BERLIN — The number of people applying for asylum in Germany last year rose to 351,915, an increase of 51.1% compared with the year before. The largest number of asylum-seekers came from Syria, with 104,561 applications, followed by Turkish citizens with 62,624 asylum pleas and 53,582 Afghans, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave ACCRA, Ghana — For C.M., a member of Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, life in exile is a daily struggle. Years ago, he was one of some 500,000 people displaced by a government crackdown on English speakers in the West African country. The violence, known as the Anglophone crisis, … Read more
MEXICO CITY — Mexico and Venezuela announced Saturday that they have restarted repatriation flights of Venezuelans migrants in Mexico, the latest move by countries in the region to take on a flood of people traveling north to the United States. The move comes as authorities say at least 10,000 migrants a day have been arriving … Read more
HONG KONG — An activist who advocated for Hong Kong independence and was jailed under a sweeping national security law fled to Britain to seek political asylum, according to his social media posts Friday. Tony Chung was among the first convicted under the Beijing-imposed law that was introduced after the 2019 pro-democracy protests. He was … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave Jamal Khashoggi’s widow, who went into hiding after The Washington Post columnist was murdered in 2018 by a Saudi assassination squad, has been granted political asylum in the United States. “I couldn’t really believe it,” Hanan Elatr said after reading the letter informing her of the decision. … Read more
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus has disrupted an alleged Iranian plot to target Israeli businessmen with the arrest of two Iranian asylum-seekers who were in contact with another Iranian associated with the Revolutionary Guard, a Cypriot official said Tuesday. The official told The Associated Press the two Iranian men have been in police custody since Nov. … Read more
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Dozens of migrants crossed into Finland on Friday, hours before the reclosure of two southern crossing points on the border with Russia as the Nordic country experiences an influx of asylum-seekers. The Vaalimaa and Niirala crossings had reopened briefly Thursday after being shut down at the end of last month, along with … Read more
LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was under pressure Friday to explain why Britain has paid Rwanda 240 million pounds ($300 million) as part of a blocked asylum plan, without a single person being sent to the East African country. The total is almost twice the 140 million pounds that Britain previously said it had … Read more
LONDON — The U.K. government triggered criticism from opponents and division inside the governing Conservatives on Wednesday with a bill that will let it ignore a part of the country’s human rights law in order to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda. The legislation is part of government plans to overcome a block … Read more
KIGALI, Rwanda — British Home Secretary James Cleverly flew to Rwanda on Tuesday in a bid to revive a plan to send asylum-seekers to the East African country that has been blocked by U.K. courts. The U.K. government said Cleverly will meet his Rwandan counterpart, Vincent Biruta, to sign a new treaty and discuss next … Read more