Migration

Wave of migrant arrivals leaves 2,000 stranded at Gran Canaria dockside camp

More than 2,000 African migrants were stranded in a dockside camp on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria on Tuesday after a wave of arrivals overwhelmed local authorities' capacity to…

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Rescued migrants arrive in the Canary Islands

A group of migrants arrive to Arguineguin, Gran Canarias, Spain, on Saturday. A total of 361 migrants were rescued after eight boats were intercepted in the early hours at sea…

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South Korea takes in 164 asylum seekers from nearly 6,000 applicants

South Korea has accepted just 164 asylum seekers this year from nearly 6,000 who applied despite coronavirus travel curbs, government data showed. Immigration is a contentious issue in South Korea,…

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Shakira writes strong essay against child separation at borders

In an emotional essay for TIME, music superstar Shakira criticised America for its lack of compassion towards the immigrant children who were separated from their parents after being detained at the southern United States…

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At least 140 Europe-bound migrants drown off Senegal coast

At least 140 Europe-bound migrants drowned off the coast of Senegal when their boat caught fire and capsized, marking the deadliest shipwreck recorded this year, the U.N. migration agency revealed.…

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Four dead after boat carrying migrants capsizes off northern France

At least four people died after a boat carrying about 20 migrants capsized off the coast of Loon-Plage near Dunkirk, northern France, French media reported on Tuesday. "This is the…

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Parents not found for 545 children separated at U.S.-Mexico border

Lawyers and non-profit organizations seeking to reunite immigrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border by the Trump administration have not been able to locate the parents of 545 children so…

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Photo Story: More than 300 migrants reach Canary Islands

Children and adults are taken care of by Red Cross members after they reached the coast on board a boat on Hondura Beach, in Fuerteventura island, Canary Islands, Spain, late…

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Libya’s Tripoli government says it holds U.N.-sanctioned alleged people smuggler

Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has detained Abdalrahman al-Milad, a coastguard commander sanctioned by the United Nations for alleged human trafficking and migrant smuggling, its interior ministry…

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11 migrants die off Tunisia

At least 11 migrants from Africa died when their boat sank off Tunisia on Sunday, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a Tunisian…

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Nearly three million migrants stranded by COVID-19 – UN report

Coronavirus border closures and restrictions have stranded nearly 3 million migrants around the world who want to return home but cannot, the U.N. migration agency said on Friday, adding some…

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EU looks at new migration pact amid divisions, aims for December deal

EU governments began talks on Thursday on a proposed overhaul of migration rules to resolve years of bitter divisions as Germany, chairing the discussions, expressed optimism a deal might be…

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Italy loosens migration rules

Italy has softened rules penalising aid groups that bring illegal migrants ashore and extended protection for refugees who risk persecution at home, drawing the fire of former Interior Minister Matteo…

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Britain plans to deny asylum to illegal migrants

The British government will routinely deny asylum to migrants who board boats to cross the English Channel or come to Britain through illegal routes, the Sunday Times reported. Under new…

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Thousands of U.S.-bound migrants cross into Guatemala without authorization

Guatemala invoked special measures for security forces on Thursday, after thousands of Central American migrants crossed the border without authorization as part of a caravan aiming to reach the United…

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Migrants hoping to reach EU stranded in Bosnia

Hundreds of migrants hoping to reach the European Union are sheltering in forests and ruined former factory buildings near Bosnia’s border with Croatia, with the cold setting in and conditions…

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Hungarian PM Orban against new EU migration pact over hosting asylum seekers

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban rejected a new migration plan by the European Union's executive, saying it would force Hungary to welcome aslyum seekers, but he welcomed some other elements…

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Polish president insists migrants should stay close to their countries

Migrants fleeing conflict should stay as close as possible to their home countries, Poland’s president said, criticising proposals for an overhaul of the European Union’s migration and asylum rules. “For…

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Photo Story: Alan Kurdi rescue ship docks in Sardinia

The ship Alan Kurdi with 125 rescued migrants on board arrives at the industrial port of Olbia, Sardinia Island, Italy, 25 September 2020. The 125 migrants on board the boat…

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UPDATED: Hungary PM Orban says EU commission immigration plan ‘no breakthrough’

The European Commission's migration plan presented on Wednesday is not a breakthrough, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a press briefing in Brussels according to state TV channel M1…

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UPDATED: European Union seeks to overhaul defunct migration policies

The European Union's executive proposed on Wednesday overhauling the bloc's broken migration and asylum rules, seeking to end years of feuds and bitterness over the hundred of thousands of people…

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Sea-Watch calls Italy’s blockade of rescue ship ‘political’

The German humanitarian group Sea-Watch condemned as politically motivated the blockade of its ship in the Sicilian port of Palermo by Italian authorities after an 11-hour inspection. Philipp Hahn, head…

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Greece police moves migrants into Lesbos tent camp after fire

Greek police began moving hundreds of migrants stranded on the island of Lesbos into a new temporary tent camp on Thursday, more than a week after a fire razed Greece’s…

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Fire near Greece’s Samos migrant camp under control, three detained

Greek authorities have brought under control a fire that broke out near a migrant camp on the northeastern Aegean island of Samos late on Tuesday, fire brigade and police officials…

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Five migrants arrested over Moria Greek camp fire

Police on the Greek island of Lesbos have arrested five migrants suspected of setting a fire that destroyed Europe's largest camp of Moria last week, the minister responsible for policing…

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Woman, Two children die as migrant smuggling boat sinks near Crete

A smuggling boat sank off the southern Greek island of Crete on Monday, leaving three dead, while a large rescue operation managed to save 56 others from the sea, authorities…

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Germany, France to take in minors from destroyed Greek camp

Germany and France want to take in children who were left without shelter after fires gutted an overcrowded migrant camp on the Greek island of Lesbos this week, Chancellor Angela…

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More than 1 billion people face displacement by 2050

Rapid population growth, lack of access to food and water and increased exposure to natural disasters mean more than 1 billion people face being displaced by 2050, according to a…

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With nowhere to go after fire, Lesbos migrants sleep on roadsides, in fields

Thousands of migrants slept rough on the Greek island of Lesbos on Thursday after a blaze razed their makeshift camp to the ground, sending them fleeing but with nowhere to…

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Thousands homeless after fire guts migrant camp on Greek island

Thousands of migrants were left without shelter on Wednesday after overnight fires gutted their overcrowded camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, and authorities warned that some asylum seekers who…

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Fire breaks out at Greece’s overcrowded Moria refugee camp

Fire broke out at Greece’s overcrowded migrant camp of Moria on the island of Lesbos early on Wednesday, fire brigade officials said. There were no reports of injuries so far,…

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Amnesty demands criminal investigation into Malta’s treatement of refugees

International NGO Amnesty International has called for a criminal investigation into Malta's treatment of migrants and refugees. "Malta seems to have really escalated the level of unlawfulness," said Elisa De…

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70 migrants rescued at sea by a patrol boat in Lampedusa

A boat with the 70 migrants recovered at sea by a patrol boat of the harbour master's office heads to the commercial pier of the island of Lampedusa, southern Italy,…

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Italian coastguard rescues people on board rescue ship funded by Bansky

The Italian coastguard said on Saturday it has rescued 49 people from the refugee rescue ship funded by street artist Banksy. The vessel had called for urgent help after assisting…

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Three years on, Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh camps

August 25 marked the third anniversary of attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents that triggered military retaliation and led to the exodus from Buddhist-majority Myanmar over following days and weeks of…

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Thirty-six migrants rescued off southern Spanish coast

Several sub-Saharan women and a boy are taken care of by Red Cross members upon their arrival at port in Motril, Granada, southern Spain, 26 August 2020. A total of…

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Dozens of migrants rescued off Greek island

Dozens of migrants have been rescued from a boat off the Greek island of Halki, the coast guard said on Wednesday, in one of the biggest operations of its kind…

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Number of migrants landing in Italy more than doubles in past year

The number of migrants landing on Italy's shores has more than doubled in the last year as an economic crisis in Tunisia fuels migration in boats across the Mediterranean, Interior…

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UK Royal Air Force sends plane to help monitor migrant crossings

Britain’s Royal Air Force has sent a maritime patrol aircraft to help support border control operations in the English Channel after an increase in migrants seeking to cross from France.…

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More than 4,000 migrants reach UK by small boats in 2020

More than 4,000 migrants have now reached the UK in 2020 by crossing the English Channel in small boats. Families with young children have been among hundreds of people arriving…

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Countries urged to target human smugglers after migrants die at sea

Two UN agencies are calling for greater action to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks following the deaths of 27 migrants off the coast of Mauritania, northwest Africa. The International Organization…

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UK armed forces asked to help deal with migrant boats crossing Channel

Britain’s armed forces have been asked to help deal with boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France, the Defence Ministry said after a spate of arrivals on the southern…

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British Government threatens to use ‘maritime assets’ to deter migrants

The British government has threatened to deploy "maritime assets", reported to include the Royal Navy, to stem the growing number of migrants trying to cross the English Channel. Sources told…

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Photo Story: Iraqi asylum seekers repatriated from Greece

Migrants wearing face masks board an airplane bound for Iraq, at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens, Greece, 06 August 2020. According to the Greek Migration and Asylum Ministry,…

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Italy to resume migrant repatriations to Tunisia

The Italian interior ministry announced that the repatriation of Tunisian migrants who land in Italy will resume on August 10. These repatriations had stopped during the coronavirus lockdown. The ministry…

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Photo Story: New landing of migrants in Lampedusa, southern Italy

Italian immigration officers help a child disembark from a ship as a group of migrants arrives from North Africa to the island of Lampedusa, southern Italy, 03 August 2020. According…

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Migrants transferred from overcrowded hotspot Lampedusa to Palermo

A reported 43 migrants have been transferred from an overcrowded hotspot in Lampedusa to a hosting facility in Palermo, officials said Tuesday. The migrants on Monday night were taken by…

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France and Britain agree to form joint unit to fight migrant traffickers

The interior ministers of France and Britain on Sunday signed an agreement creating a new joint police intelligence unit to combat migrant traffickers and reduce the "unsustainable" numbers crossing the…

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Italian authorities seize migrant rescue boat Sea-Watch 3

Authorities in Italy have seized a boat operated by a German NGO that last month rescued more than 200 people stranded at sea, because it did not comply with safety…

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UN reports refugee numbers hit record high in 2019

The number of people fleeing war and persecution rose to a record 79.5 million in 2019, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said Thursday. That figure represents "approximately 1%…

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15 die in latest reported Mediterranean Migration Tragedy – UN

At least 15 persons were missing and feared drowned off the coast of Libya on Saturday after a boat carrying around three dozen migrants bound for Europe capsized in the…

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Death toll from Tunisia migrant shipwreck rises to 54

The death toll from the sinking of a boat carrying migrants off the Tunisian coast has risen to 54 as more bodies were recovered during the search operations. The boat,…

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Charity boats resume Mediterranean migrant rescue

Two charity boats have headed back to the Mediterranean after a two-month hiatus in migrant rescue operations, as humanitarian groups await a new wave of arrivals. Italian NGO Mediterranea Saving…

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Bodies of twenty lifeless persons recovered after latest migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea

The bodies of 20 persons were recovered on Wednesday following the sinking of a fishing boat carrying irregular migrants. A search is underway for 30 others who are believed to…

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425 asylum seekers allowed to disembark in Malta

425 asylum seekers held offshore on four tourist boats will be allowed to disembark in Malta, the government announced on Saturday night. Newsbook reports that the government said that while…

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COVID-19 could lead to more resilient EU asylum procedure

Initially limited by the emergency measures, national asylum authorities largely made strong efforts to resume services wherever possible, often within weeks. At the same time, Member States should be prepared…

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Migrant boat crossings to UK surge during coronavirus lockdown

The number of unaccompanied young migrants crossing the English Channel from France to Britain has spiked during the coronavirus outbreak, as travel restrictions force them onto boats rather than trucks.…

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