The Soapbox: Afghan refugee expulsion, Australian banknotes, German mask mandate

The Soapbox is a weekly WSN newsroom column that analyzes major events in the world news and summarizes the stories we think are worth reading this week. Global consciousness for a global university.

In London, the government is evicting refugees

The British government has booked a move hundreds of Afghan refugees in London, giving 40 families one week to leave the capital and take refuge in Wetherby, a city 200 miles away. Some refugees, including former members of the British Army, are refusing the order.

Last year, the government initiated the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Program, also known as Operation Pitting – which was intended to help relocate those at risk and vulnerability, as well as those who helped the British. The scheme hopes to resettle 20,000 Afghans in the coming years. 9,000 Afghans who was taken to London government under the scheme – the same refugees who are now being told they must leave.

Hamidullah Khan, a refugee and former British adviser, told The Guardian that the government had broken its promise to help them find housing. His family resists the move and currently resides at the Kensington Hotel. Khan demanded that the government stop paying for hotel stays and instead help them rent their own accommodation near London so that his three children would not lose their studies.

Peymana Assad, a local Labor Party politician, told The Guardian that as many Afghans are forced out of London, applications for public housing assistance will rise and many refugees forced to relocate will have to rebuild their lives. However, the government claims it has been telling the refugees for months that they will eventually have to move to Leeds.

“Families can sometimes be moved from a hotel that is scheduled to close to another hotel,” a Home Office spokesman told The Guardian. “In these cases, families receive appropriate notice of relocation and receive support from local authorities. We are proud that this country has provided housing for more than 7,500 evacuated Afghans, but there is not enough local housing for everyone.”

Australia removes British monarch from banknotes

On February 2, Australia announced that its central bank official removal of the British monarch from his banknotes and replacing the image of King Charles III with indigenous designs. The decision came just months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September. Australia has already removed images of the British monarch from most of its banknotes – before this decision was made, the Australian $5 bill was the only remaining bill with a royal portrait.

While the British monarch remains Australia’s head of state, the nation pondering degree to which this constitutional link must remain. The Reserve Bank of Australia said the decision was in honor of “the culture and history of the early Australians” and that the other side of the note would continue to represent the Australian Parliament.

The bank said in a statement that consult with Indigenous Australians in the process of designing a new $5 banknote. Until then, the current banknote will be used.

Despite the proposed banknote changes, the king is expected to continue to appear on Australian coins that currently feature the late Elizabeth. The British currency began switching to the new Charles coin in December, while Australia is expected to make the same change later this year.

Germany removes mandatory face masks on public transport

Germany no longer required Passengers on buses, trams and trains must wear masks from Thursday 2 February. The mandatory wearing of masks on public transport was supposed to remain in place until April, but the federal cabinet decided to lift the mandate following a nationwide decline in COVID-19 cases. 19 cases

Berlin announced the end of his mask mandate January 13 after facing increased pressure from other European countries, many of which have already canceled public transport mandates. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, however, continues to recommend that people wear masks voluntarily and requires people to continue to wear FFP2 masks – the American equivalent of N95 – when visiting hospitals, nursing homes and doctors’ offices until April 7th.

Some of the 16 governments of the federal states of Germany, in addition to phasing out masks, have also lifted regulations requiring the isolation of infected individuals. Bijan Jir-Sarai, general secretary of the Free Democratic Party of Germany, told DW that mask regulation would not have raised were it not for the pressure of the party on the government, which declared that “Germany has overcome the pandemic.

Mandatory mask-wearing is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain in Germany due to passenger retaliation for being forced to wear them. Attacks on transport workers on the rise between 2021 and 2022which the national railway company associated with the mask mandate.

Contact Jezen Saada by phone [email protected]