This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Hundreds of Australian migrants to be resettled in the United States

As winter approaches, Syria’s east Aleppo faces mass starvation

Hundreds of Australian migrants to be resettled in the United States



Manus Island detention center in Papua New Guinea (AAP)

Reports indicate that Australia and the United States are close to a deal where about 1,800 migrants from Australian detention centers in Pacific islands will be resettled in the United States.

There have been reports for months that Australia was working on a deal to resettle the migrants in an unnamed country. It now appears that the unnamed country is the United States, and the deal was held up pending the US presidential election, so that it would not affect the election results. Now that the election is over, the deal can be completed and implemented in the presidential lame duck period.

In past years, thousands of refugees from Asia have traveled by boat to Australia, often after paying huge sums to human traffickers, hoping to resettle there. Australia has dealt with the situation, starting in 2001, by setting up two “detention centers” on Pacific islands, one on Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) Manus Island, and one on the island nation of Nauru, under agreements reached with both countries. Australia intercepts the boat people while at sea, and redirects them to the detention centers. These two filthy, rat-infested detention centers have been enormously controversial, with numerous stories of beatings, torture, and sexual abuse at the detention centers. The detention centers were shut down in 2007, but reinstated when the number of refugees and asylum seekers surged again into the thousands.

The detention center policy has been extremely successful, in that the number of migrants reaching Australia has been sharply reduced. However, the policy has been widely condemned as cruel to people fleeing poverty and violence, and as a violation of international laws.

Immigration department chief Michael Pezzullo refused on Friday to confirm that a deal is pending, but said “We are working actively on those arrangements… today we are closer than what we were yesterday.” He also refused to discuss which countries are in negotiations with Australia, but some reports indicate that Canada may be in negotiations as well. Special Broadcasting Service (Australia) and Sydney Morning Herald

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As winter approaches, Syria’s east Aleppo faces mass starvation

With the regime of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad blocking food aid to east Aleppo, UN aid agencies will run out of food next week, and some 250,000 people will be facing mass starvation, with winter approaching.

Russia has been building for a massive military assault on east Aleppo, including more warplanes, and cruise missiles. Al Jazeera and BBC and VOA

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KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Australia, Michael Pezzullo, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Manus Island, Nauru, Syria, Bashar al-Assad, Aleppo, Russia

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