced, border controls were already in place with Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Switzerland. They will now be extended to Germany’s borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark.

Faeser also said the government hoped to minimise the impact on people living and working in the border regions and promised “coordination with neighbouring countries.”

Spike in crimes

Germany has been rocked by a string of extremist attacks in recent weeks, fuelling public anger.

Last month, a knife-wielding male attacker killed three people and injured eight others at a festival in the western city of Solingen. The Syrian suspect, allegedly linked to the Islamic State group, was destined for deportation but managed to evade authorities.

The enforcement failure has sparked fierce debate ahead of two regional elections in the country’s former communist east, where the anti-immigration AfD party posted unprecedented results.

With national elections looming next year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is under intense political pressure to toughen its stance on migrants and asylum seekers.

Read more HERE

[ivankahasbeentreatedsounfairly]

By Julian E. BarnesGlenn Thrush and Steven Lee Myers

The United States on Wednesday announced a broad effort to push back on Russian influence campaigns in the 2024 election, as it tries to curb the Kremlin’s use of state-run media and fake news sites to sway American voters.

The actions include sanctions, indictments and seizing of web domains that U.S. officials say the Kremlin uses to spread propaganda and disinformation about Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than two years ago.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland detailed the actions taken by the Justice Department. They include the indictment of two Russian employees of RT, the state-owned broadcaster, who used a company in Tennessee to spread content, and the takedown of a Russian malign influence campaign known as Doppelgänger.

“The American people are entitled to know when a foreign power engages in political activities or seeks to influence public discourse,” Mr. Garland said.

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on ANO Dialog, a Russian nonprofit that helps run the Doppelgänger network, as well as the editor in chief of RT, Margarita S. Simonyan, and her deputies.

The State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information pertaining to foreign interference in an American election. The department specifically said it was seeking information on a group known as Russian Angry Hackers Did It, or RaHDit.

The State Department also said it would designate five Russian state-funded news outlets, including RT, Ruptly and Sputnik, as foreign government missions and restrict the issuance of visas to people working for Kremlin-supported media institutions.

American officials have stepped up their warnings about Russian election influence efforts. American spy agencies have assessed that the Kremlin favors former President Donald J. Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in the November contest, seeing him as more skeptical of U.S. support for Ukraine.

The United States was caught flat-footed in 2016 as its spy agencies learned about Russian efforts to influence the vote on behalf of Mr. Trump and were late in warning the public. In subsequent elections, U.S. intelligence officials more aggressively called out Russian, Chinese and Iranian efforts to influence American elections.

Officials say that fighting election interference has been more difficult this year. Some Americans, particularly Mr. Trump’s supporters, see accusations that Russia is spreading disinformation as efforts to undermine their views.

Mr. Garland said the charges announced on Wednesday were not the end of the case: “The investigation is ongoing.”

The Justice Department and the F.B.I. have also been investigating a handful of Americans accused of knowingly spreading false Kremlin narratives. But officials have emphasized that they are not aiming to curb free speech. Americans who merely repeat or spread stories they see on Russian state media are not being investigated as part of the efforts, officials said.

The officials say that RT has spread disinformation through botsand other means, but that they are looking more closely at how the Kremlin and its spy agencies influence the election.

As news of the indictments broke, RT posted a sarcastic response on its website from Anna Belkina, its deputy editor in chief. “There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the American elections,” the response read in part. 

The indictments on Wednesday charged two Russian employees of RT, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They are accused of spending $10 million to secretly pay the unnamed Tennessee company to spread nearly 2,000 English-language videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and X. 

Disinformation experts have long struggled to measure the effectiveness of Russian influence campaigns, but Justice Department officials said the videos, most of which support the goals of the Russian government, have gained 16 million views on YouTube.

Mr. Garland said the videos were “often consistent with Russia’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine.” The Tennessee company, he said, never disclosed its ties to the Russian government.

After a terrorist attack on a concert venue in Moscow in March, Ms. Afanasyeva directed the company to focus on the false narrative that Ukraine was responsible.

Justice Department officials declined to identify the firm, but the one in the indictment uses the same slogan as Tenet Media, a company registered in Tennessee that publishes videos and other content broadly supportive of Mr. Trump. The company — and its most prominent commentators — did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The indictment does not directly accuse the company of wrongdoing but said that it had ties to RT and that its founders referred to their sponsor as “the Russians.”

Critics of the U.S. moves said the indictments raised free speech issues and the possibility that the Biden administration was trying to censor pro-Russian commentary.

Paul M. Barrett, the deputy director of the Stern Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University, said the government had to tread carefully to distinguish between foreign election interference and First Amendment protections of free speech.

“The dividing line is when you identify activity, particularly concealed activity, that is circumventing established regulations for how we try to prevent foreign interference in our elections,” he said. If that line is crossed, he added, “that’s a complication, but it’s not a reason to just run up the free speech flag and throw up your hands and we’re helpless in the face of Vladimir Putin’s very clever operatives.”

The United States has already taken action against Russian organizations it believes are trying to influence American politics. In March, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a Russian group that has aided efforts to create fake news sites that spread misinformation, and in July it seized two internet domains that it also linked to RT and the Federal Security Service, a successor of the Soviet K.G.B.

The Justice Department action builds on that, saying it was seizing 32 more domains that were used to covertly spread Russian propaganda. According to the government affidavit, the Doppelgänger campaign is run by Sergei Kiriyenko, a former prime minister who is now President Vladimir V. Putin’s first deputy chief of staff.

Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, said the fake news sites had been seized by the government as of noon.

“When we learn that adversaries overseas are trying to hide who they are and where their propaganda is coming from, as part of campaigns to deliberately sow discord, we’re going to continue to do everything we can to expose their hidden hand and disrupt their efforts,” Mr. Wray said.

Mr. Garland said a Russian internal planning document stated that “the aim of the campaign is securing Russia’s preferred outcome in the election.”

The document, produced for the Social Design Agency, outlined plans to influence U.S. voters without identifying that the content was coming from the Russian government.

It lays out a plan to target voters in swing states (as determined by The New York Times’s polling efforts), as well as voters in conservative states like Alabama, Texas and Kansas. The document says U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent, Jews and video gamers would also be targeted.

The goal, according to the document and the indictment, was to push Americans to support the idea that the United States should focus on “addressing its domestic issues instead of wasting money in Ukraine.”

The Justice Department blocks out the names of the candidates the Russians support, but the document says that “it makes sense for Russia to put a maximum effort” into ensuring that the Republican Party’s view, and in particular the opinions of Mr. Trump’s supporters, “wins over U.S. public opinion.”

The Doppelgänger network used sites that impersonated legitimate news entities and fake social media profiles impersonating Americans.

The fake news sites targeted specific audiences in the United States by mimicking sites like Fox News and The Washington Post. The posts on the fake Post site had a pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine viewpoint, according to the court papers.

[sa7abnews]

It's a terrible time to be an international student. Australia is the latest country to limit visas.

New Post has been published on Sa7ab News

It's a terrible time to be an international student. Australia is the latest country to limit visas.

Australia is introducing a cap on new international students that it will accept from next year, to curb record migration.

... read more !

[dhairyavisa]

Post-Pandemic Travel: Changes in Visa Policies Worldwide

Overview

The world has been forever impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic, which has changed economics, industries, and daily life. One of the most affected sectors has been international travel. With the onset of the pandemic, countries worldwide rapidly implemented strict travel restrictions and altered their visa policies to curb the spread of the virus. As the world begins to recover, the landscape of global travel remains vastly different from what it once was. For travelers and those working in the visa and travel industry, understanding these changes is crucial. In this article, we will explore how the pandemic has reshaped visa policies, the introduction of new health and safety regulations, vaccination mandates, and which countries have seen the most significant changes.

The Shift in Visa Requirements

Before the pandemic, visa requirements were largely based on diplomatic relationships, economic ties, and security concerns. However, the emergence of COVID-19 introduced a new variable into the equation: public health. This has led to a complex web of new visa requirements that travellers must navigate.

1. Health Declarations and Medical Visas:

Many countries now require travellers to submit health declarations before being granted a visa. These declarations often include proof of a negative COVID-19 test, details of recent travel history, and, in some cases, a comprehensive health check-up. Medical visas, which were traditionally issued for travellers seeking medical treatment abroad, have seen an uptick in demand. These visas now often cover travellers entering a country to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, or those seeking medical treatment due to long-term effects of the virus.

2. Short-Term Visa Suspensions:

During the height of the pandemic, several countries suspended the issuance of short-term visas altogether. While many have resumed issuing these visas, the criteria have become stricter. Some nations, particularly those with low vaccination rates or high infection rates, continue to restrict short-term travel from certain countries.

3. Digital Nomad Visas:

Health and Safety Regulations

The pandemic has underscored the importance of health and safety in global travel. As a result, new regulations have been introduced to ensure the well-being of travellers and the populations they visit.

1. Mandatory Quarantines:

One of the most significant changes in travel regulations is the widespread implementation of mandatory quarantines. Travellers arriving in many countries must undergo a period of quarantine, either at home or in a government-approved facility. The duration of quarantine varies, typically ranging from 7 to 14 days, depending on the country and the traveller’s vaccination status. In some cases, travellers can reduce their quarantine time by taking additional COVID-19 tests during their stay.

2. Travel Corridors and Bubbles:

To facilitate travel between countries with low infection rates, the concept of travel corridors or travel bubbles has been introduced. These agreements allow travellers to move between two or more countries without the need for quarantine, provided they meet specific health criteria. For example, Australia and New Zealand briefly established a travel bubble, allowing quarantine-free travel between the two nations. While these corridors offer a glimpse of normalcy, they are often fragile and subject to sudden changes based on the epidemiological situation.

3. Enhanced Sanitation and Social Distancing:

Vaccination Mandates

Vaccination has become a central pillar of the global strategy to combat COVID-19. Consequently, vaccination mandates are increasingly being tied to visa and travel regulations.

1. Proof of Vaccination for Visa Issuance:

Several countries now require proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for issuing a visa. For instance, countries in the European Union have adopted the EU Digital COVID Certificate, which facilitates travel within the bloc for vaccinated individuals. Similarly, Canada and the United States have implemented policies requiring travelers to be fully vaccinated before entering the country. These requirements are particularly stringent for non-essential travel, such as tourism and leisure.

2. Vaccine Passports:

The concept of a “vaccine passport” has gained traction, although it remains a topic of debate. A vaccine passport is a digital or physical document that certifies an individual’s vaccination status. Some countries have developed their own versions, while international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) are working on creating a standardized global system. These passports are increasingly being used not only for international travel but also for accessing domestic venues like restaurants, theaters, and sporting events.

3. Impact on Unvaccinated Travelers:

Unvaccinated travelers face significant hurdles in the post-pandemic world. In addition to being barred from entering certain countries, they are often subject to stricter testing and quarantine requirements. This has created a tiered system of travel, where the vaccinated enjoy more freedom and fewer restrictions. The situation is fluid, however, as new variants of the virus and changing vaccination policies continue to influence global travel dynamics.

Countries with the Most Significant Changes

While the pandemic has affected visa policies worldwide, some countries have seen more significant changes than others. Below, we highlight a few regions where travelers are most likely to encounter new rules and regulations.

The United States:

The United States, which has long been a popular destination for tourists, students, and business travelers, has implemented some of the most stringent post-pandemic visa policies. In addition to requiring proof of vaccination for most travelers, the U.S. has also introduced new health screening procedures at airports. The country has also tightened visa issuance for certain categories, particularly in regions with high infection rates. Moreover, the U.S. continues to enforce travel bans on several countries, although these are subject to change based on the global health situation.

What Travellers Need to Know

As we navigate the post-pandemic world, traveller must stay informed about the constantly evolving visa and travel regulations. Here are some key takeaways:

1. Stay Updated:

Visa policies and travel regulations can change rapidly, often with little notice. It’s crucial to regularly check official government websites and consult with visa and travel agencies, such as Dhairya Visa Documents & Assistance, to ensure you have the latest information before planning your trip.

2. Be Prepared for Health Screenings:

Health declarations, proof of vaccination, and COVID-19 testing have become standard requirements for international travel. Make sure you have all necessary documentation and are aware of the health protocols in your destination country.

3. Consider Travel Insurance:

Given the uncertainty surrounding global travel, having comprehensive travel insurance is more important than ever. Look for policies that cover COVID-19-related issues, such as trip cancellations, medical expenses, and quarantine costs.

4. Flexibility is Key:

Flexibility in travel plans is essential. Be prepared for last-minute changes, such as flight cancellations, changes in entry requirements, or sudden lockdowns in your destination country.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered the landscape of global travel, leading to significant changes in visa policies and travel regulations. As we move forward, understanding these changes is crucial for anyone planning to travel internationally. By staying informed and prepared, traveller can navigate this new world of post-pandemic travel with confidence.

Dhairya Visa Documents & Assistance is here to help you with all your visa needs in this ever-changing environment. Whether you need guidance on new visa requirements, health regulations, or travel insurance, our team of experts is ready to assist you in making your travel plans as smooth as possible.