According to Germany’s new Special Commissioner for Migration Joachim Stamp, the German government plans to asses its options for transferring asylum procedures to the African continent. Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants the government to also focus on deportations of people with no right to remain in the country.
The Italian coast guard has recovered the bodies of five migrant men and three migrant women in the Mediterranean. One of the women reportedly was pregnant. The bodies of two people were still missing after initial search operations.
A transgender activist from Cameroon has arrived in Belgium, where she was given asylum. Despite suffering violent attacks, she had to spend over a year in exile in Nigeria while her claim in Belgium was being processed.
A new report suggests that migrants and refugees are being pushed back within the European Union from Italy to Greece under what many have described as "inhumane" circumstances. Even though the practice is highly illegal, hundreds of potential asylum seekers seem to have been affected by it in recent years.
The number of asylum applications in Germany has risen significantly in the past year. In addition to around one millions Ukrainians seeking protection, almost a quarter of a million people from elsewhere submitted asylum applications in Germany in 2022.
The PEN writers' association NGO in Germany has called on the government to accept Iranian opposition figures as refugees. It said the government should create a special program similar to the way Ukrainians and Afghans have been treated.
An Eritrean man accused of being involved in a migrant smuggling network appeared at a pretrial hearing in the Netherlands. Prosecutors said they will also seek the extradition of the network's alleged ringleader, who was captured in Sudan earlier this month in connection with the same case.
The Ocean Viking private rescue vessel, run by the aid organization SOS Mediterranee, has rescued 37 migrants in distress off the coast of Libya on Saturday. Later that same day, the team on board the Geo Barents vessel, run by MSF, rescued 73 people.
Following an international manhunt led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an Eritrean man described as one of "the world's most wanted" human traffickers has been arrested in Sudan. Interpol said that the suspect, Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam, had a reputation for being "particularly cruel and violent against migrants."
Armed attacks in South Sudan have forced some 30,000 people to flee their homes in recent weeks, according to UN figures. The region surrounding the eastern African nation, which has been plagued by violent conflict for years, could be the breeding ground for the next major migration movement.
The number of Iranian asylum seekers coming to Germany has risen significantly since the onset of the latest wave of protests in the country. That's according to a report published in the news magazine, Der Spiegel.
Migrants are using increasingly creative ways to journey to their destinations, often ignoring the risks involved. So-called clandestine journeys, which often involve stowing away in cars, lorries, boats, trains or planes are among the most dangerous ways people can travel.