The Murat 729, carrying 400 mostly Afghan migrants and refugees, sent a distress signal after its engines failed. Turkey failed to respond to a request to take back the vessel, despite a 2016 EU deal worth billions.
German security officials have warned far-right extremist groups to not carry out illegal patrols along the border with Poland. A neo-Nazi group had rallied people to the border last week, claiming they wanted to stop migrants from1
The war in Syria is still raging, making the country too unsafe for refugees to return, according to UN expert Paulo Pinheiro. He also warned that the winter cold and the coronavirus pose a dire thread to many Syrians.
French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune has accused the family of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of being behind 'human trafficking' to the European Union.
Twenty-four migrants trying to reach England in a small boat were rescued off the Belgian coast on Wednesday. An elderly woman was among those rescued. They had been at sea for two days.