Immigration

Portugal’s new government tightens immigration rules

Portugal repealed a key migration policy on Monday as it aims to limit the number of new arrivals. The changes put an end to a rule that allowed non-EU migrants to…

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EU parliament approves migration system revamp ahead of bloc’s election

By Nette Noestlinger and Gabriela Baczynska European lawmakers on Wednesday approved a revamped migration system that the pro-EU political centre promises would reduce irregular arrivals as it seeks to stem…

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Immigration to UK slumped in 2020 due to COVID and Brexit

Net immigration to Britain fell by almost 90% last year to its lowest level since 1993 due to the impact of COVID-19 and Brexit, official figures showed this week. The…

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Lithuania denies Belarus reports of migrant death on border

Lithuania's interior ministry dismissed Belarusian reports that an Iraqi migrant had been found beaten to death after being turned away at the Lithuanian border, describing it as part of a…

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Malta: 46 asylum seekers rescued by AFM

A group of asylum seekers was rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta and brought to Boiler’s Wharf in Senglea on Monday morning at around 9am. On Monday afternoon, a…

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The Mediterranean is the largest cemetery in Europe – Pope Francis

Pope Francis has described the Mediterranean Sea, which desperate refugees and migrants regularly attempt to traverse in the hope of a better life, the "largest cemetery in Europe." Francis, who…

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Hong Kong passes immigration bill, raising alarm over ‘exit bans’

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong's legislature passed on Wednesday a controversial immigration bill, which lawyers, diplomats and right groups fear will give authorities unlimited powers to prevent residents and others…

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Australia immigration law ‘to require English test’

Australia will require foreign partners of existing residents to pass an English language test before gaining a permanent visa, its government says. The controversial immigration requirement, if approved by parliament,…

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Malta: “We can no longer face the crisis of immigration boat by boat” – Prime Minister during summit

It is not sustainable and we cannot address the situation on immigration boat by boat. Malta cannot be left alone for longer. These were the strong statements which Prime Minister…

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Malta: Migrants rescued by oil tanker on their way to Malta

A group of 27 migrants rescued by a Maersk oil tanker, Etienne, in international waters off Libya are heading to Malta, according to ship tracking websites. It is unclear whether…

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Malta-24 News Briefing Monday 3rd August 2020

Updated 1621 - Education Department launches new syllabus implementation plan, factors in possibility of remote schooling The Education Department has published a new syllabus implementation plan to take into consideration…

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Malta: Migrants at sea lose contact with NGO, prompting fears of a Libya pushback

A group of 71 migrants floating in Maltese waters went out of contact on Sunday morning, with an NGO saying it feared the boat would be pushed back to Libya.…

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Malta: PM insists government doing its utmost in tackling migration crisis

Prime Minister Robert Abela has insisted government will be doing everything it can to tackle the immigration crisis faced by the country. Speaking to party faithful, the Labour leader said…

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Malta: More immigrants brought into Malta

For the second time in a week, a group of immigrants have entered our country with no comment from the Government; total silence from Castille. Source: Net News Updated 16:40pm

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Malta lands rescued migrants held in squalid condition on animal transporter

A group of 50 migrants who were rescued at sea and stranded in unsanitary conditions on an animal transport ship for four days has been allowed to disembark in Malta. The…

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Malta: Fourth ship to keep more immigrants waiting for an EU solution

Another 77 immigrants are on board a Supreme Cruises ship, about 13 nautical miles off Malta. Source: One News Updated 17:30pm

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Greeks fear migrant arrivals from Turkey

Over the weekend various Greek media outlets have reported that a high number of migrants are being allowed to gather on the western coasts of Turkey in preparation to sail…

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Malta: Pressure for Malta to accept group of immigrants

Two boats carrying 85 and 70 immigrants on board are being rejected by Italy. In several Tweets on social media, the non-governmental organization Alarm Phone has called on the…

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Spain tops EU countries’ list of asylum requests

For the first time ever, Spain has received more asylum requests than any of its European Union partners, according to official data from the European Asylum Support Office. The ongoing…

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Salvini to go on trial – Italian Senate vote to lift his immunity

The Senate on Wednesday voted to allow prosecutors to proceed against League leader Matteo Salvini for allegedly illegally detaining a group of migrants when he was interior minister in a…

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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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Migrant’s death exposes UN failures in Libya

As tragedy and controversy continues to move hand in hand with the migrant voyages from the shores of Libya across the Mediterranean, Rana Jawad, the BBCs North Africa correspondent gives…

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US authorities to start arresting immigrants eligible for deportation – Trump

U.S. authorities plan to start arresting immigrants eligible for deportation in 10 cities this weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, adding that he was not concerned about the…

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Asylum applications in EU rise but are far below the crisis period levels

The number of people seeking political asylum in the European Union is rising again, driven up by Latin American refugees, but flows are expected to remain well below the…

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Italy holds Netherlands, EU ‘responsible’ for Sea Watch 3 issue

Italy's interior minister Matteo Salvini said he is holding the Netherlands and the European Union "responsible" for the fate of 42 migrants on board the Sea Watch 3. The Italian…

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Photo Story: 63 persons saved off Almeria in Spain

Sixty-three persons arrive on a Spanish sea rescue boat after being rescued while sailing on two small canoes on the Alboran Sea, in Almeria, southeastern Spain on the night of…

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More than 70 million displaced people worldwide, says UNHCR

The number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict exceeded 70 million globally last year - the highest number in the UN refugee agency's almost 70 years of operations. The…

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Italy lets 10 stranded migrants disembark, moves to ban rescue ships from its waters

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini allowed 10 of the 53 migrants stranded on the Sea-Watch 3 rescue ship to disembark but pressed ahead with plans to ban such boats…

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60 persons rescued off the coast of Khoms by Libya’s Coast Guard

The Libyan Coast Guard managed to rescue 60 persons in the Mediterranean about 92 miles north-west of Al-Khoms city as they were travelling towards European waters According to the…

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Italy to start fining NGOs that rescue migrants at sea

A decree adopted by the Italian government would force non-governmental organizations to pay between €10,000 and €50,000 for transporting rescued migrants to Italian ports. Apart from that, the decree…

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Libya’s migrants and refugees with tuberculosis ‘left to die’ in detention centres

Amid ongoing conflict in and around the capital, UNHCR spokesperson Rupert Colville expressed deep concern about the “ghastly conditions” in which migrants and refugees are being detained in the capital Tripoli and elsewhere.…

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Busy night for the AFM as more people saved in the Mediterranean

A total of 270 persons are expected in Malta Wednesday morning after being saved by the AFM in separate rescue operations in the Mediterranean. In the first operation 63…

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63 persons saved by AFM in the Mediterranean

63 persons are expected to disembark in Malta early this morning after being saved during the night by the Armed Forces of Malta The rescued 63 migrants were adrift and…

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Tunisia accused of refusing to allow migrant boat to dock

Tunisian rights organisation FTDES revealed Tunisian authorities were refusing 75 migrants saved at sea from coming ashore. The migrants were adrift in international waters in a boat with a…

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Reports of child left to die on abandoned dingy off Libyan coast, AFM saves 75 persons stranded on tuna pen

A five-year-old child died on board a rubber dingy in difficulty adrift off the coast of Libya during an attempt to reach European shores. According to Alarm Phone,…

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Malta rescues 216 persons

A Maltese armed forces patrol boat picked up more than 200 people from two dinghies in the Mediterranean and was bringing them to Malta on Saturday, a spokesman said. At…

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Italy’s Foreign Minister says immigration should be EU’s top priority

Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi told a ANSA Forum on Thursday that this week's European elections could create a sort of constituent assembly for a new EU in which immigration…

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290 migrants rescued off eastern coast of Tripoli

Reuters reports that Libya's coast guard rescued 290 migrants clinging to inflatable rafts on Friday in two operations near the capital Tripoli. A coastguard vessel rescued 87 migrants off Qarabuli,…

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Another group of migrants stranded after being saved by SeaWatch

German migrant rescue NGO SeaWatch on Wednesday rescued 65 migrants off Libya but currently has not been given permission to dock anywhere. SeaWatch said Libya, Malta, Italy and the Netherlands…

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Photo Story: Children saved from Libya go for a drive with Pope Francis

Pope Francis gave a lift to eight children who only last month were airlifted out of Libya. Pope Francis took eight children rescued from crisis-hit Libya for a ride in…

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At least 50 migrants die off the coast of Tunisia after their boat capsized

At least 70 migrants drowned on Friday when their boat sank in international waters off the Tunisian coast, and 16 were saved, the state-run Tunis Afrique Presse agency said. The…

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NGO-run ship Mare Jonio seized

Italian Finance police seized the NGO run ship 'Mare Jonio' on Friday after the search-and-rescue ship picked up 30 migrants in the Mediterranean. The finance police boarded the ship to…

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New controversy as Salvini refuses to let Italian Navy ship with migrants dock

Italian Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday that he will refuse to assign a port for a Navy ship to dock in after it rescued dozens of…

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Libya coast guard detains 113 migrants

The United Nations announced that the Libyan coast guard has stopped 113 migrants trying to reach Italy over the past two days, as boat departures resume following a lull in…

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DNA study reveals Britons who built Stonehenge were product of ancient wave of migrant farmers

The ancestors of the Britons who built Stonehenge were farmers who had travelled from an area near modern Turkey, arriving around 4000BC. Researchers compared DNA extracted from Neolithic human remains…

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Salvini insists terrorist presence on migrants boats from Libya now a certainty

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the chaos in Libya following Khalifa Haftar's offensive has increased the risk of terrorist presence on migrant boats headed for Italy, said, adding…

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Italy on the alert for foreign fighters escaping from Libya

The Italian Interior Ministry issued a directive aimed at dealing with terrorists possibly escaping and arriving from war torn Libya. The Ministry warned that hundreds of Islamic terrorists could arrive…

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Salvini once more under investigation for kidnapping of migrants

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is once under investigation for kidnapping migrants. Salvini on Monday said he is being probed for allegedly abducting migrants allegedly held on a ship stopped…

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Italy says “no” to military intervention in Libya

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said any foreign military intervention in Libya would not resolve the latest conflict in its former colony, warning that it might trigger a refugee…

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Alan Kurdi ship saga ends… migrants to be taken in by four EU countries

The Maltese government announced that more than 60 migrants stranded at sea for more than a week on the German rescue ship Alan Kurdi would be taken in by four EU…

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France ready to take some Sea Eye migrants

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced that France is ready, along with several other European partners, to welcome 20 out of the 60 migrants stranded off Malta aboard the…

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Alan Kurdi ship appeals to Europe for a safe port

The Alan Kurdi ship that has been eight days out at sea with scores of African migrants on board appealed to European states for a safe port, saying the health…

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Eight migrants missing off Libyan coast

Eight migrants are missing off Libya, the Alarm Phone rescue alert service said Wednesday. The service got a phone call about 6 a.m. from a dinghy in difficulty carrying around…

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UNHCR chief warns New Zealand massacre was the result of toxic politics and media

Filippo Grandi, the head of the UNHCR, warned that the deadly attack in Christchurch, New Zealand was the result of the worst toxicity in politics and media toward refugees, migrants…

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Romania laments brain drain

Eugen Teodorovici, Romanian Finance Minister, said the country's brain drain is undermining Romania's ability to compete on a European level and called on the European Union to do more to…

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‘Sea Eye’ ship heads for Lampedusa

The ship ‘Alan Kurdi’ belonging to German migrant rescue NGO Sea Eye is heading for the Italian island of Lampedusa with its 64 rescued migrants among them a new…

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Libyan Navy warns NGOs’ not to sail into Libyan waters

The Libyan Navy and Coast Guard have warned NGOs not to enter the country's territorial waters or even operate close to the Libyan coastguards. In a statement, the Libyan Navy…

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