Hungary frees 777 foreigners convicted of people smuggling – statement
Budapest, HungaryReuters Hungary has in recent weeks freed 777 foreigners, mostly Serbian, Ukrainian and Romanian nationals, convicted of human-trafficking, the directorate of prisons said on Wednesday in a reply to Reuters questions. Citing overcrowded prisons, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government issued a decree in April allowing the release of foreign nationals convicted of people smuggling, […]
Ukrainian volunteers deliver bodies, and closure, to troops’ families
Yampil, UkraineReuters Combing the battlefields of eastern Ukraine, a group of volunteers have made it their mission to search for the bodies of fallen soldiers and return them to their families. Despite the daily horrors of their work, members of the “Black Tulip” organisation say they believe they are performing a good deed by giving […]
Ukrainian refugees feel welcome in Germany, 37 per cent keen to stay permanently: survey
Berlin, Germany Reuters The majority of the more than one million Ukrainians who fled to Germany after the Russian invasion feel welcome there and around 37 per cent would like to settle permanently or for several years, a government-backed survey said on Thursday. The poll of 11,225 refugees carried out jointly by several bodies, including […]
Europe’s south offers a warm welcome to energy migrants
Madrid, Spain/Lisbon, PortugalReuters Software developer Victor Varlamov logs in every morning to work on a sunny Spanish island off the coast of Africa after the prospect of steep heating bills and a winter made harsher by the Ukraine war drove him to leave his adoptive home in Poland. He is not alone in pursuing a […]
End “double standard approach” on refugees, UN expert urges Poland
Geneva, Swizterland/Warsaw, PolandReuters Polish authorities must stop locking up migrants near the Belarus border and put an end to their “very different” treatment of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian refugees, the UN Special Rapporteur on migrants’ rights said this week. Felipe Gonzalez Morales praised the actions of Polish authorities and citizens who have given protection and assistance […]
Essay: Russia’s mass kidnappings of Ukrainians are a page out of a wartime playbook – and evidence of genocide
In an article first published on The Conversation, ALEXANDER HINTON, director of the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at Rutgers University – Newark, says Russia’s forced relocation of Ukrainians is central to the case that Russia has committed genocide…
In pro-Russian Serbia, a few Russians and Ukrainians unite to oppose war
Belgrade, SerbiaReuters Each week about a dozen Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian expatriates opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meet local Serbs in a Belgrade cafe to discuss the war and plan protest rallies. Serbia’s open borders to Russia have made the Balkan country a destination for thousands of Russians, including some fleeing sanctions or conscription […]
Number of people illegally in EU grew 22 per cent in 2021 – Eurostat
Reuters The number of people found to be illegally present in the European Union increased by 22 per cent to reach nearly 700,000 in 2021, according to European statistics office data released on Thursday. Syrians made up the largest number, followed by Algerians and Afghans. The number of Afghans increased by about 55 per cent […]
In shadow of war, Russians and Ukrainians mark Easter in UAE
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates AP Hundreds of Russians and Ukrainians alike crowded into the only Russian Orthodox Church on the Arabian Peninsula on Sunday to celebrate the most important Christian religious festival of the year – far from home and in the shadow of a war that has brought devastation to Ukraine and international isolation […]
Camp of Ukrainians at the US-Mexico border swells, as more refugees arrive
Tijuana, Mexico Reuters Hundreds of Ukrainians are camping in the Mexican border city of Tijuana hoping to seek US asylum, a surge in arrivals just days after the Biden administration said the United States would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing from war. Many of the Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion of their home country […]