At least 34 migrants have died after the boat they were travelling in sank off Syria’s coast. Twenty survivors are being treated in a hospital in the southern Syrian city of Tartus, the country’s health ministry said. Quoting survivors, officials said the boat was carrying between 120 and 150 people from Minyeh, near the Lebanese port city of Tripoli. They said rescue operations were ongoing in challenging conditions. Located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, Tartus is located about 30 miles (50 km) north of the Lebanese port city of Tripoli. Lebanon hosts an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees, and almost 14,000 … Continue reading Dozens of migrants killed as boat sinks off Syrian coast

Two buses carrying migrants were sent from Texas to just outside Vice-President Kamala Harris’s residence in Washington DC on Thursday, amid a growing political row over immigration. The state’s Republican governor said the move was intentional and called for tighter immigration policies. It comes a day after Florida sent migrants to a Massachusetts island. Both states appear to be escalating a tactic which has seen Republican states send migrants to Democratic areas. As political tension over the number of people arriving at the US-Mexico border grows, states such as Texas and Arizona have sent thousands of migrants to cities such … Continue reading Texas sends migrants to vice-president’s Washington residence

Five people have been arrested for smuggling migrants into western Europe on private jets, Italian police say. The suspects gave the migrants fake diplomatic papers for the Caribbean nation of St Kitts and Nevis. Private jets, officially heading to the Caribbean, took them from Turkey to a stopover at a European airport, where the migrants declared their real identity and claimed asylum. Police believe the gang charged about €10,000 (£8,650) per person. The five suspects have been arrested in Rome and Brussels. Two other suspects are still on the run. An Italian, three Egyptian men and one Tunisian woman were … Continue reading Five arrested for private jet diplomat asylum scam

The authorities in the Netherlands are investigating the death of a three-month-old baby in the country’s main reception centre for asylum seekers. They say the baby died on Wednesday morning in “a sports hall that serves as emergency shelter” in the north-eastern Ter Apel village. “Unfortunately, medical help was to no avail,” the country’s Health and Youth Care Inspectorate said in a statement. The baby’s name, gender or nationality have not been publicly released. The inspectorate said it would “investigate all possible aspects that may have played a role in the death of the baby”. This will include examining whether … Continue reading Tragic: Dutch authorities investigate baby death at asylum centre

Washington DC’s mayor has asked for National Guard troops to be activated to help process undocumented migrants arriving on buses in the district. Muriel Bowser called the arrival of some 4,800 migrants from the southern border a “humanitarian crisis” that had brought her city to a “tipping point”. The bus trips were organised in Texas and Arizona in protest against the Biden administration’s border policies. Migration across the US-Mexico border has surged to record levels. Officials in border states have grown increasingly restive over what they perceive as the federal government’s inability to manage the crisis. Texas Governor Greg Abbott … Continue reading Washington DC overwhelmed by migrants from the border

At least 17 people from Haiti have died in a boat accident off the coast of The Bahamas, the government has said. Bahamian PM Philip Davis said it is thought those on board were travelling from Haiti to Miami, Florida in the US. Police in The Bahamas said the boat capsized more than 11 km (6.8 miles) off the island of New Providence. Another 25 people were rescued, including one woman who was found alive inside the overturned boat, authorities said. One child was among the dead. At least one person is still missing, with search missions underway. Two people … Continue reading About 17 Haitians die after boat capsizes in Bahamas

In a gruesome discovery, at least 42 people, believed to be migrants, have been found dead in an abandoned lorry on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. According to one local outlet, over a dozen people have also been taken to hospital in varying conditions. Images posted to social media showed a significant number of emergency responders surrounding the large truck. According to KSAT TV channel, the vehicle was discovered next to rail tracks in San Antonio’s Southwest Side. According to the New York Times, San Antonio Police Department officers were searching for the vehicle’s driver who was missing from … Continue reading Tragic: 40 migrants found dead in abandoned lorry

Human rights campaigners in Spain and Morocco have called for investigations to be launched in both countries after a mass attempt to scale the border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla left at least 23 people dead. Spanish officials said about 2,000 Africans made their way to the iron fence at dawn on Friday, with more than 500 managing to slip into a border control area after cutting an opening with shears. Moroccan officials initially said five people had died in what they described as a “stampede”. Late on Saturday, Moroccan state TV said the death toll had … Continue reading Update: Calls for investigation over deaths in Moroccan-Spanish border crossing

A total of 108 migrants have been rescued from a boat that was found rudderless and leaking water in the Aegean Sea in near gale force winds, Greek authorities have said. The rescued migrants comprised of 63 men, 24 women and 21 children, who told authorities that four other people are missing.Migrants were pictured in a shelter on Mykonos following the rescue Late on Saturday, the coastguard received reports of an adrift sailing boat off the uninhabited Greek island of Delos. It dispatched three rescue vessels and a tugboat in response. Rescuers managed to tow the boat to an islet … Continue reading Migrants rescued from leaky rudderless boat in strong winds

Thousands of migrants are headed to the US-Mexican border in a caravan timed to coincide with a meeting of Western Hemisphere leaders in Los Angeles. Some 6,000 people, including many from Venezuela and Central America, have begun walking from the southern tip of Mexico north as part of a caravan. Migration is among the top issues on the agenda at the Summit of the Americas. The caravan may be one of the largest in recent years. On Monday, the group began its 1,270 mile (2,000 km) journey to the US from the Mexican city of Tapachula, near the country’s border … Continue reading Migrant caravan heads to US as key summit begins

Seventy-five people are missing after a crowded boat of migrants sank off Tunisia, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The IOM said 24 people had been rescued from the boat, which left the beaches of Zawara in northern Libya and sank off the coast of Sfax. A Tunisian security official told Reuters news agency that the coastguard had recovered a body. Those who were rescued were aged between 18 and 40 and of various nationalities, including people from Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco and Cameroon, Sfax courts spokesman Mourad Turki said. He added that the initial numbers of those missing … Continue reading Tragic: 75 people missing after boat sinks off Tunisia coast

More than 20 people have been injured in clashes between migrants and police in the town of Tapachula, on Mexico’s southern border, officials say. Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) said about 100 migrants, mainly from Cuba, Haiti and countries in Africa, joined in “violent protests”. The INM said the migrants were trying to jump the queue for permits to allow them to continue their journey north. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people cross Mexico headed to the US. Migrants threw stones and sticks at members of the National Guard and scuffles broke out between the two sides. Rights activist … Continue reading Migrants clash with police in Mexico border town