EU delivers 2.2 million vaccines to Afghan refugees in Iran
Responding to a request for assistance from Iran, the European Commission coordinated the delivery of 2.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for Afghan refugees in Iran.
monir ghaedi
Europol arrests 30 for smuggling migrants on yachts
Police forces in several European countries have arrested 30 individuals accused of profiteering several hundred million euros to smuggle migrants into the European Union from Turkey on luxury sailboats.
More than 700 migrants have reached Cyprus this year
The government of Cyprus says that it has already received more than 700 applications for asylum so far this year. The island nation, which has seen a spike in irregular arrivals in recent years, says it is encountering a "migration crisis", propelled by Turkey.
Polish border guard blocks 600 migrants from entering the country
While the number of migrant attempts to cross the Polish-Belarus border has dropped significantly, the situation of migrants stranded at the border or held in detention camps remains grave.
Dozens of migrants picked up by Turkish coast guard
The Turkish coast guard says that it has rescued about 120 migrants in several operations in the Aegean Sea. At least four boats were pushed back into Turkey's waters by Greece, the reports claim.
Migrants face uncertain future as Brussels church occupation ends
One year after undocumented migrants started staging a hunger strike at the Beguinage church in Brussels, the church has requested an end to the occupation. The migrants still have not received a ruling on their residency applications.
Lithuania lifts border emergency as arrivals cease
The Lithuanian interior minister says migrant arrivals from Belarus have stopped, while the foreign minister visited Iraqi officials to discuss the repatriation of Iraqi nationals stranded at the Belarus-Lithuania border.
Continuing tension between EU and Belarus, as Belavia restricts ticket sales
Some Middle Eastern passengers will no longer be able to purchase tickets for, or board Belavia flights from Turkey to Belarus. In Poland far-right nationalists march in Warsaw, protesting the build-up of migrants on the border; and Finland reports 30 migrant arrivals from Belarus.
Afghans In Iran: Thousands more arrive every day amid continuing deportations
The Norwegian Refugee Council says some 300,000 Afghans have sought shelter in Iran since the Taliban took power in August. Meanwhile, the UN Migration Agency IOM reports show over a million Afghans have already been sent back from Iran.
EU mulls sanctions on airline involved in migrants' trafficking
EU is ramping up efforts to stem the flow of irregular migrants attempting to enter the bloc from Belarus. Flight companies that connect Minsk to destinations in the Middle East could be a target of the EU's punitive measures.
Greece accuses Turkey of pushing migrants into Greek waters
Greece authorities have accused Turkey's coast guard of trying to push into Greek waters a boat with migrants. Athens has called on the EU to put pressure on Ankara to meet its international obligations.
Europe should pay for walls against migrants, say ministers
Nearly half of the European Union member states want Brussels to pay for physical barriers to tackle the "political instrumentalization" of migrants.