The German sea rescue NGO Sea-Watch has accused the Maltese government of deliberate inaction when it comes to saving the lives of migrants and refugees in Mediterranean waters. In a series of tweets, the private sea rescue organization said that Maltese armed forces only appeared to intervene in such cases when they received according orders.
Croatia has assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council -- for the first time. The youngest EU member state is having a chance to prove itself on the world stage amid serious allegations of migrant abuse at its borders.
Austria's first government coalition between the conservative People’s Party and the Green Party will have ripple effects on a range of issues including immigration. The two parties took nearly three months to iron out their disagreements -- with migration being the key issue that sets the unlikely bedfellows apart.
As Egypt is suffering an economic downturn, migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan countries are experiencing growing abuse and violence. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is trying to intervene, making skin-deep reassurances.
More than 150 organizations have pledged support to the "United4Rescue" initiative, launched by Germany's Protestant Church, which hopes to finance sea rescue efforts and send its own vessel into the Mediterranean Sea. The group is hoping to acquire a rescue ship in the near future.
With the United Kingdom poised to leave the European Union on January 31, the number of boat arrivals on the British coastline has dramatically risen in recent months.
Seven migrants were killed in eastern Turkey after their boat sank in Lake Van, according to the official Anadolu news agency. Turkish authorities meanwhile said that they rescued 64 people.
Two asylum seekers in northern Greece have committed suicide. The two men, an Afghan and an Iraqi national, were found in the village of Mouries near the Greek border with North Macedonia.
Many of the thousands of refugees fleeing persecution and violent conflict in Iraq in recent years have migrated to neighboring Jordan. But the Middle Eastern country is struggling to cope with this influx. The Catholic Church is trying to alleviate at least some of the pressure on the desert nation.
A global summit in Geneva is hoping to address a series of issues relating to global migration trends reaching from forcible displacement to the energy and infrastructure needs of refugees. The event, however, might also be hijacked by politicians pursuing their own agendas.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has renewed calls on Germany and other countries to take in migrants and refugees currently stuck in Greece. At the same time, his government plans to expedite deportations in the new year.
UN experts on arbitrary detention have urged the Greek government to make urgent changes to the detention of migrants, stressing that the country was in continuing violation of various international standards.