Greece has witnessed a surge in migrant arrivals in recent days amid fears of worsening weather and closing borders inside Europe, the United Nations and Greek authorities said Tuesday. The UN refugee agency said it had registered a clear “spike
Contents: A cynical Turkey rejects Europe’s ‘concentration camp’ refugee proposal; As winter approaches, thousands of European refugees may be trapped in the cold
People smugglers operating across the Mediterranean have started offering “seasonal discounts” as winter winds turn the sea choppy. In previous years the number of migrants crossing in winter has been as few as one tenth of those crossing in summer,
Contents: Russian troops may take control of Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan; European Union agrees to terms in exchange for Turkey’s help with refugees; Hungary closes the border with Croatia; Polls show British voters more willing to leave European Union; Turkey’s president Erdogan ridicules Europe over refugee crisis
A television news crew following the migrant crisis on the Greek island of Lesbos saw a human trafficker arrested yesterday, but the description of the journey used by the journalist reveals a lack of objectivity in reporting. The human trafficker
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann cast doubt on the workability of the so-called migrant hotspots European leaders plan to create by the end of next month in Greece and Italy to help manage large numbers of refugees. Of
Fear over terrorist attacks are pushing British people away from Muslim countries, with many now ruling out countries they would have once considered safe. While a remarkable three-quarters of British holidaymakers surveyed by holiday agent Travelzoo said they were actively
Contents: Greece’s Alexis Tsipras says that Greece must implement harsh reforms; Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party shows remarkable resilience
With temperatures starting to drop there is evidence of migrants rushing to Europe to beat the coming winter weather. In some parts of Europe the change is already pronounced, with the first snow falling nearly a month ago, but winter is spreading
The top Google searches in Syria reveal the extent and direction of planning being carried out by those looking to leave the country. The Google searches in Syria were given to journalists by the web search engine company. Some were exactly what
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged listeners at the UN General Assembly Thursday to avoid “the same old recipes” to solve conflicts, and warned against “unilateral action” to solve problems like the civil war in Syria, which may put Tsipras at odds with his Russian allies.
Moody’s has maintained its deep junk “Caa3” credit rating for Greek government debt, but has upgraded its outlook following recent political breakthroughs. “Moody’s Investors Service has today confirmed Greece’s government bond rating at Caa3 and changed the outlook to stable,”
Greece’s Former Deputy Infrastructure and Transport Minister Dimitris Kammenos failed to last 24 hours in the job, as his appointment by leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was immediately followed by the resurfacing of a number of offensive anti-Semitic tweets, including one implying Jews were responsible for the September 11 attacks in America.
Greeks are getting around what is delicately described as a “liquidity problem”—i.e. no money—by bringing back the barter system. It even has an Information Age twist: a bartering website with its own virtual currency system, and thousands of users.
Far-left Greek party Syriza had much to celebrate on Sunday, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stormed to a more-comfortable-than-predicted reelection victory. Leftists were not the only ones celebrating, however, as neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn saw its best election results yet, coming in third place.
Contents: Ben Carson’s statement about Muslim President revives JFK Catholic controversy; Syriza wins election in Greece, on eve of drastic new reforms
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Alexis Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza party battered opponents in a snap general election as Greeks gave the 41-year-old leader a second chance to deal with the country’s staggering debt and carry out major reforms aimed at modernizing
ATHENS, Greece — The official projection of final results in Greece’s early election shows the left-wing Syriza party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras winning with 35.5 percent, but falling short of enough parliamentary seats to form a government on
Contents: European countries in near-chaos take turns dumping migrants; Russian ‘refusenik’ soldiers resist deployment in Syria; Russia’s media take note of Carly Fiorina’s debate statements
Nearly 10 million Greek voters head to the ballot box on Sunday for the third time this year to elect a government already bound to apply economic reforms set out in a three-year EU bailout. The year kicked off for
ATHENS (Reuters) – A political calm before the storm enveloped election-weary Greece on Saturday with all campaigning and polling suspended ahead of Sunday’s vote, which promised to be tight and possibly indecisive. The election is being watched closely from outside
How Europe is dealing with its refugee influx is emblematic of a deeper crisis on a continent that has forgotten its core values, Alexis Tspiras, seeking a second term as Greek prime minister, said last night. Tspiras, whose country has
Hundreds of mainly Syrian migrants are engaged in a standoff with Turkish police near Turkey’s Greek border after the authorities shut down their bid to cross into the European Union. Turkey has been struggling to house nearly 2 million Syrian refugees,
As Greece braces for parliamentary elections on September 20, ruling Radical Left party Syriza finds itself slipping in the polls and possibly handing the nation back to the center-right, chasing an ever-elusive youth vote.
On September 1, a special unit of the Greek coast guard intercepted an old Bolivian-flagged freighter called Haddad 1 off the coast of Crete. The ship, bound from Turkey for the Libyan port of Misrata, proved to be carrying nearly 5,000 urban combat shotguns of Turkish manufacture and 500,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
So far in 2015 more than 430,000 migrants, including refugees seeking asylum, have arrived in Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. This record number represents nearly double the number of migrants for the entire year 2014, when 219,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe by sea.
Those who attempt to escape deserve their death and destruction, the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) argues in the latest issue of their magazine Dabiq, using a photo of drowned toddler Aylan Kurdi to emphasize their point.
On Monday, AFP reported that the U.S. government has asked Greece to deny its airspace to Russian supply flights. The Greek foreign ministry is said to be “examining” the request.
Aid workers are calling the situation on the Greek island of Lesbos a “humanitarian disaster” as authorities try to settle 20,000 migrants, most from Syria, throughout the Greek state. EU officials warn the migrant crisis engulfing the continent could take “years” to resolve.
The Greek island of Lesbos has been turned into a war zone by rioting migrants, leaving the island’s 85,000 residents in despair. Around 25,000 migrants are currently camped out on the island with hundreds more arriving daily, leading to frequent
Contents: After weeks of chaos, Hungary appears to be giving in to the flood of migrants;Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán: Muslim migrants threaten Europe’s Christian identity; Austria agrees to allow migrants to pass through Austria
An Egyptian billionaire has appealed to the governments of Italy and Greece to sell him a Mediterranean island so that he can house the migrants fleeing the Middle East and give them jobs. He plans to use the island as
The Greek coastguard has seized a ship loaded with thousands of undeclared, carefully concealed weapons, and possibly explosives, en route from Turkey to Libya. Local media claims the ship is linked to Islamic State (IS) and to companies who have
Greece should abandon the “catastrophic” euro and return to the drachma, the leader of the country’s new breakaway left wing party has said. Panagiotis Lafazanis, who served as Energy Minister until he was sacked by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, said
The International Organization for Migration reported Tuesday that more than 350,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean from North Africa into Europe, with most landing in Greece and Italy. The number dwarfs the previous year’s, when only 219,000 migrants landed ashore throughout all of 2014.
Contents: Colombia and Venezuela withdraw ambassadors over border dispute; European officials demand forced fingerprinting of migrants
From Reuters: Former Greek premier Alexis Tsipras urged supporters on Saturday to give him a mandate to complete the country’s political transformation, as a poll showed his leftist Syriza party’s lead slipping ahead of elections next month. Tsipras abruptly resigned
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has struck back at German Chancellor Angela Merkel after she publicly criticized Italy’s handling of the immigration crisis.
In the last two weeks, the Balkan nation of Serbia has been flooded with more than 23,000 immigrants crossing into the country from the south, with another 7,000 crossing the border in the past two days alone. This brings the year’s total to about 90,000 immigrants into Serbia.
Thousands of migrants have stormed across Macedonia’s southern border with Greece just days after the Macedonian government closed the border and declared a state of emergency. Police lobbed stun grenades and hit some of the infiltrators with batons, but were
