Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday called on the EU to help countries neighbouring Afghanistan to stop a new influx of migrants into Europe from the Taliban-controlled country. The return of the hardline group to power in Kabul on 15 August has plunged the future of many Afghans into …
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Greek Orthodox and Catholic priests pray for all the refugees of the world
Representatives of the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches and migrants joined in a prayer for all refugees of the world. The event took place in Mytilene on the island of Lesvos on Tuesday afternoon. The event was held by the statue of a refugee mother from the Asia Minor disaster …
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Two women, child missing when boat sinks off Lesvos; 10 people rescued
Two women and one child have been missing and ten people were rescued when a rubber dinghy carrying migrants from Turkey to Greece sank off the northern coast of the island of Lesvos on Friday morning. According to state broadcaster ERT, a patrolling boat of the Greek Coast Guard got …
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At least 8 people missing when boat capsizes off Crete; 37 rescued
The Greek Coast Guard continues the Search and Rescue operation South off island of Crete Friday noon after a boat carrying migrants capsized and some 8 people are missing. 37 people have been rescued so far. for several people believed missing a day after a boat carrying dozens of migrants …
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Number of migrants on Lesvos drops under 5,000 for the first time since 2016
The number of refugees and migrants on the island of Lesvos has dropped below 5,000 for the first time in 2016, the Migration Ministry said on Tuesday. In the figures released, the ministry said there are 4,994 people on the North Aegean island that bore the brunt of migration flows. …
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Fire at migrants’ camp on Samos; two asylum seekers detained
Police detained two asylum seekers after a fire broke out in the Migrants’ Reception and Identification Center camp on the island of Samos early Friday morning. Ten firefighters with 5 trucks rushed to the area and extinguished the fire before it would create big damage. According to local media samosvoice, …
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Compensation granted over Moria migrant camp deaths
The decision last week by the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens to award compensation to the relatives of a Syrian and an Egyptian man who died of carbon monoxide inhalation in January 2017 at the Moria refugee camp of on the island of Lesvos is seen as a …
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Departures of asylum seekers & migrants double arrivals in 2021
Departures of asylum seekers and migrants from Greece were double the total number of arrivals in the first five months of 2021, according to migration and asylum ministry figures on Wednesday. 4,951 persons left either for European countries or were sent to non-EU countries via the deportation and return mechanisms …
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Greece to use controversial “sound cannon” LRAD against migrants at Evros border
Greece plans to use the controversial device “sound cannon” (LRAD) against migrants and refugees at the Evros border with Turkey. The use of the device has been revealed by Associated Press.The European Commission has requested official information by Greek authorities on the issue. “As the world begins to travel again, …
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Greece seeks bids to build closed camps for migrants on the islands
Greece has launched a European Union-wide tender to build two closed-type facilities replacing migrant camps on its islands, a move that has been criticised by a leading human rights advocate. The conservative government first announced in late 2019 its plan to move asylum-seekers to closed holding centres as part of …
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Migrant departures exceeded arrivals in first quarter of 2021, says Greek Migration Ministry
“A positive balance of departures relative to arrivals continued in the first quarter of 2021,” according to the monthly data released by the Migration and Asylum Μinistry on Friday. Ιn the period spanning January-March 2021, 3,072 migrants and refugees left Greece, while 1,597 arrived via the Aegean islands and Evros. …
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Turkye’s coast guard harass Greek coast guard, tries to push migrant dinghies (video)
Greece’s Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis accused Turkey of seeking to escalate tension afterthe Greek Coast Guard reported harassment by a boat of the Turkish Coast Guard and that it escorted boats carrying migrants into Greek territorial waters. The harassment took place on Friday morning in the sea area North-East of …
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Migrants arrested as they tried to illegally leave Greece posing as volleyball team
Authorities at the Athens international airport arrested nine Syrian nationals with forged travel documents. The group dressed in sports outfit was posing as a volleyball team. According to police, the nine young men had fake identity cards of a foreign country. They wore matching sports uniforms, to look like a …
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Refugees and migrants in camps to be vaccinated in May, says Migration Minister
Covid-19 vaccination of refugees and migrants staying in camps on the islands of the eastern Aegean will start in May, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis said on Sunday. In an interview with state-run news agency amna, he added that “he sees no reason” to do it earlier. Mitarakis said that the …
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Three migrants die in fire in abandoned building in Thessaloniki
Greece’s fire department says three migrants have been found dead following a fire in an abandoned building in the center of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. The three men, believed to have been from Algeria, had been living on the third floor of the abandoned building. Firefighters said the …
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Greece applies to EU for return of 519 migrants denied asylum status
Greece filed a request with Frontex and the European Commission for the immediate return of 519 migrants to their countries of origin, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said on Friday. In a follow-up request for the return to Turkey of 1,450 migrants living in hotspots on the Aegean Islands, Greece also …
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Migrant dies of cold when boat dumps a group of 28 at a beach on Lesvos
One migrant died when a boat from Turkey dumped a group of 27 people at a remote beach of the island of Lesvos in the early morning hours of Tuesday. The man from Somalia who had underlying health problems most likely died due to the icy cold. The boat reportedly …
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Greece, EU sign memorandum of cooperation for new closed camp on Lesvos
Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson signed a memorandum of cooperation for the construction of a new reception centre for migrants and refugees on the island of Lesvos. The new reception centre will be built with the cooperation of the Greek …
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Migration Minister blames Turkish Coast Guard, NGOs for migrants shipwreck off Lesvos
Two women are missing and 32 people, among them three children, have been rescued after a dinghy carrying migrants sank or overturned off the island of Lesvos on Wednesday morning. 15 men, 14 women and 3 children were located off Palios by Mandamados during a routine patrol of the Greek …
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Migration flows to Greece dropped 74% , says Frontex
Refugee and migration flows to Greece dropped 74%pct in the first ten months of 2020, compared to flows registered in the same period in 2019, says a report released on Thursday by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Some 17,000 crossings into Greece were recorded between January and …
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