International Organization for Migration

There is a high biohazard in the Sudanese capital Khartoum after one of the warring sides seized a laboratory that stored measles and cholera pathogens and other dangerous materials, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today.

At least 25 migrants from Africa have died and 15 others are missing after a boat carrying them to Europe sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia, authorities said.

After locals in the town of Bihac in northwest Bosnia protested against plans to relocate migrants and refugees from the torched Lipa camp to the Bira centre, inside the town, Bosnia ordered its armed forces to set up new tents in the Lipa camp where the migrants can stay until the winter adaptation of the camp is completed.

About 1,000 migrants and refugees who have lingered at the site of the burned camp will now over-winter in what was formerly the largest migrant centre in Bosnia.

The decision concludes a several-day search for solutions to the emergency situation that arose after migrants torched the Lipa camp as it was about to close.

International Migrants Day is a global event observed on December 18. The day recognizes the importance of protecting the rights and dignity of migrants around the world. Throughout history, humans have migrated from place to place in search of a better life and a promise of the future. The migrants arrive at new places and enrich the existing communities.

The arrival of migrants dropped 91 pct in May compared with the same month last year, according to data released by the Migration Policy Ministry on Thursday.

On four islands (Chios, Samos, Leros, Kos) there were no arrivals last month.

The Migration Ministry said Friday that it had "no knowledge" of a report by an international organization castigating its policy on and handling of migration, responding to a news story published in Kathimerini, though it failed to respond to the issues raised in the document.

An accommodation facility in the town of Kranidi, in southern Greece, was placed in lockdown for two weeks on Tuesday after three more migrants tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Greek health authorities said Tuesday.

The only people who will be allowed in the hotel are its employees, healthcare professionals and police and military officials.

A total of 150 people in an accommodation facility in the town of Kranidi, in southern Greece, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, Deputy Civil Protection Minister Nikos Hardalias told jousnalists after visiting the site on Tuesday.

Hardalias said 148 of these are refugees, one is an employee, and one is an aid worker. All patients are asymptomatic, he said.

An asylum seeker living at a Greek refugee facility has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, reports said Monday.