The Aita Mari was supposed to run search and rescue missions in the Central Mediterranean. But the Spanish government denied the ship permission to do so and blocked it from setting sail for months. That's why the crew decided to go on an aid mission in Greece instead.
Spanish charities including Proactiva Open Arms received the green light to set sail from the port of Barcelona on Wednesday. Instead of returning to the central Mediterranean to save migrants, the NGOs will deliver aid supplies to migrants on the Greek islands.
One woman reportedly died as a boat overturned on the rocky coast of the Greek island of Samos. 50 migrants survived.
A primary school on the Greek island of Samos is at the center of a controversy after a group of local parents refused to send their children to school. Their protest is indicative of a growing frustration among local Greek communities over the arrivals of refugees since 2015.
A boat carrying migrants has sunk off the Greek island of Samos. Greek authorities said three people drowned, including two small boys. Nine others were rescued.
Two new facilities are set to open soon in a bid to ease the pressure on the overcrowded refugee camps on the north eastern Aegean islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros.
On the Greek island of Samos, thousands of migrants and refugees from Africa feel trapped. They are disappointed with the long asylum procedures, leaving them in limbo in overcrowded camps amid horrid living conditions.
Greece's government is scrambling to clear-out thousands of migrants from the island of Samos - home to the country's most crowded and abysmal refugee camp. Authorities have already failed to meet a deadline for its evacuation, stoking a showdown with local authorities that have threatened to sue the migration minister for failed action. Anthee Carassava reports from the refugee camp of Samos.
More than 4,000 refugees and migrants currently reside on the Greek island of Samos, and the refugee camp with a capacity for only 700 people is bursting. Poor hygiene and harsh weather conditions are posing a threat to the migrant population. The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR warns the situation could escalate to become as catastrophic as on the neighboring island of Lesbos.
Authorities on the Greek island of Samos have urged a quicker transfer of refugees and migrants off the island. Reception centers are currently holding thousands more people than they were built for.
Regional governors of Greece's North Eastern Aegean islands are making fresh calls on the state to transfer thousands of refugees and migrants from overcrowded camps to the mainland, claiming the government is breaking its promises.
On the second anniversary of the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Greek government to finally put an end to its so called "containment" policy and stop the suffering of thousands of people still stranded at overcrowded migrant camps.