Refugee

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday announced $1 billion in aid for Lebanon during a visit to the crisis-hit country and urged it to tackle illegal migration to the bloc.

The European Union has already agreed deals with Tunisia, Mauritania and other countries to stem flows of irregular migrants.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in collaboration with partners, is launching today the Compass Bulgaria Network of Protection and Inclusion Centres, a joint initiative in six refugee-hosting cities in Bulgaria spanning Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna, Dobrich, and Ruse.

Attacks against migrants, refugees and LGBT people in Greece surged to their highest level in nearly a decade last year, a report by the Athens-based Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) has found.

The network recorded 158 attacks in 2023, up from 74 in 2022. Of those, 89 targeted migrants, refugees or asylum seekers and 61 targeted LGBT people, it said.

The U.N. called Tuesday on Britain to reconsider plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, warning it threatened the rule of law and set "a perilous precedent globally".

The U.K. government's controversial Rwanda scheme has been beset by legal challenges since 2022, but was passed by parliament late on Monday after a marathon tussle between the upper and lower chambers.

A week after Cyprus suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians due to a sharp increase in arrivals, the president of the Mediterranean island, Nikos Christodoulides, warned that the EU country cannot accommodate more refugees from the war-torn country.

Linguistic similarities, high levels of education, labour market shortages, the mobilisation of national and EU resources, civil society involvement, and close cultural ties have helped Ukrainian refugees to find temporary employment in the EU and Norway. However, there remain barriers in accessing longer-term employment and public services, in particular housing.

A recent police operation conducted in refugee centers across Sofia resulted in the detention of six foreigners, as announced by the Ministry of the Interior. The operation, which took place last night, targeted accommodation facilities in the "Ovcha Kupel," "Voenna Rampa," and "Vrazhdebna" districts, with a total of 680 individuals subjected to checks.

In a decisive move, the Bulgarian Parliament has approved a measure to bolster security at all centers for migrants and refugees under the jurisdiction of the State Agency for Refugees. The decision, reached in the second reading, signifies a concerted effort to enhance safety and stability amidst growing concerns over incidents involving foreign citizens.

In response to the deteriorating conditions at the refugee accommodation center in Sofia's "Ovcha Kupel" district, the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers has announced a phased redistribution plan.

Petar Todorov, the former Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has issued a stark warning regarding the anticipated increase in migrant pressure on Bulgaria starting next month.