Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel plans to force tens of thousands of African migrants to leave over the next three months by threatening to arrest those who stay, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday. Under the plan, some 38,000 migrants who entered Israel illegally, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese, will …
Read More »From Libya’s migrant hell to Italy’s handbag fashion world
LAMA DI RENO, Italy | AFP | From forced labour in Libya to a job as a founding member of an Italian fashion start-up, Bassirou has come a long way in two years, thanks to his skills with scissors. The 26-year-old Burkina Faso native is the star student of a …
Read More »Niger evacuates 500 of its nationals from Libya
Niamey, Niger | AFP | Niger has flown home more than 500 of its citizens from Libya as part of an urgent repatriation plan which will see up to 4,000 people evacuated, the foreign ministry has said. The move follows global shock over the atrocities suffered in Libya by African migrants, …
Read More »Returning Nigerians express relief after ‘hell’ of Libya camps
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian migrants expressed relief as they arrived home on Tuesday from Libya, describing the “hell” of harsh conditions in detention camps where they had been held. African heads of state have condemned the treatment of undocumented migrants in Libya, including widespread violence and apparent slave trading. …
Read More »Minibus smuggling people into Turkey crashes, killing 10
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | A minibus smuggling people from Syria into Turkey hit a truck on the Turkish side of the border on Sunday, killing 10 people on board and severely injuring seven others, according to the Dogan news agency. The head-on collision happened in Hatay province in the …
Read More »Europe-Africa summit aims for evacuation of 3,800 migrants risking abuse
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Leaders at an EU-Africa summit called Thursday for the immediate evacuation of nearly 4,000 distressed African migrants in Libya under a new drive to fight slave traders and traffickers. Wrapping up a two-day summit in Ivory Coast’s economic capital, a top African Union (AU) official …
Read More »AU, EU summit winds up after anti-slavery initiative
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | A summit gathering European and African leaders from more than 80 countries drew to a close Thursday with plans for the immediate evacuation of some 3,800 African migrants stranded in Libya. Wrapping up the summit in the Ivorian capital, a top African Union official said …
Read More »Italy says 1,100 migrants rescued from sea in one day
Rome, Italy | AFP | About 1,100 migrants from the Libyan coast were rescued from the sea on Wednesday, including a woman who gave birth in a rubber boat, the Italian coastguard and monitors said. They were recovered from 10 rubber boats and a small wooden boat in a rescue …
Read More »600 African migrants rescued near Spain
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Around 600 African migrants were rescued off the coast of Spain in 24 hours, a sea rescue patrol said Saturday. The Guardia Civil and Salvamento Maritimo rescue service added that operations to recover further migrants were still under way. Spain is the third busiest gateway …
Read More »Tanzanian domestic workers in the Gulf face abuse: HRW
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Female domestic workers from Tanzania are being physically and sexually abused and exploited by Gulf employers, a rights group said Tuesday in a report blocked from publication in Tanzania. In a 100-page report on treatment of East African female domestic workers in Oman and the …
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