The Spanish coast guard rescued more than 220 people travelling in small boats off the Canary Islands on Wednesday. The number of migrants risking the Atlantic route is rising again, and so are the deaths.
The EU effort to return unsuccessful asylum seekers is failing, the EU policy and financial watchdog has warned. Half a million people are ordered to leave the EU each year, but less than a fifth are actually sent home.
Around 2,600 Afghans and their immediate families are to be brought to Germany where they will receive residence permits. The German government's 'human rights list' includes journalists, artists and others at risk from the Taliban.
Of late, more migrant boats have been arriving on Spain's Balearic Islands compared with the normally more frequented route to the Canary Islands. This indicates that migration routes to Spain from Africa could be shifting.
More than 4,000 Afghans who have a right to family reunification in Germany are stuck in Afghanistan. According to a media report, visa-processing sites in the region have only processed around 100 applications per month so far this1