UK plans to outsource asylum processing to Rwanda
Britain has announced plans to send migrants and refugees who cross the Channel thousands of miles away — to Rwanda. The deal announced on Thursday led to widespread criticism.
Britain has announced plans to send migrants and refugees who cross the Channel thousands of miles away — to Rwanda. The deal announced on Thursday led to widespread criticism.
The global solidarity with Ukrainian refugees is also being demonstrated in Belgium, where they have opened a center dedicated to registering Ukrainian asylum applications. Local NGOs express regret that all asylum seekers are not receiving the same warm hand of welcome.
A fire broke out in a warehouse underneath a migrant hosting facility in Turin, northwestern Italy. Eighty migrants were evacuated.
The number of refugees and migrants still on the Greek islands in the Aegean has decreased toward the end of the year. The conditions for the remaining migrants however remain precarious, according to various aid organizations.
There are currently over 4,500 migrants and refugees in Serbia's reception centers, according to local authorities. Afghans and Syrians are the largest national groups among them.
A 27-year-old man has died in a fire in an asylum seeker center in the northern German city of Hamburg. Police said the man was of Afghan origin.
Eighteen associations promoting the health rights of migrants and refugees have appealed to European governments and to EMPs to change the model of large holding centers in the new European pact on migration and asylum. Large centers, they said in the recent appeal, "have devastating effects on the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers."
After nine migrants fled an asylum center in northwestern Italy, local politicians are calling on the Rome government to take "immediate measures to put an end to an emergency situation." They claim the migrants pose a "risk for public health and safety."
An attempted revolt and escape took place at a migrant repatriation center in Gradisca d'Isonzo, northeastern Italy. The incident occurred during the night between Friday and Saturday and ended in three arrests as well as serious damage to the facility.
A video about a policeman humiliating Tunisian migrants in Italy has sparked controversy after going viral. It shows a police officer slapping a migrant and forcing other refugees to slap each other as "punishment" for having tried to escape from a migrant reception center. The incident led to the police officer being placed under investigation for abuse of correction methods.
Two centers for asylum seekers in Mainz and Regensburg have reported scores of new COVID-19 cases -- even though the number of new infections in Germany overall has decreased. Researchers warn that the virus can spread rapidly in asylum centers.
At least 70 people at a refugee home near Bonn have tested positive for COVID-19. News of the outbreak prompted calls for better protection for asylum-seekers and more testing at the often crowded facilities.