Ionian League

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) urged Greece on Feb. 7 to increase efforts to address "alarming" overcrowding and precarious conditions for asylum seekers and migrants staying on the five Aegean islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros.

"On Samos, the system has collapsed," a team from the Greek National Commission for Human Rights concluded in a recent report following a visit to the eastern Aegean island. This is what it says in its official statement; what it's trying to say unofficially, though, is that the state has collapsed.

The regional governor of the Northern Aegean, Kostas Moutzouris submitted a new call on Wednesday to declare a state of emergency on three islands, following two days of protest marches by asylum seekers demanding better living conditions and a quicker asylum procedure, and attacks by extremists in Lesvos.

The Greek government's response to the accumulated indignation reflected in the large protest rallies on the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos in the northern Aegean on Wednesday, where residents and business owners protested against the creation of new more restrictive reception centers and the overcrowding at the existing camps, cannot just be a demagogic appeasement involving conciliatory r

Mayors of three Greek islands bearing the brunt of intensely overcrowded refugee and migrant camps demanded the transfer of thousands to the country's mainland during a meeting with the new migration minister in Athens on Thursday.

A meeting between Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis and officials from the three Greek Aegean islands hosting the largest number of refugees and migrants concluded with an initiative to hold regular meetings to examine developments on the islands and inform them on the government's plans.

Following a day of protests on Lesvos, Chios and Samos against the mounting pressure of irregular migration on the islands, the regional governor for the Northern Aegean, Kostas Moutzouris, and the mayors of the three islands are due in Athens on Thursday to deliver a petition to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis calling for a swift resolution to the problem. 

Residents of the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos on Wednesday held public protests against what they said is the negative impact of the migration crisis on their communities and on North Aegean islands at large, which is home to the most congested reception and identification facilities - also known as hotspots.

Local residents, business owners and officials have launched a day of protest on the Greek islands hardest hit by migration, demanding that the Greek government ease the severe overcrowding at refugee camps.

Academy award-winning actors Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas embarked on a world tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their marriage, having arrived in Istanbul on Jan. 3 following an Africa journey.