CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – The death toll from a migrant boat disaster off Egypt’s coast climbed to 133 on Friday as rescuers recovered more bodies from the Mediterranean. Survivors have said up to 450 migrants were on board the overcrowded fishing vessel that was heading to Italy from Egypt when it keeled over off the port city of Rosetta on Wednesday. “The death toll from the illegal migrant boat that capsized off the coast of Rosetta… […]
Tag: migrants
French farmers, truckers block roads in migrant camp demo
CALAIS, France (AFP) – by David COURBET Benjamin MASSOT Angry French truckers and farmers blocked the main routes in and out of the port of Calais on Monday to call for the closure of the sprawling “Jungle” migrant camp. Around 70 trucks mounted a “go-slow” on the A16 motorway — the main artery for freight and passengers heading for Britain either via the Channel Tunnel or on board ferries from the port. Dozens of farmers […]
Some 6,500 migrants rescued off Libya: coastguard
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Around 6,500 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Monday, the Italian coastguard said, in one of its busiest days of life-saving in recent years. Dramatic images of one operation showed about 700 migrants crammed onto a fishing boat, with some of them jumping off the vessel in life jackets and swimming towards rescuers. A five-day-old baby was among those rescued along with other infants and was airlifted to […]
Israel minister bans soldiers from volunteering with migrant children
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has prohibited soldiers from volunteering in their free time with children of migrants who are illegally in the country, sparking fierce debate Monday. Human rights organisations, leftwing opposition politicians and some media condemned the decision as racist, while rightwing supporters said the soldiers should instead help disadvantaged Israelis. Commanders of some units in the army, one of Israel’s most important institutions, encourage their troops to carry out […]
Czech president refuses to welcome any migrants
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) – Czech President Milos Zeman has rejected a government proposal to take in some 2,700 migrants languishing in Italy and Greece, claiming they might pose a security threat, his spokesman said Tuesday. “The president is against welcoming any migrants on Czech territory. Our country can’t afford to run the risk of having terrorist attacks like those committed in France and Germany,” Zeman’s spokesman Jiri Ovcacek told reporters. Islamic State group jihadists have […]
Supreme Court blocks key Obama immigration plan
by Sébastien BLANC Jérôme CARTILLIER WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Supreme Court blocked Barack Obama’s bid to shield millions of migrants from deportation on Thursday — a major blow to the president that thrusts the charged issue to the frontline of the battle to succeed him. Justices in the under-strength court were split 4-4 over Obama’s bid to change immigration policy by executive action, thus leaving lower court rulings blocking the effort in […]
2000 migrants moved from Idomeni camp
Idomeni, Greece (AFP)—Greek police on Tuesday transferred some two thousand migrants out of the overcrowded camp of Idomeni, launching a major operation to clear up the squalid tent city where thousands fleeing war and poverty have lived for months. The operation began at dawn, and by evening officials said they had put 2,031 people on buses to newly opened camps near Greece’s second city Thessaloniki, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the south. “The operation […]
EU set to extend Schengen border controls
BRUSSELS, Belgium – AFP The EU is set this week to allow countries to extend border controls in the passport-free Schengen area as a result of the migrant crisis and recent terror attacks following a request by five countries, European sources said Monday. Germany, France, Austria, Denmark and Sweden wrote to the European Commission saying the border situation remains “extremely volatile” and asking them to prolong their right to keep frontier checks. “We have a […]
EU to give emergency aid to help Greece cope with migrants
by Danny KEMP with Eric RANDOLPH in Calais BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The European Union will Wednesday announce plans for emergency aid to Greece which is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants with thousands stuck in misery at its border after Balkan states tightened their frontiers. Greece has asked for around 480 million euros ($520 million) to help shelter 100,000 refugees as Europe faces its biggest wave of refugees since World War II […]
Migrants crowd Vienna’s main station to wait for trains
SEPTEMBER 14 (Eagle News) — Austrian authorities braced themselves for another wave of migrants and refugees coming over the border from Hungary on Sunday (September 13), after a brief lull in arrivals gave them a chance to re-stock reception centers. Migrants crowded into Vienna’s Westbahnhof train station, one of the city’s main stations, where trains depart for Germany. Volunteers were on hand to give out refreshments and to help keep the children amused with toys […]
Germany frees up funds for refugees, speeds up asylum procedures
(Reuters) — The German government decided to free up additional three billion euros ($3.35 billion) for federal states and municipalities to help cope with this year’s record influx of refugees and migrants, a joint statement by the ruling coalition issued on Monday (September 7) said. At a high-level meeting that lasted more than five hours, leaders from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition also agreed on a series of other measures, such as speeding up asylum […]
Weary and cold, migrants sleep in open air in Hungary
SEPTEMBER 7 (Reuters) — Several hundred migrants woke up in a Hungarian field near the border with Serbia on Monday (September 7) morning, after spending a cold night in the open air. After walking across the border on Sunday (September 6) afternoon, some 500 people, mostly Syrians, were forced to camp out in an open field at temperatures of 8 degrees Celsius, as nearby transit camps were overcrowded with migrants. The field, designated as a […]





