Migration

Germany expects drop in asylum applications for 2019

Germany has seen fewer new asylum applications this year, with officials expecting 2019 to record fewer new applications than last year, according to a report on Sunday by the Bild am…

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Greece shifts migrants from overcrowded islands to mainland

The transfer of migrants from overcrowded camps on the islands to the Greek mainland continued over the weekend, with authorities saying 415 arrived at the port of Eleusis west of…

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Bulgaria and Ukraine issue formal protest over Macron’s migration remarks

Bulgaria and Ukraine issued diplomatic protests over remarks by Emmanuel Macron about migrants coming to France from those countries. In an interview published Thursday in conservative weekly magazine Valeurs Actuelles the…

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Implementation of EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey: EU mobilises €663 million in humanitarian assistance

The European Commission is mobilising €663 million in humanitarian aid to continue major projects under the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey. €600 million will ensure the continuity of the…

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‘Alan Kurdi’ rescue boat carrying 88 people allowed to dock in Italy

A rescue ship operated by the German humanitarian group Sea-Eye will be allowed to dock in southern Italy after a nearly week-long standoff, the government said on Friday night. The…

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Migrants in Greece living in ‘horrible’ conditions, says Europe rights watchdog

A European human rights watchdog on Thursday slammed living conditions as “horrible” for thousands of asylum seekers in overcrowded Greek camps, including waits spanning several hours for food and toilets…

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3 EU countries broke law by refusing to take in refugees, says court lawyer

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic broke EU law by refusing to take part in a mandatory refugee quota scheme, according to a top lawyer at the EU's highest court. In December…

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Di Maio warns that halting Libyan agreement on migration would be harmful

Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told the Lower House on Wednesday that it would be unwise for Italy to break off its agreement with Libya on handling asylum seekers…

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Belgian police find 12 men alive inside refrigerated lorry

Twelve men have been discovered hiding inside a refrigerated lorry in a car park near a motorway in Belgium's Antwerp province, local police say. Police were called to the scene…

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Carola Rackete presents her book ‘Acting instead of hope’

Carola Rackete attends a press conference on the occasion of her new coming book 'Acting instead of hope' in Berlin, Germany, 30 October 2019. Rackete, the captain of Sea Watch…

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Migrants from Ocean Viking disembark in Pozzallo

Over 100 asylum seekers picked up in the Mediterranean by the NGO-run search-and-rescue ship Ocean Viking were able to disembark in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on Wednesday. The interior…

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Ocean Viking gets go ahead to disembark at Pozzallo

The NGO-run search-and-rescue ship Ocean Viking will be allowed to disembark the 104 asylum seekers it rescued on October 18 in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo, the Italian interior ministry…

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Migrants found in refrigerated truck in Calais

A refrigerated truck carrying eight migrants was discovered by French authorities on Sunday in the northern port city of Calais. Four adults and four children, who said they were from…

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Additional €2 million in humanitarian aid from the EU for refugees and migrants in Bosnia

With winter approaching and thousands of migrants and refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina living outside of adequate facilities, the European Commission has today announced an additional €2 million in humanitarian…

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Two held on suspicion of manslaughter in Essex container tragedy

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people over 39 bodies found in a lorry in Essex. A 38-year-old man and 38-year-old woman from…

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Photo Story: Art exhibition on migration in Mexico City

A woman views the exhibition 'Migra__ON' at the Casa del Lago saloon in Mexico City, Mexico. The exhibition presents images of the migration process of Latin American citizens to the…

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Chinese paper says Britain must accept responsibility for truck deaths

Britain and other European countries must accept some responsibility for the deaths of 39 people, believed to be Chinese nationals, found dead in a refrigerated truck near London, the state-backed…

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Nine migrants found alive inside lorry container in Kent

A lorry carrying nine migrants has been stopped in Kent - hours after the bodies of 39 people were found in the back of a refrigerated truck in Essex. The…

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Libyan and Italian Interior Ministers review cooperation in fighting illegal immigration

The Libyan Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha met Wednesday with the Italian counterpart, Luciana Lamorgese, in Rome and discussed illegal immigration issues, Libya's Anti Illegal Immigration Authority said on Facebook. The…

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Police in the UK try to identify 39 bodies found in container

Police have begun the task of identifying the 39 people who were found dead in a lorry container in an Essex industrial estate. The bodies were discovered in Grays after…

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Photo story: Aita Mari rescue boat leaves towards the Mediterranean

'Aita Mari' rescue vessel leaves the port in Pasaia, Basque Country, Spain, towards the Mediterranean Sea to distribute eight tons of humanitarian aid, 20 October 2019. Photos: EPA-EFE/Javier Etxezarreta…

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Recovery of corpses from migrant shipwreck in Lampedusa

Photos showing divers of the Italian Coast Guard preparing to go down about 60 meters deep, six miles south of the coast of Lampedusa, to recover 13 corpses- 12 of…

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12 bodies found in shipwreck off Lampedusa

A handout video grab taken from underwater footage made by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and released by the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia Costiera). The photo shows the wreckage of…

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French patrols doubled to tackle migrant crossings to the UK

The UK and France have agreed an enhanced action plan which will see patrols on French beaches doubled, as activity is stepped up to tackle migrants crossing the Channel in…

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EU sees spike in arrivals of Afghan asylum-seekers

Reuters reports that so far this year, Afghans have made up the largest number of asylum-seekers arriving to the European Union, outnumbering Syrians. According to EU and Iranian officials, many…

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IOM Organizes First Humanitarian Charter Flight from Algeria to Niger

This week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) organized its first flight for voluntary return from the southern Algerian city of Tamanrasset to Niger’s capital, Niamey, carrying 166 Nigerien nationals,…

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Hungary urges EU dialogue with Turkey to prevent new wave of migrants

The European Union should have a dialogue with Turkey despite Ankara’s offensive on Kurdish-led forces in Syria, in order to avoid a fresh wave of migrants coming to Europe, Hungarian…

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Over 900 EASO personnel deployed in operations in four EU Member States

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has reached unprecedented levels of operational activity in supporting the asylum authorities of Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta. At the end of September 2019,…

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Search continuing in Lampedusa for victims of latest tragedy

Italian authorities are continuing the search for the bodies of the persons that were on-board a boat that capsized earlier this week off the coast of Lampedusa. According to survivors,…

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Italy says Malta migration accord is already operational

Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said after an EU interior ministers meeting on migrants in Luxembourg Tuesday that "I can't give numbers" of the countries backing a recent swift redistribution…

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UPDATED: Tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa after boat full of migrants capsizes

Update: The Italian Coast Guard and Italian finance police rescued 22 survivors and recovered the bodies of 13 people, all women, after a boat carrying about 50 migrants overturned Sunday night…

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Migrants arrive from Lesvos island to the Greek port of Piraeus

Women hold their babies after disembarking from the ferry 'Nissos Samos' upon her arrival from Lesvos island to the port of Piraeus, Greece, 07 October 2019. The ferry arrived in…

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Germany warns of ‘refugee wave’ bigger than 2015

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has warned of a larger influx of refugees than that seen in Europe in 2015 while on an official visit to the Greek islands.…

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UN Security Council extends Operation Sophia for another year

The UN Security Council unanimously decided to extend the task of the Operation Sophia, off the Libyan coast, for another year. The resolution adopted under Chapter VII has condemned all…

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Greece accuses Turkey of exploiting Europe’s migrant crisis

Greece’s prime minister accused Turkey on Friday of appearing to “exploit” Europe’s migrant crisis for its own ends and said Ankara can and must control migrant flows to the continent.…

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UN refugee chief calls on EU to restore search-and-rescue operations.

On the sixth anniversary of a shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa that claimed at least 368 lives, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called on EU States to…

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71 migrants land in Lampedusa

71 migrants, including two women and a minor, landed, in the pouring rain, in Lampedusa, Italy on Wednesday evening. A Coast Guard patrol boat rescued them in the sea in…

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For sixth consecutive year, migrant, refugee death toll in Mediterranean tops 1,000 victims

More than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that this “bleak milestone” has been reached, the United Nations…

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Fire, death and violent protests at main refugee camp in Lesbos

At least one person has died after a fire broke out at an overcrowded refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, local officials say. They say the charred body…

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German police to increase border checks

Germany's federal police are set to increase the number of random border checks, said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer late Sunday. Germany's borders stretch 3,700 kilometers. Border checks are not common in…

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Joint AU-EU-UN Taskforce tries to find a solution to the migrant and refugee situation in Libya

The AU–EU–UN Tripartite Taskforce on the Situation of Stranded Migrant and Refugees in Libya met this week in New York in the margins of the high-level General Debate of…

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French President says ‘France cannot host everyone’

French President Emmanuel Macron has declared that France "cannot welcome everyone", the latest in a series of comments suggesting tighter new laws on immigration. Macron set the tone last week…

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IOM, UNICEF Strengthen Partnership to Respond to Needs of Migrant Children

Children as young as 10 are among Ethiopians leaving for better prospects outside the country, many with their parents’ consent. Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria, accounts…

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Twenty-three arrests made in the UK in people smuggling investigations

Twenty-three arrests have been made around the UK as part of a series of ongoing investigations into suspected people smuggling into the UK. The arrests, made between Wednesday 11 and…

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Malta migrant agreement is turning point says Italian PM Conte

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has hailed the agreement Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese reached in Malta with other EU countries on Monday on sharing the burden of the migrants who…

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Activist protest during Malta Ministerial Meeting on Migration at Fort St. Angelo

Activists set banners 'EU Get your Ships Together!' during a Ministerial Meeting on Migration at Fort St. Angelo in Vittoriosa, Malta, 23 September 2019. Interior ministers of Germany, France, Finland,…

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Greek police detain 10 Syrians disguised as volleyball team

A handout photo made available by the Greek police shows a group of migrants dressed as a team of volleyball players at the airport in Athens, Greece, 22 September 2019…

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