Migrant crisis

Migrant-rescue ship enters Italy, captain arrested

The Sea-Watch 3 charity ship carrying dozens of migrants rescued off Libya forced its way into the Italian port of Lampedusa after a lengthy standoff, the charity has said.
Mother, wife of drowned Salvadoran migrants awaits their repatriation

Days after she lost her small daughter and husband to the treacherous currents of the Rio Grande, Tania Vanessa Avalos, 23, arrives back in El Salvador to await her family's return -- in coffins.
Malaysian Bar against crackdown on illegal migrants

Malaysian Bar urges its government to immediately cease the ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrants and embark on a comprehensive legalisation programme allowing them to independently apply for regularisation.
11 migrants dead, 263 rescued off Libya coast

At least eleven migrants died at sea and another 263 were rescued in two separate operations off the coast of Libya, the country's navy says.
'Unsustainable' spike in asylum seekers at Canada-US border

The number of asylum seekers who illegally crossed the US border into Canada more than tripled in July, 2017, according to Canadian government data, as migrants worried about the US administration's immigration crackdown head north.
Over 300 migrants rescued off Spanish coast

Over 300 migrants were rescued in seven dinghies off Spain's southern coast after attempting to cross the sea from Morocco, the Spanish maritime rescue service says.
Dozens feared dead in migrant shipwreck

Up to 30 migrants are feared dead after a boat capsized off the Libyan coast while some 50 have been rescued by EU vessels from the sea.
Bangladeshi asylum seeker dies on Manus Island

A Bangladeshi refugee dies of heart failure on Nauru, the second death in as many weeks on the tiny South Pacific island where detainees have been hurting themselves in protests, Australian officials say.
Pope takes Syrian migrants to Vatican

Pope Francis has taken 12 Syrian migrants back with him to the Vatican after visiting a camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
‘Many issues’ in way of EU migrant deal

EU leaders are to meet to finalise a deal with Turkey to help ease the migrant crisis.
Macedonia shuts border to migrants

Macedonia has said it will no longer let any migrants through its border with Greece, effectively blocking the Balkan route north.
Slovenia, Croatia ban transit of migrants as crisis spirals

Slovenia and neighbouring Croatia will refuse the transit of most migrants through their territory in a bid to seal off the Balkan route used by hundreds of thousands of people seeking a new life in Europe, officials say.
EU chief sees first consensus on migrant crisis

EU president Donald Tusk strikes an unusually upbeat note on the migrant crisis as Turkey raised the possibility of taking back non-Syrian asylum seekers.
'Do not come to Europe' - EU's Tusk

European Council President Donald Tusk has warned illegal economic migrants against coming to Europe, during a new push to solve the EU migrant crisis.
Migrant crisis: EU to unveil emergency aid plan

The European Union is preparing to spend hundreds of millions of euros on humanitarian aid, as Greece struggles to cope with an influx of migrants.
Over 131,000 migrants reached Europe by sea in 2016: UN

More than 131,000 migrants and refugees reach Europe via the Mediterranean this year, more than the total number in the first half of 2015, the United Nations says.
'No place for hate speech' on Facebook

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg says the social network needs to get better at cracking down on hate speech against migrants.
New Europe migrant limits face scrutiny

EU ministers meet in Brussels later amid warnings the migrant crisis could threaten the bloc's survival.
110,000 arrived this year: IOM

The number of migrants and refugees arriving in Italy and Greece since the start of the year has risen sharply compared to the same period 2015 and hundreds are stranded at European borders due to rising restrictions, aid agencies said yesterday.
Migrant crisis: Nato deploys Aegean people-smuggling patrols

Nato ships are being deployed to the Aegean sea to deter people-smugglers taking migrants from Turkey to Greece, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg says.
24 dead off Turkey as two boats sink

At least 24 migrants have died off the Turkish coast trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos, Turkish media say.
39 dead as migrant boat capsizes off Turkey

At least 39 migrants, including several children, have drowned trying to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, coastguards say.
Gates: US 'should take more' refugees

The United States "should set a better example" by taking in more refugees, the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates tells the BBC.
42 migrants drown as boats sink off Greece

A total of 42 migrants are reported to have drowned overnight in two separate shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea.
Denmark MPs debate tough new laws on immigration

Plans to seize the assets of asylum-seekers are among controversial new measures on immigration being debated by MPs in Demark's parliament.
Merkel proposes tougher migrant laws

German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposes changes to make it easier to deport asylum-seekers who commit crimes, after the New Year's Eve sex attacks on women in Cologne.
Migrant crisis dominates as EU meets

Germany and several other nations are to discuss with Turkey ways of settling thousands of Syrian refugees ahead of the final EU summit of the year.
Migrant crisis: EU to launch new border force plan

Controversial plans for an EU Border and Coast Guard force are to be set out as part of an EU drive to curb the record influx of migrants.
Australia migrant center standoff ends

A stand-off between detainees and police at a migrant detention centre on Christmas Island has ended, Australian immigration authorities say.
Migrant crisis: 22 drown off Greek islands

At least 22 migrants - many of them children - drown trying to reach Kalymnos and Rhodes from Turkey, in the second major boat tragedy off Greek islands this week.