Niamey, Niger | AFP | At least 44 Libya-bound migrants, including women and babies, died of thirst after their vehicle broke down in the scorching Sahara desert of northern Niger, local officials said Thursday. “The number of migrants who died in the desert is 44 for now,” said Rhissa Feltou, …
Read More »OXFAM: Growing African repression causing migrant exodus
Durban, South Africa | AFP | African countries are becoming increasingly repressive and causing more people to leave their homes, British charity Oxfam said this week, as Germany warned of the destabilising effect migration is having on the continent. Political freedom and the problem of Africa’s brain-drain were among the …
Read More »Tunisia, Germany strike new immigration deal
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a new agreement with Tunisia on tackling illegal migration during a visit Friday, following tensions over the case of the Tunisian suspect in the Berlin market attack. Merkel, on a two-day trip to North Africa that also included a …
Read More »South African police fire rubber bullets at anti-immigrant march
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | South African police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to break up clashes between local protesters and immigrants in Pretoria on Friday at a march against foreigners. Shops and homes owned by migrants have been looted and torched over the last two …
Read More »Syrian refugee, hounded over Merkel selfie, sues Facebook
Wuerzburg, Germany | AFP | A Syrian refugee whose selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been repeatedly manipulated to link him to violent jihad, took Facebook to court on Monday for spreading defamatory fake news. Anas Modamani, 19, says the US social media giant has failed to take down …
Read More »Keep out! Ten of world’s top walls from Berlin to West Bank
Paris, France | AFP | When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 there were 16 major walls protecting borders around the world. In 2016 that number had grown to 66, according to researcher Elisabeth Vallet of the University of Quebec. As US President Donald Trump took the first step …
Read More »EU, Mali sign deal to return migrants
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | The European Union on Sunday signed an agreement with the Malian government aimed at enabling the return of migrants who have reached Europe’s shores, and whose asylum requests have been refused. “It is the first time the EU establishes such a precise mechanism with …
Read More »Erdogan threatens to open Turkey borders to migrants
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Friday to open Turkey’s borders to allow migrants to reach the EU, in a move that would tear up a landmark deal that has reduced the flow. Erdogan’s comments, some of his toughest in recent times against the European Union, …
Read More »Cheers and tears as migrant survivors make it to Italy
Palermo, Italy | AFP | More than 1,000 migrants sang hymns, danced and clapped as they sailed into Palermo on Monday, along with the corpses of 17 people who did not survive another series of tragedy-tainted rescues in the Mediterranean. Starting with the sick, women and children, several hundred of …
Read More »Germany fetes Syrian ‘heroes’ who nabbed bomb plot suspect
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany on Monday hailed three Syrians who helped police capture a compatriot suspected of planning a jihadist bomb attack, with social media coming alive with jibes against anti-migrant protesters. “Syrian turns in terror suspect. I’m celebrating this. What about you, Pegida and co?” said Julia …
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