Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Wednesday urged people across the world to open their arms to migrants, as Catholic charity Caritas launched its “Share the Journey” campaign on migration. “With open arms … that is exactly how to welcome (migrants), with arms wide open,” Francis …
Read More »Libya threatens to seize NGO migrant rescue boats
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Libya’s navy warned it will seize activists’ boats on migrant rescue missions that enter its waters unauthorised, after a run-in Wednesday with a German vessel during which a warning shot was fired. “This time we avoided an escalation. In future, we will seize the boats of …
Read More »Libya, Italy net 5,000 migrants in a week
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Libya’s coastguard has rescued over 3,000 migrants aiming to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in the past week, while Italy picked up another 2,000 in recent days, official and reports said Sunday. Though the numbers attempting the dangerous journey have dropped off significantly in recent months, …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Unwelcome in Israel, African refugees dream of home
Tel Aviv, Israel | AFP | Tens of thousands of Africans who fled misery at home for safety in Israel are living in limbo, fearing deportation though some have lived in the country for more than a decade. Recognising a rising tide of discontent among Israelis over the migrants’ presence …
Read More »‘Migration cannot be stopped, but can be managed’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The 4th International Conference NOW in Kampala on “African Youth and Migration” concluded on Tuesday with a call to the African (AU) and European Union (EU) to try to develop common concepts of managing – not stopping – migration. “The AU and EU should work …
Read More »Italy applauds Libya’s decision on migrant ‘search and rescue’ zone
Rome, Italy | AFP | The Italian government on Sunday welcomed Libya’s decision to bar foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast, a move that has prompted almost all international charities to halt migrant search and rescue operations in the area. The comments from Italian Foreign Minister Angelino …
Read More »At least 56 dead as smugglers throw 300 African migrants into Yemen sea
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | At least 56 people have drowned over the past 24 hours, and dozens remain missing, after human traffickers forced 300 African migrants off two Yemen-bound boats and into the sea. Survivors — all Ethiopian and Somali migrants — managed to make their way to …
Read More »Coldplay release song to support migrants
New York, United States | AFP | English rockers Coldplay have released a new song written with ambient legend Brian Eno, with proceeds to support migrants who make the dangerous journey to Europe across the Mediterranean. “Aliens,” released late Thursday alongside an animated video, is the latest single from Coldplay’s upcoming …
Read More »Boy travels from Morocco to Spain under bus
Madrid, Spain | AFP | A boy travelled at least 230 kilometres from Morocco to Spain hanging underneath a bus, officials said Monday, in another example of desperate measures taken by migrants to get to Europe. Emergency services in the southern Spanish city of Seville tweeted a video of the …
Read More »UPDATE: Record 65.6 million people displaced worldwide
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in Syria, South Sudan and elsewhere left a record 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the UN said Monday. That number marks a jump of just 300,000 from the end of 2015, but is …
Read More »