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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 16 February 2023
China threatens U.S. entities over downing of balloon

BEIJING (AP) — China said China’s opening of illegal
Wednesday it will take police stations in the U.S.,
measures against U.S. enti- Ireland and other countries.
ties related to the downing “The balloon to me is not an
of a suspected Chinese spy isolated incident,” Emanuel
balloon off the American said.
East Coast. If China wants to be a re-
At a daily briefing, For- spected member of the
eign Ministry spokesperson international community,
Wang Wenbin gave no de- “then you act appropriate-
tails and did not identify the ly to certain basic premises.
targets of the measures. that is you don’t open po-
China says the balloon was lice stations in other coun-
a unmanned weather air- tries ignorant of their laws
ship that was accidentally as if your laws don’t have
blown off course and ac- any boundaries,” he said.
cuses the U.S. of overreact- “This is not exactly the qual-
ing in bringing it down with ities and characteristics of
a missile fired from an F-22 the good neighbor policy,”
fighter jet.Since the Feb. the ambassador said, refer-
4 downing of the balloon, ring to China’s outreach to
the United States has sanc- countries in the Asia-Pacific
tioned six Chinese entities it region.
said are linked to Beijing’s In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic On Tuesday, Japan’s De-
aerospace programs. Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, Feb. 4, fense Ministry said at least
2023.
The U.S. House of Represen- Associated Press three flying objects spotted
tatives subsequently voted in Japanese airspace since
unanimously to condemn trade, human rights, Tai- ton, alongside its threats of interests,” Wang said. 2019 were strongly believed
China for a “brazen viola- wan and China’s claim to retaliation. Also Wednesday, U.S. Am- to have been Chinese spy
tion” of U.S. sovereignty the South China Sea. “China firmly opposes this bassador to Japan Rahm balloons. It said it has pro-
and efforts to “deceive the While China denies the bal- and will take countermea- Emanuel said the Chinese tested and requested ex-
international community loon was a military asset, it sures in accordance with balloon’s intrusion was part planations from Beijing.
through false claims about has yet to say what govern- the law against the rel- of a pattern of aggressive Senior lawmakers in Ja-
its intelligence collection ment department or com- evant U.S. entities that un- behavior by Beijing. pan’s governing party on
campaigns.” Secretary of pany was responsible. dermine China’s sovereign- Emanuel noted China’s re- Wednesday said they were
State Antony Blinken also After initially expressing re- ty and security,” Wang said cent beaming of military- considering expanding the
canceled a visit to Beijing gret over the balloon’s en- at Wednesday’s briefing. grade laser on a Philippine Self Defense Force law to
that many hoped would try into U.S. airspace, China China will “resolutely safe- coast guard patrol ves- also include violations of
stabilize ties that have cra- has returned spying accu- guard national sovereignty sel, the harassment of U.S. Japanese airspace by for-
tered amid disputes over sations against Washing- and its legitimate rights and planes by Chinese jets and eign balloons.q

Rise in Horn of Africa migration a worry, says U.N. official

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI national Organization for children and children trav- need protection against and the plight of those mi-
Associated Press Migration. The treacherous elling alone, IOM Director rape, violence, traffickers grants, particularly those
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The journey from Ethiopia, So- General Antonio Vitorino and smugglers, he said. detained in Libya, is a glob-
numbers of women and malia and Djibouti through told The Associated Press. Some of the migrants are al concern, he said.
children migrating from the Yemen, called the Eastern Climate change is a driver unaware of the dangers “We know where the offi-
Horn of Africa to Gulf coun- Migration Route, has seen of the increased migration, including the war in Ye- cial detention centers are
tries through Yemen has sig- a 64% increase in the past he said. In the past, women men and the U.N.’s migra- and we have access to
nificantly increased and is a year of people seeking and children would often tion organization needs to them, not permanent, nev-
cause of concern, accord- better livelihoods, with larg- opt out of the dangerous improve awareness of the er alone, but under surveil-
ing to the head of the Inter- er numbers of women with journey through the desert perils, he said. For migrants lance of security guards.
mostly made on foot. Pre- who still choose to take the But we have access to
viously men would leave journey, the organization provide assistance,” said
their families behind and should offer basic health- Vitorino.But the U.N. or-
make the trek in the hope care and other services ganization does not have
of finding jobs and sending and in some cases return access to the unofficial
money back home. them to their countries of detentions centers, which
“The pressure is mounting” origin, he said. “Last year, are particularly worrying,
as the numbers of migrants we have returned volun- he said. Abuses have been
rise, said Vitorino who was tarily to Ethiopia 2,700 mi- widely reported in both of-
in Kenya for the launch of grants and upon arrival we ficial and unofficial deten-
a $84 million appeal to sup- provided post-arrival assis- tion centers.
port more than 1 million tance to support them to Libya’s political instability
migrants using the route move back to their regions makes it difficult to have
Antonio Vitorino, Director General of the International through Yemen. of origin,” Vitorino said. the political cooperation
Organisation for Migration, speaks to The Associated Press in The desperate migrants Also rising is the migration needed to dismantle the
Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023. are vulnerable to criminal of people from West Africa unofficial detention cen-
Associated Press gangs along the route and through Libya to Europe ters, he said.q