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| Africa North |
| Ceuta Map: Inside the Border Surge at Spain’s African Enclave |
| 2026-08-06 |
| By Andreas De Rosi [MAPPR] KEY TAKEAWAYS The scale: ~49,000 crossings in 24 hours. What began Thursday as an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 crossings was revised drastically upward: Spain's Interior Ministry says about 49,000 people entered Ceuta in roughly 24 hours, more than half the city's population. Ceuta's president put the figure as high as 60,000. The military deployed to Ceuta and to Melilla, which saw 300 to 400 crossings of its own. ⚠️ A mounting death toll. By 2 August the toll had reached at least 72 as more bodies were recovered from the water and the breakwaters, according to Spanish authorities. Some drowned; others were crushed trying to climb the breakwater and fence. It is the deadliest event in the enclaves' modern history, and officials expect the count to rise further. 🗺️ Geography is the whole story. Ceuta is 18.5 km² of Spain, and therefore of the European Union, attached to Morocco. An 8 km double fence seals the land border, so most crossings happen by sea, swimming around the breakwaters at El Tarajal and Benzú. 📈 The only route that's growing. EU-wide irregular crossings fell 37% in the first half of 2026, but the Western Mediterranean route into Spain rose 17%, the only major route to increase, according to Frontex. 🕰️ An echo of 2021. May 2021's crisis, 8,000 people in two days, was the previous record. This surge was roughly six times larger in a single day, and unlike 2021 it appears driven not by a diplomatic rupture but by a Spanish Supreme Court ruling and rumors spread around it. Spain is deploying its military to Ceuta, its small enclave on the North African coast, after an estimated 49,000 people crossed from Morocco in roughly 24 hours starting July 30, 2026, by far the largest border surge in the enclave’s history. At least 72 people died in the attempt, most of them in the water, the deadliest crossing in the enclaves’ history. To understand why this keeps happening in the same few hundred meters of coastline, you need a map. Ceuta is one of the strangest borders on Earth: 18.5 square kilometers of the European Union attached to Africa, sealed off by an 8 km double fence that ends, on both sides, at a beach. More at the link, including maps of the incident |
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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: July 31, 2026 |
| 2026-08-01 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited [Korrespondent] 22.55 There were 207 combat clashes on the front during the day, in particular, the enemy carried out 28 attacks in the Pokrovsky direction, and 22 in the Konstantinivsky direction. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on the evening of July 31. ![]() 21.59 A man was injured in a Russian drone attack in the Brovary district of the Kyiv region on the evening of July 31. The regional military administration reported this. It has been previously established that the victim received a shrapnel wound to the leg. Medics are providing him with the necessary assistance. 19.26 At 17:15 on July 21, the Russian military attacked the Central District of Kherson with a drone. A 40-year-old man and two women aged 51 and 30 were hit by the enemy strike. They received concussions, explosive and closed head injuries. This was reported by the Kherson OVA. The injured were taken to the hospital in moderate condition. Currently, doctors are providing them with the necessary assistance. The Russians also attacked the Korabelny District of Kherson with a UAV. Two men aged 41 and 30 were hit by the enemy strike near a supermarket. They were diagnosed with explosive injuries and multiple shrapnel wounds. 18.47 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held telephone talks with US Vice President J.D. Vance. The Ukrainian leader reported this on Telegram. The key topic of the conversation was the supply of Patriot interceptor missiles against ballistic missiles. 18.35 Russian invaders managed to advance in the Donetsk region - near the village of Kaleniki in the Kramatorsk district - towards the city of Sloviansk. This was reported by the DeepState monitoring project. 18.05 As a result of the detonation of ammunition at a military training ground in Khmelnytskyi, there are injured and missing servicemen among the military. The Prosecutor General's Office reported this. Law enforcement officers have already begun questioning the command and servicemen of the relevant military unit. 17.58 The voluntary return program after leaving a unit has expanded to more than 70 units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard or the State Special Transport Service, depending on the structure where the servicemen served. The program, which started in June, allows you to choose a new military unit from a specified list, indicate the desired direction of service and previous experience, receive support from the contact center and arrive immediately at the new unit - without the VSP and reserve battalions. The list includes mechanized, assault, airborne, drone, artillery and other units. Each of them requires servicemen with different experience, military specialties and skills. 17.39 Ukraine has approved a new procedure for incentive payments for servicemen of the National Guard, State Security Service of Ukraine and special police units. This was announced by the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Vyhovsky, RBC-Ukraine reports. Orders signed by the head of the department determine the payment procedure within the framework of the experimental motivation project. The size of the rewards will depend on the complexity, danger, and results of the combat missions. In some cases, the amount of additional remuneration can reach 460 thousand hryvnias per month. 17.31 A wreckage from the fall of the second North Korean KN-23 ballistic missile, which Russia used during the shelling of Ukraine on July 30, was found in Ukraine. Vladyslav Vlasyuk, the presidential advisor and plenipotentiary for sanctions policy, reported this on Facebook. 16.54 The State Bureau of Investigation has summarized the interim results of the large-scale nationwide special operation Honest Draft. Within the framework of 17 criminal proceedings, SBI employees conducted 61 searches and reported suspicions to 15 suspects. Two people were detained. The investigative actions covered Kyiv and a number of regions in different regions of the country. The operation combined several areas of work at once. The SBI is investigating illegal interference with the Oberig registry, fictitious mobilization and reservation, facilitation of military service evasion, artificially inflating the performance indicators of the CCK, violence against civilians, and the cover-up of such crimes by leaders. Suspicions were raised against officials of the territorial recruitment centers of Kyiv, Kyiv region, Cherkasy region, Chernihiv region, Mykolaiv region, Odesa region, Vinnytsia region, Khmelnytsia region, and Kirovohrad region, as well as a law enforcement officer. During the searches, money, mobile phones, military registration documents, materials from information systems, and other evidence that may confirm the involvement of officials and intermediaries in illegal activities were seized. 16.59 A Russian agent who was detained in June 2025 while preparing a series of terrorist attacks in Kharkiv has been sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. The SBU reports this. According to the investigation, the convicted person is a laboratory assistant at a local university recruited by the FSB. He came to the attention of racists in Telegram channel chats, where he posted anti-Ukrainian comments. The recruited traitor received an intelligence task - to make three remote-controlled improvised explosive devices (IEDs). After that, the attacker was supposed to put them in hiding places for further transfer to the perpetrators of the planned terrorist attacks near administrative buildings in the center of Kharkiv. On the instructions of the Russian special services, the agent equipped the improvised bombs with metal nuts and nails for greater damage, and then equipped them with mobile phones for remote activation. 16:45 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters, where the situation on the front, Russian strikes on port infrastructure, and the implementation of a plan for long-range sanctions against the Russian Federation were discussed. The head of state reported this on Telegram. 16.36 The Polish Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador in connection with the fall of a Russian cruise missile on the country's territory during the Russian Federation's massive attack on Ukraine. This was announced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. 16.16 Since the beginning of the current day and as of 16:00, the Russian occupiers have carried out 62 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in eight directions. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this in an operational summary. 15.33 On the morning of July 31, Russian troops massively shelled Kramatorsk. One person was killed and four others were injured. This was reported by the head of the Kramatorsk MVA, Oleksandr Goncharenko. According to him, Russian troops struck an apartment complex in Kramatorsk. Residential buildings, a supermarket, and an educational institution were hit. According to preliminary information, a woman was killed. Three more women and a man were injured. All of them were provided with the necessary medical assistance. 15.28 The powerful explosions heard by residents of Khmelnytskyi occurred as a result of an emergency at the training ground of one of the military units in the region. This was reported by the command of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Patrol police officers notified residents of nearby residential buildings of the need to take shelter. 15.11 An attempt was made on the commander of the National Guard Charter Corps, Colonel Ihor Obolensky. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported this on Telegram. The attacker and his accomplice have been detained. The necessary procedural actions are underway. 14.47 Ukraine struck three logistics centers in the Russian cities of Sarapul, Kazan, and Volgograd, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Facebook. 14.34 The search and rescue operation in Lviv has been completed after yesterday's rocket strike. This was announced by the head of the Lviv OVA, Maksym Kozytsky. 14.14 During closed negotiations at the White House on July 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked US leader Donald Trump to grant Ukraine permission to use Starlink satellite communications in Russia to destroy ballistic missile launchers, The Atlantic reported. 14.14 About 38 thousand residents still remain in the Slavic community in Donetsk region, of which approximately 32 thousand live in the city itself. This was reported by the head of the Slavic MVA, Vadym Lyakh. Several hundred people leave the community every week. 13.56 The 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelya" confirmed that the recruitment of new recruits to the unit has been suspended. This was reported by the head of the communications department, Oleksiy Bratushchak, in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine. "We confirm the information disseminated by "Ukrainian Pravda" that as of now, the recruitment of new recruits to our regiment has been paused. We understand why this happened. The General Staff has begun checking the manning of military units and the fairness of the distribution of people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a whole," Bratuschak said. 13.21 On Friday, Russian aggressors attacked Odessa with missiles. Two people were injured, local OVA and MVA reported. Civilian infrastructure in the city was damaged: the territory of an enterprise, as well as hospital and college buildings. 13.09 A Ukrainian pilot tracked the Russian Kh-101 cruise missile until the very end, which violated Polish airspace and crashed in the Lublin Voivodeship. This was stated by Poland's Deputy Minister of Defense Cezary Tomczyk on TVN24. The Ukrainian plane had no right to enter Polish airspace to pursue the missile. In addition, there was a risky situation, as it could have been identified as a target and shot down by Polish F-16 fighters. 12.27 Explosions were heard in the city of Khmelnytskyi. The circumstances of the incident are being established, the local OVA reported. The authorities ask citizens to remain calm and use only official sources of information. 12.21 American actor Jesse Eisenberg, twice nominated for an Oscar, arrived in Ukraine as part of a volunteer mission. He joined a project to provide psychological support to children in the Lviv region. This was reported by the charitable initiative The Campfire Project. During the week, the actor, along with other volunteers, will participate in the "Therapeutic Art Camp." As part of the program, 70 children and adolescents are engaged in art therapy, dance, theater arts, and also receive individual consultations. 12.13 The missile that violated Polish airspace on Thursday night and fell near the settlement of Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin Voivodeship was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile. This was confirmed by Poland's Deputy Minister of National Defense, Cezary Tomczyk, RMF24 reports. 12.12 Russian military drones attacked a civilian car in the village of Komyshany, Kherson community. A man died on the spot as a result of the strike. A 21-year-old boy was also injured. He was diagnosed with an explosive injury and shrapnel wounds to the head and torso. 12.02 Law enforcement officers detained an FSB agent who was preparing a new series of Russian missile and drone strikes on thermal power plants and electrical substations in Kyiv and Zhytomyr region. The SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office reported this. 11.45 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may be preparing to dismiss Sergei Aksyonov from the post of head of the occupation administration of Crimea. This was stated by representatives of the partisan movement ATESH, referring to their own sources in the occupation structures of the peninsula. According to the partisans, the Kremlin allegedly wants to hold him responsible for the problems with the security of Crimea and the growth of social tension among the local population. ATES calls the so-called "Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Crimea" Alexei Dmitriev a possible successor to Aksenov. According to the movement, the Kremlin may be betting on a security officer who will be able to more tightly control the situation on the peninsula. 11.39 Since the beginning of the Great War, the irretrievable losses of the Russian army have been approximately 14 times higher than the losses of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the Fox News channel. 11.17 On Friday night, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Volgograd Oil Refinery and other important facilities of the Russian invaders. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the GUR. 10.53 SBU soldiers struck an aircraft factory in Yevpatoria in temporarily occupied Crimea. The special service reported this on Friday. The infrastructure of the Taman port on the Black Sea was also hit. A large-scale fire was recorded there. 10.44 Russian forces carried out an air strike on Vinnytsia region in the morning. Civilian infrastructure was hit. According to preliminary information, one person was injured. 10.34 Russian forces launched four strikes with KABs on the Sumy community on the morning of July 31, causing large-scale fires in the industrial sector. There is significant damage. 10.33 Russian troops attacked the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Two people were killed and three more were injured as a result of the shelling. According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the Russian strikes damaged an enterprise and cars. The Dniprovsk, Pavlohrad and Synelnyk districts also came under fire from the invaders. Damage was recorded there to a food industry enterprise, a village council building, an educational institution, private houses and shops. 10.24 On Friday morning, four regions of Ukraine experienced new power outages due to Russian attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. Ukrenergo reported this. Currently, energy workers are doing everything possible to restore power to all consumers affected as soon as possible. 10.15 Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga held telephone talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The parties discussed international contacts, the results of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington, and further diplomatic steps. According to Sybiga, during the conversation he emphasized that the consequences of Russian aggression go far beyond the borders of Ukraine. 09.48 Emergency outage schedules have been introduced in part of the Sumy region. The restrictions apply to 1-10 consumer queues. The reason is damage to the power system due to systematic attacks by Russia. 09.31 Over the almost four and a half years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 60 Russian and Iranian missiles and drones, including drones used as decoys, have illegally flown over the territory of Moldova. In 2022, there were five such incidents, in 2023 - four; in 2024 - 15; in 2025 - 21; in 2026 (as of July 28) - 15. Russian drones flew over almost all regions of the country. The largest number was recorded in areas located near the border with Ukraine. Of the total number of illegal overflights, 28 cases involved drone and missile debris found on Moldovan territory. At least 12 incidents involved drones or their debris containing explosives. 09.20 The number of people injured in the Russian missile strike on Lviv on July 30 has increased to 38. According to the head of the Lviv OVA, Maksym Kozytsky, a 35-year-old man died as a result of the attack. The elimination of the consequences of the missile attack is ongoing. 09.16 In the Fastiv district of the Kyiv region, two underage girls danced to Russian music in front of portraits of fallen soldiers placed on the Alley of Glory, and filmed it. Juvenile police officers identified the participants in the incident as two 15-year-old local residents. Law enforcement officers have filed administrative cases against the parents of minors for failure by parents to fulfill their obligations to raise children. The sanction of the article provides for a fine of 100 to 300 tax-free minimum incomes of citizens - that is, from 1,700 to 5,100 hryvnias. The cases will be sent to court. 08.22 Over the past day, Russian troops have struck 49 settlements in the Kherson region. Five people were killed and five others were wounded in the attacks. According to the head of the Kherson OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin, Kherson and 48 other settlements in the region were under enemy fire. Russian troops struck critical and social infrastructure facilities, as well as residential areas. Five high-rise buildings and eight private houses were damaged as a result of the shelling. In addition, the occupiers damaged an administrative building, a store, a gas pipeline, and private cars. 08.00 Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukrainian law enforcement officers have documented 635 cases of human trafficking and exposed 21 criminal groups involved in such crimes. According to the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Vyhivskyi, the migration police units of Ukraine also took part in 13 transnational operations to expose human trafficking channels. One of the largest was the international operation Global Chain, coordinated by Europol, Frontex and Interpol. As part of the operation, which covered 59 countries on five continents, law enforcement officers identified more than 2 thousand victims, including 162 children. 07.20 On Friday morning, July 31, Russian troops attacked a postal terminal in the suburbs of Kharkiv with a drone. As a result of the strike, a truck caught fire. According to the head of the Kharkiv OVA, Oleg Synegubov, there was no information about casualties. 05.02 US President Donald Trump said that he has not yet decided whether to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptor missiles. According to him, this issue is being considered. 04.20 Drones attacked Volgograd. A large-scale fire broke out in the city, according to preliminary data, another Wildberries warehouse and an oil refinery are burning. 01.23 During the recent Russian missile strike on Kyiv, the plant of the American company Terminal Autonomy, which manufactured long-range UAVs, was destroyed. This was reported by The Guardian. The plant manufactured the AQ-400 Scythe and AQ-100 Bayonet drones. They are equipped with artificial intelligence that controls the drone in the final phase of the attack. They were used to deliver "deep strikes" behind enemy lines. |
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| Europe |
| Denmark Exploring Ban on Islamic Call to Prayer plus tweets across Europe |
| 2026-06-27 |
[Townhall] Denmark's immigration minister is investigating the legality of a ban on the Islamic call to prayer. Morten Bødskov, who is a member of the centre-left Social Democrats party, said his country should not sound "like a suburb of Islamabad." “The call to prayer should not be heard over Danish rooftops. It has no place in Denmark, and you shouldn’t be in any doubt whether you’ve ended up in a suburb of Islamabad when you walk around Denmark," he told various news outlets. Denmark already has some of the strictest immigration policies in Europe, driven by the country's Social Democrats. Children from Islamic families are required to spend at least 25 hours per week in state-mandated daycare to assimilate into Danish values and culture, and asylum is not seen as a path to permanent citizenship, but instead, the goal is to send individuals back to their home country. Protecting the generous Danish welfare system is the primary motivator for these policies. Denmark's extensive welfare state relies on high employment and tax revenues, and the fiscal impact of immigration depends on whether migrants come from wealthy countries, which most do not. According to The Telegraph, the attempt to ban the prayer could face legal hurdles considering freedom of religion is a legal guarantee. Exceptions are granted, like bans on anti-democratic preaching and funding from prohibited groups. Germany and Britain already limit the times when a mosque may broadcast a call to prayer, and enforce volume limits so as to not disturb other non-Muslim citizens. The potential ban comes as European countries continue dealing with mass immigration particularly from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, lists Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Bangladesh, and Algeria as the primary countries of origin for illegal border crossings, all of which have a predominantly Muslim population. A video posted to X shows the streets of Manchester, England in recent days.
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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan’s FIA offloaded nearly 39,800 passengers in 2025 to curb human smuggling, official says |
| 2026-06-01 |
| [Dawn] The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offloaded 39,786 passengers in 2025 under a "lawful, intelligence-driven and risk-based system" to curb irregular migration and human smuggling, a top official said on Sunday. Speaking to a select group of senior journalists, Immigration Additional Director General Nouman Siddiqui said passenger offloading, often criticised publicly, was primarily a preventive step aimed at saving lives, protecting citizens from exploitation abroad and safeguarding Pakistain’s international image. "Offloading decisions are not arbitrary," he asserted. They are based on immigration concerns, suspicious travel patterns, document verification, destination-country requirements and established standard operating procedures. The primary objective, he said, was "the protection of human life and prevention of exploitation at the hands of human traffickers". At least 132 passengers were offloaded from their scheduled flights at various airports across the country in the past year by FIA immigration officers, while 85 of its officials were penalised for misuse of authority during this period, according to a report submitted to the Senate. A National Assembly standing committee was told in December that at least 51,000 passengers were offloaded at airports in 2025 after failing immigration checks, with a large number of them being offloaded at Lahore and Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... airports. RISING RISKS AND DEADLY CONSEQUENCES Siddiqui said the crackdown followed multiple tragedies linked to illegal migration routes. Over the past three years, around 460 Paks have fallen victim to such incidents, with at least 377 reported deaths. According to International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) data, 109 Pak nationals bit the dust in 2025 alone while attempting irregular migration. He said the issue gained urgency after the June 2023 Greece boat tragedy, in which a large number of Pak To dismantle criminal networks, the FIA registered 2,421 cases since December 2024, resulting in the arrest of 3,130 agents. Authorities seized property worth Rs961.71 million, recovered Rs87.7m and froze bank accounts amounting to Rs239.63m. "These figures reflect the scale and seriousness of human smuggling and trafficking in Pakistain," he said. In many cases, passengers were found travelling through suspicious routes, fake overseas employment schemes, forged documents, fraudulent sponsorships or high-risk transit patterns linked to organised smuggling and trafficking networks, he added. The FIA’s Risk Analysis Unit developed five risk profiles to help immigration officers segregate suspected travellers from genuine passengers. The profiles are reviewed and updated periodically. The measures led to a 75 per cent reduction in deportations related to beggary and a 31pc decrease in deportations due to forgery. Overall deportations from various countries fell 16pc in 2025 compared to 2024. The agency also cited a 64pc reduction in illegal border crossings into Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... by Pak nationals in the first two months of 2025-26, according to Frontex data. |
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| Europe |
| Over Half Million Migrants Waiting in Libya to Cross Into Europe, Warns Greek Immigration Minister |
| 2026-05-11 |
| [Breitbart] The Greek government has warned that there are over half a million migrants waiting in Libya to cross the Mediterranean and land in Europe, sparking concerns of another migrant crisis. Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris said this week that Athens estimates there are approximately 550,000 migrants waiting in Libya, the African hub, for the opportunity to cross to Europe. Pelvris said that Athens is working closely with Libyan authorities as well as the European Union’s external border force Frontex to prevent migrant boats from taking off from the coastline of the Maghreb nation. "Those who are not entitled to asylum will be detained," the migration minister said, per Greek news outlet Voria. "Now, when it is likely that someone will not get asylum, they are not placed in a freedom status but in a detention status, so that with the rejection of asylum, they can be returned." The official defended the hardline approach taken by the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to reduce illegal immigration, saying that "there is no reason for Greece to open its borders and accept people" and therefore Greece "will operate within the legal framework, but will also reach its limits in order to protect the borders." Related: Libya: 2026-05-07 Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been granted parole. Libya: 2026-05-03 Iran wants a deal in under 30 days, Trump to review but warns possibility of renewed fighting Libya: 2026-05-02 Man convicted of attempting terror attack at Israeli embassy in London Related: Frontex: 2025-09-02 Migrant rescue ship machine-gunned by Libyan coastguard while attempting to reach stricken boat in the Mediterranean Frontex: 2025-03-12 Germany plans to 'defy EU laws' with mass rejection of asylum seekers at its borders following spate of terror attacks Frontex: 2025-03-10 Open Borders EU Saw over a Million Asylum Seeker Applications in 2024 Related: Kyriakos Mitsotakis 12/30/2025 Greece, Israel and Cyprus to step up joint exercises in eastern Mediterranean Kyriakos Mitsotakis 12/25/2025 Turkey hosts Hamas officials as pro-government media casts Israel as ‘number one threat’ Kyriakos Mitsotakis 12/25/2025 'Fantasizing about restoring empires.' Erdogan's three problems lead to Syria |
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| Africa North | |
| Migrant rescue ship machine-gunned by Libyan coastguard while attempting to reach stricken boat in the Mediterranean | |
| 2025-09-02 | |
| [Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A charity rescue ship came under heavy machine gun fire from the Libyan coastguard in the Mediterranean as its crew raced to help a stricken migrant boat. Britons were among the crew of the Ocean Viking,
The attack happened about 40 nautical miles north of the Libyan coast, outside Libyan territorial waters. As the Norwegian-flagged ship changed course, a Libyan patrol boat closed in at high speed, and crew members said the officers were armed and opened fire without warning. Crew members say the incident occurred despite the relevant authorities being informed about their mission. "We don't care. Can you tell?" Lucille Guenier, the ship's communications officer, said: 'We are used to this, we know they will intimidate us. I realised that now they're pointing arms at us - we didn't have a moment to do anything and they opened fire, shooting at the bridge.' Lucille is an old hand, zo pas de probleme. Angelo Selim, who was the search and rescue coordinator on board, said: 'In the beginning, I didn't understand the noise of the shots. But when the first windows exploded on my head, we all got on the floor.' You'll "understand the noise" on future voyages no doubt. He said that the shots being fired appeared to be coming from automatic weapons. Selim says he also heard the coast guard threatening: 'If you don't leave the area, we will come and kill you all.' The gunfire lasted for around 15 to 20 minutes, according to the crew, who described it as 'hundreds of shots'. Bullets smashed through the bridge windows as a translator tried to calm the situation. 'They started insulting him and his family,' Guenier said. 'This time the bullets were coming through the walls and windows of the bridge, the windows were exploding, glass was going everywhere.' In another interview, Guenier said she felt 'we are going to die.' According to The Times, Patrick, a 29-year-old British crew member, said he was asleep when the shooting began. 'I didn't realise the gravity of the situation until I heard the rounds,' he said. 'I had to grab my boots and ran, carrying them in my arms.' The crew gathered in the ship's citadel for safety. 'Some people were in shock and crying. We feared for our colleagues who were still on the bridge,' Patrick added. The Ocean Viking abandoned its rescue attempt and asked Italian authorities for a safe port. It later sent distress calls to NATO and the Italian navy. The Libyan vessel was a Corrubia-class patrol boat supplied by Italy in 2023 as part of an EU programme to strengthen Libya's border forces. 'The Libyan ship was faster than ours at 20 knots, our ship's top speed is 10 knots, so we couldn't race them, and there was a risk they'd board us,' Guenier said. No one was injured, but the Ocean Viking suffered major damage to its bridge and three lifeboats, leaving key rescue equipment out of service. Italian prosecutors have launched an investigation after SOS Méditerranée and the EU border agency Frontex filed complaints. After disembarking survivors in Augusta, Sicily, the crew was held in quarantine for more than four days because one rescued migrant tested positive for tuberculosis. Patrick said it felt like 'being detained within a crime scene.' Frontex called the incident 'deeply concerning' and said: 'No rescuer should ever be put in danger while carrying out life-saving work.' SOS Méditerranée described the shooting as 'outrageous and unacceptable' and urged EU nations to take action over the attack. The Libyan coastguard, which receives funding and training from the EU, has declined to comment. The UK Foreign Office said it was 'monitoring the situation.' So far this year, 42,500 migrants have reached Italy by sea, and it has been reported that more than 700 have drowned in the central Mediterranean. Related: Ocean Viking 09/26/2024 90,000 displaced in Lebanon since Monday amid Israeli strikes, says UN Ocean Viking 12/22/2023 RSF seize another key town in central Sudan Ocean Viking 08/27/2023 Rescue ship saves 438 migrants in Mediterranean: NGO | |
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| Europe | |
| Germany plans to 'defy EU laws' with mass rejection of asylum seekers at its borders following spate of terror attacks | |
| 2025-03-12 | |
Jens Spahn, a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politician and former minister under Angela Merkel, revealed the new policy direction following talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) over the weekend. Mr Spahn told the Table.Briefings podcast that Germany's neighbours would be informed and possibly coordinated with - apparently contradicting claims made on Saturday that Germany would only turn back asylum seekers in conjunction with its partners. 'We are not making ourselves dependent on the consent of the other countries,' deputy leader of Germany's conservative CDU/CSU parliamentary group said on Sunday. He noted that the existing agreement on migration 'doesn't say agree but in coordination', and that 'we see all the legal bases there to enforce it either way'. But critics have already suggested it would be a breach of EU migration law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if adopted. Mr Spahn has previously suggested Germany could leave the ECHR to overcome legal obstacles. The announcement comes after Austria, to the south, rejected Germany's idea of turning back asylum seekers at the border, insisting it would not accept them either. The harder line on migration comes in the wake of a spate of terror attacks across Germany in recent months and a shift to the right among voters, with burgeoning support for the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party pressing centrist parties to change course. Germany's conservatives under future chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Saturday that his CDU party had come to an agreement in principle with the centre-left SPD to form a coalition government. He said both sides had agreed on tough new steps to limit irregular immigration, including refusing all undocumented migrants at the borders, including asylum seekers. Merz has stressed the need to win back votes from from the AfD, which secured more than 20 per cent of votes in the election. Spahn said the SPD has been cooperative on the issue: 'We have a common interest in limiting migration.' The rejection of asylum seekers at the borders was at the centre of the CDU's campaign in an effort to hold on to voters unsettled by recent attacks on German soil. Merz has repeatedly pledged not to work with the far-right anti-immigrant AfD party despite their second-place finish, upholding a longstanding 'firewall' not to work with the party. Outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz last month extended strict border controls brought in to tackle migration and Islamist terrorism, ahead of the February 23 election. But the tightening of borders has not been without backlash. The move, which saw 640 people turned back and 17 extremists identified by police in just the first five days, was met with condemnation from several European partners. Scholz at the time cited figures showing asylum applications had fallen by a third last year from 2023 and that 1,900 people smugglers had been arrested. Amid a shift in European policy towards migration, the EU is expected today to open the way for member states to set up migrant return centres outside the bloc following pressure from governments to facilitate deportations. The European Commission is to unveil a controversial planned reform of the EU's return system, which critics say is inadequate in its present form. Data shows that less than 20 percent of irregular migrants who are ordered to leave Europe currently do so. 'We want to put in place a truly European system for returns, preventing absconding, and facilitating the return of third-country nationals with no right to stay,' commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday. A souring of public opinion on migration has fuelled hard-right electoral gains in several EU countries, upping pressure on governments to harden their stance. Led by immigration hawks including Sweden, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands, EU leaders called in October for urgent new legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the commission to assess 'innovative' ways to counter irregular migration. Most controversial among them is the creation of 'return hubs' outside the European Union where failed asylum seekers could be sent pending transfer back home. This is not possible at present as under EU rules migrants can be transferred only to their country of origin or a country they transited from, unless they agree otherwise. Magnus Brunner, the commissioner for migration, is expected to propose to the European Parliament in Strasbourg legal changes allowing EU countries to strike deals with other nations to set up such centres, according to people familiar with the matter. An expansion of the conditions under which irregular migrants can be detained is also likely to be featured in the proposal, which will need backing from parliament and member states to become law. Fraught with legal and ethical concerns, some experts say return hubs are an expensive and impractical idea that is unlikely to see large-scale uptake any time soon in spite of the commission's proposal. For Jacob Kirkegaard of Bruegel, a think tank, the amendments reflect a 'path of least resistance' chosen by von der Leyen when dealing with divisive issues that are no longer a priority given the fraught international environment. Brussels is currently busy dealing with US tariff threats, an aggressive Russia and the prospect of a collapse in transatlantic relations. 'This is simply about political bandwidth,' Kirkegaard said. 'She's going to get out of the way' and let member states do what they want, he said of von der Leyen. The changes are likely to upset rights groups, some of which have already voiced concerns. 'This new proposal will be harmful and confirms the EU's obsession with deportations,' said Silvia Carta of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM). 'We can likely expect more people being locked up in immigration detention centres across Europe, families separated, and people sent to countries they don't even know,' she said. Britain recently abandoned a similar scheme to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda, and Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania, coming with an estimated cost of 160 million euros ($175 million) a year, are bogged down in the courts. Return hubs will conceivably face a similar slew of legal challenges if they are set up, said Olivia Sundberg Diez of Amnesty International. 'We can expect drawn-out litigation, probably costly centres sitting empty and lives in limbo in the meantime,' she said. Yet proponents say there are few viable alternatives. 'If we are not going to do the return hubs, what will we do instead is my question? We have tried other systems for many years, it doesn't work,' Johan Forssell, Sweden's migration minister, told AFP. Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union were down 38 percent to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to EU border agency Frontex. | |
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| Open Borders EU Saw over a Million Asylum Seeker Applications in 2024 |
| 2025-03-10 |
| [Breitbart] The European Union saw over a million over a million asylum applications lodged by foreigners for the second straight year in 2024, the international migration regulator disclosed this week. The annual report from the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) revealed that EU nations, as well as Norway and Switzerland, had 1,014,420 requests for asylum last year. This marked the second year in a row that over a million requests were filed, 1,143,437 recorded in 2023, Euronews reports. According to the EUAA, some 48 per cent of asylum applicants came from countries with historically low chances of qualifying for refugee status, perhaps indicating an economic motive behind their attempts to gain residency in Europe. Meanwhile, figures from the EU’s Frontex border agency showed 239,000 illegal border crossings into the bloc, meaning that around one in four asylum applicants likely entered the bloc illegally. In terms of countries of origin for supposed asylum claims, Syria remained in the top place with 151,000, followed by Afghanistan at 87,382, Venezuela (73,187), Turkey (55,705), and Colombia (51,529). Germany, with its large economy and generous welfare schemes for migrants, remained the top destination for migrants seeking asylum last year, with over a quarter of a million filed at 237,000. Spain stood in second at 165,767, followed by Italy at 158,867, France (158,730), Greece (73,688), Belgium (39,206) and the Netherlands (33,437). In contrast, Hungary only saw 29 asylum applications last year, in a demonstration of the strict border controls enacted by the conservative-populist government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest. For protecting his nation’s borders, Orbán has long been at odds with Brussels, which has imposed millions in fines against Hungary, subtracting from reallocated EU funds. The issue of mass migration into Europe has become a key driver of elections, with anti-mass migration parties seeing wins in recent years in countries like the Netherlands and populist parties making significant gains in countries like France and Germany. A survey from YouGov conducted last month found that majorities in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden all believe that immigration has been too high into their countries over the past decade. This was particularly true for Spaniards and Germans, with 80 and 81 per cent of their respective populations saying that levels of been too high. Meanwhile, a majority of respondents in the seven nations surveyed felt that their governments had performed very or fairly badly in terms of controlling immigration. Over eight in ten in both France and Germany felt their governments had failed on the immigration front. |
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| Iceland Reverses Course Freezes Out Rush of Venezuelan Migrants |
| 2024-06-24 |
[Breitbart] Icelandic officials are pulling back on their former support for Venezuela![]() ...a country in Central America that sits on an enormous pool of oil. Formerly the most prospereous country in the region, it became infested with Commies sniffing almost unlimited wealth. It turned out the wealth wasn't unlimited, the economy collapsed under the clownish Hugo Chavez, the murder rate exceeded places like Honduras and El Salvador. A significant proportion of the populace refugeed to Colombia and points south... n The about face comes on the tail of moves by the Icelandic parliament to change policy on immigration to be more in line with that of other Nordic countries, according to Icelandic Monitor. The bill was wildly popular — even among the left-wing Green Party — and among its internal provisions allows Iceland to ignore the U.N. and its open border-styled immigration policy demands. The legislation reportedly sets stricter conditions for residency, family migration, and other measures. With the mood shifting against Venezuelans, especially, authorities deported 180 recent Venezuelan |
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| Somali, Syrian migrants denied entry at Estonian-Russian border this month |
| 2023-12-01 |
| [ShabelleMedia] Estonia has raised concerns about the alleged manipulation of immigration by Russia along Europe’s eastern borders, pointing to an increase in asylum seekers attempting to enter Estonian and Finnish territories. The country’s Interior Ministry reported that around 30 According to InfoMigrants, last week, an additional 150 individuals were also refused entry into Estonia. In this regard, Veiko Kommusaar, Head of the Border Guard Division of the Estonian police said that these individuals typically travel independently, and there is no apparent coordination from Russian officials, unlike the 30 people in the previous week. In addition, Minister of Interior Affairs of Estonia Lauri Laanemets labelled these irregular crossing attempts at the EU’s external eastern border as a "hybrid attack operation" designed to compromise security and create unrest among the population of the Baltic state. The refusal of entry for 30 Starting in February next year, the Ivangorod border crossing connecting Russia and Estonia will cease to permit the passage of cars. This development is expected to impact transportation between Tallinn and St. Petersburg. Efforts are underway to assess the feasibility of alternative travel options, including the potential for bus travel from Tallinn to St. Petersburg, with the consideration of crossing the border on foot in Narva. On Monday, the Russian government asserted that Russian border guards were fulfilling their duties in accordance with established rules. The Finnish-Russian border, spanning 1,340 kilometres, is about three times longer than Estonia’s border with its eastern neighbour. Moreover, Minister Laanemets reported that on Monday, November 20, Since May 2021, a significant number of Grupa Granica, an NGO network monitoring the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border, has reported that at least 37 |
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| Spain possibly locates missing boat carrying 200 migrants, sends help |
| 2023-07-11 |
[Shafaq News] A Spanish reconnaissance plane has found what could be a fishing vessel from Senegal... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... with about 200 "The plane has found a large boat with some 200 people on board, 71 miles to the south of Gran Canaria," a spokesperson for the service told Rooters, adding it was "possible" that it was the missing vessel. A rescue ship was on its way and would take about two-and-a-half hours to reach the location, the spokesperson added. Migrant aid group Walking Borders said on Sunday that the fishing vessel and another two boats - one carrying about 65 people and the other with between 50 and 60 on board - had been missing for about two weeks since they left Senegal to try to reach Spain. The Spanish rescue service said that although there was only one official alert in place for the boat with 200 passengers, its plane was on the lookout for any vessels in distress. Helena Maleno of Walking Borders said on Monday that the families of the at least 300 The condition of the Maleno's organization had contacted authorities in Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco and Spain, urging them to search for the missing boats. "There need to be more resources devoted to the search... A plane that flies for four hours isn't enough" for such an operation, she added. All three boats left in late June from the village of Kafountine in Senegal's region of Cassamance, home to a decades-long insurgency and located some 1,700 km (1,057 miles) from Spain's Canary Islands. Weather conditions in the Atlantic were bad for such a voyage, Maleno said. The Atlantic migration route, typically used by Data from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex shows 1,135 |
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| Turkiye accuses Greece of new migrant pushbacks |
| 2023-07-05 |
| [Dawn] Turkiye has rescued 95 Two inflatable boats carrying 37 people and 47 people respectively were rescued off the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday, the interior ministry said. Another boat carrying 11 people was spotted near Turkiye’s western port city of Izmir the same day, the interior ministry said. The ministry described all 95 people as "irregular Ankara regularly accuses Greece of pushing migrant boats back into Greece accuses Turkiye of turning a blind eye to irregular ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...’s latest accusations came just weeks after a fishing trawler carrying hundreds of Greek coastguards managed to rescue 104 people but as many as 560 others on board may have perished, by some estimates. The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ’s border agency, Frontex, said last week it had received "no response" when it offered aerial support to Greek officials before the tragedy. |
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