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 …
Read More »Merkel announces aid package for Niger to stem migrant flow
Niamey, Niger | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday announced a 27-million-euro aid package for Niger, her second stop in a three-nation Africa tour aimed at fighting terrorism and stemming the migrant influx to Europe. The German leader said the army of the arid west African country, one …
Read More »Germany’s Merkel in Africa on trip aimed at stemming migrant flows
Bamako, Mali | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday warned against Africa suffering from a “brain drain” as she arrived on a three-day tour of the continent focused on security and stemming the migrant influx to Europe. Merkel also underscored the need to “establish coherent cooperation” in development …
Read More »Dramatic rescue images as EU urged to change on migrants
ABOARD THE ASTRAL, Italy | AFP | The horror, terror and joy felt during perilous rescues of migrant boats have been captured in powerful new images published Wednesday, as the latest deadly episode in the Mediterranean fuelled calls for Europe to change tack on the crisis. DEATH IN THE …
Read More »More than 100 bodies recovered from Egypt migrant shipwreck
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Rescuers recovered 53 bodies on Friday from a migrant boat that capsized off the Egyptian coast, bringing the death toll from the disaster to at least 108, a health ministry official said. “There have been 53 bodies recovered as of 11 am (0900 GMT) on …
Read More »Boat with up to 450 migrants capsizes off Egypt, 42 drowned
Rosetta, Egypt | AFP | A boat carrying up to 450 migrants capsized in the Mediterranean off Egypt’s north coast on Wednesday, drowning 42 people and prompting a search operation that rescued 163 passengers, officials said. The vessel overturned off the port city of Rosetta, police and health officials said. …
Read More »Fertile times for Europe’s populist parties
Vienna, Austria | AFP | Alternative for Germany is not the only populist party enjoying electoral success. Across Europe, these are fertile times for protest movements tapping into unease about immigration to attack a long-cosy political establishment. The anti-immigration AfD scored a major symbolic victory on Sunday by relegating German …
Read More »Germany’s anti-migrant populists beat Merkel’s party in local vote
Schwerin, Germany | AFP | Germany’s anti-migrant populists made a strong showing at Sunday’s state polls, scoring ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party as voters punished the German leader over her liberal refugee policy. The xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) clinched around 21 percent in its first bid for seats …
Read More »UNHCR fears 500 dead in Mediterranean shipwreck
Rome, Italy | AFP | The UN refugee agency said on Wednesday it feared around 500 migrants from Africa had drowned in the Mediterranean after witnesses said their overcrowded boat sank. UNHCR spokeswoman Carlotta Sami said in a statement sent to AFP that survivors from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt …
Read More »We are all migrants, Pope says as he takes 12 refugees to Vatican
Lesbos, Greece | AFP | Declaring “we are all migrants,” Pope Francis on Saturday brought a message of hope to thousands of people facing expulsion from Greece as he slammed the world community for failing to end the wars fueling the crisis. In an emotional visit that saw people kneeling …
Read More »