Latest Political refugees News

UN refugee agency tells Cyprus to stick to the law in its efforts at sea to thwart refugee boats

Apr. 19, 2024 13:25 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The United Nations' refugee agency said Friday that Cypriot efforts at sea to stop numerous Syrian refugee-laden boats departing Lebanon from reaching the European Union-member island nation mustn’t contravene international human rights laws or put passengers at risk. ...

Cyprus suspends processing of Syrian asylum applications as boatloads of refugees continue arriving

Apr. 13, 2024 16:08 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus said Saturday it’s suspending processing all asylum applications by Syrian nationals because large numbers of refugees from the war-torn country continue to reach the island nation by boat, primarily from Lebanon. In a written statement, the Cypriot...

Ex-guard at NYC federal building pleads guilty in sex assault of asylum seeker

Apr. 10, 2024 13:43 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — A former security guard at a federal building in New York City where the FBI has its offices pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge related to the sexual assault of an asylum seeker. Jimmy Solano-Arias, 42, of the Bronx, entered the plea in Manhattan federal...

Lebanon official urges restrictions on Syrian refugees after slaying blamed on Syrian gang

Apr. 09, 2024 11:36 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister said Tuesday that this week's slaying of a local politician by what authorities say was a gang of Syrian nationals signals the need to restrict the number of refugees entering the country from neighboring Syria. Bassam Mawlawi...

Norway's top authority revokes a decision by a city to only take Ukrainian refugees

Apr. 09, 2024 06:26 AM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A top authority in Norway said Tuesday that it was revoking a decision by a city council to only take Ukrainian refugees and not others, saying it was contrary to the Norwegian Constitution and the Scandinavian country's discrimination laws. The office...

Rohingya who moved to island in Bangladesh are learning job skills, says Japanese charity chief

Apr. 09, 2024 02:25 AM EDT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Japan's Nippon Foundation will spend $2 million to help move tens of thousands more Rohingya refugees to a remote island in Bangladesh and provide them with skills training, the charity's chairman said. Speaking to The Associated Press on Sunday after a...

Cyprus president and Lebanese caretaker premier urge EU financial aid to curb migration from Lebanon

Apr. 08, 2024 09:35 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese caretaker prime minister and the Cypriot president are calling on the European Union to provide financial support to help cash-strapped Lebanon stop migrants from reaching European shores. President Nikos Christodoulides’ visit to Beirut Monday,...

Cyprus president asks EU Commission chief to get Lebanon to stop migrants from leaving its shores

Apr. 02, 2024 16:26 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The president of Cyprus said on Tuesday that he has personally asked the head of the European Union’s executive arm to intercede with Lebanese authorities to stop boatloads of Syrian refugees from heading to the east Mediterranean island nation. President...

A decade of documenting more than 63,000 migrant deaths shows that fleeing is more lethal than ever

Mar. 26, 2024 05:37 AM EDT

BERLIN (AP) — More than a decade ago, the death of 600 migrants and refugees in two Mediterranean shipwrecks near Italian shores shocked the world and prompted the U.N. migration agency to start recording the number of people who died or went missing as they fled conflict, persecution or poverty...

Six more bodies are found days after a boat of Rohingya refugees capsized off Indonesia

Mar. 25, 2024 12:27 PM EDT

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Six more bodies of Rohingya refugees have been found at sea off Indonesia after a boat with more than 150 people aboard capsized last week, local authorities said Monday. The bodies of the six women were found off the coast of Aceh province, search and...