The UNHCR, the United Nations Agency for Refugees, said that it was “deeply distressed” by the recent death toll in Greece’s Aegean Sea, where at least 31 people lost their lives in three separate shipwrecks between 21 and 24 December, while an unknown number are still missing. “It is heart-rending …
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16 people die, 63 rescued as migrants boat capsized off Paros in the Aegean Sea
63 people were rescued and another 16 lost their lives when a boat carrying migrants capsized off the island of Paros on Friday night. At least one person is missing. It is the third shipwreck in the Aegean Sea in 72 hours where over 30 people have died. The boat …
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11 migrants die, 92 rescued when boat capsizes off Antikythera
A total of 92 migrants who were trapped on the islet of Prassonisi, north of Antikythera, were rescued on Friday. Another 11 people died when the boat ran aground and their bodies were retrieved from the sea by the Greek Coast Guard. The migrants were on a sailing boat that …
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One more person rescued, 3 bodies recovered after migrants boat sank in Aegean
One person was rescued short before Wednesday midnight almost 24 hours after a boat carrying migrants sank in the sea area off the island of Folegandros. The man from Egypt was 20 hours in the water before he was rescued and transferred to the hospital of neighboring Santorini. Meanwhile, the …
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Dozens missing after migrants boat sinks off Folegandros in the Aegean
A big Search And Rescue operation is under way in the sea area south of the island of Folegandros in the Cyclades after the sinking of a plastic boat carrying migrants to Greece from Turkey. Twelve people have been rescued, so far, some 32 are estimated to be missing. According …
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Greece to extend border wall to stop migrants, wants EU help
The government says it will renew a request for European Union funds in 2022 to extend a border wall along the country’s frontier with Turkey and promised to expand a powerful surveillance network aimed at stopping migrants entering the country illegally. A public order minister, Takis Theodorikakos, told a parliamentary …
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“Shipwreck of Civilization”: Pope Francis’ powerful message as he meets with migrants on Lesvos
Pope Francis returned to the Greek island of Lesvos on Sunday to offer comfort to migrants at a refugee camp and blast what he said was Europe’s indifference and self-interest “that condemns to death those on the fringes.” “Please, let us stop this shipwreck of civilization!” Francis said at the …
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7 migrants killed, 8 injured when car crashes at Egnatia highway during police chase
Seven migrants were killed and another eight were injured when the car that was transporting them crashed on Egnatia highway by Xanthi in northern Greece. Two of the injured are reportedly in critical condition. According to local media, the mini van was driving on the Komotini-Xanthi section, when police made …
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Greece criminalizes migration, prosecutes helpers, say critics
Among the prison inmates of the Greek island of Chios, three young men from Afghanistan and Somalia are serving dramatically long sentences: 50 years for two of them, a staggering 142 for the third. But these are not violent criminals, even according to their trial verdicts. They were convicted for …
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No military alert in Evros and Aegean, says Greek government
Government sources said on Saturday evening that a report about Greek forces being placed on high alert at the land and sea borders for fear of a spike in migration flows from Turkey is not accurate. Citing “military sources, Friday evening and still on Saturday, media had reported that all …
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Greece ‘s Army set on “increased readiness” in Evros and Aegean after Erdogan’s threats
Greece’s General Staff set the Armed Forces on increased readiness and surveillance at the land and sea borders with Turkey on Friday evening. The measure is to understand as “precautionary” following threats by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a day earlier that he would open the doors for migrants to go …
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Greece tries to repatriate to Pakistan and Bangladesh 250 migrants
Greece’s Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis said on Monday that efforts were underway to repatriate the Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals who arrived in the country as migrants on board the Turkish-flagged cargo ship rescued on Sunday. Minister Mitarakis said that “for me it is a top priority to agree …
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375 migrants onboard of Turkish-flagged vessel disembark on Kos
375 migrants on board of a Turkish-flagged cargo ship disembarked at the port of the island of Kos in the early morning hours of Sunday and were transferred to the local Reception and Identification Migrant Center, Greece’s Migration and Asylum ministry said in a statement on Sunday. A woman had …
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Brutality against Cuban migrants, children & pregnant women at Zakynthos airport (video)
Unprecedented violence at the airport of Zakynthos: police drags migrants from the feet, beats them and pulls them by the hair. Among the group of some 85 Cuban migrants are pregnant women and children who scream in fear. A video shot by one of the migrants is being posted on …
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Cargo ship with 400 migrants heads for safe port, says Greek Coast Guard
A small cargo ship with about 400 migrants on board that suffered engine problems in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off the island of Crete is being led to a safe anchorage in Greece, the Greek coast guard said Friday. A coast guard statement said the Turkish-flagged freighter was located by …
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Tragedy in the Aegean: Woman, 4 children die after migrants boat sinks off Chios
The bodies of one woman and four children have been recovered out of six people believed to be missing after a dinghy carrying 27 migrants capsized and sank off the south-east coast of the island of Chios early Tuesday morning. According to state broadcaster ERT, the woman and two children …
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EU “extremely concerned” about migrants’ pushbacks, urges probe in Greece, Croatia
Published reports about illegal pushbacks of migrants at the Greek border in the Aegean Sea as well as in Croatia should be thoroughly investigated, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Thursday. The Commissioner was referring to investigative reports by several European media outlets about violent migrants’pushbacks by …
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Τanker rescues some 150 migrants on a wooden boat south off Peloponnese
Greece’s coast guard on Friday launched a search and rescue operation after a boat carrying around 150 people believed to be migrants ran into trouble off the country’s southwestern coast. The coast guard said a passing cargo ship raised the alarm after coming across the wooden boat, which was taking …
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Greece opens new migrant holding camp on Samos amid tougher policy
Greece opened a new holding camp for migrants on Saturday on the island of Samos, close to Turkey, and said other new facilities would follow in coming months as it tightens migration policy. The minister opening the camp said it would offer “lost dignity” to those seeking protection. Aid groups …
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Police officer arrested for stealing money from migrants
A police officer was arrested on Friday for stealing money belonging to two migrants at a pre-detention in Peloponnese. According to a police announcement on Saturday, the officer was serving in the pre-departure detention center for migrants in Corinth in southern Greece and was arrested ror theft and breach of …
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