Israel is in negotiations with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees to resettle a portion of African asylum seekers in third countries deemed by the UN to be “safe,” possibly including Western countries, in exchange for some of the refugees to be given permanent residency in Israel. Harel said was confident that an agreement could offer a viable solution for the approximately 38,000 African asylum seekers currently in Israel. “We would see such an arrangement as a win-win for the refugees as well as the State of Israel,” said Harel.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday said a block on household gas prices would be extended until end-2022 and that low- and middle-income earners would receive an “inflation premium” of 100 euros to help mitigate the impact of rising energy prices. Source France24
Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia said their EU-wide initiative to expand the bloc’s military units was inspired by recent events in Afghanistan. Germany and four members of the European Union have launched an initiative to establish a bloc-wide rapid reaction force for future military crises, the German news agency dpa reported on Thursday. Source DW
The head of Scottish Power has said Britain’s gas crisis will keep driving energy bills higher until 2023, and could leave only five or six of the strongest suppliers standing.
Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power, said the UK’s record energy prices could mean households faced another 18 months of rising bills and that even well-run energy suppliers could go bust. Source The Guardian
