The European Commission will grant Turkey conditional approval for visa-free travel within the EU’s Schengen area, sources have told the BBC.The move is part of a deal in which Turkey has agreed to take back migrants who have crossed the…
Category: Migration
Pope visits refugees in Greece
Pope Francis has arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos to show support for refugees who are trying to reach northern Europe.The Pope is heading to a detention camp holding more than 3,000 people, some of whom may face deportation…
Bangladeshi maids abused in Middle East
Dozens of Bangladeshi maids lured with the promise of a good job in the Middle East are being tortured and raped by their employers.Around six months ago, a woman from Kurigram who went to Saudi Arabia as a housemaid, was…
EU to support reintegration of undocumented migrants after return
Dhaka – The European Union (EU) has offered cooperation to Bangladesh in designing a special programme for the reintegration of returnees as Bangladesh wants a ‘return and reintegration package’ for its ‘irregular’ migrants living in European countries, UNB news agency…
Dubai’s Taqdeer Award an excellent model in labour practices: ILO official
Taqdeer Award is an outstanding initiative to encourage employers to improve their employment practices and the award can well be a model for countries in the area to enhance their labour welfare steps, said asenior official from the International Labour…
3 Bangladeshis among 4 killed in Libya clash
Dhaka – Four people, including three Bangladeshis, were shot dead when unidentified gunmen fired shots on them in Benghazi, the second largest city of Libya, on Friday evening, said an official on Sunday.
Bangladeshi migrants among 150 held in Lesbos
A first group of 150 migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh late on Monday were transferred – handcuffed and under police escort – from the island’s registration centre to a passenger ferry that would take them to the mainland by early…
EU/Turkey: Contradictory positions on protection jeopardise refugees
Brussels – The European Union outline deal with Turkey announced on March 8, 2016, contradicts EU principles guaranteeing the right to seek asylum and against collective expulsions. EU and Turkish leaders meeting in Brussels announced an agreement in principle to…
Border restrictions violate 1951 Refugee Convention
By Thalif Deen In recent days, some countries are building barriers to limit the flow of refugees to Europe. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS United Nations (IPS) – When the United Nations commemorated “Zero Discrimination Day” on March 1, there was an…
Study indicates immigration not to blame for terrorism
Migration is overall not a source of terrorism, according to new research from the University of Warwick. In fact, the study indicates that more migration could create a decrease in the number of terrorist attacks, not an increase. The research…
NATO to fight against human smuggling
Nato ships are being deployed to the Aegean sea to deter people-smugglers taking migrants from Turkey to Greece, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg says.The announcement followed a request from Turkey, Germany and Greece at a defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels.Mr Stoltenberg…
New British envoy assures easing visa for Bangladeshis
New British High Commissioner Alison Blake has assured the foreign minister of her “cooperation” to make visa processing easier for Bangladeshis.She called on Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on Tuesday.The foreign ministry said the minister highlighted the role of Bangladesh…
Norway/Russia: Don’t Jeopardize Asylum Seekers
Norway should stop using fast-track procedures to return asylum seekers to Russia based on the presumption that it is a safe country of asylum for them, Human Rights Watch said today. Russian and Norwegian authorities plan to meet on February…
Zaha Hadid distances self on Qatar labour issue
by Neha Bhatia Meanwhile, Architect Zaha Hadid has reportedly distanced herself from the Qatari government’s 2022 FIFA World Cup preparations, saying the country should work on improving the rights of the migrant workers it employs. Hadid has designed Al Wakrah…
FIFA under pressure to reform
By Lasse Højstrup Sørensen Unions and the sporting goods industry have had enough of FIFA and demand a showdown with the past and reform of football’s governing body. At last week’s forum on the future of FIFA, held in the…
The coming wave of oil refugees
by Michael Meyer Nairobi – The idea that oil wealth can be a curse is an old one – and it should need no explaining. Every few decades, energy prices rise to the heavens, kicking off a scramble for new…
Right wing renaissance
By Hassanal Noor Rashid With 2016 still at its infancy, the beginning of the year has been marked with extraordinarily explosive events that may very well set the trend for the year and will continue to persist for a longer…
Qatar to recruit 3 lakh BD labour
Qatar has shown interest to recruit about three lakh overseas jobseekers from Bangladesh over the next two years.Qatar Administrative Development and Labour and Social Affairs Minister Issa Saad Al-Jafali Al-Nuaimi said this at a bilateral meeting with the visiting Bangladesh…
Refugee children missing in Europe
More than 10,000 unaccompanied refugee and migrant children have disappeared in Europe, the EU police agency Europol said on Sunday, fearing many have been whisked into sex trafficking rings or the slave trade.Europol’s press office confirmed to Al Jazeera the…
Sweden to expel up to 80,000 refugees
Sweden intends to expel as many as 80,000 refugees and migrants who arrived in 2015 and whose applications for asylum have been rejected.”We are talking about 60,000 people, but the number could climb to 80,000,” Interior Minister Anders Ygeman was…
Nepal fixes minimum wage for migrant workers in Oman
Muscat: Nepalese government has fixed minimum basic salary and food allowances for unskilled and domestic workers at OMR120 ($311) in Oman, according to a statement issued by the Nepalese Embassy in Muscat. “Those sponsors willing to recruit Nepalese workers through…
26 Bangladeshi ‘terrorists’ nabbed, deported from Singapore
Twenty-six Bangladeshis, who were arrested in Singapore earlier suspecting their involvement in terror groups, have been sent back home in batches in November and December last.There has been no case against them and they were the followers of Ahle Hadith…
Leave no refugee behind
Helen Clark and Filippo Grandi New York – The world has entered an era in which people are being displaced at an unprecedented rate. In 2014, conflict and persecution forced 42,500 people a day to flee their homes, nearly quadruple…
15 Bangladeshis rescued in Nicaragua
Police in Nicaragua have rescued 15 Bangladeshi migrants, who were wandering lost on a highway after their smugglers, according to local media reports, abandoned them.The men, aged between 18 and 33, were found on the highway El Crucero at San…
10,000 undocumented workers leave Bahrain under amnesty
Shahlaa Ahmed Bahrain: More than 10,000 ‘illegal’ (undocumented) foreign workers have left Bahrain within the last six months as part of a nationwide amnesty. The government-initiated amnesty, which ended on Thursday, allowed illegal expatriates a chance to return home or…
Int’l Migrants Day call: Guarantee migrant rights, protect them from abuses
On International Migrants Day this year we celebrate the extraordinary contributions that migrants make to societies all over the world. Migration flows today are at unprecedented levels: the number of people living and working outside their country of birth well…
Migrant Forum in Asia statement on Human Rights Day
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948, a momentous step forward in the recognition of the dignity of all human beings. Human Rights Day this…
2000 Bangladeshi migrants face uncertainty in Bahrain
Bahrain: At least 2,000 migrant workers living illegally in Bahrain are not covered under an amnesty that allows them to return home without penalties. These Bangladeshi men either have pending court cases, no legal documents, overstayed their visit visas, entered…
Banned expats to obtain work permit under Bahrain historic ruling
Manama: Expats with travel bans are to be allowed to obtain work permits under a historic new ruling. The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) announced on November 7 that it has reached an agreement with the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments…
Kafala replaced by job contract system in Qatar
Doha: The new law regulating entry, exit and residency of expatriates in Qatar has transformed the Kafala (sponsorship) system in the country into one controlled by employment contracts, a senior official of the Ministry of Interior has said. Addressing a…