The Gateway Protection Programme was operated by the British government
between 2004 and 2020, in partnership with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and co-funded by the European Union,
offering a legal route for a quota of UNHCR-identified refugees to
settle in the United Kingdom. It was proposed by the British Home
Secretary, David Blunkett, in October 2001, and its legal basis was
established by the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. The
programme launched in March 2004, initially with a quota of 500 and
later 750 refugees per year, but the actual number of refugees resettled
in most years was fewer than the quota permitted. Evaluations of the
programme have praised it but noted problems in securing employment for
refugees. In March 2020, the Gateway Protection Programme closed after
resettling 9,939 refugees, including Congolese, Somali, Iraqi,
Ethiopian, Sudanese and Burmese nationals. A new UK Resettlement Scheme
started in February 2021.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Protection_Programme>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1868:
St Pancras railway station in London, now the terminus of the
Channel Tunnel Rail Link, opened to the public.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Pancras_railway_station>
1906:
A deputation of Muslim leaders led by the Aga Khan III met
Indian viceroy Lord Minto to secure greater political representation,
eventually leading to the founding of the All-India Muslim League.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simla_Deputation>
1964:
The Free Speech Movement was launched at the University of
California, Berkeley, when a crowd of 3,000 students prevented police
from transporting Jack Weinberg away after his arrest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Speech_Movement>
1991:
Croatian War of Independence: Yugoslav People's Army forces
invaded the area surrounding Dubrovnik, Croatia, beginning a seven-month
siege of the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Dubrovnik>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
witch doctor:
A person who is believed to ward off witchcraft and heal through magical
powers; a shaman.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/witch_doctor>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but
from our illusions. We are haunted, not by reality, but by those images
we have put in their place.
--Daniel J. Boorstin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Boorstin>