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Iraqi Mohammed Jalal lost 10 years of his life seeking asylum in Germany, without success. Instead of being granted refuge, he was sent back to the land he had fled.He now faces the same challenges that drove him to leave the northern Kurdistan region of Iraq. More than a year has passed, and he is still without a job.Jalal is just one of thousands of Iraqis and migrants from many other countries who have been forced out of Europe as it tightens its migration policies, driven by the rise of the extreme right.European states are now working closely with Iraq to support returns by funding programmes primarily aimed at tackling unemployment.In the town of Ranya in autonomous Kurdistan, Jalal moved back in with his elderly father to a cramped two-room apartment where they sleep on mattresses on a cold concrete floor.”If I could return to Europe I would,” 39-year-old Jalal told AFP.He still dreams of a day when German authorities grant him asylum.”I could become legal and work in a Kurdish restaurant,” he said.”Here I don’t have a job.”In 2015, Jalal undertook the perilous journey across the Mediterranean from the Turkish city of Izmir to Greece.He went to North Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia before finally reaching Germany. There, he settled in a centre for asylum seekers and received 300 euros ($385) a month.Despite restrictions on asylum seekers getting jobs, Jalal travelled to cities including Nuremberg and Munich where he worked illegally and had to be careful not to be caught.- ‘Path of death’ -Jalal’s asylum requests were denied twice and Germany expelled him in January last year.Back home, following a failed attempt to open a bakery, he worked for two months at a falafel kiosk earning $7 a day.Unemployed again, he now receives $150 from his family abroad. “I live on this meagre amount,” he said.In the last quarter of 2024, around 125,000 non-Europeans were ordered to leave a country in the European Union, 16 percent more than during the same period in 2023.”As a matter of principle, Germany repatriates people who are required to leave the country,” the German embassy in Baghdad told AFP.It said Germany “has given protection and shelter to millions of people who have fled war and violence in their home countries”, including many Iraqis, mostly from the north.But the embassy warned that “there are no prospects of residence for people who enter Germany irregularly in the hope of a better life and who have no need for protection”.Despite presenting itself as an oasis of stability in turbulent Iraq, Kurdistan is grappling with economic challenges that push its young people to seek opportunities elsewhere.Many have lost their lives while trying to reach Europe.Hardi Ahmed left Ranya, east of the Kurdistan capital Arbil, in 2021.He called his journey to the United Kingdom the “path of death” after losing three friends to drowning, one in the Channel between France and Britain.Upon arrival, Ahmed quickly realised he was not welcome. He was turned back to France, where the Iraqi embassy helped him return home.Back in Kurdistan, the 39-year-old is now unemployed, and believes the authorities should provide jobs.”If not, youth will be forced… to go to Europe,” he said.- ‘Stay in Iraq’ -After decades marred by conflict, including a US-led invasion followed by insurgencies and the rise of Islamic State group jihadists, Iraq has now regained some stability.The German government-linked development agency GIZ supports centres in Arbil and Baghdad that provide returnees with counselling and help in job searches, training and providing financial aid for small businesses.Funded by Germany, Switzerland and the EU, the centres assisted 350 people between June 2023 and August 2024.The EU ambassador to Iraq, Thomas Seiler, told AFP that “some member states have agreed on bilateral return and readmission agreements with Iraq”, and the EU is finalising a similar deal.The capacity of many European cities and villages “to receive and integrate” migrants “has long been reached”, Seiler warned.”Irregular migration should now clearly be prevented.”Seiler said the EU funds programmes to assist Iraq in welcoming back returnees. It also provides tens of millions of euros to support initiatives aimed at helping “Iraqis stay in Iraq”.- Indebted migrants -With funding from Denmark and Finland, the Kurdish Rwanga Foundation launched a programme to reintegrate returnees.It has so far trained 120 people on starting small businesses and provided grants of up to $5,600 to 15 of them.Kamiran Shivan, head of the foundation’s programmes, said beneficiaries’ sectors include construction, carpentry, mobile and electronics repair, restaurants and beauty salons.Many Iraqis return home burdened with debt from the cost of their journey to Europe.”They come back without having a source of income or assets that would allow them to repay their debts,” Shivan said.Mohammed Ismail, 29, left for Germany in 2016, hoping for a better life and a European passport.But more than five years later, nothing has changed for him.Germany rejected his asylum requests three times on the basis that Arbil is considered safe.Back home in Kurdistan, he received a grant from Rwanga to become a partner in a mechanic’s workshop, which provides him with $550 a month — enough to support his wife and three-year-old child.”I no longer consider emigrating,” Ismail said. “If I return to Europe, it will be as a tourist.”

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday told visiting Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to protect all people in the multi-confessional country as the former rebel Islamist chief confirmed indirect talks with Israel aiming to calm tensions.Alarm over clashes that have left hundreds dead among among minority communities have overshadowed the first months of the government that overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.Macron has been criticised for hosting a figure seen by some as a jihadist-turned-politician on his first official visit to a European country.But the French president insisted engagement was essential and offered hope of a gradual easing of the Assad-era sanctions against Damascus.Macron said he had told Sharaa in talks that he “must do everything to assure the protection of all Syrians without exception” after “unacceptable” killings that affected the Alawite and Druze minorities in recent months.He said that the “crimes had profoundly shocked the friends of Syria”The French president said Sharaa must ensure that the perpetrators of the violence are “prosecuted and tried”.Sectarian clashes in March, in which more than 1,700 people were killed, mostly among Assad’s Alawite minority, sparked international condemnation and doubts over Syria’s new path.More recent clashes involving Druze fighters and NGO reports of abuses have also raised doubts about the interim government’s ability to control extremists.- ‘Gradual lifting of sanctions’ -In response, Sharaa told the press conference that Syria “is committed to holding whoever who kills a civilian … accountable and punishing them according to the law, whoever they are.””The state bears its responsibility for everything that happens in Syria, but after the appropriate investigations,” he said.Adding to the pressure, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on the country since Assad’s overthrow, including one near the presidential palace in Damascus on Friday.Macron said the strikes were not in Israel’s interests. “I think it’s bad practice. You don’t ensure your country’s security by violating the territorial integrity of your neighbours.”Sharaa said Syria was holding “indirect talks through mediators” with Israel to “try to contain the situation so it does not reach the point where it escapes the control of both sides.” He did not give details however.Macron meanwhile called for a continuation of “the gradual lifting of European economic sanctions” if the new Islamist authorities stabilise the country.He added Washington should follow suit and also hold off for “as long as possible” from withdrawing American troops from Syria.Sharaa said there was no justification for maintaining European sanctions imposed against the Assad government.Ahead of the talks, Sharaa met a whistleblower who helped document horrific torture under Assad, Farid al-Madhan, known as “Caesar”.Madhan revealed his identity in February during an interview with broadcaster Al Jazeera. He fled Syria in 2013 with some 55,000 graphic images including photographs showing emaciated bodies and people with their eyes gouged out.- ‘Ready to make commitments’ -Sharaa headed the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded Assad’s downfall after 14 years of civil war but previously had links to Al-Qaeda.He is still subject to a UN travel ban and France most likely had to request an exemption from the United Nations, as was the case for his recent trips to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, according to a source familiar with the matter. France, a former colonial-era ruler of Syria, is eyeing an opportunity to increase its influence in the country after years of Russian presence, with French companies also seeking contracts.Macron made clear France would be closely watching Sharaa’s progress. “Mr President, I count on you,” he said.The invitation to Sharaa caused controversy in France, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen accusing Macron of hosting talks with “a jihadist” in a “provocative and irresponsible” meeting.The head of the mainstream right-wing Republicans in parliament, Laurent Wauquiez, denounced the meeting as “a serious error”.”We don’t welcome leaders who are former terrorists and members of organisations that want to attack France,” he said.Macron strongly defended the invitation.”He has put an end to a regime that we condemned and fought against and he is ready to make commitments. The first actions have led to results,” Macron said.

US envoy Steve Witkoff briefed members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday about various topics, including Gaza, participants in the closed-door talks said.The informal meeting in New York came a day after Witkoff was formally sworn in as President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East.At the swearing-in ceremony, Trump teased a “very, very big announcement” to come before his multi-nation visit to the Middle East next week, without providing details.Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and close Trump ally, has been acting as lead US negotiator on several major disputes, including the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and  Iran’s nuclear program.After the meeting Wednesday, ambassadors from the UN Security Council’s 14 other members declined to give details of Witkoff’s remarks.”It was confidential,” Pakistani Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said.Panamanian Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba called it “an informal meeting, it was very interesting, about various subjects, not only Gaza.”Since Trump’s return to office in January there has not been a permanent US ambassador to the UN, making it difficult for council members to stay abreast of American positions on various issues, some diplomats have said.Witkoff also met separately on Wednesday with Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon.Danon said afterward they had an “important discussion about the regional issues.””We will continue to cooperate with our strongest ally, the United States,” he added.

UN experts demanded action on Wednesday to avert the “annihilation” of Palestinians in Gaza, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed dozens of people.A planned expanded offensive revealed by the Israeli military has drawn international condemnation, after UN agencies previously warned of humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian territory already devastated by 19 months of war.More than 20 independent United Nations experts said the world faced a “stark decision” to “remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution”.The experts implored the international community to avert the “moral abyss we are descending into”.Israel’s broader offensive, approved by the government amid a two-month aid blockade on Gaza, would include displacing “most” of its residents, the military has said.France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called the situation in Gaza “the most critical we have ever seen”.Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid would present a draft resolution at the UN General Assembly aimed at “proposing urgent measures to stop the killing of innocent civilians and ensure humanitarian aid” in Gaza.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank was “increasingly intolerable”.EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Wednesday said that Brussels had made an offer to Israel “to distribute the humanitarian aid if they don’t trust the other actors there”.Rescuers in the Palestinian territory said Israeli bombardment on Wednesday killed 59 people — 48 of them in Gaza City.”Civil defence crews, paramedics and volunteers transported at least 33 martyrs and more than 80 injured, about half of them children and some women, as a result of the Israeli air strike” in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City, spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.- ‘World stands by’ -The strike is one of the deadliest since the resumption of Israel’s offensive on Gaza after a two-month ceasefire in the Palestinian territory collapsed on March 18.Bassal earlier reported 15 dead in strikes on the Tuffah district east of Gaza City and 11 killed elsewhere in the territory.One strike hit a house in the southern city of Khan Yunis, killing eight Al-Qidra family members and wounding 12, he said.The dead were aged between two and 54, he added.AFP footage from Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital showed wounded children crying on hospital beds while bodies covered in blankets arrived in ambulances.”They were sleeping and the house collapsed on them,” said Abir Shehab, adding that her brother had been killed.”We die of hunger, we die of war, we die of fear, we die of everything, and the whole world stands by and watches us die,” she said.Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the strikes.World Central Kitchen (WCK), which ran one of the last bakeries still operating in Gaza, late Wednesday announced it no longer had the supplies to cook meals or make bread in Gaza.”Additional food and equipment are ready to be shipped to the border from Jordan and Egypt. Our vital work cannot continue without permission from Israel for this aid to enter,” the charity said in a statement.- ‘Desperate attempts’ -Hamas reiterated its call for a “comprehensive” agreement to end the war earlier on Wednesday.”Hamas and the resistance factions insist on reaching a comprehensive agreement and a full package to end the war and aggression, along with a roadmap for the day after,” political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP on Wednesday.”There are desperate attempts ahead of (US President Donald) Trump’s visit to the region… to force through a partial deal,” he said.Trump is due in the Gulf next week for talks with the powerful monarchies.Saudi Arabia, one of the stops on the US president’s visit, on Wednesday voiced its “categorical rejection” of Israel’s plan to expand its offensive.An Israeli official said this week the expanded Gaza offensive would entail the “conquest” of Gaza.Before it begins, a senior Israeli security source had said the timing of troop deployments would allow a “window of opportunity” for a possible hostage deal coinciding with Trump’s visit.”We want to try and get as many hostages saved as possible,” Trump said at the White House, without elaborating.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday at least 2,545 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign, bringing the war’s overall toll to 52,653.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Yemen’s Huthi rebels will continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, an official told AFP on Wednesday, despite a ceasefire that ended weeks of intense US strikes on the Iran-backed group.A day after the Huthis agreed to stop firing on ships plying the key trade route off their shores, a senior official told AFP that Israel was excluded from the deal.”The waterways are safe for all international ships except Israeli ones,” Abdulmalik Alejri, a member of the Huthi political bureau, told AFP.”Israel is not part of the agreement, it only includes American and other ships,” he said.The Huthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing at Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.They broadened their campaign to target ships tied to the United States and Britain after military strikes by the two countries began in January 2024.Alejri said the Huthis would now “only” attack Israeli ships. In the past, vessels visiting Israel, or those with tenuous Israeli links, were in the rebels’ sights.On Wednesday, Huthi spokesman Yahya Saree said their forces had launched two attacks, targeting Ramon Airport in southern Israel with two drones and “a vital target of the Zionist enemy” in the Tel Aviv area “using a Yafa drone”.Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman earlier Esmaeil Baqaei “welcomed the cessation of US aggression against the country”, praising Yemenis for their “legendary resistance”.Saudi Arabia also commended the deal, a foreign ministry statement said, as did the United Nations which called for “restraint and the deescalation in and around Yemen”.- Airport strike -The US-Huthi agreement was announced after deadly Israeli strikes on Tuesday put Sanaa airport out of action in revenge for a Huthi missile strike on Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.Sanaa airport director Khaled alShaief told the rebels’ Al-Masirah television the Israeli attack had destroyed terminal buildings and caused $500 million in damage.Oman said it had facilitated an agreement between Washington and the rebels that “neither side will target the other… ensuring freedom of navigation”.US President Donald Trump, who will visit Gulf countries next week, trumpeted the deal, saying the Huthis had “capitulated”.”They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore, and that’s… the purpose of what we were doing,” he said during a White House press appearance.The ceasefire followed weeks of stepped-up US strikes aimed at deterring Huthi attacks on shipping. The US attacks left 300 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Huthi figures.The Pentagon said last week US strikes had hit more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since mid-March in an operation that has been dubbed “Rough Rider”.Alejri said recent US-Iran talks in Muscat “provided an opportunity” for indirect contacts between Sanaa and Washington, leading to the ceasefire.”America was the one who started the aggression against us, and at its beginning, we did not resume our operations on Israel,” he added.”We did not target any American ships or warships until they targeted us.”Scores of Huthi missile and drone attacks have drastically reduced cargo volumes on the Red Sea route, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.The Huthis say their campaign — and a steady stream of attacks on Israeli territory — is in solidarity with the Palestinians.