https://www.scmp.com/rss/320702/feed Starting in 2015, Europe struggled on a large scale to cope with its biggest influx of refugees since the second world war. Hundreds of thousands fled and have been fleeing from the war-torn Middle East and beyond. Many have resorted to risky boat voyages to reach Europe, and thousands have perished in the process. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press A small boat carrying migrants trying to cross the English Channel ran aground on a beach in northern France, leaving two dead and 16 people injured, including three with serious burns, authorities said on Sunday. The vessel, carrying 82 people, set out overnight from Hardelot beach, a few kilometres south of the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, but the engine failed and it began to drift, Christophe Marx, Secretary General of the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, told reporters. A French maritime gendarmerie... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3352277/2-dead-after-boat-runs-aground-france-failed-crossing-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3352277/2-dead-after-boat-runs-aground-france-failed-crossing-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 May 2026 11:28:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pro-Russian former president Rumen Radev is set for a runaway victory in Bulgaria’s election and may even secure a parliamentary majority, exit polls showed, potentially ending years of weak coalition governments and altering the European Union member’s foreign policy. An updated exit poll conducted by Sofia-based Alpha Research showed Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria with 44 per cent, far ahead of the long-dominant GERB party, led ‌by former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, at 12.5 per cent. If... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350625/corruption-fuels-mistrust-bulgarias-eighth-election-five-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350625/corruption-fuels-mistrust-bulgarias-eighth-election-five-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 09:41:00 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The first two months of 2026 saw a record number of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, despite fewer crossing attempts towards Europe, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). At least 655 people died or went missing in January and February - more than double the 287 recorded for the same period last year. NGOs and researchers said the reasons were multiple: storms, complications for rescue operations and border closures. Frontex, the EU’s border control... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347136/hundreds-die-crossing-mediterranean-2026-already-smashes-records?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347136/hundreds-die-crossing-mediterranean-2026-already-smashes-records?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 07:07:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A collision between a speedboat carrying migrants and a Greek coastguard patrol vessel off the eastern Aegean island of Chios has killed at least 15 people, the coastguard said late on Tuesday, while a search and rescue operation involving patrol boats, a helicopter and divers was under way for potentially missing people. The bodies of 14 people – 11 men and three women – were recovered from the sea, the coastguard said, while another 25 migrants, including about 11 children, were rescued and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342296/least-15-killed-collision-between-migrant-speedboat-and-greek-coastguard-vessel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342296/least-15-killed-collision-between-migrant-speedboat-and-greek-coastguard-vessel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 23:43:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse,Associated Press Agence France-Presse,Associated Press Spain’s government announced on Tuesday it will grant legal status to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the country without authorisation, the latest example of how the country has bucked a trend towards increasingly harsh immigration policies championed by US President Donald Trump and seen across much of Europe. Migration Minister Elma Saiz said the beneficiaries would be able to work “in any sector, in any part of the country”, and extolled “the positive... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341453/spain-buck-trump-trend-and-legalise-thousands-migrants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341453/spain-buck-trump-trend-and-legalise-thousands-migrants?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:54:49 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hundreds of migrants may be missing at sea or feared dead following reports of multiple deadly shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean in recent days, the UN’s migration agency warned on Monday. The International Organisation for Migration said it was “deeply concerned” by the reports, which it was currently verifying. “Several boats are believed to have been involved over the past 10 days, with preliminary information suggesting that hundreds of people may be missing at sea or feared dead,” a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341356/hundreds-feared-missing-or-dead-mediterranean-shipwrecks-un-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341356/hundreds-feared-missing-or-dead-mediterranean-shipwrecks-un-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 05:55:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters British ‍lawmaker Suella Braverman, a former home secretary, became the latest prominent Conservative to join Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK on Monday, and she accused her former party of lying to voters over immigration. Opinion polls put Reform UK ahead of both Prime Minister Keir ⁠Starmer’s Labour Party and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives, the two parties that have dominated British politics for more than a century, though a national election is not expected until 2029. For now, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341307/ex-conservative-lawmaker-suella-braverman-defects-right-wing-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3341307/ex-conservative-lawmaker-suella-braverman-defects-right-wing-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:50:02 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain’s former ‍Conservative Party leadership candidate Robert Jenrick became the biggest-name defector to Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK on Thursday, saying the nation was broken and its two mainstream political parties rotten. Sacked by the Conservatives when his potential switch was leaked, Jenrick appeared alongside Farage at a press conference, the latest of 21 current ⁠or former Conservative lawmakers to join Reform. Farage’s anti-immigration party was ahead of both Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340067/uk-conservative-lawmaker-robert-jenrick-defects-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340067/uk-conservative-lawmaker-robert-jenrick-defects-farages-reform-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jan 2026 17:34:49 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump blasted Europe as “decaying” and “weak” on immigration and Ukraine in an interview published Tuesday, deepening a rift between the United States and some of its oldest allies. Speaking to Politico, Trump also called on war-battered Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold elections despite Russia’s invasion and said that Moscow had the “upper hand”. Trump’s comments doubled down on extraordinary criticism of top US partners in his administration’s new national... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335811/trump-slams-decaying-europe-and-pushes-ukraine-elections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3335811/trump-slams-decaying-europe-and-pushes-ukraine-elections?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 17:45:49 +0000 Reuters Reuters Police in Britain will be able to require illegal migrants to remove their coats and allow mouth searches at British ports so officers can look for mobile phones or SIM cards and gather intelligence on their journey, the government said on Monday. The Home Office (interior ministry) said the new powers would support investigations aimed at dismantling criminal gangs suspected of smuggling migrants across the Channel. It said the gangs frequently use phone contacts and social media to recruit... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334824/illegal-migrants-face-clothing-and-mouth-searches-phones-uk-ports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3334824/illegal-migrants-face-clothing-and-mouth-searches-phones-uk-ports?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 23:14:33 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain on Monday said it would make refugee status temporary and speed up the deportation of those who arrive illegally, in a major overhaul aimed at stemming the rise of the populist Reform UK party and tackling abuse of the current system. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined changes to how the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) should be interpreted by UK courts to give the government greater control over who can remain in Britain. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former human... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333164/britain-toughens-asylum-policy-major-overhaul-anti-immigration-sentiment-rises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3333164/britain-toughens-asylum-policy-major-overhaul-anti-immigration-sentiment-rises?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 18:28:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain will drastically reduce protections for refugees and end automatic benefits for asylum seekers, the Labour government announced late on Saturday, under new plans aimed at slashing irregular immigration and countering the hard-right. The measures, modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system, were announced as Prime Minister Keir Starmer comes under pressure from surging popularity for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party. “I’ll end the UK’s golden ticket for asylum seekers,” interior... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332956/uk-says-its-ending-golden-ticket-refugees-asylum-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3332956/uk-says-its-ending-golden-ticket-refugees-asylum-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Nov 2025 22:32:49 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Dutch election climaxed in an unprecedented cliffhanger on Thursday, with only a few thousand votes separating the far-right party of firebrand Geert Wilders and a pro-European centrist party. With 99.7 per cent of the vote tallied, the anti-Islam PVV Freedom Party run by Wilders was fractionally ahead of the D66 led by the energetic Rob Jetten. Every major party has ruled out working with Wilders, meaning Jetten, 38, is on track to become the country’s youngest and first openly gay prime... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330829/exit-poll-suggests-centrists-win-dutch-vote-beating-geert-wilders-far-right?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330829/exit-poll-suggests-centrists-win-dutch-vote-beating-geert-wilders-far-right?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Oct 2025 21:07:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by officials. London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Kebatu would now be deported. “We have ordered an investigation to establish what... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330399/london-police-arrest-asylum-seeker-sex-offender-who-was-mistakenly-freed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330399/london-police-arrest-asylum-seeker-sex-offender-who-was-mistakenly-freed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Oct 2025 16:36:45 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly on Saturday won the race to be Ireland’s new president, comfortably beating her centrist opponent in a contest marred by record numbers of spoiled ballots. Connolly, 68, secured more than 63 per cent of the votes, well ahead of Heather Humphreys of the Fine Gael party on 29.5 per cent, according to the official count. But the seemingly comprehensive victory was marred by the number of spoiled votes and criticism over the lack of right-wing candidates,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330334/irelands-catherine-connolly-set-be-president-after-rival-concedes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330334/irelands-catherine-connolly-set-be-president-after-rival-concedes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2025 16:23:43 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press British police said on Saturday they were scouring hours of closed-circuit TV recordings to find an asylum seeker sentenced for sexual assault who was mistakenly released from prison. Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was “last seen in the London area”, Essex Police said on Saturday, adding that officers from three separate forces were working together in the investigation. Kebatu came to national attention after his case triggered a wave of anti-migrant protests in London and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330324/uk-police-search-london-asylum-seeker-after-mistaken-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330324/uk-police-search-london-asylum-seeker-after-mistaken-release?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2025 12:58:22 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A French court on Friday sentenced an Algerian woman to life imprisonment without parole for raping, torturing and murdering a girl in Paris, making her the first woman to receive this maximum sentence. Dahbia Benkired was handed an “irreducible life sentence” for killing 12-year-old Lola Daviet in the French capital in 2022, in a case that horrified the country and sparked anti-immigration fervour because the woman did not have the right to be in France. The sentence is the harshest under the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330288/algerian-woman-gets-life-sentence-rape-torture-and-murder-french-girl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330288/algerian-woman-gets-life-sentence-rape-torture-and-murder-french-girl?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 23:32:52 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain’s justice minister on Friday said he was “appalled” after an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender whose crimes sparked protests was released from jail in error. The high-profile case earlier this year ignited demonstrations which swiftly spread to other towns where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was jailed last month for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman. Justice Minister David Lammy... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330284/uk-asylum-seeker-jailed-sex-assault-freed-mistake-instead-being-deported?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3330284/uk-asylum-seeker-jailed-sex-assault-freed-mistake-instead-being-deported?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Oct 2025 18:55:54 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse UK activist Tommy Robinson, who organised a huge far-right march in London last month, returned to court on Monday for refusing to divulge his telephone PIN to counterterrorism police in 2024. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was met by a handful of supporters outside Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. The 42-year-old has denied a charge brought under Britain’s Terrorism Act, under which a person who is detained can be held for up to six hours, and is legally obliged to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328875/far-right-uk-figure-tommy-robinson-back-court-refusing-give-phone-pin-police?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328875/far-right-uk-figure-tommy-robinson-back-court-refusing-give-phone-pin-police?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Oct 2025 22:03:55 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A pep talk from Australian leader Anthony Albanese kick-started UK Labour’s annual conference on Sunday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggling to convince nervous members that he can lead the “fight of our lives” against the surging hard-right. Although the ex-lawyer led Labour back to power in Britain in July last year after 14 years in opposition, scandals and policy missteps have already raised doubts about his future. The four-day gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, comes amid... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 17:55:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse,Reuters Agence France-Presse,Reuters UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday announced plans to introduce free digital ID for both nationals and those living in the country in a bid to curb illegal migration. The government said the drive will also make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records. The new digital ID will be held on people’s phones and there will be no requirement for individuals to carry their ID or be asked to produce it, said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326996/uk-launch-mandatory-digital-id-curb-illegal-migration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326996/uk-launch-mandatory-digital-id-curb-illegal-migration?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Sep 2025 09:10:39 +0000 Reuters Reuters Dutch police used tear gas and a water cannon to disperse violent anti-migration protesters in The Hague on Saturday, local authorities said. Thirty people have been arrested, and two police officers were injured. Authorities did not rule out additional arrests in the coming days as they review camera footage. Thousands of people had joined a protest organised by a right-wing activist, demanding stricter migration policies and a clampdown on asylum seekers, just over a month before a national... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326275/30-arrested-violent-dutch-anti-immigration-protesters-clash-police?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3326275/30-arrested-violent-dutch-anti-immigration-protesters-clash-police?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Sep 2025 22:14:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that Britain would not tolerate people feeling intimidated “because of their background or the colour of their skin” after a large far-right protest was marked by battles with police. In his first comments on Saturday’s rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson and attended by up to 150,000 people, according to police, Starmer also condemned attacks on police officers. The clashes left 26 officers injured, four seriously, and led to 24... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325505/uk-police-vow-further-arrests-after-violent-far-right-london-rally?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325505/uk-police-vow-further-arrests-after-violent-far-right-london-rally?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Sep 2025 13:23:37 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Clashes erupted on Saturday as more than 100,000 people turned out in central London for a rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, with police arresting nine people after facing “unacceptable violence” trying to control the crowds. The huge crowds, many draped in English and British flags, gathered from late morning in and around Westminster for what Robinson, a veteran of UK far-right organising, branded the country’s “biggest free speech festival”. Around 5,000 people turned out... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325441/1000-london-police-brace-simultaneous-anti-immigrant-anti-racism-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325441/1000-london-police-brace-simultaneous-anti-immigrant-anti-racism-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 10:36:39 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Three people are believed to have been crushed to death and three others were missing in two separate incidents as migrants attempted to cross the English Channel, French officials said on Wednesday. The latest tragedies, which took place in northern France overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday, bring the number of deaths this year linked to crossings in overcrowded dinghies to at least 23, according to official French data. Laurent Touvet, the top state official for the northern region of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325091/grim-night-english-channel-3-die-3-go-missing-trying-cross-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325091/grim-night-english-channel-3-die-3-go-missing-trying-cross-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:36:54 +0000 Reuters Reuters Homeland ministers from Britain, the United States and the other “Five Eyes” alliance will announce new measures this week to increase border security and target people smugglers, newly appointed British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Sunday. The ministers from the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network – the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – will meet in London on Monday and Tuesday, Britain’s Home Office said, with measures to “smash criminal smuggling gangs” the focus... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324674/five-eyes-ministers-discuss-targeting-people-smugglers-uk-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324674/five-eyes-ministers-discuss-targeting-people-smugglers-uk-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2025 20:37:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters British police said they arrested five people on Saturday after masked men tried to force their way into a hotel used by asylum seekers, a day after the government won a court ruling on the use of another hotel to house migrants. Two groups of anti-asylum protesters marched to the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Heathrow Airport before some demonstrators tried to break in, London’s Metropolitan Police force said. Two police officers suffered minor injuries, it said. “We understand strength of feeling on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323789/uk-police-arrest-5-men-hotel-near-london-during-anti-asylum-protest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323789/uk-police-arrest-5-men-hotel-near-london-during-anti-asylum-protest?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 20:27:27 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s anti-migration Reform UK party, announced a plan on Tuesday to repeal human rights laws to allow for mass deportations of asylum seekers, action he said was needed to prevent “major civil disorder”. Farage said his party, which is leading in national opinion polls, would remove Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), repeal the Human Rights Act and nullify other international treaties that have been used to block the forced deportation of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323259/uks-nigel-farage-unveils-plan-deport-asylum-seekers-warns-civil-disorder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323259/uks-nigel-farage-unveils-plan-deport-asylum-seekers-warns-civil-disorder?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:04:55 +0000 dpa dpa Protests continued in the United Kingdom on Sunday over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers as the government set out plans for a fast-track appeal process to speed up the removal of people with no right to be in the country. A group of protesters, some draped in the St George’s Cross flag, gathered outside a hotel in Birmingham, while in London police stood guard at another hotel in Canary Wharf. Ministers hope the overhaul of the asylum appeal process will make it easier to get people... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323004/asylum-hotel-protests-continue-uk-government-plans-new-fast-track-process?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3323004/asylum-hotel-protests-continue-uk-government-plans-new-fast-track-process?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Aug 2025 22:35:37 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A UK judge on Tuesday blocked asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in a town which has witnessed violent protests, dealing a blow to the government. The High Court judge approved a request by the local authority in Epping, northeast of London, for a temporary injunction to stop migrants from being housed at the Bell Hotel. The ruling, which came after the interior ministry was unsuccessful in trying to dismiss the case, raises questions about the government’s ability to provide... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322425/protest-hit-uk-town-wins-bid-empty-asylum-seeker-hotel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3322425/protest-hit-uk-town-wins-bid-empty-asylum-seeker-hotel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Aug 2025 17:42:23 +0000 Reuters,dpa Reuters,dpa British authorities arrested almost one in five people they checked in a week-long crackdown on migrants working illegally as delivery riders last month, the government’s interior ministry said on Saturday. Immigration enforcement officers stopped and questioned 1,780 individuals between July 20 and 27 and 280 people were arrested, the interior ministry said, adding asylum support was being reviewed for 53 of those detained. The operation was part of a push by the government to tackle illegal... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3321292/280-arrested-uk-cracks-down-illegal-delivery-riders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3321292/280-arrested-uk-cracks-down-illegal-delivery-riders?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Aug 2025 01:55:32 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A deal between London and Paris under which Britain can return some migrants who cross the Channel in small boats back to France will come into force on Tuesday, the UK Home Office announced. The agreement, which was struck between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron during the latter’s state visit to the UK last month, involves a “one in, one out” scheme to curb record levels of irregular Channel crossings. The two governments signed the final text last week, with the EU... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320742/uk-france-one-one-out-migrant-returns-deal-comes-effect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320742/uk-france-one-one-out-migrant-returns-deal-comes-effect?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Aug 2025 22:53:43 +0000 Reuters Reuters The United States and Rwanda have agreed for the African country to accept up to 250 migrants deported from the US, the spokesperson for the Rwandan government and an official told Reuters, as President Donald Trump’s administration takes a hardline approach toward immigration. The agreement, first reported by Reuters, was signed by US and Rwandan officials in Kigali in June, said the Rwandan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that Washington had already sent an initial list of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320741/rwanda-reaches-deal-us-take-250-migrants-african-nation-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320741/rwanda-reaches-deal-us-take-250-migrants-african-nation-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Aug 2025 22:35:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Further scuffles broke out at anti-immigration protests in Britain on Saturday, with police making several arrests. Demonstrators calling for mass “remigration” gathered in central Manchester, northwest England, at a march organised by the far-right “Britain First” group, which was confronted by anti-racism groups. Meanwhile in central London, rival demonstrators converged outside a hotel housing asylum seekers, following similar recent events that have occasionally turned violent. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320563/more-clashes-and-arrests-uk-immigration-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3320563/more-clashes-and-arrests-uk-immigration-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 20:16:58 +0000 Aisyah Llewellyn Aisyah Llewellyn It was a day Bibi Rahima Farhangdost feared might never come. After 11 years living in limbo in Indonesia as an Afghan refugee, she was finally on her way to a new life in Australia, boarding a flight to Tasmania at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on July 23. “Finally, it happened. I love Tasmania. The weather is a bit cold, but the air is fresh, and the people are nice in Australia,” she told This Week in Asia from her new home. Farhangdost is among a limited number of refugees... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320300/after-11-years-indonesian-limbo-afghan-refugee-finds-home-australia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3320300/after-11-years-indonesian-limbo-afghan-refugee-finds-home-australia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:00:10 +0000 dpa dpa A man has died after suffering a cardiac arrest on board a boat while attempting to reach the UK, French authorities have confirmed. A boat attempting to reach English shores turned back towards Equihen beach in northern France on Saturday morning. When it arrived at the beach, a man was found on board in a state of cardiac arrest, the Pas-de-Calais department’s sub-prefecture told the PA news agency. Despite emergency services intervening at the scene, the man died soon after. Later on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319723/man-dies-trying-sail-across-english-channel-critics-blast-deadly-costly-policies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319723/man-dies-trying-sail-across-english-channel-critics-blast-deadly-costly-policies?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 02:55:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Concern was mounting that recent violent anti-immigrant protests could herald a new summer of unrest, a year after the UK was rocked by its worst riots in decades. Police have arrested 16 people since protests flared last week outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in the town of Epping, northeast of London. In one demonstration, eight police officers were injured. The unrest was “not just a troubling one-off”, said the chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch. “It was a signal flare. A... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319569/uk-braces-potentially-volatile-summer-after-anti-immigrant-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3319569/uk-braces-potentially-volatile-summer-after-anti-immigrant-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2025 06:46:34 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reached a “one in, one out” migrant returns trial with French President Emmanuel Macron as they attempt to slash the number of people crossing the English Channel on dangerous small boats. Under the pilot programme announced on Thursday by Starmer, the UK will return a number of cross-channel migrants each week to France, with Britain accepting the same number of asylum seekers from France who have connections to the UK. While the British prime minister did not... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317770/uk-and-france-seal-one-one-out-deal-return-migrants-arriving-boats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317770/uk-and-france-seal-one-one-out-deal-return-migrants-arriving-boats?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 17:22:50 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Italians vote over two days starting Sunday on referendums that would make it easier for children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship and on providing more job protections. But apparent low public awareness risks rendering the vote invalid if turnout is not high enough. Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law say it will help second-generation Italians born in the country to non-European Union parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs. Italian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3313547/italians-vote-citizenship-labour-protection-referendums-amid-low-turnout-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3313547/italians-vote-citizenship-labour-protection-referendums-amid-low-turnout-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jun 2025 09:52:31 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press UK government figures Sunday showed nearly 1,200 migrants arrived in the country Saturday in small boats from France across the English Channel, the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year. The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats on Saturday in what were settled weather conditions, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811. That is 42 per cent higher than the same point last year, an increase that has piled pressure on the Labour... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3312675/number-migrants-reaching-uk-small-boats-single-day-hits-2025-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3312675/number-migrants-reaching-uk-small-boats-single-day-hits-2025-high?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Jun 2025 21:08:30 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain will spend a record £3 billion (US$4 billion) to boost training opportunities, the government said on Tuesday, part of a broader strategy to train locals to fill gaps in the labour market and reduce reliance on foreign workers. The investment will “refocus the skills landscape towards young, domestic talent” by creating 120,000 new training opportunities in key sectors such as construction, engineering, health and social care, and digital, a statement from the government’s education... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3311890/uk-spend-billions-job-training-cut-reliance-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3311890/uk-spend-billions-job-training-cut-reliance-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 May 2025 23:31:59 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Britain was talking with several countries to host rejected asylum seekers as they wait to be deported, the UK prime minister said Thursday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on a visit to Albania that the “return hub” concept was a “really important innovation” that could more effectively tackle irregular migration. He did not name the countries he was in discussions with or offer more details. Albania already had a five-year agreement with Italy to potentially shelter up to 36,000 migrants... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3310617/uk-talking-several-countries-set-return-hubs-rejected-asylum-seekers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3310617/uk-talking-several-countries-set-return-hubs-rejected-asylum-seekers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 May 2025 07:10:18 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Rwanda confirmed on Monday that discussions were “under way” with the United States regarding a potential agreement to host deported migrants. Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe on Sunday told state media that the talks were in the “early stage”. When asked by Associated Press on Monday, he confirmed the talks. Nduhungirehe did not disclose the specifics of the potential deal for Rwanda, but previous local media reports suggest that the US would be likely to fund a programme to have... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3309145/rwanda-initial-talks-us-over-migrant-deal-mirrors-past-uk-controversy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3309145/rwanda-initial-talks-us-over-migrant-deal-mirrors-past-uk-controversy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 May 2025 13:10:13 +0000 Reuters Reuters Britain will exclude foreign sex offenders from asylum protections, the government said on Monday in its latest effort to strengthen border security. Facing public anger at the number of asylum-seeking migrants coming to Britain and the cost of housing them, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has sought to deter illegal migration and speed up removal of those denied refugee status. The government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is passing through parliament,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3308275/uk-stop-foreign-sex-offenders-receiving-refugee-protections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3308275/uk-stop-foreign-sex-offenders-receiving-refugee-protections?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Apr 2025 22:02:49 +0000 The announcement on Easter Monday of Pope Francis’ death was met with genuine shock. Just weeks ago, he had been discharged from hospital, not with a clean bill of health but with guarded hope. On Easter Sunday, he met US Vice-President J.D. Vance, appeared on the balcony above Saint Peter’s Square to appeal yet again for peace and toured the square in his Popemobile. Now he is gone. A papacy of surprises ended with one last one, as sad as it is. His legacy is global and multidimensional. Much... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3307430/world-has-lost-pope-dedicated-poor-and-planet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3307430/world-has-lost-pope-dedicated-poor-and-planet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Protesters returned to the streets across Spain on Saturday in anger over high housing costs with no relief in sight. Thousands marched in the capital, Madrid, and over 30 other cities in a demonstration organised by housing activists and backed by Spain’s main trade unions. The housing crisis has hit particularly hard in Spain, where there is a strong tradition of home ownership and scant public housing for rent. Rents have been driven up by increased demand. Buying a home has become... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3305365/spaniards-protest-housing-crisis-hedge-funds-backing-short-term-rentals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3305365/spaniards-protest-housing-crisis-hedge-funds-backing-short-term-rentals?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Apr 2025 14:51:17 +0000 Libya’s suspension of 10 international humanitarian groups, part of a broader crackdown on African migrants, is aimed at masking domestic failures and securing external concessions, particularly from Europe, analysts have said. Libya’s Tripoli-based authorities announced on Wednesday a decision to suspend the Norwegian Refugee Council, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Terre des Hommes, CESVI and six other groups, accusing them of a plan to “settle migrants” from other parts of Africa in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3305357/libyas-crackdown-ngos-distraction-internal-failures-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3305357/libyas-crackdown-ngos-distraction-internal-failures-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Apr 2025 12:20:59 +0000 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that a lack of coordination between UK police and intelligence agencies is partly responsible for a surge in the number of migrants reaching the UK in small boats across the English Channel. At an international meeting on boosting border security and tackling people-smuggling, Starmer expressed frustration at the difficulty of stopping thousands of people a year risking the dangerous sea crossing from France. “We inherited this total... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304644/uks-starmer-blames-lack-joint-action-he-struggles-stop-migrants-crossing-channel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304644/uks-starmer-blames-lack-joint-action-he-struggles-stop-migrants-crossing-channel?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:47:03 +0000 Austria announced on Wednesday that it would pause family reunifications for those with asylum status from May, becoming the first in the European Union to do so. Several EU countries are mulling stopping or tightening the right for people, who cannot safely return to their home countries, to bring their families. But so far, no bloc member has a complete halt in place. Austria has already halted family reunification for Syrians since the ouster of Syria’s leader Bashar al-Assad last December,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304014/austria-be-first-eu-nation-stop-refugee-family-reunification?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3304014/austria-be-first-eu-nation-stop-refugee-family-reunification?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Mar 2025 14:01:11 +0000 Berlin police used force to break up a protest taking place inside a bus on Sunday in front of the far-right Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) national headquarters. A very loud siren was heard from the bus, a police spokesman said. Many residents were unsettled and made emergency calls and complaints to the police, the police said in a post on social media. The department said it had established the identity of three people involved in the incident. The bus is well-known as being part of protest... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3299839/police-berlin-break-protests-front-far-right-afds-headquarters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3299839/police-berlin-break-protests-front-far-right-afds-headquarters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Feb 2025 22:57:52 +0000