At least 43 people have drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, a humanitarian organisation the Tunisian Red Crescent has said.

The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya’s north-west coast, carrying migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organisation said.

In recent months, several drowning incidents have occurred off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings to Europe from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy as the weather has improved.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/police-clear-hundreds-of-migrants-protesting-in-central-paris-394019" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/police-clear-hundreds-of-migrants-protesting-in-central-paris-394019&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjjppTo-cjxAhWW73MBHY6XBQ8QFjAHegQICBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1VGWqI5cvRe28UXS0w4x0H" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/police-clear-hundreds-of-migrants-protesting-in-central-paris-394019" target="_blank">Police clear hundreds of&nbsp;migrants&nbsp;protesting in central Paris</a>

"The navy rescued 84 migrants and 43 others drowned in a boat that set off from Libya’s Zuwara towards Europe," Red Crescent official Mongi Slim said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous Mediterranean crossing in recent years, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Arrivals in Italy – one of the main migrant routes into Europe – had been falling in recent years, but numbers picked up again in 2021.

Almost 19,800 migrants have arrived since the beginning of the year against just over 6,700 in the same period last year, Italian interior ministry figures show.

At least 43 people have drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, a humanitarian organisation the Tunisian Red Crescent has said.

At least 43 people have drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, a humanitarian organisation the Tunisian Red Crescent has said. The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya’s north-west coast, carrying migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organisation said. In recent months, several drowning incidents have occurred off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings to Europe from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy as the weather has improved. Also read | Police clear hundreds of migrants protesting in central Paris "The navy rescued 84 migrants and 43 others drowned in a boat that set off from Libya’s Zuwara towards Europe," Red Crescent official Mongi Slim said. Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous Mediterranean crossing in recent years, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Arrivals in Italy – one of the main migrant routes into Europe – had been falling in recent years, but numbers picked up again in 2021. Almost 19,800 migrants have arrived since the beginning of the year against just over 6,700 in the same period last year, Italian interior ministry figures show.

Migrant boat sinks off Tunisia drowning 43

Germany will fully support a European pact on migrants, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Italian daily la Repubblica in an interview published on Monday, adding that progress on the distribution of the burden was finally needed. 
 
"We should find a key for the redistribution of refugees," Maas told the paper, adding that those countries that do not want to participate should contribute in other ways, for example by providing financial means to protect the external borders of the EU. "We must finally make progress in the distribution of the burden." 
 
Maas also said there were talks ongoing to find by August a solution on the Nordstream 2 pipeline, which will allow Russia to bypass Ukraine in transporting gas to Europe. He added alternatives to the Silk Road were needed to curb China's influence in the world. 
 
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is due to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel later on Monday.

Germany will fully support a European pact on migrants, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Italian daily la Repubblica in an interview published on Monday, adding that progress on the distribution of the burden was finally needed.

Germany will fully support a European pact on migrants, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Italian daily la Repubblica in an interview published on Monday, adding that progress on the distribution of the burden was finally needed. "We should find a key for the redistribution of refugees," Maas told the paper, adding that those countries that do not want to participate should contribute in other ways, for example by providing financial means to protect the external borders of the EU. "We must finally make progress in the distribution of the burden." Maas also said there were talks ongoing to find by August a solution on the Nordstream 2 pipeline, which will allow Russia to bypass Ukraine in transporting gas to Europe. He added alternatives to the Silk Road were needed to curb China's influence in the world. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is due to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel later on Monday.

Germany will fully support a European migrant pact: Foreign minister to paper

Standing in her kitchen Alma Beatriz Serrano Ramirez waves a small board in front of her phone, hoping the students watching on the other end are paying attention to the math lesson she is teaching.

Standing in her kitchen Alma Beatriz Serrano Ramirez waves a small board in front of her phone, hoping the students watching on the other end are paying attention to the math lesson she is teaching. The 38-year-old Honduran migrant had dreamed of settling in the United States but so far has only made it to the Mexican city of Matamoros, located on the banks of the Rio Grande River, which separates the two countries. Her pupils -- Adalid, Kimberly, Osval, and a handful of others -- are fellow migrants, many of whom are located some 90 kilometers (55 miles) away in Reynosa, another border town, where a camp of approximately 700 people has been established. While Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on so many aspects of life, it has been a busy time for the Sidewalk School, which was operating in-person in one migrant encampment in Matamoros and now reaches children in several cities along the border. In its online format, the program has welcomed students previously too embarrassed by their lack of education to set foot in a classroom. The classes, which are taught by asylum seekers who are former teachers or teaching assistants, are on everything from writing to math and even yoga and offer rare comfort to students in cities stretching from Tijuana on the Pacific coast to Matamoros near the Gulf of Mexico. Serrano Ramirez's students, who hail from Honduras, Guatemala, and Haiti, are among the countless refugees still flocking to the US border, convinced that President Joe Biden's new administration will let them in -- if only they ask. Finding the border firmly closed, they are now stuck in Mexico in a smattering of towns often controlled by drug traffickers, waiting for the US to review their refugee status requests. 'You get used to it' Serrano Ramirez, who used to teach in Honduras, said she never would have imagined the ordeal she went through just to teach in front of a phone. Compared to her prior classroom experience, the online classes she teaches are "really difficult, but as time passes, you get used to it," she said. Sidewalk School founder Felicia Rangel began the organization in Matamoros in 2018 after being shocked by the destitute conditions of several dozen migrants she met under a bridge. Although she doesn't speak Spanish, she felt moved to help the migrants, whom she saw as victims of former president Donald Trump's immigration policies. Rangel, whose father is Mexican but considers herself African-American, is a former school teacher who followed her husband from Houston to Brownsville. At first "it was just a matter of entertaining the children and teaching them a few things," said Ana Gabriela Martinez Fajardo, an asylum seeker who lives in Matamoros and teaches for the nonprofit. "As more and more children arrived, it became clear that proper classes were necessary because they weren't studying," the 26-year-old said. Sidewalk School began growing as migrants flocked to Matamoros in such numbers that they overflowed the tent camp made for 3,000 people. When Covid struck, Rangel and her co-director, Victor Cavazos, bought 300 digital tablets so that their students, age four to 18, would not be left without schooling. Anonymity of digital learning During the pandemic, the program has flourished. Many of the older students who did not know how to read and write found relief in the anonymity afforded by digital learning. "You can leave your screen off and no one has to see that you're in that kindergarten class," said Rangel, who reported that older pupils would sometimes leave the program in embarrassment over being placed with younger students. This is why even once making it to the United States, some parents continue to enroll their children in online courses rather than public schools, which Rangel says is regrettable. But it's not just the students who are slowly trickling into the United States: In recent months 17 of the 19 teachers have moved across the border, now living in places such as Kentucky, Michigan, or Virginia. However, two teachers are approaching the two-year anniversary of their arrival in Matamoros -- and are still waiting.

Migrant school forced online by Covid unites children on Mexico border

US&nbsp;Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday she had 'robust' talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on fighting corruption to deter immigration from Central America and bluntly warned migrants to not come to the United States. 
 
Since President Joe Biden took office in January, the number of migrants taken into custody per month at the US&nbsp;Mexico border has risen to the highest levels in 20 years 
 
"Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders," Harris said at a news conference alongside Giammattei. "If you come to our border, you will be turned back." 
 
Harris also said a US&nbsp;anti-corruption task force would work with local prosecutors to punish corrupt actors in the region. 
 
The Biden administration has identified corruption as an underlying cause of the poverty and violence driving record numbers of Central Americans to go to the United States. 
 
The corruption task force has been previously floated, but Harris gave more details, saying it will combine resources from the Justice, State and Treasury departments. 
 
In the build-up to Harris' visit to Guatemala, her first official overseas trip, differences of opinion emerged about the fight against graft, with corruption fighters feted by Washington being criticised by Giammattei. 
 
"We had a robust, candid and thorough conversation," Harris said at the news conference after a three-hour meeting with Giammattei, who said they had discussed US&nbsp;concerns about developments in Guatemala. 
 
"The president and I discussed the importance of anti-corruption and the importance of an independent judiciary," Harris said. Washington has criticised the removal of a senior judge from Guatemala's top court, in what Giammattei has argued was a legitimate process. 
 
Giammattei defended his own record in fighting malfeasance, saying he had not been accused of wrongdoing and saying graft was not only a problem faced by politicians. The fight against drug trafficking needed to be an integral part of tackling corruption, he said. 
 
On the immigration front, he announced a new processing center for migrants sent back from Mexico and the United States, which could increase capacity. He said the focus of the two countries should be on creating prosperity. 
 
Most Guatemalan migrants leave because of poverty, he said, and come from a few rural municipalities. 
 
Harris, a Democratic former US&nbsp;senator from California, responded to Republican criticism against her for not visiting the US-Mexico border and the administration for ignoring what they say is a crisis there. She said she was working on the ground in Guatemala. 
 
"I'm just focused on that kind of work as opposed to grand gestures," she said. 
 
But she also took flak from fellow Democrats like US&nbsp;Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said on Twitter she was disappointed by Harris's message to migrants. 
 
"Seeking asylum at any US&nbsp;border is a 100% legal method of arrival," she tweeted. She said the United States has contributed to regime change and destabilisation in Latin America for decades. "We can't help set someone's house on fire and then blame them for fleeing." 
 
The United States orchestrated a coup against democratically elected leftist government Jacobo Arbenz in 1954, ushering in decades of military governments and a civil war estimated to have killed more than 200,000 people by the time it ended in 1996. 
 
More recently, the US-financed, UN&nbsp;Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala helped bring down democratically elected conservative President Otto Perez Molina, a former general, who resigned after massive protests triggered by an investigation into corruption in his government.&nbsp; 
 
The Biden administration on Monday also unveiled details of another task force of prosecutors to combat human smuggling in Central America and Mexico. 
 
US&nbsp;Attorney General Merrick B&nbsp;Garland said the Joint Task Force Alpha would marshal Justice Department and Homeland Security resources against 'the most prolific and dangerous' human smuggling and trafficking groups in the region, according to a statement. It said the group will complement efforts against corrupt actors. 
 
However, Washington's push to tackle 'root causes' of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have been undermined by a backlash against anti-corruption bodies the United States considers independent but that local elites say are biased. 
 
Harris also met civil society leaders and entrepreneurs in Guatemala. The White House announced a $7.5 million commitment through USAID to support entrepreneurs in Guatemala, as well as millions more in investments in affordable housing, agri-businesses and loans to small businesses. 
 
Harris said she discussed sharing COVID-19 vaccines with Guatemala during Monday's meeting. She confirmed that the United States would supply half a million COVID-19 doses to Guatemala in addition to the $26 million it has given the country to fight the pandemic. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday she had 'robust' talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on fighting corruption to deter immigration from Central America and bluntly warned migrants to not come to the United States.

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Monday she had 'robust' talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on fighting corruption to deter immigration from Central America and bluntly warned migrants to not come to the United States. Since President Joe Biden took office in January, the number of migrants taken into custody per month at the US Mexico border has risen to the highest levels in 20 years "Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders," Harris said at a news conference alongside Giammattei. "If you come to our border, you will be turned back." Harris also said a US anti-corruption task force would work with local prosecutors to punish corrupt actors in the region. The Biden administration has identified corruption as an underlying cause of the poverty and violence driving record numbers of Central Americans to go to the United States. The corruption task force has been previously floated, but Harris gave more details, saying it will combine resources from the Justice, State and Treasury departments. In the build-up to Harris' visit to Guatemala, her first official overseas trip, differences of opinion emerged about the fight against graft, with corruption fighters feted by Washington being criticised by Giammattei. "We had a robust, candid and thorough conversation," Harris said at the news conference after a three-hour meeting with Giammattei, who said they had discussed US concerns about developments in Guatemala. "The president and I discussed the importance of anti-corruption and the importance of an independent judiciary," Harris said. Washington has criticised the removal of a senior judge from Guatemala's top court, in what Giammattei has argued was a legitimate process. Giammattei defended his own record in fighting malfeasance, saying he had not been accused of wrongdoing and saying graft was not only a problem faced by politicians. The fight against drug trafficking needed to be an integral part of tackling corruption, he said. On the immigration front, he announced a new processing center for migrants sent back from Mexico and the United States, which could increase capacity. He said the focus of the two countries should be on creating prosperity. Most Guatemalan migrants leave because of poverty, he said, and come from a few rural municipalities. Harris, a Democratic former US senator from California, responded to Republican criticism against her for not visiting the US-Mexico border and the administration for ignoring what they say is a crisis there. She said she was working on the ground in Guatemala. "I'm just focused on that kind of work as opposed to grand gestures," she said. But she also took flak from fellow Democrats like US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said on Twitter she was disappointed by Harris's message to migrants. "Seeking asylum at any US border is a 100% legal method of arrival," she tweeted. She said the United States has contributed to regime change and destabilisation in Latin America for decades. "We can't help set someone's house on fire and then blame them for fleeing." The United States orchestrated a coup against democratically elected leftist government Jacobo Arbenz in 1954, ushering in decades of military governments and a civil war estimated to have killed more than 200,000 people by the time it ended in 1996. More recently, the US-financed, UN Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala helped bring down democratically elected conservative President Otto Perez Molina, a former general, who resigned after massive protests triggered by an investigation into corruption in his government. The Biden administration on Monday also unveiled details of another task force of prosecutors to combat human smuggling in Central America and Mexico. US Attorney General Merrick B Garland said the Joint Task Force Alpha would marshal Justice Department and Homeland Security resources against 'the most prolific and dangerous' human smuggling and trafficking groups in the region, according to a statement. It said the group will complement efforts against corrupt actors. However, Washington's push to tackle 'root causes' of migration in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have been undermined by a backlash against anti-corruption bodies the United States considers independent but that local elites say are biased. Harris also met civil society leaders and entrepreneurs in Guatemala. The White House announced a $7.5 million commitment through USAID to support entrepreneurs in Guatemala, as well as millions more in investments in affordable housing, agri-businesses and loans to small businesses. Harris said she discussed sharing COVID-19 vaccines with Guatemala during Monday's meeting. She confirmed that the United States would supply half a million COVID-19 doses to Guatemala in addition to the $26 million it has given the country to fight the pandemic. (With inputs from agencies)

Harris takes on graft in Guatemala, tells migrants 'do not come'

Qatar's public prosecution has charged a Kenyan man, who has written about migrant rights in the Gulf Arab state with receiving payment to spread disinformation, the government's communication office (GCO) said on Saturday.&nbsp;

Malcolm Bidali, who had been writing under a pseudonym, was arrested on May 5 for violating Qatar's security laws, according to a Qatari official. Rights groups have voiced concern that his detention may be in reprisal for human rights work.&nbsp;

"Mr Bidali has been formally charged with offences related to payments received by a foreign agent for the creation and distribution of disinformation within the State of Qatar," the GCO said in a statement, without elaborating.&nbsp;

It said his case was transferred to the Public Prosecution after a thorough investigation and that Bidali was 'receiving legal advice and representation ahead of the court date, which has not yet been set'.&nbsp;

Rights groups including Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday that Bidali, a security guard and blogger, told his mother in a May 20 phone call that he was being held in solitary confinement and had no access to a lawyer.&nbsp;

The GCO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;

Bidali had a week before his arrest given a presentation to a large group of civil society organisations and trade unions about his experience working in Qatar, according to an earlier statement by Amnesty, Migrant-Rights.org, Human Rights Watch, FairSquare and the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre.&nbsp;

Qatar's human rights record has been in the spotlight as it prepares to host the 2022 soccer World Cup, especially over migrants' living and working conditions.&nbsp;

Doha has introduced labour reforms that aimed to address some concerns.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) &nbsp;

Qatar's public prosecution has charged a Kenyan man, who has written about migrant rights in the Gulf Arab state with receiving payment to spread disinformation, the government's communication office (GCO) said on Saturday.

Qatar's public prosecution has charged a Kenyan man, who has written about migrant rights in the Gulf Arab state with receiving payment to spread disinformation, the government's communication office (GCO) said on Saturday. Malcolm Bidali, who had been writing under a pseudonym, was arrested on May 5 for violating Qatar's security laws, according to a Qatari official. Rights groups have voiced concern that his detention may be in reprisal for human rights work. "Mr Bidali has been formally charged with offences related to payments received by a foreign agent for the creation and distribution of disinformation within the State of Qatar," the GCO said in a statement, without elaborating. It said his case was transferred to the Public Prosecution after a thorough investigation and that Bidali was 'receiving legal advice and representation ahead of the court date, which has not yet been set'. Rights groups including Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday that Bidali, a security guard and blogger, told his mother in a May 20 phone call that he was being held in solitary confinement and had no access to a lawyer. The GCO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bidali had a week before his arrest given a presentation to a large group of civil society organisations and trade unions about his experience working in Qatar, according to an earlier statement by Amnesty, Migrant-Rights.org, Human Rights Watch, FairSquare and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Qatar's human rights record has been in the spotlight as it prepares to host the 2022 soccer World Cup, especially over migrants' living and working conditions. Doha has introduced labour reforms that aimed to address some concerns. (With inputs from agencies)

Qatar charges migrant activist with taking payment to spread disinformation 

The Philippines has suspended the deployment of workers to Saudi Arabia after it received reports that their employers and recruiters were making them pay for COVID-19 testing, quarantine and insurance upon arrival in the kingdom. 
 
Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said in a May 27 order that his department will issue an official statement on resumption of deployment "after this matter has been clarified accordingly". 
 
It was not immediately clear how many Filipinos bound for Saudi Arabia would be directly affected. 
 
Saudi Arabia was the most preferred destination of overseas Filipino workers in 2019, government data showed, hosting one out of five Filipinos who landed jobs abroad during that year. 
 
More than a million Filipinos work in Saudi Arabia, many in construction or as domestic helpers or nurses. 
 
Saudi Arabia`s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside office hours. 
 
Filipinos in Saudi Arabia sent home $1.8 billion in remittances in 2020, making it an important source of foreign exchange inflows, a key driver of the Philippines` consumption-led economy.

The Philippines has suspended the deployment of workers to Saudi Arabia after it received reports that their employers and recruiters were making them pay for COVID-19 testing, quarantine and insurance upon arrival in the kingdom.

The Philippines has suspended the deployment of workers to Saudi Arabia after it received reports that their employers and recruiters were making them pay for COVID-19 testing, quarantine and insurance upon arrival in the kingdom. Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said in a May 27 order that his department will issue an official statement on resumption of deployment "after this matter has been clarified accordingly". It was not immediately clear how many Filipinos bound for Saudi Arabia would be directly affected. Saudi Arabia was the most preferred destination of overseas Filipino workers in 2019, government data showed, hosting one out of five Filipinos who landed jobs abroad during that year. More than a million Filipinos work in Saudi Arabia, many in construction or as domestic helpers or nurses. Saudi Arabia`s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside office hours. Filipinos in Saudi Arabia sent home $1.8 billion in remittances in 2020, making it an important source of foreign exchange inflows, a key driver of the Philippines` consumption-led economy.

Philippines halts deployment of workers to Saudi Arabia

As the US faced a migrant crisis, several pictures and reports came to the surface that showed unaccompanied migrant children being forced to spend nights in parked busses at the Dallas convention center.

The US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the reports are “completely unacceptable” if they are true.

"This is completely unacceptable," Becerra said. "We're quickly investigating this to get to the bottom of what happened, and we’ll work to make sure this never happens again. The safety and well-being of the children is our priority."

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/number-of-children-travelling-alone-at-us-border-eases-in-april-384486" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/number-of-children-travelling-alone-at-us-border-eases-in-april-384486&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjSv-D83MvwAhV173MBHQpDDqEQFjACegQIARAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1dvT1EiN1lJCelfOoZqhdx" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/number-of-children-travelling-alone-at-us-border-eases-in-april-384486" target="_blank">Number of children travelling alone at US border eases in April</a>

Becarra's statement has come as a psychiatrist, like many, has claimed that a 15-year-old Honduran boy was forced to stay on a parked bus from Saturday to Wednesday, During this time, he was not allowed to deboard the bus or even communicate with his friends and family. He was forced to use the washroom on the bus itself.

While it is unclear how many children were forced to go through this unpleasant experience, the local media has raised concerns against these experiences.

The accusation has come as the Health and Human Services is rushing to arrange more beds to accommodate incoming migrant children who are waiting for a court order on their placement in the US with a sponsor.

Health and Human Services has nearly 20,397 unaccompanied migrant children in custody, as of now, and has expanded its lodgings from a 1,000-bed facility to nearly 20,000 beds to meet the growing demand.

Meanwhile, MVM Inc., a transportation contractor hired by the US government, has cleared the air by claiming to have transported migrant children safely.

"Over the last seven weeks, the number of children needing escorts in this pandemic environment has increased to more than 7,100, creating challenging travel logistics and resulting in some extended wait times on their way to reunification sites," the company admitted.

MVM is also investigating the incident in question.

As the US faced a migrant crisis, several pictures and reports came to the surface that showed unaccompanied migrant children being forced to spend nights in parked busses at the Dallas convention center.

As the US faced a migrant crisis, several pictures and reports came to the surface that showed unaccompanied migrant children being forced to spend nights in parked busses at the Dallas convention center. The US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the reports are “completely unacceptable” if they are true. "This is completely unacceptable," Becerra said. "We're quickly investigating this to get to the bottom of what happened, and we’ll work to make sure this never happens again. The safety and well-being of the children is our priority." Also read | Number of children travelling alone at US border eases in April Becarra's statement has come as a psychiatrist, like many, has claimed that a 15-year-old Honduran boy was forced to stay on a parked bus from Saturday to Wednesday, During this time, he was not allowed to deboard the bus or even communicate with his friends and family. He was forced to use the washroom on the bus itself. While it is unclear how many children were forced to go through this unpleasant experience, the local media has raised concerns against these experiences. The accusation has come as the Health and Human Services is rushing to arrange more beds to accommodate incoming migrant children who are waiting for a court order on their placement in the US with a sponsor. Health and Human Services has nearly 20,397 unaccompanied migrant children in custody, as of now, and has expanded its lodgings from a 1,000-bed facility to nearly 20,000 beds to meet the growing demand. Meanwhile, MVM Inc., a transportation contractor hired by the US government, has cleared the air by claiming to have transported migrant children safely. "Over the last seven weeks, the number of children needing escorts in this pandemic environment has increased to more than 7,100, creating challenging travel logistics and resulting in some extended wait times on their way to reunification sites," the company admitted. MVM is also investigating the incident in question.

Reports of migrant children packed in buses 'unacceptable, says US agency

The United States and Mexico discussed ways to protect migrants even as the latter's human rights watchdog flagged risks to a new militarised drive to deter Central Americans from entering its territory.

US officials are struggling to house and process an increasing number of unaccompanied children, many of whom have been stuck in jail-like border stations for days while they await placement in overwhelmed government-run shelters.

President Joe Biden, to this end, sent envoys, including his border coordinator Roberta Jacobson, to Mexico on Tuesday to discuss how to tackle a recent jump in migrant arrivals at the US border that have put the new Democratic administration under mounting pressure.

Led for Mexico by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, the talks highlighted "humanitarian actions" to promote economic development in Central America to mitigate the root causes of migration, the Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement.

Officials also discussed different mechanisms for "orderly and safe" migration, and the protection of human rights, particularly those of children, his ministry said.

While those discussions were underway, Mexico has also been stepping up operations led by militarised police and soldiers in the south of the country aimed at deterring thousands of Central Americans coming north as they attempt to escape recession, violence and the effects of devastating hurricanes.

Mexico's national human rights commission (CNDH) has demanded the rights of migrants be respected during the new enforcement push, in which security forces are employing drones and night vision goggles to catch people entering the country.

In a statement Tuesday, the CNDH said it would ensure the actions of the authorities strictly adhere to legal norms.

For years, the bulk of people seeking to cross illegally into the United States have come from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the poorer regions of southern Mexico.

The US government said on Monday it would work with Mexico and Central America to mitigate the causes of migration.

Biden has vowed to adopt a more humanitarian policy towards migrants than his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. Mexico, in turn, has welcomed Biden's efforts, but says the change in policy has also encouraged people to think that it is now easier to enter the United States.

(with inputs from Reuters)

The United States and Mexico discussed ways to protect migrants even as the latter's human rights watchdog flagged risks to a new militarised drive to deter Central Americans from entering its territory.

The United States and Mexico discussed ways to protect migrants even as the latter's human rights watchdog flagged risks to a new militarised drive to deter Central Americans from entering its territory. US officials are struggling to house and process an increasing number of unaccompanied children, many of whom have been stuck in jail-like border stations for days while they await placement in overwhelmed government-run shelters. President Joe Biden, to this end, sent envoys, including his border coordinator Roberta Jacobson, to Mexico on Tuesday to discuss how to tackle a recent jump in migrant arrivals at the US border that have put the new Democratic administration under mounting pressure. Led for Mexico by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, the talks highlighted "humanitarian actions" to promote economic development in Central America to mitigate the root causes of migration, the Mexican foreign ministry said in a statement. Officials also discussed different mechanisms for "orderly and safe" migration, and the protection of human rights, particularly those of children, his ministry said. While those discussions were underway, Mexico has also been stepping up operations led by militarised police and soldiers in the south of the country aimed at deterring thousands of Central Americans coming north as they attempt to escape recession, violence and the effects of devastating hurricanes. Mexico's national human rights commission (CNDH) has demanded the rights of migrants be respected during the new enforcement push, in which security forces are employing drones and night vision goggles to catch people entering the country. In a statement Tuesday, the CNDH said it would ensure the actions of the authorities strictly adhere to legal norms. For years, the bulk of people seeking to cross illegally into the United States have come from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the poorer regions of southern Mexico. The US government said on Monday it would work with Mexico and Central America to mitigate the causes of migration. Biden has vowed to adopt a more humanitarian policy towards migrants than his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. Mexico, in turn, has welcomed Biden's efforts, but says the change in policy has also encouraged people to think that it is now easier to enter the United States. (with inputs from Reuters)

US and Mexico discuss migrant protection amid new deterrence push

US officials will ask authorities in Mexico and Guatemala to help stem migrant traffic, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday, as the Biden administration struggles to contain a burgeoning humanitarian challenge along the US border with Mexico.&nbsp;

President Joe Biden dispatched US envoys, including White House border coordinator Roberta Jacobson, to the two countries on Monday for talks on how to manage the increase in the number of migrants heading for the US-Mexican border.&nbsp;

When asked if the US delegation would seek support from local officials, Psaki told a news briefing, "Absolutely, part of our objective as Roberta Jacobson...conveyed when she was in here just a few weeks ago, was that we need to work in partnership with these countries to address the root causes in their countries to convey clearly and systematically that this is not the time to travel."&nbsp;

Jacobson was joined by Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere, and Honduran-born diplomat Ricardo Zuniga, just appointed by the State Department as the Northern Triangle special envoy.&nbsp;

Gonzalez will continue to Guatemala to meet Guatemalan officials, as well as representatives from civil society and non-governmental organisations.&nbsp;

Biden’s promise to end former President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies has been complicated by a recent spike in the number of migrants crossing the border illegally.&nbsp;

The increase in the number of migrants fleeing violence, natural disasters and economic hardship in Central America is testing Biden’s commitment to a more humane immigration policy.&nbsp;

White House spokeswoman Emily Horne said Jacobson's goal in Mexico is developing 'an effective and humane plan of action to manage migration'.&nbsp;

The visit was also announced by Mexico's foreign ministry, which said the talks would take place on Tuesday.&nbsp;

Gonzalez' aim in Guatemala is to ''address root causes of migration in the region and build a more hopeful future in the region," Horne said.&nbsp;

US officials are struggling to house and process an increasing number of unaccompanied children, many of whom have been stuck in jail-like border stations for days while they await placement in overwhelmed government-run shelters.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

US officials will ask authorities in Mexico and Guatemala to help stem migrant traffic, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday, as the Biden administration struggles to contain a burgeoning humanitarian challenge along the US border with Mexico.

US officials will ask authorities in Mexico and Guatemala to help stem migrant traffic, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday, as the Biden administration struggles to contain a burgeoning humanitarian challenge along the US border with Mexico. President Joe Biden dispatched US envoys, including White House border coordinator Roberta Jacobson, to the two countries on Monday for talks on how to manage the increase in the number of migrants heading for the US-Mexican border. When asked if the US delegation would seek support from local officials, Psaki told a news briefing, "Absolutely, part of our objective as Roberta Jacobson...conveyed when she was in here just a few weeks ago, was that we need to work in partnership with these countries to address the root causes in their countries to convey clearly and systematically that this is not the time to travel." Jacobson was joined by Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s senior director for the Western Hemisphere, and Honduran-born diplomat Ricardo Zuniga, just appointed by the State Department as the Northern Triangle special envoy. Gonzalez will continue to Guatemala to meet Guatemalan officials, as well as representatives from civil society and non-governmental organisations. Biden’s promise to end former President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies has been complicated by a recent spike in the number of migrants crossing the border illegally. The increase in the number of migrants fleeing violence, natural disasters and economic hardship in Central America is testing Biden’s commitment to a more humane immigration policy. White House spokeswoman Emily Horne said Jacobson's goal in Mexico is developing 'an effective and humane plan of action to manage migration'. The visit was also announced by Mexico's foreign ministry, which said the talks would take place on Tuesday. Gonzalez' aim in Guatemala is to ''address root causes of migration in the region and build a more hopeful future in the region," Horne said. US officials are struggling to house and process an increasing number of unaccompanied children, many of whom have been stuck in jail-like border stations for days while they await placement in overwhelmed government-run shelters. (With inputs from agencies)

Biden sends envoys to Mexico, Guatemala for help on migrant flow 

The United States is expelling migrants to Mexico far from where they are caught crossing the border, according to Reuters witnesses, in a move that circumvents the refusal of authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas who stopped accepting the return of migrant families with younger children.

The practice is a sign that President Joe Biden is toughening his approach to the growing humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border after his administration`s entreaties for Central American migrants to stay home have failed to stop thousands from heading north.

Some families caught at the border in Texas` Rio Grande Valley said in interviews they were flown to El Paso, Texas, after being held in custody just a few days. From there, they were escorted by U.S. officials to the international bridge to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, around 800-miles (1,300 km) away from where they were first picked up by U.S. border patrol agents.

A Reuters photographer saw planes landing in El Paso this week that were loaded with dozens of migrant families with young children, including babies in diapers, and then saw the same families crossing the international bridge.

Some passengers interviewed by Reuters once they crossed into Mexico said they had been awakened in their holding cells at night by border agents and not told where they were going as they were loaded on buses and taken to the airport.

Landon Hutchens, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman, said that due to a lack of capacity in the Rio Grande Valley, migrants have been sent to El Paso for processing, as well as Laredo, Texas, and San Diego, California.

Gloria Chavez, the U.S. Border Patrol chief for the El Paso Sector, said that El Paso had been receiving families from the Rio Grande Valley since March 8. Chavez said the priority was to expel them to Mexico, but that Mexico could only receive a limited amount of families from the region per day. She said some families were still being released to shelters in the United States.

The shuttling of migrants to El Paso was first reported by the Dallas Morning News.

While the United States has been expelling thousands of people crossing the border illegally, Tamaulipas, which sits across the border from Texas, has not been accepting families returning with younger children, presenting a conundrum for the Biden administration.

U.S. authorities have been releasing hundreds of families to shelters and giving them notices to appear in immigration court to reduce overcrowding at border facilities.

Dylan Corbett, the director of the Hope Border Institute, an advocacy organization, said the majority of families expelled to Ciudad Juarez after crossing in south Texas have children under 7 years of age.

"They have been returned to Juarez to a situation of extreme vulnerability," facing dangers from human traffickers and organized criminal groups, Corbett said in an interview, adding that shelters in Mexico are full due to the pandemic.

Edna Sorto, who came from Honduras with her two young sons, sat on the floor in a state government immigration office in Ciudad Juarez shortly after walking over the bridge from El Paso. Dozens of families milled around the office with some toddlers and babies sleeping on blankets on the floor.

"They didn`t ask us anything about why we came or where we were going or who could receive us in the United States," Sorto said through tears and over the cries of children in the background who said they were hungry. "We are just going to wait here and see what they tell us, see if we can find a place to stay."

UNDER PRESSURE

The new practice of expelling families to a different part of Mexico comes as the Biden administration faces pressure by both critics and some supporters for its handling of the crisis on the border.

Opposition Republicans blame the increase in illegal border crossings on Biden`s immigration policies and what they say is his mixed messaging to would-be migrants.

Biden administration officials` warnings to migrants not to make the journey north appear to be ignored, as people smugglers point to some families being allowed in to persuade would-be migrants that the border is open.

"We have been clear from all levels of government that the border is closed and the majority of individuals will be turned away or expelled under Title 42," a White House spokesman said, referring to a public health order instituted under former President Donald Trump amid the pandemic. The order allows migrants, including families, to be "expelled" to Mexico or their home countries.

Gil Kerlikowske, who was CBP commissioner for three years under former President Barack Obama, said the Biden administration`s heavy reliance on messaging was "a huge mistake."

"We have 25 plus years of messaging in Mexico and Central America, from placards on buses and bus shelters to radio spots and more, saying, `Don`t come, it`s dangerous,` and for 25 years that message has been completely unheard."

Democrats and activists meanwhile say children are being kept in border patrol custody for too long and should be released more quickly to family members or other sponsors.

More than 500 of the roughly 4,500 unaccompanied children being held in sparse border patrol facilities as of Thursday have been there for more than 10 days, above the legal three-day limit, according to U.S. government data shared with Reuters.

The United States is expelling migrants to Mexico far from where they are caught crossing the border, according to Reuters witnesses, in a move that circumvents the refusal of authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas who stopped accepting the return of migrant families with younger children.

The United States is expelling migrants to Mexico far from where they are caught crossing the border, according to Reuters witnesses, in a move that circumvents the refusal of authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas who stopped accepting the return of migrant families with younger children. The practice is a sign that President Joe Biden is toughening his approach to the growing humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border after his administration`s entreaties for Central American migrants to stay home have failed to stop thousands from heading north. Some families caught at the border in Texas` Rio Grande Valley said in interviews they were flown to El Paso, Texas, after being held in custody just a few days. From there, they were escorted by U.S. officials to the international bridge to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, around 800-miles (1,300 km) away from where they were first picked up by U.S. border patrol agents. A Reuters photographer saw planes landing in El Paso this week that were loaded with dozens of migrant families with young children, including babies in diapers, and then saw the same families crossing the international bridge. Some passengers interviewed by Reuters once they crossed into Mexico said they had been awakened in their holding cells at night by border agents and not told where they were going as they were loaded on buses and taken to the airport. Landon Hutchens, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman, said that due to a lack of capacity in the Rio Grande Valley, migrants have been sent to El Paso for processing, as well as Laredo, Texas, and San Diego, California. Gloria Chavez, the U.S. Border Patrol chief for the El Paso Sector, said that El Paso had been receiving families from the Rio Grande Valley since March 8. Chavez said the priority was to expel them to Mexico, but that Mexico could only receive a limited amount of families from the region per day. She said some families were still being released to shelters in the United States. The shuttling of migrants to El Paso was first reported by the Dallas Morning News. While the United States has been expelling thousands of people crossing the border illegally, Tamaulipas, which sits across the border from Texas, has not been accepting families returning with younger children, presenting a conundrum for the Biden administration. U.S. authorities have been releasing hundreds of families to shelters and giving them notices to appear in immigration court to reduce overcrowding at border facilities. Dylan Corbett, the director of the Hope Border Institute, an advocacy organization, said the majority of families expelled to Ciudad Juarez after crossing in south Texas have children under 7 years of age. "They have been returned to Juarez to a situation of extreme vulnerability," facing dangers from human traffickers and organized criminal groups, Corbett said in an interview, adding that shelters in Mexico are full due to the pandemic. Edna Sorto, who came from Honduras with her two young sons, sat on the floor in a state government immigration office in Ciudad Juarez shortly after walking over the bridge from El Paso. Dozens of families milled around the office with some toddlers and babies sleeping on blankets on the floor. "They didn`t ask us anything about why we came or where we were going or who could receive us in the United States," Sorto said through tears and over the cries of children in the background who said they were hungry. "We are just going to wait here and see what they tell us, see if we can find a place to stay." UNDER PRESSURE The new practice of expelling families to a different part of Mexico comes as the Biden administration faces pressure by both critics and some supporters for its handling of the crisis on the border. Opposition Republicans blame the increase in illegal border crossings on Biden`s immigration policies and what they say is his mixed messaging to would-be migrants. Biden administration officials` warnings to migrants not to make the journey north appear to be ignored, as people smugglers point to some families being allowed in to persuade would-be migrants that the border is open. "We have been clear from all levels of government that the border is closed and the majority of individuals will be turned away or expelled under Title 42," a White House spokesman said, referring to a public health order instituted under former President Donald Trump amid the pandemic. The order allows migrants, including families, to be "expelled" to Mexico or their home countries. Gil Kerlikowske, who was CBP commissioner for three years under former President Barack Obama, said the Biden administration`s heavy reliance on messaging was "a huge mistake." "We have 25 plus years of messaging in Mexico and Central America, from placards on buses and bus shelters to radio spots and more, saying, `Don`t come, it`s dangerous,` and for 25 years that message has been completely unheard." Democrats and activists meanwhile say children are being kept in border patrol custody for too long and should be released more quickly to family members or other sponsors. More than 500 of the roughly 4,500 unaccompanied children being held in sparse border patrol facilities as of Thursday have been there for more than 10 days, above the legal three-day limit, according to U.S. government data shared with Reuters.

Biden steps up family expulsions as US-Mexico border arrivals keep climbing

Some migrant families arriving in the United States will be housed in hotels under a new programme managed by non-profit organisations, according to two people familiar with the plans, a move away from for-profit detention centers that have been criticised by Democrats and health experts.&nbsp;

Endeavors, a San Antonio-based organisation, will oversee what it calls 'family reception sites' at hotels in Texas and Arizona, the two sources said. The organisation, in partnership with other non-profits, will initially provide up to 1,400 beds in seven different brand-name hotels for families deemed vulnerable when caught at the border.&nbsp;

The opening of the reception centers would mark a significant shift by the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, away from the detention of migrant families in for-profit facilities.&nbsp;

In January, Biden issued an order directing the Justice Department not to renew its contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities. However, the order did not address immigration jails run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).&nbsp;

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;

Roughly 900 migrants are currently being held in two family detention centers in Texas, according to ICE data. A third center in Pennsylvania is no longer being used to hold families.&nbsp;

The number of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border has climbed in recent weeks as Biden has rolled back some of the hardline policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican.&nbsp;

Biden, who took office on January 20, has faced criticism from Republicans for reversing those policies. At the same time, some Democrats opposed Biden's administration re-opening a Trump-era emergency shelter for children.&nbsp;

The hotel sites, set to open in April, will offer Covid-19 testing, medical care, food services, social workers and case managers to help with travel and onward destinations, according to the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter. Staff will be trained to work with children.&nbsp;

It remained unclear whether migrants would be required to wear ankle bracelets or be subject to any other form of monitoring, the people said.&nbsp;

The families will arrive at border patrol stations and then be sent to the hotel sites to continue immigration paperwork, which is currently done in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, the two sources said. They could leave the reception centers as early as six hours after arrival if paperwork is completed, they test negative for Covid-19 and transportation has been arranged.&nbsp;

The housing of some migrants in hotels was reported by Axios earlier on Saturday.&nbsp;

Endeavors will also operate a new 2,000-bed shelter for unaccompanied children in Texas, the sources said.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Some migrant families arriving in the United States will be housed in hotels under a new programme managed by non-profit organisations, according to two people familiar with the plans, a move away from for-profit detention centers that have been criticised by Democrats and health experts.

Some migrant families arriving in the United States will be housed in hotels under a new programme managed by non-profit organisations, according to two people familiar with the plans, a move away from for-profit detention centers that have been criticised by Democrats and health experts. Endeavors, a San Antonio-based organisation, will oversee what it calls 'family reception sites' at hotels in Texas and Arizona, the two sources said. The organisation, in partnership with other non-profits, will initially provide up to 1,400 beds in seven different brand-name hotels for families deemed vulnerable when caught at the border. The opening of the reception centers would mark a significant shift by the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, away from the detention of migrant families in for-profit facilities. In January, Biden issued an order directing the Justice Department not to renew its contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities. However, the order did not address immigration jails run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Roughly 900 migrants are currently being held in two family detention centers in Texas, according to ICE data. A third center in Pennsylvania is no longer being used to hold families. The number of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border has climbed in recent weeks as Biden has rolled back some of the hardline policies of former President Donald Trump, a Republican. Biden, who took office on January 20, has faced criticism from Republicans for reversing those policies. At the same time, some Democrats opposed Biden's administration re-opening a Trump-era emergency shelter for children. The hotel sites, set to open in April, will offer Covid-19 testing, medical care, food services, social workers and case managers to help with travel and onward destinations, according to the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter. Staff will be trained to work with children. It remained unclear whether migrants would be required to wear ankle bracelets or be subject to any other form of monitoring, the people said. The families will arrive at border patrol stations and then be sent to the hotel sites to continue immigration paperwork, which is currently done in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, the two sources said. They could leave the reception centers as early as six hours after arrival if paperwork is completed, they test negative for Covid-19 and transportation has been arranged. The housing of some migrants in hotels was reported by Axios earlier on Saturday. Endeavors will also operate a new 2,000-bed shelter for unaccompanied children in Texas, the sources said. (With inputs from agencies)

US to place migrant families in hotels in move away from detention centers 

The Biden administration warned Tuesday that the United States expected to make more apprehensions along the southwestern border this year than at any time in the past two decades, underscoring the urgency for the White House to develop solutions for the chronic problems with immigration from Central America.

The grim prediction by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, came as President Joe Biden was being assailed for his handling of a surge at the border involving thousands of unaccompanied children and teenagers from the region — with attacks coming from the right for not being tough enough and from the left for not being humane enough.

The president has pleaded for time and patience, blaming his predecessor for dismantling the immigration system in his zeal to keep foreigners out. But even Biden’s top advisers acknowledge that after unwinding President Donald Trump’s harsh policies, there is no easy or quick fix for a problem that has been a recurring crisis.

“We have no illusions about how hard it is, and we know it will take time,” Mayorkas said in a statement on Tuesday as the House prepared to vote this week on several immigration measures and the administration rushed to provide more housing for the young migrants arriving at the border. But, he added, “We will get it done.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/what-explains-influx-of-migrants-at-us-border-371117">Watch |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/what-explains-influx-of-migrants-at-us-border-371117/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The approach being developed by the administration involves steps that it can take relatively quickly and others that will take longer and require agreement from Congress or cooperation from the governments of Central American nations. And it will have to deal with several categories of people, including the unaccompanied minors who are overwhelming the system now and eventually asylum-seeking families and those trying to slip past border agents.

In the short term — as warmer weather invites even more people to migrate north — Biden’s administration must find a way to temporarily care for the thousands of migrant children who are arriving at the United States border without a legal guardian.

That includes expanding facilities where the children can be held legally for up to 72 hours in the custody of the Border Patrol. And it means finding more residential places where the migrant children can live for weeks or even months while the government searches for a relative or friend to take care of them while officials decide whether they must return to their home countries.

The Biden administration is struggling to quickly ramp up capacity. But the longer-term challenges are even more daunting.

Biden’s advisers have said they want to establish systems in Mexico that would provide a way for migrants to file applications to seek refuge to the United States in an orderly, safe manner, without coming to the border. But doing so will take months, and it is not yet clear whether migrants will use them.

For those who do apply for asylum, Biden’s team has said it will shorten the review process, which currently can take years to reach a final decision. Mayorkas has said asylum cases should be decided in weeks, one way or the other. But making that happen will require investing money and hiring people to process huge backlogs of cases.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-migrant-crisis-us-opens-shelter-for-migrant-children-371030">Watch |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-migrant-crisis-us-opens-shelter-for-migrant-children-371030/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Finally, Biden has vowed to vastly increase support for places like Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala so that Central Americans no longer feel the need to flee their homes. But even with the $4 billion that the president has proposed, rebuilding societies wracked by violence, gangs and stagnating economies will take years or decades — if it works at all.

All of the solutions Biden is considering have been under discussion for decades, often included in comprehensive immigration legislation that has repeatedly failed to get through Congress, falling victim to deep partisan divisions.

For now, Biden has left in place a Trump-era pandemic emergency rule that empowers agents to rapidly turn away most migrants other than unaccompanied minors without providing them the chance to have their asylum claims heard.

Mayorkas’ prediction about the scale of apprehensions this year includes migrants who will be detained in border facilities, as well as those rapidly turned away under the pandemic rule. It does not include those who managed to avoid border agents when crossing into the country.

“The administration, they’re asking for patience but that only goes for so long when you’re looking at these kind of numbers. And what happens after patience?” said R. Gil Kerlikowske, a commissioner of Customs and Border Protection under President Barack Obama. “What is the plan for dealing with this? What is the plan going forward?”

Short-Term Solutions

During the current fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, Customs and Border Protection has recorded more than 396,000 migrant crossings, including at official ports of entry, compared with about 201,600 during the same period last fiscal year.

A majority of those crossings involved single adults, who under current rules are often quickly expelled back to Mexico or their home countries. But unaccompanied children are taken by a border agent first to a detention facility, where they are then supposed to be transferred within 72 hours to a shelter managed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Those shelters were operating until recently with restricted capacity because of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving thousands of minors stuck in the jails along the border, including some who have been left to sleep on mats with foil sheets, according to lawyers who visited a facility in Texas.

But even before the pandemic, the shelter system had often been pushed beyond capacity.

The Biden administration this month directed the shelters to return to their normal capacity, allowing the government to increase the number of available beds in those shelters by about 40%.

With the number of minors at the border climbing, the administration is now scrambling to find additional space, including at a convention center in downtown Dallas; at a former camp for oil field workers in Midland, Texas; at a NASA site in California; and at a tent encampment in Arizona.

Biden said during an interview with ABC News on Tuesday that the administration could have enough shelter space by next month for the unaccompanied minors stuck in border facilities.

The government is also trying to reduce the amount of time it takes to transfer a child from border facilities to the shelters by streamlining a system that sends them through three different bureaucracies: the Border Patrol, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the Department of Health and Human Services. Coordination between the three agencies has often broken down and resulted in delays.

The Biden administration has started placing officials from the Department of Health and Human Services in border facilities to accelerate the process of finding a relative or other sponsor in the United States who can take the migrants in.

While the Biden administration continues to invoke the emergency pandemic rule to turn away most adults and migrant families, senior Homeland Security officials have acknowledged that they will be able to use the emergency rule only for so long as vaccination becomes more widely available.

In the meantime, the president and his top border officials have issued statements about the perilous journey to the United States, hoping to discourage migration to the border.

The administration held a series of private calls with pro-immigrant groups and advocates last week to discuss Biden’s immigration agenda. David Shahoulian, a top immigration official at the Department of Homeland Security, said that the messaging to discourage migrants from coming had not been working and that the administration would need to be clearer in the future, especially given that smugglers continue to encourage migrants to travel to the United States, according to people familiar with the discussion.

Mayorkas had said this month that the administration’s message was not “don’t come” but rather “don’t come now.” Roberta S. Jacobson, a special assistant overseeing border issues, initially said mistakenly in Spanish during a news briefing that the border was not closed, but then corrected herself to say it was closed.

By Tuesday, the president had an even more direct message: “I can say quite clearly, ‘Don’t come over,’ ” Biden said on ABC News, adding that the administration was working on creating opportunities for migrants to apply closer to their homes for asylum. “Don’t leave your town or city or community.”

Medium-Term Solutions

The administration is working on an agreement with Central American countries to reduce pressure on the border, Shahoulian said on the call. And it is examining options for expediting the processing of asylum cases.

“We will shorten from years to months the time it takes to adjudicate an asylum claim,” Mayorkas said in his statement Tuesday, adding that the administration would soon introduce a regulation to improve the system. He said that the administration was working to establish processing centers in Central America so that they could be screened and “brought to the United States if they qualify for relief under our humanitarian laws and other authorities.”

Biden said in his campaign platform that he would increase the number of judges and immigration officers to combat a backlog that nearly doubled during the Trump administration to more than 1.2 million cases.

Biden has already begun to restart the Obama-era Central American Minors program, which was intended to allow some children to apply in their home region for permission to live in the United States with a parent or other relative. When Trump ended the program, about 3,000 Central American children had been approved for travel to the United States.

It will take time to ramp up the program, which has strict vetting requirements, in order to verify the relationships of the children and their relatives.

Now, the administration is eager to examine even broader efforts to consider asylum applications remotely.

The administration is already testing a system where migrants, who were told by the Trump administration to wait along the border in squalid camps in Mexico, can use an app on their cellphones to apply for asylum and track their cases. That kind of system might be expanded more broadly, officials said.

“This is the road map going forward for a system that is safe, orderly and fair,” Mayorkas said.

Many of the changes Biden wants are included in comprehensive immigration legislation he sent to Congress on his first day in office. But that bill is a long way from becoming law, especially with Trump and other Republicans again using immigration to stoke their partisan base.

Long-Term Solutions

Biden’s most ambitious — and difficult — goal is to use the United States’ wealth and diplomatic power to reshape the region in the hopes of diminishing the root causes of migration from Central America, starting with poverty and violence.

It is an effort that has been tried before. Obama and members of Congress from both parties agreed to invest several hundred million dollars into Central America with the hope of improving the courts, diminishing the drug cartels and improving economic conditions.

Trump cut that spending, arguing that it was a waste of money, before restoring some of it. But Biden’s team is betting that even more investment will produce results. In Honduras, for example, the country’s coffee production has been hurt by hurricanes and slumping prices for coffee beans, driving many people into poverty.

But helping to reverse those kinds of economic trends could take years.

“When the president talks about ‘root causes,’ some of this is immediate humanitarian aid, but a lot of it is policy and aid together, making sure that you tackle the root causes of migration,” Jacobson said. “Otherwise, what you see is continued cycles.”

The Biden administration warned Tuesday that the United States expected to make more apprehensions along the southwestern border this year than at any time in the past two decades, underscoring the urgency for the White House to develop solutions for the chronic problems with immigration from Central America.

The Biden administration warned Tuesday that the United States expected to make more apprehensions along the southwestern border this year than at any time in the past two decades, underscoring the urgency for the White House to develop solutions for the chronic problems with immigration from Central America. The grim prediction by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, came as President Joe Biden was being assailed for his handling of a surge at the border involving thousands of unaccompanied children and teenagers from the region — with attacks coming from the right for not being tough enough and from the left for not being humane enough. The president has pleaded for time and patience, blaming his predecessor for dismantling the immigration system in his zeal to keep foreigners out. But even Biden’s top advisers acknowledge that after unwinding President Donald Trump’s harsh policies, there is no easy or quick fix for a problem that has been a recurring crisis. “We have no illusions about how hard it is, and we know it will take time,” Mayorkas said in a statement on Tuesday as the House prepared to vote this week on several immigration measures and the administration rushed to provide more housing for the young migrants arriving at the border. But, he added, “We will get it done.” Watch | The approach being developed by the administration involves steps that it can take relatively quickly and others that will take longer and require agreement from Congress or cooperation from the governments of Central American nations. And it will have to deal with several categories of people, including the unaccompanied minors who are overwhelming the system now and eventually asylum-seeking families and those trying to slip past border agents. In the short term — as warmer weather invites even more people to migrate north — Biden’s administration must find a way to temporarily care for the thousands of migrant children who are arriving at the United States border without a legal guardian. That includes expanding facilities where the children can be held legally for up to 72 hours in the custody of the Border Patrol. And it means finding more residential places where the migrant children can live for weeks or even months while the government searches for a relative or friend to take care of them while officials decide whether they must return to their home countries. The Biden administration is struggling to quickly ramp up capacity. But the longer-term challenges are even more daunting. Biden’s advisers have said they want to establish systems in Mexico that would provide a way for migrants to file applications to seek refuge to the United States in an orderly, safe manner, without coming to the border. But doing so will take months, and it is not yet clear whether migrants will use them. For those who do apply for asylum, Biden’s team has said it will shorten the review process, which currently can take years to reach a final decision. Mayorkas has said asylum cases should be decided in weeks, one way or the other. But making that happen will require investing money and hiring people to process huge backlogs of cases. Watch | Finally, Biden has vowed to vastly increase support for places like Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala so that Central Americans no longer feel the need to flee their homes. But even with the $4 billion that the president has proposed, rebuilding societies wracked by violence, gangs and stagnating economies will take years or decades — if it works at all. All of the solutions Biden is considering have been under discussion for decades, often included in comprehensive immigration legislation that has repeatedly failed to get through Congress, falling victim to deep partisan divisions. For now, Biden has left in place a Trump-era pandemic emergency rule that empowers agents to rapidly turn away most migrants other than unaccompanied minors without providing them the chance to have their asylum claims heard. Mayorkas’ prediction about the scale of apprehensions this year includes migrants who will be detained in border facilities, as well as those rapidly turned away under the pandemic rule. It does not include those who managed to avoid border agents when crossing into the country. “The administration, they’re asking for patience but that only goes for so long when you’re looking at these kind of numbers. And what happens after patience?” said R. Gil Kerlikowske, a commissioner of Customs and Border Protection under President Barack Obama. “What is the plan for dealing with this? What is the plan going forward?” Short-Term Solutions During the current fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, Customs and Border Protection has recorded more than 396,000 migrant crossings, including at official ports of entry, compared with about 201,600 during the same period last fiscal year. A majority of those crossings involved single adults, who under current rules are often quickly expelled back to Mexico or their home countries. But unaccompanied children are taken by a border agent first to a detention facility, where they are then supposed to be transferred within 72 hours to a shelter managed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Those shelters were operating until recently with restricted capacity because of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving thousands of minors stuck in the jails along the border, including some who have been left to sleep on mats with foil sheets, according to lawyers who visited a facility in Texas. But even before the pandemic, the shelter system had often been pushed beyond capacity. The Biden administration this month directed the shelters to return to their normal capacity, allowing the government to increase the number of available beds in those shelters by about 40%. With the number of minors at the border climbing, the administration is now scrambling to find additional space, including at a convention center in downtown Dallas; at a former camp for oil field workers in Midland, Texas; at a NASA site in California; and at a tent encampment in Arizona. Biden said during an interview with ABC News on Tuesday that the administration could have enough shelter space by next month for the unaccompanied minors stuck in border facilities. The government is also trying to reduce the amount of time it takes to transfer a child from border facilities to the shelters by streamlining a system that sends them through three different bureaucracies: the Border Patrol, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the Department of Health and Human Services. Coordination between the three agencies has often broken down and resulted in delays. The Biden administration has started placing officials from the Department of Health and Human Services in border facilities to accelerate the process of finding a relative or other sponsor in the United States who can take the migrants in. While the Biden administration continues to invoke the emergency pandemic rule to turn away most adults and migrant families, senior Homeland Security officials have acknowledged that they will be able to use the emergency rule only for so long as vaccination becomes more widely available. In the meantime, the president and his top border officials have issued statements about the perilous journey to the United States, hoping to discourage migration to the border. The administration held a series of private calls with pro-immigrant groups and advocates last week to discuss Biden’s immigration agenda. David Shahoulian, a top immigration official at the Department of Homeland Security, said that the messaging to discourage migrants from coming had not been working and that the administration would need to be clearer in the future, especially given that smugglers continue to encourage migrants to travel to the United States, according to people familiar with the discussion. Mayorkas had said this month that the administration’s message was not “don’t come” but rather “don’t come now.” Roberta S. Jacobson, a special assistant overseeing border issues, initially said mistakenly in Spanish during a news briefing that the border was not closed, but then corrected herself to say it was closed. By Tuesday, the president had an even more direct message: “I can say quite clearly, ‘Don’t come over,’ ” Biden said on ABC News, adding that the administration was working on creating opportunities for migrants to apply closer to their homes for asylum. “Don’t leave your town or city or community.” Medium-Term Solutions The administration is working on an agreement with Central American countries to reduce pressure on the border, Shahoulian said on the call. And it is examining options for expediting the processing of asylum cases. “We will shorten from years to months the time it takes to adjudicate an asylum claim,” Mayorkas said in his statement Tuesday, adding that the administration would soon introduce a regulation to improve the system. He said that the administration was working to establish processing centers in Central America so that they could be screened and “brought to the United States if they qualify for relief under our humanitarian laws and other authorities.” Biden said in his campaign platform that he would increase the number of judges and immigration officers to combat a backlog that nearly doubled during the Trump administration to more than 1.2 million cases. Biden has already begun to restart the Obama-era Central American Minors program, which was intended to allow some children to apply in their home region for permission to live in the United States with a parent or other relative. When Trump ended the program, about 3,000 Central American children had been approved for travel to the United States. It will take time to ramp up the program, which has strict vetting requirements, in order to verify the relationships of the children and their relatives. Now, the administration is eager to examine even broader efforts to consider asylum applications remotely. The administration is already testing a system where migrants, who were told by the Trump administration to wait along the border in squalid camps in Mexico, can use an app on their cellphones to apply for asylum and track their cases. That kind of system might be expanded more broadly, officials said. “This is the road map going forward for a system that is safe, orderly and fair,” Mayorkas said. Many of the changes Biden wants are included in comprehensive immigration legislation he sent to Congress on his first day in office. But that bill is a long way from becoming law, especially with Trump and other Republicans again using immigration to stoke their partisan base. Long-Term Solutions Biden’s most ambitious — and difficult — goal is to use the United States’ wealth and diplomatic power to reshape the region in the hopes of diminishing the root causes of migration from Central America, starting with poverty and violence. It is an effort that has been tried before. Obama and members of Congress from both parties agreed to invest several hundred million dollars into Central America with the hope of improving the courts, diminishing the drug cartels and improving economic conditions. Trump cut that spending, arguing that it was a waste of money, before restoring some of it. But Biden’s team is betting that even more investment will produce results. In Honduras, for example, the country’s coffee production has been hurt by hurricanes and slumping prices for coffee beans, driving many people into poverty. But helping to reverse those kinds of economic trends could take years. “When the president talks about ‘root causes,’ some of this is immediate humanitarian aid, but a lot of it is policy and aid together, making sure that you tackle the root causes of migration,” Jacobson said. “Otherwise, what you see is continued cycles.”

Surge in migrants defies easy or quick solutions for Biden

The Biden administration has ordered the government's disaster emergency agency&nbsp;to help with a surge in migrant children crossing the southern border that has overwhelmed processing facilities.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) department is currently holding about 8,800 migrant children and the US Customs and Border Protection has hundreds more in their charge, with more arriving every day. In February alone CBP detained 9,457 unaccompanied migrant children at the southern border.

Facilities are overcrowded and authorities are doubly&nbsp;challenged by restrictions related to Covid-19.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, to this end, on Saturday called upon the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support an effort to temporarily house thousands of children who crossed the US-Mexico border alone amid criticisms that authorities were holding them for long periods in overcrowded facilities.

"Our goal is to ensure that unaccompanied children are transferred to HHS as quickly as possible, consistent with legal requirements and in the best interest of the children," Mayorkas said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that FEMA would be part of a 90-day effort to ensure the children are safely sheltered and transferred to people who will take care of them, usually relatives already living in the United States.

"The federal government is responding to the arrival of record numbers of individuals, including unaccompanied children, at the southwest border," the department said. "Since April 2020, the number of encounters at the border has been rising due to ongoing violence, natural disasters, food insecurity, and poverty in the Northern Triangle countries of Central America."

The nearly two-month-old government of President Joe Biden faces growing pressure from migrants, apparently encouraged to try to enter the United States by his rejection of previous president Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy toward undocumented immigrants.

While migrant adults and families continue to be sent back to Mexico when they are caught, unaccompanied children are being processed and get help resettling with US relatives.

(with inputs)

The Biden administration has ordered the government's disaster emergency agency to help with a surge in migrant children crossing the southern border that has overwhelmed processing facilities.

The Biden administration has ordered the government's disaster emergency agency to help with a surge in migrant children crossing the southern border that has overwhelmed processing facilities. The Health and Human Services (HHS) department is currently holding about 8,800 migrant children and the US Customs and Border Protection has hundreds more in their charge, with more arriving every day. In February alone CBP detained 9,457 unaccompanied migrant children at the southern border. Facilities are overcrowded and authorities are doubly challenged by restrictions related to Covid-19. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, to this end, on Saturday called upon the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support an effort to temporarily house thousands of children who crossed the US-Mexico border alone amid criticisms that authorities were holding them for long periods in overcrowded facilities. "Our goal is to ensure that unaccompanied children are transferred to HHS as quickly as possible, consistent with legal requirements and in the best interest of the children," Mayorkas said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that FEMA would be part of a 90-day effort to ensure the children are safely sheltered and transferred to people who will take care of them, usually relatives already living in the United States. "The federal government is responding to the arrival of record numbers of individuals, including unaccompanied children, at the southwest border," the department said. "Since April 2020, the number of encounters at the border has been rising due to ongoing violence, natural disasters, food insecurity, and poverty in the Northern Triangle countries of Central America." The nearly two-month-old government of President Joe Biden faces growing pressure from migrants, apparently encouraged to try to enter the United States by his rejection of previous president Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy toward undocumented immigrants. While migrant adults and families continue to be sent back to Mexico when they are caught, unaccompanied children are being processed and get help resettling with US relatives. (with inputs)

US orders emergency agency to help with child migrant surge

At least four people died when a boat carrying about 30 migrants sank off Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

The 35 migrants belonged to the Maghreb region.

At least 28 were rescued and some are still missing, emergency services said.

Rescuers were searching for more possible victims following the accident off the fishing village of Orzola in the north of Lanzarote island late Tuesday.

Migrant arrivals in Canary Islands have surged to 17,000 this year – ten times last year’s total – as north Africans grow desperate after losing their income from tourism, a sector hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Spain's socialist government announced last week it plans to set up camps for some 7,000 people and launch a diplomatic offensive in various African countries to try to curb the influx of migrants to the holiday islands.

The current wave has echoes of the crisis of 2006 when 30,000 migrants reached the Canaries, prompting Spain to step up patrols and ink repatriation agreements.&nbsp;

At least four people died when a boat carrying about 30 migrants sank off Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The 35 migrants belonged to the Maghreb region.

At least four people died when a boat carrying about 30 migrants sank off Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The 35 migrants belonged to the Maghreb region. At least 28 were rescued and some are still missing, emergency services said. Rescuers were searching for more possible victims following the accident off the fishing village of Orzola in the north of Lanzarote island late Tuesday. Migrant arrivals in Canary Islands have surged to 17,000 this year – ten times last year’s total – as north Africans grow desperate after losing their income from tourism, a sector hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Spain's socialist government announced last week it plans to set up camps for some 7,000 people and launch a diplomatic offensive in various African countries to try to curb the influx of migrants to the holiday islands. The current wave has echoes of the crisis of 2006 when 30,000 migrants reached the Canaries, prompting Spain to step up patrols and ink repatriation agreements.

Four dead as migrant boat capsises off Canary Islands

A Hong Kong court's decision to uphold a compulsory rule for migrant domestic workers to live with their employers drew criticism on Tuesday from labour rights advocates, who said it exposed foreign maids to conditions akin to modern slavery.

The live-in rule for Hong Kong's 370,000 domestic workers, mostly women from poor families in the Philippines and Indonesia, has long been denounced as discriminatory and inhumane - essentially putting employees on call 24 hours a day.

Monday's court ruling responded to a challenge to the requirement that was filed three years ago by Filipino Nancy Lubiano. She argued that the rule was unconstitutional and violated her labour rights.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/hong-kong-leader-says-12-detained-activists-should-first-be-tried-by-china-329399" hreflang="en">Hong Kong leader says 12 detained activists should first be tried by China</a>

But the Court of Appeal rejected her argument, and upheld a previous ruling by a lower court that found the live-in arrangement did not directly lead to exploitation.

"This is really outrageous and unacceptable," said Dolores Balladares, chairwoman of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong, which represents domestic workers from the Philippines.

"The decision is discriminatory to migrant domestic workers. It shows we are treated like second-class citizen, as modern-day slaves," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

Labour groups have warned that the rule could deter the reporting of forced labour, which one in six migrant domestic workers in the city has suffered, according to a 2016 study by campaign group Justice Centre Hong Kong.

The government of the semi-autonomous Chinese city said it was "pleased" with the ruling reaffirming the live-in requirement as lawful.

Migrant domestic workers are aware of the accommodation arrangement before they accept jobs in the city, a government spokesman said in a statement, adding that authorities spare "no effort in safeguarding the rights and benefits" of the group.

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers charity, said the live-in rule was discriminatory because it only applies to foreign domestic workers - pushing some into appalling living conditions.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/cannabis-coffee-in-this-hong-kong-cafe-makes-you-relaxed-without-giving-a-high-328955" hreflang="en">Cannabis coffee in this Hong Kong cafe makes you relaxed without giving a high</a>

A 2017 survey carried out by her organisation found nearly half of foreign domestic workers did not have their own room, with some forced to sleep in kitchens or balconies in cramped apartments.

"They live in cupboards, toilets or in cubbyholes above the refrigerator or oven - whatever they can fit in. In some extreme cases, they live in what look like dog houses," Abdon-Tellez said.

Domestic workers generally have better protection in Hong Kong than elsewhere in Asia, with a legal minimum wage and one mandatory rest day per week.

But the mistreatment of maids in the financial hub has come under scrutiny since the 2014 case of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, an Indonesian maid beaten by her employer and burned with boiling water.

&nbsp;

A Hong Kong court's decision to uphold a compulsory rule for migrant domestic workers to live with their employers drew criticism on Tuesday from labour rights advocates, who said it exposed foreign maids to conditions akin to modern slavery.

A Hong Kong court's decision to uphold a compulsory rule for migrant domestic workers to live with their employers drew criticism on Tuesday from labour rights advocates, who said it exposed foreign maids to conditions akin to modern slavery. The live-in rule for Hong Kong's 370,000 domestic workers, mostly women from poor families in the Philippines and Indonesia, has long been denounced as discriminatory and inhumane - essentially putting employees on call 24 hours a day. Monday's court ruling responded to a challenge to the requirement that was filed three years ago by Filipino Nancy Lubiano. She argued that the rule was unconstitutional and violated her labour rights. Also read: Hong Kong leader says 12 detained activists should first be tried by China But the Court of Appeal rejected her argument, and upheld a previous ruling by a lower court that found the live-in arrangement did not directly lead to exploitation. "This is really outrageous and unacceptable," said Dolores Balladares, chairwoman of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong, which represents domestic workers from the Philippines. "The decision is discriminatory to migrant domestic workers. It shows we are treated like second-class citizen, as modern-day slaves," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. Labour groups have warned that the rule could deter the reporting of forced labour, which one in six migrant domestic workers in the city has suffered, according to a 2016 study by campaign group Justice Centre Hong Kong. The government of the semi-autonomous Chinese city said it was "pleased" with the ruling reaffirming the live-in requirement as lawful. Migrant domestic workers are aware of the accommodation arrangement before they accept jobs in the city, a government spokesman said in a statement, adding that authorities spare "no effort in safeguarding the rights and benefits" of the group. Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, general manager of the Mission for Migrant Workers charity, said the live-in rule was discriminatory because it only applies to foreign domestic workers - pushing some into appalling living conditions. Also read: Cannabis coffee in this Hong Kong cafe makes you relaxed without giving a high A 2017 survey carried out by her organisation found nearly half of foreign domestic workers did not have their own room, with some forced to sleep in kitchens or balconies in cramped apartments. "They live in cupboards, toilets or in cubbyholes above the refrigerator or oven - whatever they can fit in. In some extreme cases, they live in what look like dog houses," Abdon-Tellez said. Domestic workers generally have better protection in Hong Kong than elsewhere in Asia, with a legal minimum wage and one mandatory rest day per week. But the mistreatment of maids in the financial hub has come under scrutiny since the 2014 case of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, an Indonesian maid beaten by her employer and burned with boiling water.

Anger as Hong Kong court keeps 'discriminatory' live-in rule for migrant maids

On August 24, after waiting for five months in the violent Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez for a US asylum hearing, Elida, a Guatemalan migrant, decided to send her disabled 12-year-old son Gustavo into the United States alone.

Elida feared for Gustavo's safety in Mexico, after a stranger tried to take him from her, she said. She had been told by other migrants that as an unaccompanied child Gustavo would be detained by US immigration agents and then released to his grandfather who lives in South Carolina.

She took him to a park near the bridge connecting Ciudad Juarez to the Texan city of El Paso, gave him his birth certificate, tucked scraps of papers with family phone numbers into his clothes, hugged him goodbye and then watched him walk into the United States.

The same day, Gustavo's family says his grandfather got a call with what they thought was good news - the boy was in the United States and authorities wanted the family's address.

Then, Gustavo effectively vanished. No further word came about his whereabouts.

Elida, 44, who asked to be identified only by her first name for safety reasons, was already racked by guilt, feeling that she had abandoned her son. Now, she was panic stricken.

She would not learn about his whereabouts for nearly a week, until a Guatemalan news blog posted on Facebook that Gustavo was in Guatemalan government custody and that officials were trying to locate his parents.

The story of how Gustavo disappeared and then reappeared in Guatemala is emblematic of what US immigration rights activists say is an opaque, chaotic new system that President Donald Trump's administration has implemented to expel migrants, including unaccompanied children, during the pandemic.

Under an emergency health order issued in March, which the Trump administration says is necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the United States has expelled thousands of unaccompanied children under the age of 18 without giving them the chance to claim asylum, bypassing long-standing protections under US law.

As of June, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures indicate some 2,000 minors had been expelled. More recent numbers are not available.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is suing the government over the expulsions, has said the order goes further than anything the Trump administration has done to restrict access to asylum, leaving "almost no avenue open to seek protection."

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency declined to give information about the circumstances of Gustavo's case. ICE requested that Elida sign privacy waivers to allow the agency to talk about her and her son's case. After these were provided, they referred questions to CBP, which declined comment on the specifics of the case.

Matthew Dyman, a CBP spokesman, said the emergency order applies to everyone, "no matter their disability or age."

While US officials do have discretion, exempting groups of people from the order "defeats the whole purpose and puts everyone at risk," Dyman said in response to questions from Reuters. Dyman said providing details about exemptions could be exploited by human smugglers.

As it prepares to fly children to their home countries, the government has been holding them in hotels with unlicensed contractors to look after them, for days or sometimes weeks, according to court documents.

Attorneys say the children's personal information is not recorded in the usual computer systems, making them almost impossible to track.

The nonprofit Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) said it has been able to help about 70 children through a patchwork of private attorneys, family members and advocates.

"A drop in the bucket," said Jennifer Podkul, KIND's Vice President for Policy and Advocacy.

The organisation said it was aware of some Central American children who had been returned across the border to Mexico alone, and others who had been sent to their home countries without their parents' knowledge. They said they have also received frantic phone calls from parents looking for their children.

US law has long held that children need extra protections from trafficking and exploitation.&nbsp;

Before the March order, unaccompanied children would be moved quickly into short-term foster care or shelters overseen by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), until they could be released to vetted sponsors, usually family members.

ORR's network is operating far below its capacity of 13,600 taxpayer-funded beds. As of September 3, it was housing 1,039 children. Some 159 children in ORR custody had tested positive for the coronavirus as of that date, the agency said in a statement to Reuters.

A FRANTIC SEARCH

Four days after Gustavo's grandfather received the call from the US official, the family had still heard no further word on Gustavo's whereabouts.

Lindsay Toczylowski, who runs the Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles, said she heard about the case from another lawyer and emailed immigration officials to ask where Gustavo was.

She received an email saying ICE was working on placing Gustavo in a US shelter. But minutes later, that message was recalled and a new one arrived from a different deportation officer. Gustavo had already been expelled to Guatemala, alone.

On Aug. 30, six days after she had said goodbye to her son, Elida saw on Facebook that the Guatemalan government was searching for Gustavo's parents "with great urgency."

Elida was still in Ciudad Juarez, fearful for her safety but also afraid to return home.

'WANTED THE BEST FOR HIM'

Elida and Gustavo left Guatemala after she received death threats following a family dispute, she said. Gustavo, who has deformed limbs and learning difficulties, had also been attacked by a child wielding a machete several years ago.

His foot was cut to the bone and the injury still makes it difficult for him to walk, she said. Apart from the physical deformities he was born with, Gustavo struggles to speak to people outside his immediate family.

"God made my child that way," she said. "I've always accepted him as he is."

Mother and son arrived at the US-Mexico border in February, planning to ask for asylum. They were sent by US authorities to Ciudad Juarez under the Migrant Protection Protocols, a Trump policy which sends some non-Mexican migrants to Mexico to await their US immigration court hearings.

Elida became a fruit seller to earn money to rent a room and buy food. The neighborhood was violent, she said, and she worried about leaving Gustavo during the day. One day when she went to get water, she heard a gunshot and saw a dead body lying in the street.

On Aug. 22, a man tried to grab Gustavo from her in the street, she said. Reuters could not independently verify her account, but advocacy group Human Rights First has documented hundreds of kidnappings and attacks on migrants waiting in Mexico for their US court dates.

Two days later, Elida took Gustavo to the border. "I felt sad because I'd left him," she said.&nbsp; 
"But I told myself it was for his good. I've always wanted the best for him."

It was the first time they had been apart since he was born.

On Sept. 5, almost two weeks after he walked across the border alone, Gustavo was reunited with his father Juan in their remote village in the mountains of northeastern Guatemala. The family reunion was organized by government officials.

He stepped off a bus and looked around, disoriented, Reuters witnesses said. At first he did not appear to recognize his father, who said softly to him, "Come here my son."

Juan hugged him, crying, and said, "Look how they sent him to me, they deported him as if he were grown-up, as if he were a criminal, and he is a child."

Juan called Elida to tell her that Gustavo had arrived. "Talk to your Mom and say hi to her," Juan said to his son, trying to hand him the phone.

Gustavo burst into tears and refused to talk to her.

He has not forgiven her for leaving him, Elida said. Then she, alone in Ciudad Juarez, also began to sob. 
&nbsp;

On August 24, after waiting for five months in the violent Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez for a US asylum hearing, Elida, a Guatemalan migrant, decided to send her disabled 12-year-old son Gustavo into the United States alone.

On August 24, after waiting for five months in the violent Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez for a US asylum hearing, Elida, a Guatemalan migrant, decided to send her disabled 12-year-old son Gustavo into the United States alone. Elida feared for Gustavo's safety in Mexico, after a stranger tried to take him from her, she said. She had been told by other migrants that as an unaccompanied child Gustavo would be detained by US immigration agents and then released to his grandfather who lives in South Carolina. She took him to a park near the bridge connecting Ciudad Juarez to the Texan city of El Paso, gave him his birth certificate, tucked scraps of papers with family phone numbers into his clothes, hugged him goodbye and then watched him walk into the United States. The same day, Gustavo's family says his grandfather got a call with what they thought was good news - the boy was in the United States and authorities wanted the family's address. Then, Gustavo effectively vanished. No further word came about his whereabouts. Elida, 44, who asked to be identified only by her first name for safety reasons, was already racked by guilt, feeling that she had abandoned her son. Now, she was panic stricken. She would not learn about his whereabouts for nearly a week, until a Guatemalan news blog posted on Facebook that Gustavo was in Guatemalan government custody and that officials were trying to locate his parents. The story of how Gustavo disappeared and then reappeared in Guatemala is emblematic of what US immigration rights activists say is an opaque, chaotic new system that President Donald Trump's administration has implemented to expel migrants, including unaccompanied children, during the pandemic. Under an emergency health order issued in March, which the Trump administration says is necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the United States has expelled thousands of unaccompanied children under the age of 18 without giving them the chance to claim asylum, bypassing long-standing protections under US law. As of June, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures indicate some 2,000 minors had been expelled. More recent numbers are not available. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is suing the government over the expulsions, has said the order goes further than anything the Trump administration has done to restrict access to asylum, leaving "almost no avenue open to seek protection." The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency declined to give information about the circumstances of Gustavo's case. ICE requested that Elida sign privacy waivers to allow the agency to talk about her and her son's case. After these were provided, they referred questions to CBP, which declined comment on the specifics of the case. Matthew Dyman, a CBP spokesman, said the emergency order applies to everyone, "no matter their disability or age." While US officials do have discretion, exempting groups of people from the order "defeats the whole purpose and puts everyone at risk," Dyman said in response to questions from Reuters. Dyman said providing details about exemptions could be exploited by human smugglers. As it prepares to fly children to their home countries, the government has been holding them in hotels with unlicensed contractors to look after them, for days or sometimes weeks, according to court documents. Attorneys say the children's personal information is not recorded in the usual computer systems, making them almost impossible to track. The nonprofit Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) said it has been able to help about 70 children through a patchwork of private attorneys, family members and advocates. "A drop in the bucket," said Jennifer Podkul, KIND's Vice President for Policy and Advocacy. The organisation said it was aware of some Central American children who had been returned across the border to Mexico alone, and others who had been sent to their home countries without their parents' knowledge. They said they have also received frantic phone calls from parents looking for their children. US law has long held that children need extra protections from trafficking and exploitation. Before the March order, unaccompanied children would be moved quickly into short-term foster care or shelters overseen by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), until they could be released to vetted sponsors, usually family members. ORR's network is operating far below its capacity of 13,600 taxpayer-funded beds. As of September 3, it was housing 1,039 children. Some 159 children in ORR custody had tested positive for the coronavirus as of that date, the agency said in a statement to Reuters. A FRANTIC SEARCH Four days after Gustavo's grandfather received the call from the US official, the family had still heard no further word on Gustavo's whereabouts. Lindsay Toczylowski, who runs the Immigrant Defenders Law Center in Los Angeles, said she heard about the case from another lawyer and emailed immigration officials to ask where Gustavo was. She received an email saying ICE was working on placing Gustavo in a US shelter. But minutes later, that message was recalled and a new one arrived from a different deportation officer. Gustavo had already been expelled to Guatemala, alone. On Aug. 30, six days after she had said goodbye to her son, Elida saw on Facebook that the Guatemalan government was searching for Gustavo's parents "with great urgency." Elida was still in Ciudad Juarez, fearful for her safety but also afraid to return home. 'WANTED THE BEST FOR HIM' Elida and Gustavo left Guatemala after she received death threats following a family dispute, she said. Gustavo, who has deformed limbs and learning difficulties, had also been attacked by a child wielding a machete several years ago. His foot was cut to the bone and the injury still makes it difficult for him to walk, she said. Apart from the physical deformities he was born with, Gustavo struggles to speak to people outside his immediate family. "God made my child that way," she said. "I've always accepted him as he is." Mother and son arrived at the US-Mexico border in February, planning to ask for asylum. They were sent by US authorities to Ciudad Juarez under the Migrant Protection Protocols, a Trump policy which sends some non-Mexican migrants to Mexico to await their US immigration court hearings. Elida became a fruit seller to earn money to rent a room and buy food. The neighborhood was violent, she said, and she worried about leaving Gustavo during the day. One day when she went to get water, she heard a gunshot and saw a dead body lying in the street. On Aug. 22, a man tried to grab Gustavo from her in the street, she said. Reuters could not independently verify her account, but advocacy group Human Rights First has documented hundreds of kidnappings and attacks on migrants waiting in Mexico for their US court dates. Two days later, Elida took Gustavo to the border. "I felt sad because I'd left him," she said. "But I told myself it was for his good. I've always wanted the best for him." It was the first time they had been apart since he was born. On Sept. 5, almost two weeks after he walked across the border alone, Gustavo was reunited with his father Juan in their remote village in the mountains of northeastern Guatemala. The family reunion was organized by government officials. He stepped off a bus and looked around, disoriented, Reuters witnesses said. At first he did not appear to recognize his father, who said softly to him, "Come here my son." Juan hugged him, crying, and said, "Look how they sent him to me, they deported him as if he were grown-up, as if he were a criminal, and he is a child." Juan called Elida to tell her that Gustavo had arrived. "Talk to your Mom and say hi to her," Juan said to his son, trying to hand him the phone. Gustavo burst into tears and refused to talk to her. He has not forgiven her for leaving him, Elida said. Then she, alone in Ciudad Juarez, also began to sob.

A migrant mother saw her disabled son walk into the US. Then he disappeared

A fire broke out at the&nbsp;Moria migrant camp in the early hours of Wednesday. The camp is located on the island of Lesbos in Greece and is infamous for being overcrowded and its poor conditions.

Fire engines were rushed to the camp in the early hours of the day where migrants were seen standing outside with their luggage in hand. All the migrants were escorted out of the camp to a safe place.

As of now, no injuries have been reported. However, several containers and tents were set ablaze by the fire.

A detailed investigation will be carried out into what caused the fire, as the initial reports have failed to figure out the reason.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/13000-chairs-placed-outside-german-parliament-to-protest-against-greek-migrant-camps-325895">Also read:&nbsp;13,000 chairs placed outside German parliament to protest against Greek migrant camps</a>

The Moria camp&nbsp;has a capacity of less than 2,800 people. However, at present, there are 13,000 people stuck there. Recently, aid groups&nbsp;Seebruecke, Sea-Watch, Campact and LeaveNoOneBehind organised a demonstration outside the german Parliament protesting against the poor living conditions of the migrants stuck in these camps.

To raise their voices against this inhumane treatment of the migrants,&nbsp;the protestors placed 13,000 chairs outside the German parliament building in Berlin. They also installed a mock stage with three chairs placed as a symbol for the chairs of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.&nbsp;

The protests came after first case of coronavirus was reported in the camp. The number of cases has&nbsp;risen to 35&nbsp;since then.

A fire broke out at the Moria migrant camp in the early hours of Wednesday. The camp is located on the island of Lesbos in Greece and is infamous for being overcrowded and its poor conditions.

A fire broke out at the Moria migrant camp in the early hours of Wednesday. The camp is located on the island of Lesbos in Greece and is infamous for being overcrowded and its poor conditions. Fire engines were rushed to the camp in the early hours of the day where migrants were seen standing outside with their luggage in hand. All the migrants were escorted out of the camp to a safe place. As of now, no injuries have been reported. However, several containers and tents were set ablaze by the fire. A detailed investigation will be carried out into what caused the fire, as the initial reports have failed to figure out the reason. Also read: 13,000 chairs placed outside German parliament to protest against Greek migrant camps The Moria camp has a capacity of less than 2,800 people. However, at present, there are 13,000 people stuck there. Recently, aid groups Seebruecke, Sea-Watch, Campact and LeaveNoOneBehind organised a demonstration outside the german Parliament protesting against the poor living conditions of the migrants stuck in these camps. To raise their voices against this inhumane treatment of the migrants, the protestors placed 13,000 chairs outside the German parliament building in Berlin. They also installed a mock stage with three chairs placed as a symbol for the chairs of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. The protests came after first case of coronavirus was reported in the camp. The number of cases has risen to 35 since then.

Fire breaks out at overcrowded Moria migrant camp in Greece

The government said Monday it had brought home 10 French children of jihadist fighters overnight from a refugee camp in Syria, the latest in a piecemeal repatriation process since the Islamic State group was ousted from its Syrian base in March 2019.

"France has carried out the return of ten French minors, orphans or humanitarian cases, who were in camps in northeast Syria," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"These children have been turned over to French judicial authorities, are receiving medical treatment and have been taken in by social services," it said.

The ministry did not provide details on their parents.

France has now repatriated a total of 28 children from war-torn Syria, where hundreds of its citizens went to fight along IS insurgents as they tried to establish a so-called "caliphate."&nbsp;

Rights groups have urged the government to quickly bring home at least the minors who were brought by their parents to the conflict zone or born there during the years of fighting.

But many of the estimated 300 French children being held in the Kurdish-run camps in Syria are with their mothers of fathers, and France has insisted that French nationals must face local justice.

Critics say this stance exposes the families of French fighters to inhumane treatment and psychological trauma.

The foreign ministry said Monday it had "thanked" Kurdish leaders for their cooperation in an operation carried out "because of the particularly vulnerable situation these children were in, and with the authorisations provided by local authorities".

Some 12,000 foreigners -- 4,000 women and 8,000 children -- are being held at three camps for displaced persons in northeast Syria, most at Al-Hol, where aid groups say they suffer malnutrition and disease.

Kurdish officials have called on countries to take back their detained citizens, warning that they do not have the resources to guard prisoners indefinitely.

According to the CAT terrorism analysis centre, 13 French jihadists including Hayat Boumedienne, the partner of one of the three men who carried out deadly terror attacks in Paris in January 2015, have escaped custody in Syria.

The government said Monday it had brought home 10 French children of jihadist fighters overnight from a refugee camp in Syria, the latest in a piecemeal repatriation process since the Islamic State group was ousted from its Syrian base in March 2019.

The government said Monday it had brought home 10 French children of jihadist fighters overnight from a refugee camp in Syria, the latest in a piecemeal repatriation process since the Islamic State group was ousted from its Syrian base in March 2019. "France has carried out the return of ten French minors, orphans or humanitarian cases, who were in camps in northeast Syria," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "These children have been turned over to French judicial authorities, are receiving medical treatment and have been taken in by social services," it said. The ministry did not provide details on their parents. France has now repatriated a total of 28 children from war-torn Syria, where hundreds of its citizens went to fight along IS insurgents as they tried to establish a so-called "caliphate." Rights groups have urged the government to quickly bring home at least the minors who were brought by their parents to the conflict zone or born there during the years of fighting. But many of the estimated 300 French children being held in the Kurdish-run camps in Syria are with their mothers of fathers, and France has insisted that French nationals must face local justice. Critics say this stance exposes the families of French fighters to inhumane treatment and psychological trauma. The foreign ministry said Monday it had "thanked" Kurdish leaders for their cooperation in an operation carried out "because of the particularly vulnerable situation these children were in, and with the authorisations provided by local authorities". Some 12,000 foreigners -- 4,000 women and 8,000 children -- are being held at three camps for displaced persons in northeast Syria, most at Al-Hol, where aid groups say they suffer malnutrition and disease. Kurdish officials have called on countries to take back their detained citizens, warning that they do not have the resources to guard prisoners indefinitely. According to the CAT terrorism analysis centre, 13 French jihadists including Hayat Boumedienne, the partner of one of the three men who carried out deadly terror attacks in Paris in January 2015, have escaped custody in Syria.

France brings home 10 jihadists' children from Syria

Passengers of a Shramik Special train from Bengaluru to Bihar, protested against the poor resources available to the passengers during the travel. The protestors hurled brickbats in the railway station on Saturday morning.

The Indian government, alongwith Indian railways, has been running special trains, Shramik trains, to help migrant workers travel back to their hometowns.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/with-highest-spike-of-6654-cases-in-24-hours-india-crosses-125-lakh-mark-300538">Also read:&nbsp;With highest spike of 6,654 cases in 24 hours, India crosses 1.25 lakh-mark</a>

The incident happened at Unnao railway station.&nbsp;Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said the train had no stoppage at Unnao railway station. But since the route was not clear, the train had to stop at the station, he said.

The passengers deboarded the train and hurled stones at the train and the station, complaining that there was no food and water available during the travel. The passengers alleged&nbsp;that even the toilets had no water.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel pacified the passengers and the train started its onward journey.

(With inputs from PTI)

Passengers of a Shramik Special train from Bengaluru to Bihar, protested against the poor resources available to the passengers during the travel. The protestors hurled brickbats in the railway station on Saturday morning.

Passengers of a Shramik Special train from Bengaluru to Bihar, protested against the poor resources available to the passengers during the travel. The protestors hurled brickbats in the railway station on Saturday morning. The Indian government, alongwith Indian railways, has been running special trains, Shramik trains, to help migrant workers travel back to their hometowns. Also read: With highest spike of 6,654 cases in 24 hours, India crosses 1.25 lakh-mark The incident happened at Unnao railway station. Unnao District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said the train had no stoppage at Unnao railway station. But since the route was not clear, the train had to stop at the station, he said. The passengers deboarded the train and hurled stones at the train and the station, complaining that there was no food and water available during the travel. The passengers alleged that even the toilets had no water. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel pacified the passengers and the train started its onward journey. (With inputs from PTI)

Passenger hurl stones at Shramik special train; no food and water available

Indian Railways Ministry&nbsp;has issued guidelines&nbsp;regarding the operation of 'Shramik special trains'. These special trains have been started after the lockdown was extended for the second time in the country.

These trains will be used to&nbsp;transport workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other stranded people, from one point to another, and will help the stranded people reach their hometowns safely.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/over-2500-coronavirus-cases-in-24-hours-as-india-nears-40000-mark-296339">Also read:&nbsp;Over 2,500 coronavirus cases in 24 hours as India nears 40,000-mark</a>

These trains will follow all the safety, health and social distancing protocols laid by the government and the health experts.

As per the guidelines issued on Sunday, Indian Railways will print train tickets to the specified destination as per the number of passengers indicated by the originating state. The tickets will be printed only for the passengers who have been verified and allowed by the state government to travel. Anybody who hasn't been allowed by the government to travel will not be allowed to enter the premises.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/boris-johnson-says-doctors-had-contingency-plans-ready-if-he-died-of-coronavirus-296328">Also read:&nbsp;Boris Johnson says doctors had contingency plans ready if he died of coronavirus</a>

The state governments will&nbsp;handover these pre-printed tickets to the respective passengers after collecting the specified&nbsp;ticket fare, which will be then handed over to the Indian Railways.

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Guidelines to operate ‘Shramik Trains’-Railways to print train tickets to specified destination as per no. of passengers indicated by originating state.Local state govt authority to handover tickets to passengers&amp;collect ticket fare&amp;handover total amount to Railways: Railways Min <a href="https://t.co/JAAsZW9YEr">pic.twitter.com/JAAsZW9YEr</a>
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Indian Railways has specified in these guidelines that all passengers will have to wear face masks at all time during the course of this journey.

Ministry has also announced that one meal will be provided to the passengers if the total journey time is more than 12 hours. State governments will be distributing food and water packages at the origin station of the journey.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-south-korea-exchange-gunfire-at-guard-post-in-dimilitarised-zone-296348">Also read:&nbsp;North, South Korea exchange gunfire at guard post in dimilitarised zone</a>

No parents, guardians or family members need to cme to railway stations or any other point to receive the passengers, The state governments will make every possible arrangement for receiving the passengers, followed by proper screening, quarantine (if needed) and then dropping the passengers to the decided destination within the state.

Other than this, Indian Railways has also issued a statement requesting people to not to travel to the railway stations to book tickets, as all bookings have been cancelled till the end of the lockdown period.

Indian Railways Ministry has issued guidelines regarding the operation of 'Shramik special trains'. These special trains have been started after the lockdown was extended for the second time in the country.

Indian Railways Ministry has issued guidelines regarding the operation of 'Shramik special trains'. These special trains have been started after the lockdown was extended for the second time in the country. These trains will be used to transport workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other stranded people, from one point to another, and will help the stranded people reach their hometowns safely. Also read: Over 2,500 coronavirus cases in 24 hours as India nears 40,000-mark These trains will follow all the safety, health and social distancing protocols laid by the government and the health experts. As per the guidelines issued on Sunday, Indian Railways will print train tickets to the specified destination as per the number of passengers indicated by the originating state. The tickets will be printed only for the passengers who have been verified and allowed by the state government to travel. Anybody who hasn't been allowed by the government to travel will not be allowed to enter the premises. Also read: Boris Johnson says doctors had contingency plans ready if he died of coronavirus The state governments will handover these pre-printed tickets to the respective passengers after collecting the specified ticket fare, which will be then handed over to the Indian Railways. Guidelines to operate ‘Shramik Trains’-Railways to print train tickets to specified destination as per no. of passengers indicated by originating state.Local state govt authority to handover tickets to passengers&collect ticket fare&handover total amount to Railways: Railways Min pic.twitter.com/JAAsZW9YEr — ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2020 × Indian Railways has specified in these guidelines that all passengers will have to wear face masks at all time during the course of this journey. Ministry has also announced that one meal will be provided to the passengers if the total journey time is more than 12 hours. State governments will be distributing food and water packages at the origin station of the journey. Also read: North, South Korea exchange gunfire at guard post in dimilitarised zone No parents, guardians or family members need to cme to railway stations or any other point to receive the passengers, The state governments will make every possible arrangement for receiving the passengers, followed by proper screening, quarantine (if needed) and then dropping the passengers to the decided destination within the state. Other than this, Indian Railways has also issued a statement requesting people to not to travel to the railway stations to book tickets, as all bookings have been cancelled till the end of the lockdown period.

Indian Railways issues guidelines for 'shramik special trains'

A migrant worker was cycling back to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh from Maharashtra, but died midway on Friday.

He started his journey from Bhiwandi, but was found in an unconscious state in Madhya Pradesh`s Barwani town.&nbsp;"He was found in an unconscious state and was taken to a hospital. He passed away during the treatment. The postmortem report is awaited," said G Dhangar, SDM.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/new-delhi-to-train-kenyan-healthcare-workers-amid-covid-19-crisis-296208">Also read:&nbsp;New Delhi to train Kenyan healthcare workers amid COVID-19 crisis</a>

A lot of migrant workers have been stranded in different states due to the nationwide lockdown. However, some have tried to walk and cycle back to their hometowns, but not all of them have been successful.

Some states have requested the central government to start special trains to bring back the stranded workers and students to their home states.&nbsp;As the lockdown has been extended for a second time, the central government has accepted the request and has started special trains for these workers.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/mumbai-reports-751-cases-delhi-records-223-coronavirus-cases-in-24-hours-296193">Also read:&nbsp;Mumbai reports 751 cases, Delhi records 223 coronavirus cases in 24 hours</a>

State governments are also compiling data on the number of stranded migrant workers, and the states that they are stranded in. Some states, like Punjab, have also decided to increase the number of relief packages, so that nobody stays hungry in these tough times.

"Total 1,09,000 labourers and other people who are stranded in other states contacted us through government helpline number, social media and other mediums till now. The number of stranded people will increase as we are receiving request daily. But we cannot estimate how many of them will return because many people from our state are working and living elsewhere. We are doing an assessment and arrangements are being made to bring all of them to Chhattisgarh," said&nbsp;Sonmani Borah, Secretary, Labour Department, Chhattisgarh.

Borah also assured that the workers will be properly screened and quarantined after they return to the state.

A migrant worker was cycling back to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh from Maharashtra, but died midway on Friday. He started his journey from Bhiwandi, but was found in an unconscious state in Madhya Pradesh`s Barwani town.

A migrant worker was cycling back to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh from Maharashtra, but died midway on Friday. He started his journey from Bhiwandi, but was found in an unconscious state in Madhya Pradesh`s Barwani town. "He was found in an unconscious state and was taken to a hospital. He passed away during the treatment. The postmortem report is awaited," said G Dhangar, SDM. Also read: New Delhi to train Kenyan healthcare workers amid COVID-19 crisis A lot of migrant workers have been stranded in different states due to the nationwide lockdown. However, some have tried to walk and cycle back to their hometowns, but not all of them have been successful. Some states have requested the central government to start special trains to bring back the stranded workers and students to their home states. As the lockdown has been extended for a second time, the central government has accepted the request and has started special trains for these workers. Also read: Mumbai reports 751 cases, Delhi records 223 coronavirus cases in 24 hours State governments are also compiling data on the number of stranded migrant workers, and the states that they are stranded in. Some states, like Punjab, have also decided to increase the number of relief packages, so that nobody stays hungry in these tough times. "Total 1,09,000 labourers and other people who are stranded in other states contacted us through government helpline number, social media and other mediums till now. The number of stranded people will increase as we are receiving request daily. But we cannot estimate how many of them will return because many people from our state are working and living elsewhere. We are doing an assessment and arrangements are being made to bring all of them to Chhattisgarh," said Sonmani Borah, Secretary, Labour Department, Chhattisgarh. Borah also assured that the workers will be properly screened and quarantined after they return to the state.

Migrant worker cycles from Maharashtra to UP; dies mid-way

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that a 2016 agreement between Turkey and the European Union needs to be updated, taking into account developments in Syria and that Ankara was ready to work constructively on the issue.

Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/turkey-and-china-tie-themselves-in-knots-over-syria-and-xinjiang-257735">Turkey and China tie themselves in knots over Syria and Xinjiang</a>

In an interview with state-owned Anadolu news agency, Cavusoglu said that EU visa liberalisation and an update of the country's customs union with the bloc must be implemented to help solve the migrant issue.

Also Read:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkish-president-erdogan-to-discuss-migrant-issues-with-eu-on-monday-285115"> </a><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/turkish-president-erdogan-to-discuss-migrant-issues-with-eu-on-monday-285115">Turkish President Erdogan to discuss migrant issues with EU on Monday</a>

Late on Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan left meetings in Brussels with European Union and NATO leaders without issuing a joint statement nor appearing at a joint press conference, as had been planned.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that a 2016 agreement between Turkey and the European Union needs to be updated, taking into account developments in Syria and that Ankara was ready to work constructively on the issue.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that a 2016 agreement between Turkey and the European Union needs to be updated, taking into account developments in Syria and that Ankara was ready to work constructively on the issue. Also Read: Turkey and China tie themselves in knots over Syria and Xinjiang In an interview with state-owned Anadolu news agency, Cavusoglu said that EU visa liberalisation and an update of the country's customs union with the bloc must be implemented to help solve the migrant issue. Also Read: Turkish President Erdogan to discuss migrant issues with EU on Monday Late on Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan left meetings in Brussels with European Union and NATO leaders without issuing a joint statement nor appearing at a joint press conference, as had been planned.

Migrant deal with European Union needs to be updated: Turkey

Thousands of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/why-some-eu-countries-are-struggling-to-relocate-migrants-265965">migrants facing the perilous journey</a> from Turkey to the Aegean islands on Europe’s periphery are now supposed to face another obstacle as the Greek government announced that it will build a floating barrier to deter them. The centre-right administration revealed the project to deny entry to undocumented migrants accessing the country.

Erected off the island of Lesbos, the bulwark of the 2.7km-long netted barrier will rise from pylons 50 metres above the water and will be equipped with flashing lights to demarcate <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/three-die-as-storm-front-batters-greece-264668">Greece’s sea borders</a>. “In Evros, natural barriers had relative [good] results in containing flows,” stated Greece’s Defence Minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, referring to the barbed-wire topped fence that Greece built along its northern land border with Turkey in 2012 to deter asylum seekers.

The plan was ridiculed the world over, and Amnesty International warned that it would enhance the dangers asylum-seekers and refugees encountered as they attempted to seek safety. “The plan raises serious issues about rescuers’ ability to continue providing life-saving assistance to people attempting the dangerous sea crossing to Lesbos. The government must urgently clarify the operational details and necessary safeguards to ensure that this <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/struggling-with-influx-greece-to-shut-down-three-refugee-camps-263414">system does not cost further lives</a>,” said Massimo Moratti, Research Director for Europe, Amnesty International.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twelve-dead-21-rescued-as-migrant-boat-sinks-off-greek-island-273697">Twelve dead, 21 rescued as migrant boat sinks off Greek island</a>

Calling this a "stupid idea" and adding that it was bound to be ineffective was Greece’s former migration minister, Dimitris Vitsas. “It’s not going to stop anybody making the journey,” he added. Human traffickers along Turkey’s western coast target Greece's outlying Aegean isles with renewed vigour, leading to a huge uptick in arrivals of refugees and migrants than any other part of Europe. Outposts designed to hold a maximum of 5,400 people are housing more than 44,000.

Greece fears a further surge in arrivals in the spring amid mounting tensions with Turkey over energy resources in the Mediterranean, despite numbers dropping radically since the EU struck a landmark accord with Ankara to curb the flows in March 2016.&nbsp;Blame for this humanitarian catastrophe has been thrown at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek Prime Minister for exploiting the refugee drama as political leverage in dealings with Athens and the EU.

As Idlib, Syria's last opposition holdout falls, Greek officials fear that the number of arrivals will rise further. Recent attacks from regime forces are gradually becoming more and more frequent. It is hoped that the barrier is functional by April, with the Greek Defence Ministry asking private contractors to submit offers.

Officials have guaranteed that the project will be completed by the military and will cost approximately €500,000 and has reassured the masses that it will be done by “non-military specifications” to ensure international maritime standards. More parts will be added to the 15-kilometre fence if the initial pilot is deemed successful.

Thousands of migrants facing the perilous journey from Turkey to the Aegean islands on Europe’s periphery are now supposed to face another obstacle as the Greek government announced that it will build a floating barrier to deter them.

Thousands of migrants facing the perilous journey from Turkey to the Aegean islands on Europe’s periphery are now supposed to face another obstacle as the Greek government announced that it will build a floating barrier to deter them. The centre-right administration revealed the project to deny entry to undocumented migrants accessing the country. Erected off the island of Lesbos, the bulwark of the 2.7km-long netted barrier will rise from pylons 50 metres above the water and will be equipped with flashing lights to demarcate Greece’s sea borders. “In Evros, natural barriers had relative [good] results in containing flows,” stated Greece’s Defence Minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, referring to the barbed-wire topped fence that Greece built along its northern land border with Turkey in 2012 to deter asylum seekers. The plan was ridiculed the world over, and Amnesty International warned that it would enhance the dangers asylum-seekers and refugees encountered as they attempted to seek safety. “The plan raises serious issues about rescuers’ ability to continue providing life-saving assistance to people attempting the dangerous sea crossing to Lesbos. The government must urgently clarify the operational details and necessary safeguards to ensure that this system does not cost further lives,” said Massimo Moratti, Research Director for Europe, Amnesty International. Also Read: Twelve dead, 21 rescued as migrant boat sinks off Greek island Calling this a "stupid idea" and adding that it was bound to be ineffective was Greece’s former migration minister, Dimitris Vitsas. “It’s not going to stop anybody making the journey,” he added. Human traffickers along Turkey’s western coast target Greece's outlying Aegean isles with renewed vigour, leading to a huge uptick in arrivals of refugees and migrants than any other part of Europe. Outposts designed to hold a maximum of 5,400 people are housing more than 44,000. Greece fears a further surge in arrivals in the spring amid mounting tensions with Turkey over energy resources in the Mediterranean, despite numbers dropping radically since the EU struck a landmark accord with Ankara to curb the flows in March 2016. Blame for this humanitarian catastrophe has been thrown at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek Prime Minister for exploiting the refugee drama as political leverage in dealings with Athens and the EU. As Idlib, Syria's last opposition holdout falls, Greek officials fear that the number of arrivals will rise further. Recent attacks from regime forces are gradually becoming more and more frequent. It is hoped that the barrier is functional by April, with the Greek Defence Ministry asking private contractors to submit offers. Officials have guaranteed that the project will be completed by the military and will cost approximately €500,000 and has reassured the masses that it will be done by “non-military specifications” to ensure international maritime standards. More parts will be added to the 15-kilometre fence if the initial pilot is deemed successful.

Greek Defence Ministry plans to build sea barrier off Lesbos to deter migrants

"They'll have to find a very large courtroom, for it will be a trial <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-a-new-migrant-standoff-italys-salvini-blocks-two-ngo-boats-242803">against the Italian people</a>," Salvini, head of the far-right League party, said on Facebook Sunday.

An Italian Senate committee was set to vote Monday on whether former interior minister <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/interior-minister-matteo-salvini-pulls-support-for-italian-coalition-calls-for-snap-polls-241630">Matteo Salvini</a> should stand trial for allegedly illegally detaining migrants at sea last year.

A tribunal has recommended Salvini stand trial for blocking migrants on a coastguard boat last July. Under Italian law, ministers cannot be tried for actions taken in office unless a parliamentary committee gives the go-ahead.

Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/italy-rocked-by-anti-salvini-protest-268379">Italy rocked by anti-Salvini protest&nbsp;</a>

Should the committee vote in favour, the trial would proceed and Salvini faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty. Should it rule against, parliament will be called to give its opinion in a vote likely to be held in February, Italian media said. Salvini had refused to allow 131 rescued migrants off the Gregoretti&nbsp;coastguard boat until a deal was reached with other European states to host them.

<img alt="Salvini" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2dba476b-c4ad-4104-ac4e-efe65a9ee475" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20-%202020-01-20T191146.491.jpg" /> 
[ Matteo Salvini (Courtesy: Reuters) ]

A Catania court accused him of an "abuse of power" in blocking those saved on board from July 27 to July 31. Salvini insists that was not an individual decision, but one backed by the government and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Prosecutors in Sicily opened a probe into conditions on board the boat, where migrants shared one toilet between them. This is the second time the League leader has risked trial over detaining migrants.

Last year a court ruled that he should be tried for preventing 177 migrants from disembarking the Diciotti coastguard ship, but Italy's senate voted to defend his parliamentary immunity.

Salvini called on League senators Sunday to vote in favour of the trial, "so we can clear this up once and for all".

His opponents have accused him of using the incident to win support ahead of a key regional election by portraying himself as a man hounded by the government and law courts merely for doing his job.

The then-interior minister's "closed ports" policy, aimed at stopping migrant arrivals from war-torn Libya, saw his popularity numbers shoot up.&nbsp;Italy has long complained it has been abandoned by Europe to deal with migrant arrivals alone.

"If I have to go to jail for defending an idea, I'll go with my head held high," Salvini told a rally in the region of Emilia Romagna. The region, a traditional stronghold of the left, goes to the ballots on Sunday, pitting the ruling coalition parties -- the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) -- against the League.

Salvini's anti-immigrant party has a strong lead in national polls and is betting on a victory in Emilia Romagna being damaging enough to collapse the government and spark elections. 
&nbsp;

"They'll have to find a very large courtroom, for it will be a trial against the Italian people," Salvini, head of the far-right League party, said on Facebook Sunday.

"They'll have to find a very large courtroom, for it will be a trial against the Italian people," Salvini, head of the far-right League party, said on Facebook Sunday. An Italian Senate committee was set to vote Monday on whether former interior minister Matteo Salvini should stand trial for allegedly illegally detaining migrants at sea last year. A tribunal has recommended Salvini stand trial for blocking migrants on a coastguard boat last July. Under Italian law, ministers cannot be tried for actions taken in office unless a parliamentary committee gives the go-ahead. Also Read: Italy rocked by anti-Salvini protest Should the committee vote in favour, the trial would proceed and Salvini faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty. Should it rule against, parliament will be called to give its opinion in a vote likely to be held in February, Italian media said. Salvini had refused to allow 131 rescued migrants off the Gregoretti coastguard boat until a deal was reached with other European states to host them. [ Matteo Salvini (Courtesy: Reuters) ] A Catania court accused him of an "abuse of power" in blocking those saved on board from July 27 to July 31. Salvini insists that was not an individual decision, but one backed by the government and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Prosecutors in Sicily opened a probe into conditions on board the boat, where migrants shared one toilet between them. This is the second time the League leader has risked trial over detaining migrants. Last year a court ruled that he should be tried for preventing 177 migrants from disembarking the Diciotti coastguard ship, but Italy's senate voted to defend his parliamentary immunity. Salvini called on League senators Sunday to vote in favour of the trial, "so we can clear this up once and for all". His opponents have accused him of using the incident to win support ahead of a key regional election by portraying himself as a man hounded by the government and law courts merely for doing his job. The then-interior minister's "closed ports" policy, aimed at stopping migrant arrivals from war-torn Libya, saw his popularity numbers shoot up. Italy has long complained it has been abandoned by Europe to deal with migrant arrivals alone. "If I have to go to jail for defending an idea, I'll go with my head held high," Salvini told a rally in the region of Emilia Romagna. The region, a traditional stronghold of the left, goes to the ballots on Sunday, pitting the ruling coalition parties -- the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) -- against the League. Salvini's anti-immigrant party has a strong lead in national polls and is betting on a victory in Emilia Romagna being damaging enough to collapse the government and spark elections.

Italy committee to vote on Salvini migrant trial

Central American migrants entered Mexico from Guatemala in small groups on Saturday after brief clashes earlier in the day when dozens of people tried to force their way across the border and were pushed back by Mexican security forces.President Donald Trump has threatened to hurt Mexico and Central American countries economically if they allow <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mexican-troops-block-us-bound-caravan-travelers-275151">large groups</a> to reach the US&nbsp;border. The latest exodus from Honduras has been accompanied by US&nbsp;border agents.

<img alt="Closed border" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="dc668e25-1fc6-48c7-9e5f-72757fc1b663" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design_46.jpg" /> 
[ Closed points of entry at the Mexican border cause great distress (Courtesy: Reuters) ]

Mexican security officials closed the border at the crossing between Tecun Uman, Guatemala and Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, after the morning scuffles. But once order was restored, Mexico began letting in groups of around 20 at a time.

Mexico has offered migrants work in the south, but those who do not accept it or seek asylum <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/at-the-us-mexican-border-migrants-give-up-hope-of-crossing-269434">will not be issued safe conduct</a> passes to the United States, the interior ministry said.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-migrant-policy-sends-thousands-of-children-including-hundreds-of-babies-back-to-mexico-255315">US migrant policy sends thousands of children including hundreds of babies back to Mexico</a>

<img alt="Crowd of migrants gather at the border" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="cc8f451b-02e1-4f94-8e01-0d19c5014f8c" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%281%29_53.jpg" /> 
[Migrants at the Guatemala-Mexico&nbsp;border seeking asylum (Courtesy: Reuters) ]

Guatemalan authorities say some 4,000 people have entered the country since Wednesday, the biggest surge since Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador signed accords with the United States that increase pressure on them to deal with migrants.

Many of the migrants are seeking to escape poverty, violence or other social problems in Central America. However, while a few have expressed an interest in staying in Mexico, most are eager to take their chances in the United States.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has launched a series of initiatives to create jobs in the poorer south. Still, under his rule, Mexico's economy has significantly under-performed the United States, stagnating through 2019.

Television footage from the morning showed a group of migrants jostling and clashing with members of Mexico's National Guard on the bridge separating Guatemala from Mexico.

Women carrying small children could be seen at the front of the group on the bridge. Guatemala's government later issued a statement saying some people were using children to try to secure entry and offered to repatriate migrants who failed.

Mexican officials have so far controlled the situation more successfully than when a large caravan sought to force its way through at the same crossing in October 2018.

After being kept out, most migrants withdrew to Tecun Uman to await the arrival of the main caravan behind them. About 400 of the migrants who entered Guatemala this week have been sent home, its government said.

Central American migrants entered Mexico from Guatemala in small groups on Saturday after brief clashes earlier in the day when dozens of people tried to force their way across the border and were pushed back by Mexican security forces.

Central American migrants entered Mexico from Guatemala in small groups on Saturday after brief clashes earlier in the day when dozens of people tried to force their way across the border and were pushed back by Mexican security forces.President Donald Trump has threatened to hurt Mexico and Central American countries economically if they allow large groups to reach the US border. The latest exodus from Honduras has been accompanied by US border agents. [ Closed points of entry at the Mexican border cause great distress (Courtesy: Reuters) ] Mexican security officials closed the border at the crossing between Tecun Uman, Guatemala and Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, after the morning scuffles. But once order was restored, Mexico began letting in groups of around 20 at a time. Mexico has offered migrants work in the south, but those who do not accept it or seek asylum will not be issued safe conduct passes to the United States, the interior ministry said. Also Read: US migrant policy sends thousands of children including hundreds of babies back to Mexico [Migrants at the Guatemala-Mexico border seeking asylum (Courtesy: Reuters) ] Guatemalan authorities say some 4,000 people have entered the country since Wednesday, the biggest surge since Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador signed accords with the United States that increase pressure on them to deal with migrants. Many of the migrants are seeking to escape poverty, violence or other social problems in Central America. However, while a few have expressed an interest in staying in Mexico, most are eager to take their chances in the United States. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has launched a series of initiatives to create jobs in the poorer south. Still, under his rule, Mexico's economy has significantly under-performed the United States, stagnating through 2019. Television footage from the morning showed a group of migrants jostling and clashing with members of Mexico's National Guard on the bridge separating Guatemala from Mexico. Women carrying small children could be seen at the front of the group on the bridge. Guatemala's government later issued a statement saying some people were using children to try to secure entry and offered to repatriate migrants who failed. Mexican officials have so far controlled the situation more successfully than when a large caravan sought to force its way through at the same crossing in October 2018. After being kept out, most migrants withdrew to Tecun Uman to await the arrival of the main caravan behind them. About 400 of the migrants who entered Guatemala this week have been sent home, its government said.

Migrants enter slowly at Guatemala-Mexico border after scuffles

At least 58 migrants drowned as their boat sank near the Mauritanian coast after a week at sea, the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/.../greek-camps-near-capacity-as-refugees-face- long-wait-for-asylum-259734">International Organization for Migration</a> said Thursday.

The U.N. agency said another 83 people swam to shore, while survivors said at least 150 people including women and children were aboard the vessel, which had set sail from The Gambia on November 27.

They said the boat was running low on fuel as it was nearing the coast of the northwestern African nation.

"The Mauritanian authorities are very efficiently coordinating the response with the agencies currently present in Nouadhibou," said Laura Lungarotti, IOM's chief of mission in Mauritania.

"Our common priority is to take care of all those who survived and bring them the support they need," she added.

The injured are being treated in hospital in Nouadhibou, Mauritania's westernmost town on the Atlantic coast, the IOM statement said.

Mauritanian authorities are in contact with Gambian consular services "to ensure that the necessary support is provided to the migrants", the statement said.

The Gambian Ambassador to Mauritania is headed to Nouadhibou, it added.

At least 58 migrants drowned as their boat sank near the Mauritanian coast after a week at sea, the International Organization for Migration said Thursday. The U.

At least 58 migrants drowned as their boat sank near the Mauritanian coast after a week at sea, the International Organization for Migration said Thursday. The U.N. agency said another 83 people swam to shore, while survivors said at least 150 people including women and children were aboard the vessel, which had set sail from The Gambia on November 27. They said the boat was running low on fuel as it was nearing the coast of the northwestern African nation. "The Mauritanian authorities are very efficiently coordinating the response with the agencies currently present in Nouadhibou," said Laura Lungarotti, IOM's chief of mission in Mauritania. "Our common priority is to take care of all those who survived and bring them the support they need," she added. The injured are being treated in hospital in Nouadhibou, Mauritania's westernmost town on the Atlantic coast, the IOM statement said. Mauritanian authorities are in contact with Gambian consular services "to ensure that the necessary support is provided to the migrants", the statement said. The Gambian Ambassador to Mauritania is headed to Nouadhibou, it added.

Dozens of migrants drown as boat sinks off Mauritania: U.N.

Malta's armed forces have started cooperating with Libya's coastguard to turn back migrant boats heading into Malta's search and rescue zone, a newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a secret government deal.

The government declined to comment directly on the report in the Sunday Times of Malta, but told Reuters the Mediterranean state had been working with the Libyan coastguard for many years and always operated within the law.

Under the terms of the deal, when a migrant boat is spotted sailing towards Malta, the island's armed forces seek the intervention of the Libyan coastguard to intercept them before they enter Malta's territorial waters, the paper said.

Non-governmental organisations have denounced previous deals by which Italy has directed the Libyan coastguard to pick up migrant boats in Libyan territorial waters, saying refugees face torture and abuse in the lawless North African country.

The Malta deal appears to go a step further by encouraging the Libyan coastguard to intervene beyond its own coastal waters, which extend some 22.2 km&nbsp;from its shore, and into the broad search-and-rescue zone operated by Malta.

"Search and rescue areas are not areas where the coastal state exercises sovereignty or has jurisdiction, but areas forming part of high seas where foreign military assets have every right to investigate any illegal activity departing from their coast," the Maltese government said.

Malta has taken in several hundred migrants in recent months, but almost always from charity rescue ships that had picked them up in the central Mediterranean. There have been few reports of migrant boats reaching the island autonomously.

In a sign of growing cooperation between Valletta and the Tripoli-based Libyan government, Malta seized in September a shipment of unofficial Libyan currency believed to have been destined for rebel military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Two containers packed full of the recently introduced currency, printed in Russia, were discovered when the ship carrying the money stopped in Malta, local media reported earlier this month.

The Customs Department did not announce the find at the time and has made no subsequent comment on the operation.

Malta's armed forces have started cooperating with Libya's coastguard to turn back migrant boats heading into Malta's search and rescue zone, a newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a secret government deal.

Malta's armed forces have started cooperating with Libya's coastguard to turn back migrant boats heading into Malta's search and rescue zone, a newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a secret government deal. The government declined to comment directly on the report in the Sunday Times of Malta, but told Reuters the Mediterranean state had been working with the Libyan coastguard for many years and always operated within the law. Under the terms of the deal, when a migrant boat is spotted sailing towards Malta, the island's armed forces seek the intervention of the Libyan coastguard to intercept them before they enter Malta's territorial waters, the paper said. Non-governmental organisations have denounced previous deals by which Italy has directed the Libyan coastguard to pick up migrant boats in Libyan territorial waters, saying refugees face torture and abuse in the lawless North African country. The Malta deal appears to go a step further by encouraging the Libyan coastguard to intervene beyond its own coastal waters, which extend some 22.2 km from its shore, and into the broad search-and-rescue zone operated by Malta. "Search and rescue areas are not areas where the coastal state exercises sovereignty or has jurisdiction, but areas forming part of high seas where foreign military assets have every right to investigate any illegal activity departing from their coast," the Maltese government said. Malta has taken in several hundred migrants in recent months, but almost always from charity rescue ships that had picked them up in the central Mediterranean. There have been few reports of migrant boats reaching the island autonomously. In a sign of growing cooperation between Valletta and the Tripoli-based Libyan government, Malta seized in September a shipment of unofficial Libyan currency believed to have been destined for rebel military strongman Khalifa Haftar. Two containers packed full of the recently introduced currency, printed in Russia, were discovered when the ship carrying the money stopped in Malta, local media reported earlier this month. The Customs Department did not announce the find at the time and has made no subsequent comment on the operation.

Malta has deal with Libya coastguard over migrant interceptions: Report

More than&nbsp;1,000&nbsp;migrants have died in the&nbsp;Mediterranean&nbsp;Sea this&nbsp;year, the sixth&nbsp;year&nbsp;in a row that that "bleak milestone" has been reached, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rwanda-welcomes-first-group-of-african-refugees-from-libya-252319">the United Nations refugee agency</a> said on Tuesday.

"UNHCR&nbsp;is urgently calling for an increase in search and rescue capacity, including a return of EU state vessels to search and rescue operations, and an acknowledgement of the crucial role of NGO boats in saving lives at sea,"&nbsp;UNHCR&nbsp;spokesman Charlie Yaxley said in a statement.

At least 15,000 people have lost their lives in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ocean-viking-rescue-ship-awaits-port-access-in-latest-migrant-standoff-244800">Mediterranean</a>&nbsp;crossings since 2014, the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

More than 1,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that that "bleak milestone" has been reached, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.

More than 1,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that that "bleak milestone" has been reached, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday. "UNHCR is urgently calling for an increase in search and rescue capacity, including a return of EU state vessels to search and rescue operations, and an acknowledgement of the crucial role of NGO boats in saving lives at sea," UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said in a statement. At least 15,000 people have lost their lives in Mediterranean crossings since 2014, the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Migrant death toll in Mediterranean tops 1,000 for 6th year: UNHCR

At least two migrants died on Sunday in a fire at a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/greece-seeks-early-imf-debt-repayment-to-build-trust-249500">Greek island</a>&nbsp;refugee&nbsp;camp,&nbsp;with the blaze triggering rioting by angry residents.

Athens News Agency, quoting police sources, reported that a woman and a child had died in the blaze at the overcrowded Moira&nbsp;camp&nbsp;on the island of Lesbos.

The body of the woman was taken to the island's general hospital while the body of the child was handed over to authorities by migrants.

The fire inside the&nbsp;camp&nbsp;was extinguished by an aeroplane. But police later fired tear gas to control a crowd angered by the time it had taken, according to an AFP correspondent.

The death toll, however, was unclear with an Afghan migrant eyewitness saying three people died in the blaze that spread to six or seven containers used to house residents.

"We found two children completely charred and a woman dead. We gave the children covered in blankets to the fire brigade," Fedouz, 15, told AFP.

The AFP correspondent saw two bodies, one surrounded by weeping family members.

In a statement, police said the riots occurred after two separate fires broke out, firstly outside and then inside Moria&nbsp;camp&nbsp;with a time gap of twenty minutes.&nbsp;

Additional officers were sent from Athens in C-130 army aeroplanes in a bid to contain the situation, although local police sources said calm had returned to the&nbsp;camp&nbsp;by 2300 GMT.

The Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Lefteris Economou, along with the Chief of Police and the Secretary-General for Migration Policy, is due to visit.

Moria&nbsp;camp&nbsp;hosts around 13,000 people but has facilities for just 3,000.

It has become like a small town with U.N. refugee&nbsp;agency tents for around 8,000 people sprawling into the olive fields of nearby Moria village. Others are housed in containers.

New asylum law

<a href="wionews.com/world/greece-to-increase-border-patrols-and-deportations-to-curb-migrant-influx-246948">Greece</a>&nbsp;is hosting some 70,000 mostly Syrian refugees and migrants who have fled their countries since 2015 and crossed over from neighbouring Turkey.

Under an agreement reached with the European Union in 2016, Turkey has made greater efforts to limit departures towards the five Greek islands closest to its shores.&nbsp;

But the number of arrivals has been steadily climbing in recent months causing a dangerous burden in the camps of the islands that are at the forefront of the migrant influx.

The Greek government said on Sunday it planned to discuss a new asylum draft law to deal with the fresh migrant crisis.&nbsp;

"In the cabinet meeting on Monday, we are going to discuss a draft law proposed by the Citizen's Protection Ministry which will update, in accordance with European standards, the asylum procedure", Minister of State, George Gerapetritis said in an interview with Skai Tv on Sunday.&nbsp;

He stressed that migrants should be sent to camps with humane conditions, admitting that existing ones were not able to deal with the increase in migrants.

On Friday, Citizen's Protection Minister, Michalis Chrysochoidis, asked for the cooperation of regional governors, during an emergency meeting, in order to share the migrant burden of the overcrowded islands.

He asked regional authorities of mainland Greece&nbsp;to expand existing camps or to revive some closed ones.&nbsp;

At least two migrants died on Sunday in a fire at a Greek island refugee camp, with the blaze triggering rioting by angry residents. Athens News Agency, quoting police sources, reported that a woman and a child had died in the blaze at the overcrowded Moira camp on the island of Lesbos.

At least two migrants died on Sunday in a fire at a Greek island refugee camp, with the blaze triggering rioting by angry residents. Athens News Agency, quoting police sources, reported that a woman and a child had died in the blaze at the overcrowded Moira camp on the island of Lesbos. The body of the woman was taken to the island's general hospital while the body of the child was handed over to authorities by migrants. The fire inside the camp was extinguished by an aeroplane. But police later fired tear gas to control a crowd angered by the time it had taken, according to an AFP correspondent. The death toll, however, was unclear with an Afghan migrant eyewitness saying three people died in the blaze that spread to six or seven containers used to house residents. "We found two children completely charred and a woman dead. We gave the children covered in blankets to the fire brigade," Fedouz, 15, told AFP. The AFP correspondent saw two bodies, one surrounded by weeping family members. In a statement, police said the riots occurred after two separate fires broke out, firstly outside and then inside Moria camp with a time gap of twenty minutes. Additional officers were sent from Athens in C-130 army aeroplanes in a bid to contain the situation, although local police sources said calm had returned to the camp by 2300 GMT. The Deputy Minister of Citizen Protection Lefteris Economou, along with the Chief of Police and the Secretary-General for Migration Policy, is due to visit. Moria camp hosts around 13,000 people but has facilities for just 3,000. It has become like a small town with U.N. refugee agency tents for around 8,000 people sprawling into the olive fields of nearby Moria village. Others are housed in containers. New asylum law Greece is hosting some 70,000 mostly Syrian refugees and migrants who have fled their countries since 2015 and crossed over from neighbouring Turkey. Under an agreement reached with the European Union in 2016, Turkey has made greater efforts to limit departures towards the five Greek islands closest to its shores. But the number of arrivals has been steadily climbing in recent months causing a dangerous burden in the camps of the islands that are at the forefront of the migrant influx. The Greek government said on Sunday it planned to discuss a new asylum draft law to deal with the fresh migrant crisis. "In the cabinet meeting on Monday, we are going to discuss a draft law proposed by the Citizen's Protection Ministry which will update, in accordance with European standards, the asylum procedure", Minister of State, George Gerapetritis said in an interview with Skai Tv on Sunday. He stressed that migrants should be sent to camps with humane conditions, admitting that existing ones were not able to deal with the increase in migrants. On Friday, Citizen's Protection Minister, Michalis Chrysochoidis, asked for the cooperation of regional governors, during an emergency meeting, in order to share the migrant burden of the overcrowded islands. He asked regional authorities of mainland Greece to expand existing camps or to revive some closed ones.

Riots at Greek migrant camp after two die in a fire

Interior ministers from four European Union (EU) countries will meet on Monday in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/malta-to-relocate-migrants-on-german-rescue-ship-233903">Malta</a> to try to work out an automatic system to determine which countries will welcome migrants rescued in the central Mediterranean.

The ministers from France, Germany, Italy, and Malta hope to end the long, drawn-out negotiations that have seen vulnerable asylum seekers including babies stranded at sea, sometimes for weeks.

They take place ahead of a European summit in October in Luxembourg.

The mooted automatic distribution system would only be a temporary solution until the current system, the "Dublin regulation", can be revised.

Its critics have long argued that it places an unfair burden on the Mediterranean frontier countries Italy, Malta, Greece,&nbsp; and Spain.

Italy's new, pro-EU government has moved quickly to turn the page on the anti-migrant policies pursued by former far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini, who closed the ports to those rescued.

After a meeting last week, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and French President Emmanuel Macron both called for a reform of Europe's "ineffective" policy.

Countries that did not volunteer to take migrants should face financial penalties, they argued.

Rotation? 
 
At an informal meeting of foreign and interior ministers in Paris in June, 15 countries agreed to the creation of a "European Solidarity Mechanism".

Croatia, Finland, France, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Portugal said they would "actively" take part.

But Hungary's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, rejected redistribution quotas in comments made during a visit to Rome Saturday.

Monday's meeting in Malta will try to decide where those<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/malta-rescues-216-migrants-in-upsurge-of-mediterranean-crossings-221578"> rescued</a> can be relocated -- and whether that covers just those fleeing wars and persecution, or economic migrants too.

France and Germany are reportedly willing to receive 25 per cent of people plucked from vessels in the Mediterranean.&nbsp;

But they are not keen on Italy's idea for migrants to be sent to countries across southern Europe on a rotation basis.

Italy could take 10 per cent of new arrivals - a lower proportion because it has already hosted tens of thousands of new arrivals.

The number of migrants arriving in Europe via the Mediterranean has dropped sharply in recent years. The UN's refugee body recorded nearly 115,000 arrivals in 2018, down from 170,000 in 2017 and over one million in 2015.

European migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos will also attend the Malta talks, as will Finland's interior minister - as they hold the EU presidency.&nbsp;

Interior ministers from four European Union (EU) countries will meet on Monday in Malta to try to work out an automatic system to determine which countries will welcome migrants rescued in the central Mediterranean.

Interior ministers from four European Union (EU) countries will meet on Monday in Malta to try to work out an automatic system to determine which countries will welcome migrants rescued in the central Mediterranean. The ministers from France, Germany, Italy, and Malta hope to end the long, drawn-out negotiations that have seen vulnerable asylum seekers including babies stranded at sea, sometimes for weeks. They take place ahead of a European summit in October in Luxembourg. The mooted automatic distribution system would only be a temporary solution until the current system, the "Dublin regulation", can be revised. Its critics have long argued that it places an unfair burden on the Mediterranean frontier countries Italy, Malta, Greece, and Spain. Italy's new, pro-EU government has moved quickly to turn the page on the anti-migrant policies pursued by former far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini, who closed the ports to those rescued. After a meeting last week, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and French President Emmanuel Macron both called for a reform of Europe's "ineffective" policy. Countries that did not volunteer to take migrants should face financial penalties, they argued. Rotation? At an informal meeting of foreign and interior ministers in Paris in June, 15 countries agreed to the creation of a "European Solidarity Mechanism". Croatia, Finland, France, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Portugal said they would "actively" take part. But Hungary's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, rejected redistribution quotas in comments made during a visit to Rome Saturday. Monday's meeting in Malta will try to decide where those rescued can be relocated -- and whether that covers just those fleeing wars and persecution, or economic migrants too. France and Germany are reportedly willing to receive 25 per cent of people plucked from vessels in the Mediterranean. But they are not keen on Italy's idea for migrants to be sent to countries across southern Europe on a rotation basis. Italy could take 10 per cent of new arrivals - a lower proportion because it has already hosted tens of thousands of new arrivals. The number of migrants arriving in Europe via the Mediterranean has dropped sharply in recent years. The UN's refugee body recorded nearly 115,000 arrivals in 2018, down from 170,000 in 2017 and over one million in 2015. European migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos will also attend the Malta talks, as will Finland's interior minister - as they hold the EU presidency.

European Union ministers in Malta to create a new migrant system

Italy's new government allowed a French <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/charity-ship-seeks-port-for-356-rescued-migrants-in-the-mediterranean-244622">charity ship</a> to head to the island of Lampedusa on Saturday and bring ashore some 82 migrants, reversing the uncompromising, closed-door policy of the previous administration.

The Ocean Viking, run by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/spain-sends-warship-to-pick-up-migrants-off-italys-coast-244491">French charities SOS</a> Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said on Twitter it had received the green light to sail to Lampedusa, six days after it carried out its first rescue off the coast of Libya.

"The Italian authorities have just offered Ocean Viking a place of safety," MSF said. Local officials confirmed the news.

Italy's government formally took office on Tuesday, promising a new approach to migration following the hardline clampdown on rescue ships introduced by the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini, who heads the far-right League.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday that "several EU countries" had agreed to take in the Africans aboard the Ocean Viking, but did not give further details and did not immediately let Ocean Viking enter Italian waters.

"We needed a bit of time, but Ocean Viking has finally been assigned a safe port. Small signs of discontinuity," said Matteo Orfini, a senior member of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) which has replaced the League within the ruling coalition.

Salvini's tough line on immigration fuelled the popularity of his League party, which pulled out of its coalition with the 5-Star Movement last month in a vain attempt to trigger new elections.

During his 14 months at the interior ministry, he introduced new security decrees barring rescue ships from entering Italian waters, saying Italy had borne too much responsibility for handling African migration to Europe.

Ships that defied the decrees risked being impounded and were threatened with fines of up to a million euros ($1.1 million).

Italy's new government allowed a French charity ship to head to the island of Lampedusa on Saturday and bring ashore some 82 migrants, reversing the uncompromising, closed-door policy of the previous administration.

Italy's new government allowed a French charity ship to head to the island of Lampedusa on Saturday and bring ashore some 82 migrants, reversing the uncompromising, closed-door policy of the previous administration. The Ocean Viking, run by French charities SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said on Twitter it had received the green light to sail to Lampedusa, six days after it carried out its first rescue off the coast of Libya. "The Italian authorities have just offered Ocean Viking a place of safety," MSF said. Local officials confirmed the news. Italy's government formally took office on Tuesday, promising a new approach to migration following the hardline clampdown on rescue ships introduced by the former interior minister, Matteo Salvini, who heads the far-right League. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday that "several EU countries" had agreed to take in the Africans aboard the Ocean Viking, but did not give further details and did not immediately let Ocean Viking enter Italian waters. "We needed a bit of time, but Ocean Viking has finally been assigned a safe port. Small signs of discontinuity," said Matteo Orfini, a senior member of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) which has replaced the League within the ruling coalition. Salvini's tough line on immigration fuelled the popularity of his League party, which pulled out of its coalition with the 5-Star Movement last month in a vain attempt to trigger new elections. During his 14 months at the interior ministry, he introduced new security decrees barring rescue ships from entering Italian waters, saying Italy had borne too much responsibility for handling African migration to Europe. Ships that defied the decrees risked being impounded and were threatened with fines of up to a million euros ($1.1 million).

In break with past, Rome lets charity ship head to Italian port

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