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Some 100 people had been travelling for about two days on a dinghy that collapsed in international waters off Libya, Open Arms says. People at sea waiting to be rescued by Spanish search and rescue ship Open Arms during a search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, November 11, 2020. At least five people have died in the latest shipwreck in the central Mediterranean, a rescue charity has said, warning that the number of deaths could grow as rescue operations continue. Some 100 people had been travelling for about two days on a dinghy that collapsed in international waters off Libya where it was assisted by Open Arms, the Spanish NGO said on wednesday. It said it was carrying out the rescue operation on its own, with just two speedboats and six rescuers. “That’s what happens when you leave people at sea for days,” Open Arms wrote on Twitter. The group said the bodies of all five people had been recovered, while medical teams on the ship were tending to the “most serious cases”

Officials allege 55 migrants were forced into a river by Iran's border guards, with some of them beaten and tortured. Afghanistan's human rights commission said the Iranian guards forced the migrants to cross the Harirud river  Afghanistan has recovered 18 bodies of migrants who were allegedly beaten and tortured before being forced into a river by Iranian border guards last week, a senior Afghan official said on Friday. Afghan authorities are investigating claims the migrants drowned while illegally crossing into neighbouring Iran from the western Herat province. "Out of 55 Afghan migrants who were forced into the river, we have so far recovered 18 bodies," Abdul Ghani Noori, the governor of Gulran district bordering Iran, told AFP news agency He said six migrants were still missing while others survived. The bodies "bear signs of beating and torture," Noori said. "Based on the accounts of survivors

GOP senators urge Trump to extend 60-day ban on H-1B, other worker visas for a year, excluding agricultural workers. People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment at an Arkansas Workforce Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas  President Donald Trump should further restrict employment-based immigration to the United States until the unemployment caused by the coronavirus pandemic returns to "normal levels", a group of four Republican senators has said. "While economic shutdowns in states and localities across the country have been necessary to reduce the spread of this pandemic, the results have been devastating for businesses and workers alike," Senators Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Chuck Grassley and Josh Hawley wrote in a public letter to the president  on Thursday . President Trump issued an order on April 22 suspending most immigrant visas for 60 days but exempted guest worker programmes. The US admits abo

Trump says the order is meant to 'protect' workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, but many exemptions  apply. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday that temporary blocks some individuals outside the United States from obtaining US permanent residency, a move he said would protect American workers amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. The executive order included a number of exemptions and was not a full suspension of legal immigration, as suggested by a Trump tweet late on Monday night. Questions remain about the extent of the executive order and whether or not the measures therein fall within the power of the president. Here is what Trump's order does and does not do. Who will be affected? The order blocks some individuals outside the US from settling permanently by obtaining what is informally known as a "green card". The measure applies to requests for permanent

US president says he will sign an order halting all immigration to protect jobs as coronavirus spreads. US President Donald Trump said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States, saying he needs to protect American jobs as coronavirus ravages the economy. The move, announced in a late-night post on Twitter, effectively achieves a long-term Trump policy goal to curb immigration, making use of the health and economic crisis that has swept the country as a result of the pandemic to do so. "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,", Trump said on Monday. In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to

Authorities fear coronavirus outbreaks in Greece's crowded island camps A fire has torn through one of Greece's largest refugee camps on  Chios island,  causing widespread damage and rendering up to hundreds of people homeless. The blaze started following a protest over the death of a 47-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker who was cleared of having the coronavirus. But many residents at the overcrowded camp still believed she died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The blaze late on Saturday at vital camps  destroyed the facilities of the European asylum service, a camp canteen, warehouse tents and many housing containers, Migration Ministry Secretary Manos Logothetis told the AFP news agency. "A large part of the camp's administrative services was destroyed," said Logothetis, adding that no injuries were reported. The UN refugee agency's spokesperson in Athens, Boris Cheshirkov, said the damage was st

As countries close borders to curb spread of coronavirus, aid groups in Niger 'overwhelmed' by requests of support. Migrants receive assistance in Madama, a military outpost close to the border between Niger and Libya While countries across Africa have been closing their borders as part of efforts to contain the COVID-19, migrants and people on the move are paying a high price. Over the past two weeks, hundreds of women, men and children have been stuck in Niger, a country that represents a traditional corridor of transit for seasonal labourers from West Africa heading  to Libya or Algeria,  as well as people hoping to move further to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. "We're being overwhelmed by requests of support," said Barbara Rijks, Niger director for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Deportations from Algeria to Niger have been a continuing since late 2016, with figures decreasing last

Bangkok shutdown fuels mass exodus of migrants but those left behind worry about survival as factories close. According to the International Organization for Migration, Thailand was home to as many as five million migrant workers from neighbouring countries like Cambodia, Myanmar and others before the recent lockdown. Bangkok, Thailand  -  When Thailand's government started shutting down the country’s capital last week, tens of thousands of migrant labourers, who were suddenly out of work, scrambled to return home to Myanmar. But now that the government has tightened up its borders, some migrants left behind have been forced to accept the consequences of their decision to remain in the capital, Bangkok. For Ma Moe Moe, a migrant worker from Myanmar, returning home is not an option. The 44-year-labourer has lived in Thailand for years and has been working in factories for most of the time she has been in the country. Last week, Ma