Herbert Kickl, Austria's far-right populist interior minister, came out for tough asylum laws. He even questioned the European Convention on Human Rights, infuriating Austria's president and Amnesty International.
Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has voted in favor of declaring four additional countries "safe countries of origin." However, the Bundesrat, the upper house, still has to ratify the decision. The addition of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Georgia to list of safe nations is not without controversy.
About 50 percent of all people leaving Turkey because they feel politically persecuted seek shelter in Germany. In 2018, there were more than 10,000 asylum applications from Turks in Germany. About two-fifths of applicants were issued some form of protection.
Prithu Sanyal is a blogger and an atheist – both things are considered unacceptable in his country Bangladesh. He received death threats by Islamic militants and even his family members were against him. In Germany, he is relieved to be able to write about social issues, free speech and religious freedom again.
Five political refugees from Iran and Turkey are trying to bridge the divide between Greeks and refugees with language lessons and literature translations. The collective is currently operating out of a tiny apartment, but hoping to one day open a cultural center.
They learned at school that Greeks were their enemies. Now many exiled Turks have found refuge in Thessaloniki. Florian Schmitz met some of them.
The German government has committed to accepting refugees under a program to resettle people considered particularly vulnerable. Controls of Germany's border to Austria look set to be extended for another six months.
Soumaila was forced to flee Mali due to his work in an opposition party. He first fled to Algeria and then Italy, experiencing the tragic situation of Libya in between. Now he wants to build a future in Italy as a lawyer.
As part of a reception program in Italy, four African refugees are interning as gardeners at one of the largest palaces erected in Europe during the 18th century.
Nearly 3000 Syrian refugee families who fled violence in Deir al Zour and Raqqa are living in dire conditions just one kilometer outside the border with Jordan, after the country refused them entry. Displaced Syrians are flocking to the Jordanian borders in the aftermath of bloody fighting against the Islamic State in Deir al Zour and Raqqa, but Jordan is refusing to allow refugees enter its territories, leaving dozens of womens and children in need of urgent aid, activists said today.
The Israeli government is re-examining the status of Eritrean migrants to see whether civil rights have improved in the country. Tensions between the local population and African migrants are increasing.