Refugee crisis: latest news from across Europe (2)
Country/Region
01 January 2017
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GREECE: Migrant dies of hypothermia as gov't tries to improve camps (ekathimerini, link):
"As authorities seek to improve living conditions for migrants at reception centers around the country amid forecasts of another cold snap later this week, a 20-year-old Afghan man died of hypothermia early on Tuesday after crossing the Evros River in northern Greece.
The man’s body was found in a field near the Greek border town of Didymoteicho after police were alerted by another Afghan who said he had traveled with him across the river.
Temperatures in the area plunged to -14 Celsius (7 Fahrenheit) on Monday night and are expected to drop even further from Thursday."
German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere has announced a series of proposals that revolve around giving the German federal government more power over security agencies, cyber attacks, policing and deportations; permitting the deployment of the military internally; expanding the scope of the proposed EU Entry/Exit System and loosening the the EU definition of "safe third countries".
FINLAND: Nerg: Finnish authorities concerned about security risk posed by illegal immigrants (Helsinki Times, link):
"Unsuccessful asylum seekers who choose to stay in the country illegally have raised concerns among security authorities in Finland, reveals Päivi Nerg, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of the Interior."
Asylum applications in Finland plunged in 2016 (YLE, link):
"The Finnish Immigration Service reports that around 5,600 people applied for asylum in Finland in 2016, a significantly lower figure than the 32,500 applicants who arrived in 2015. Some 9,000 pending applications are currently being transferred from the auspices of the police department to those of the Immigration Service - and the transition will likely slow down processing times, the agency said."
MEDITERRANEAN: Members of a Spanish NGO rescued 112 refugees who were traveling on an overcrowded rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea (AJ+ on Twitter, link). The NGO in question is Proactiva Open Arms (link).
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