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EU Approves Major Revamp Of Migration, Asylum Rules

Published

1 year ago

April 11, 2024

Editor

After years of negotiations, the European Parliament has approved a major reform tightening the EU’s migration and asylum rules which has been in the works since 2015 and will come into force in two years’ time.

It is designed to speed up the asylum process and boost the return of irregular migrants to their home countries and will also require EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers.

2023 saw some 380,000 people illegally crossing the EU’s borders – the highest number since 2016.

The EU said the pact combined “mandatory solidarity” between member states with flexibility. Although some EU states remain opposed to parts of the agreement, it is expected to receive full approval at the end of April under majority voting.

Under the proposed rules, the EU’s 27 countries will be required to either take in thousands of migrants from “frontline” countries, such as Italy, Greece and Spain, or provide extra funding or resources instead.

The pact also says that asylum claims with “low chances of being accepted” should be examined rapidly, without necessarily admitting the applicant into EU territory.

The agreement also aims to deal with asylum requests within a maximum of 12 weeks. In case of rejection, asylum seekers would have to be returned forcibly to their home country within the same period.

Migrants will be subject to a toughened pre-entry screening procedure within seven days, which would include identification and health and security checks.

Biometric data for any migrant aged six or older will be collected and there will be a mechanism to respond to sudden increases in arrivals.

The migration pact has been backed by two main political groups – the centre-right European People’s Party Group (EPP Group) and the centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

Both groups are trying to fend off a strong challenge from the right in parliamentary elections in June.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised a “historic, indispensable step” and Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, said it struck a “balance between solidarity and responsibility”.

“It will not solve everything overnight but it is 10 giant leaps forward,” she said.

However, left-wing and far-right groups opposed the agreement.

Many NGOs also urged MEPs to vote down the reform, with Amnesty International warning the pact would lead to a “surge in suffering” for asylum seekers.

One common objection from NGOs is that asylum seekers with low chances of being accepted would have their claims processed either on small border islands or in detention facilities in frontline states, and have less access to fair procedures.

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

2 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

2 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

2 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP