Migration

Greece plans accelerations of detention centres after backlash of overcrowded migrant camps

Greece plans to accelerate the creation of detention centres on its outlying islands in the Aegean Sea after a backlash against overcrowded camps by some migrants and nearby residents. New…

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Italy and Spain to work towards new European pact on immigration

Italy and Spain would work towards a new European pact on immigration Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said after talks with his Spanish counterpart Arancha González Laya. ANSA reports…

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Greece defends anti-migrant floating barrier amid growing criticism

The Greek government has defended plans to erect a floating barrier in the Mediterranean to deter thousands of people determined to reach Europe from making the sea journey from Turkey.…

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Greece plans floating barrier to stop migrants

The government in Greece wants to use a floating barrier to help stop migrants from reaching the Greek islands from the nearby coast of Turkey. The Defence Ministry has invited…

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Nearly 500 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean seek safe ports

Nearly 500 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by two boats run by aid agencies were looking for safe ports in Malta and Italy, the groups said Monday. The Ocean Viking,…

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Only 189 migrants returned to Turkey despite EU refugee pact

Despite a 2016 refugee agreement between the European Union and Turkey, only 189 illegal migrants who crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece were returned to Turkey in 2019, according to new…

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UN human rights ruling could boost climate change asylum claims

The UN Human Rights Committee has determined that countries cannot deport people who have sought asylum due to climate-related threats. The historic ruling marks the first decision by a UN human rights…

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Italian Foreign Minister Di Maio says new EU migrant pact in the offing

The European Union will soon forge a new pact on migrants, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday. Speaking after meeting European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas and Commissioner for…

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Migrants, troops slowly build up on Guatemala-Mexico border

More than 200 mostly Honduran migrants rested on a bridge at the Guatemala-Mexico border waiting for the arrival of others and hoping sheer numbers will improve their chances of entering…

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Illegal migration into EU in 2019 down 92% from 2015-Frontex

Although the eastern Mediterranean and Balkan area registered growing migratory pressure, the number of irregular border crossings detected on the European Union's external borders in 2019 fell to the lowest…

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Ocean Viking rescues 39 persons off the Libyan coast

In the early hours of Friday, the rescue vessel Ocean Viking completed the rescue of 39 people from a distressed boat off the north of the Libyan coast. "Despite the…

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Over 40 arrests for smuggling Moroccan citizens to the EU

The British Royal Gibraltar Police and the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional) supported by Europol, dismantled an organised criminal group smuggling migrants from Morocco to Europe. The operation led to…

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Eight children among refugees found dead off the coast of Turkey

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Coast Guard shows a Turkish Coast Guard diver searching for refugees who were lost from a sunken boat on Cesme sea offshore…

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UNHCR issues recommendations for EU to make 2020 year of change for refugee protection

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is calling on the European Union (EU) to make 2020 “the year of change for robust refugee protection”. On Thursday, the agency issued a set…

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Germans most worried about refugees, climate change

Asylum policy and climate change are the top concerns for Germans, according to the DeutschlandTrend poll published on Thursday. Nearly a third of all respondents said immigration was the most…

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Irregular migration to EU at lowest level since 2013

Irregular migration into the European Union has fallen to its lowest annual level since 2013, the European border and coast guard agency has said, despite a significant increase in the…

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Norway to take 500 people evacuated to Rwanda from Libya’s detention centres

Norway has agreed to take in nearly 500 people evacuated to Rwanda from Libyan detention centres, Rwanda's foreign minister said on Wednesday, a sign some European nations are willing to…

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Belgium tightens rules for asylum seekers

Belgian federal minister for asylum and migration Maggie De Block has announced a tightening of the rules on the reception given to asylum seekers who refuse to abide by existing…

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Almost 1,300 migrants drowned in Mediterranean in 2019 – IOM

Almost 1,300 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean in 2019, the International Organization for Migration announced. The 1,282 drownings were 44% down on 2018, it said. The number of deaths since…

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Fourfold rise in migrants rescued in English Channel

The number of migrants risking their lives by attempting to cross the English Channel by sea has increased four-fold over the last year. French officials intercepted around 2,358 migrants…

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The Alan Kurdi in Pozzallo, first reports of Libyans fleeing their country by sea

On board there are 32 migrants, rescued on Christmas night by the ship of the NGO Sea Eye, off the Libyan coast. Reports indicate that the majority are Libyan nationals.…

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Italian Interior Ministry says migrant landings halved in 2019

The landings of migrants in Italy halved in 2019. The data of the Interior Ministry revealed this, according to which 11,439 migrants arrived this year, 50.72% less than in 2018,…

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Seven dead as migrants’ boat sinks in Turkey’s Lake Van

Seven people died and 64 were rescued when a boat carrying migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan sank on Thursday in eastern Turkey’s Lake Van, the governor’s office in Bitlis…

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Spain’s coastguard saves 200 migrants on Christmas Day

The Spanish coastguard said it had rescued about 200 migrants on Christmas Day, plucking them from the makeshift boats in the Mediterranean Sea. It said they were saved in a…

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Erdogan warns Europe, says Turkey cannot handle new migrant wave from Syria

Turkey cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants from Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, warning that European countries will feel the impact of such an influx if violence…

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Germany’s Sea-Watch rescue boat to resume migrant missions in the Mediterranean

German charity Sea-Watch EV announced it would return as soon as it could to the area north of the Libyan coast to help migrants at sea after winning an Italian…

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Erdogan says 50,000 people migrating from Syria’s Idlib to Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that 50,000 people were migrating from Syria’s north western region of Idlib to Turkey and slammed Muslim nations for not supporting his plans…

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Greece expects 100,000 more migrants in 2020

Greece is predicting up to 100,000 asylum-seekers to arrive on its islands from Turkey in 2020, placing a further strain on its already bursting migrant camps. "The crisis is happening now,…

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UN calls for new approach to ‘refugee crises’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged governments to rise to the task of protecting refugees across the globe amid a growing number of people fleeing their homes for safety.…

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Italian police break up Italy-Greece migrant-trafficking rings

A vast operation took place on Thursday in Salento, Italy and Greece against two criminal rings - one Italian, one Greek - specialised in migrant trafficking. In recent months, the…

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EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey: €6 billion to support refugees and local communities in need fully mobilised

The European Union has fully mobilised the €6 billion operational budget of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, in line with its commitment to the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement.…

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Italian police break up Asia migrant smuggling gang

Italian police broke up an Asian migrant smuggling gang that brought thousands of people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh into Italy and other European countries illegally. The gang was broken…

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Over 400 refugee children have disappeared without a trace in Belgium

In Belgium, 427 refugee children have disappeared from the Fedasil reception centres without a trace, according to new figures from Missing Children Europe and Child Focus. It is estimated that…

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Migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 changes flag from Dutch to German

The rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3, which has been detained by Italian authorities on multiple occasions, said that it would no longer be registered in the Netherlands and would instead fly…

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Over 50 persons killed as migrant boat sinks off Mauritania coast

At least 58 people have died after a boat carrying migrants was shipwrecked in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Mauritania, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced. Survivors…

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New Frontex regulation enters into force

Today, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, is gaining new responsibilities and tools to more effectively support EU Member States and Schengen Associated Countries in managing their external…

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Divers recover 7 bodies of migrants off Lampedusa

Italian coast guard divers on Saturday recovered the bodies of seven people in the sea off Lampedusa where a boat crowded with migrants capsized a week earlier. The recovery, at…

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Latest UN statistic indicate 270 million people are migrants

The number of international migrants in 2019 is now estimated at 270 million and the top destination remains the United States, at nearly 51 million, the UN migration agency said.…

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Over 200 migrants disembark in Italy, bodies of seven migrants recovered from waters off Lampedusa

A charity rescue vessel on Sunday brought 213 migrants to shore in Italy after being granted permission to dock in the port of Messina due to poor weather conditions. The…

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Spike in the number of migrant boats leaving Libya

There’s been a spike in the number of migrant boats leaving Libya’s coastline this week, the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Friday. More than 600 people were discovered in…

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Greece to ‘shut the door’ to migrants not entitled to asylum

Greece said on Friday it was deploying more border guards to “shut the door” to migrants not entitled to stay, the latest sign of a hardening stance against asylum seekers…

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67 migrants drown off Libya coast

At least 67 migrants have drowned after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea near Libya's north-western coast. A fisherman reported the incident to Alarm-Phone-Initiative, a self-organized hotline for refugees…

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More than half a million asylum applications lodged in the EU so far in 2019

Some 515,000 asylum applications were registered in EU countries in the first nine months of 2019, according to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), a 10 per cent increase from…

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Vast operation in Italy targeting illegal migrant trafficking network

The Italian Carabinieri police on Wednesday carried out a nationwide operation targeting eight people suspected of organizing an illegal migrant trafficking network. The suspects, including Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian nationals,…

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Dutch authorities find 25 migrants in refrigerated container on UK-bound ferry

Authorities in the Netherlands discovered 25 migrants hidden inside a truck aboard a cargo ferry en route to Britain shortly after it left the country on Tuesday. The Britannia Seaways ferry quickly turned…

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Large network smuggling migrants in lorries dismantled in Germany and Romania

The German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) and the Romanian Police (Poliția Română) supported by Europol, concluded their operation into a large criminal network smuggling migrants to western Europe in lorries. Austria,…

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‘Deadliest year yet’: UN warns over migration deaths in Americas

At least 634 migrants have lost their lives in the Americas in 2019 – marking what may be the deadliest year for people on the move there since records began…

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Half Europe’s unauthorized migrants in Germany, UK

At least 3.9 million unauthorized migrants — and possibly as many as 4.8 million — lived in Europe in 2017 with half of them in Germany and the United Kingdom,…

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60,000 Young Refugees and Migrants Who Arrived in Italy Alone Need Ongoing Support Through Transition to Adulthood – UN Agencies

The estimated 60,000 young refugees and migrants who arrived in Italy as unaccompanied children between 2014 and 2018, and who have since turned 18, require ongoing support to ensure their successful transition into adulthood, said UNICEF, UNHCR and IOM in a new report…

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