Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, is a formidable Category 4, the US National Hurricane Center said in an update late on Saturday downgrading the storm from Category 5 as the wind speed eased slightly.<\/p>\n
The storm was about 636km east of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 225kph, the NHC said, down from 160 mph.<\/p>\n
The NHC forecast Erin is moving toward the west-northwest at nearly 14 mph with a turn more northward expected to occur on Monday into Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The NHC said the meteorological service of France has discontinued the tropical storm watch for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, while the meteorological service of the Netherlands has discontinued the tropical storm watch for Sint Maarten.<\/p>\n
The NHC had previously said it expected Erin to strengthen into next week.<\/p>\n
The hurricane\u2019s center was forecast to pass north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico through Sunday and move to the east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas on Sunday night and Monday.<\/p>\n
The storm is expected to dump heavy rainfall through Sunday across the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the NHC said.<\/p>\n
Swells generated by Erin will affect portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands through the weekend, and the swells will spread to the Bahamas, Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States early in the coming week, it said.<\/p>\n
The Bahamas, which provides some meteorological services for the Turks and Caicos Islands, issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the British islands to its southeast.<\/p>\n
Erin has also raised concerns about wildfire risks if human-caused sparks ignite parched vegetation and strong dry winds fan the flames. BMS Group Senior Meteorologist Andrew Siffert said these conditions could arise if Erin grows into a powerful offshore storm fueled by colliding warm and cold air rather than tropical seas.<\/p>\n
Insurance-linked securities manager Twelve Securis said on Friday that Erin was forecast to remain far enough offshore to spare the US East Coast from significant impacts.<\/p>\n
Follow
\nTopics: weather
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\nFrom drought to floods, water extremes drive displacement in Afghanistan
\nFrom drought to floods, water extremes drive displacement in Afghanistan
\nUpdated 17 August 2025
\nAFP
\nAugust 17, 2025
\n06:05
\n52
\n Follow
\nAs if the displacement of Afghans by over 40 years of successive wars were not enough, climate change-fueled shocks now drive people from their homes and strain livelihoods
\nIn early 2025, nearly five million people across the country were impacted and nearly 400,000 people were displaced, the UN migration office said in July
\nKABUL, Afghanistan: Next to small bundles of belongings, Maruf waited for a car to take him and his family away from their village in northern Afghanistan, where drought-ridden land had yielded nothing for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have children and are responsible for their needs, then tell me, what are you still doing in this ruin?\u201d said the 50-year-old.<\/p>\n
Many of the mud homes around him are already empty, he said, his neighbors having abandoned the village, fleeing \u201cthirst, hunger and a life with no future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Successive wars displaced Afghans over 40 years, but peace has not brought total reprieve, as climate change-fueled shocks drive people from their homes and strain livelihoods.<\/p>\n
Since the war ended between the now-ruling Taliban and US-led forces in 2021, floods, droughts and other climate change-driven environmental hazards have become the main cause of displacement in the country, according to the UN\u2019s International Organization for Migration (IOM).<\/p>\n
In early 2025, nearly five million people across the country were impacted and nearly 400,000 people were displaced, the IOM said in July, citing its Climate Vulnerability Assessment.<\/p>\n
The majority of Afghans live in mud homes and depend heavily on agriculture and livestock, making them particularly exposed to environmental changes.<\/p>\n
This photograph taken on July 10, 2025 shows a hand pump near dilapidated dome-shaped traditional Afghan houses on a deserted street as chronic water scarcity stalks the drought-ridden village of Bolak in the Chahar Bolak district at Balkh province. (AFP)
\nThe water cycle has been sharply impacted, with Afghanistan again in the grip of drought for the fourth time in five years and flash floods devastating land, homes and livelihoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrop failure, dry pastures and vanishing water sources are pushing rural communities to the edge,\u201d the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in July.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s getting harder for families to grow food, earn income or stay where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts and Taliban officials have repeatedly warned of escalating climate risks as temperatures rise, extreme weather events intensify and precipitation patterns shift.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s limited infrastructure, endemic poverty and international isolation leave Afghans with few resources to adapt and recover \u2014 while already facing one of the world\u2019s worst humanitarian crises worsened by severe aid cuts.<\/p>\n
\u2018Everything comes down to water\u2019<\/p>\n
Abdul Jalil Rasooli\u2019s village in the drought-hit north has watched their way of life wither with their crops.<\/p>\n
Drought already drove many from his village to Pakistan and Iran a decade ago.<\/p>\n
Now they\u2019ve returned, forced back over the border along with more than four million others from the two neighboring countries since late 2023 \u2014 but to work odd jobs, not the land.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything comes down to water,\u201d said the 64-year-old, retreating from the day\u2019s heat in the only home in the village still shaded by leafy trees.<\/p>\n
\u201cWater scarcity ruins everything, it destroys farming, the trees are drying up, and there\u2019s no planting anymore,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Rasooli holds out hope that the nearby Qosh Tepa canal will bring irrigation from the Amu Darya river. Diggers are carving out the last section of the waterway, but its completion is more than a year away, officials told AFP.<\/p>\n
Damaged mattress and pillows are pictured in a flash flood affected area in Nirkh district, Maidan Wardak province, AFghanistan, on July 2, 2025. (AFP)
\nIt\u2019s one of the water infrastructure projects the Taliban authorities have undertaken since ousting the foreign-backed government four years ago.<\/p>\n
But the theocratic government, largely isolated on the global stage over its restrictions on women, has limited resources to address a crisis long exacerbated by poor environmental, infrastructure and resource management during 40 years of conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe measures we have taken so far are not enough,\u201d Energy and Water Minister Abdul Latif Mansoor told journalists in July, rattling off a list of dam and canal projects in the pipeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of droughts… this is Allah\u2019s will, first we must turn to Allah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamayoun Amiri left for Iran when he was a young man and drought struck his father\u2019s small plot of land in western Herat province.<\/p>\n
Forced to return in a June deportation campaign, he found himself back where he started 14 years ago \u2014 with nothing to farm and his father\u2019s well water \u201cgetting lower and lower every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Harirud river was a dry bed in July as it neared the border with downstream Iran, following a road lined with empty mud buildings pummelled back to dust by the province\u2019s summer gales.<\/p>\n
Praying for rain<\/p>\n
Taliban authorities often hold prayers for rain, but while the lack of water has parched the land in some parts of the country, changes in precipitation patterns mean rains can be more of a threat than a blessing.<\/p>\n
This year, rains have come earlier and heavier amid above-average temperatures, increasing flood risks, the UN said.<\/p>\n
A warmer atmosphere holds more water, so rain often comes in massive, destructive quantities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weather has changed,\u201d said Mohammad Qasim, a community leader of several villages in central Maidan Wardak battered by flash floods in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m around 54 years old, and we have never experienced problems like this before,\u201d he told AFP in the riverbed full of boulders and cracked mud.<\/p>\n
Eighteen-year-old Wahidullah\u2019s family was displaced after their home was damaged beyond repair and all their livestock were drowned.<\/p>\n
The family of 11 slept in or near a rudimentary tent on high ground, with no plans or means to rebuild.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re worried that if another flood comes, then there will be nothing left and nowhere to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nTopics: Afghanistan climate change Taliban
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\nThree Republican-led states to send hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington
\nThree Republican-led states to send hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington
\nUpdated 17 August 2025
\nAP
\nAugust 17, 2025
\n05:50
\n26
\n Follow
\nWest Virginia said it was deploying 300 to 400 Guard troops, while South Carolina pledged 200 and Ohio says it will send 150 in the coming days
\nBy adding outside troops to the existing D.C. Guard deployment and federal law enforcement presence, Trump is exercising even tighter control over the city
\nWASHINGTON: Three Republican-led states said Saturday that they were deploying hundreds of National Guard members to the nation\u2019s capital to bolster the Trump administration\u2019s effort to overhaul policing in Washington through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness.<\/p>\n
West Virginia said it was deploying 300 to 400 Guard troops, while South Carolina pledged 200 and Ohio says it will send 150 in the coming days, marking a significant escalation of the federal intervention.<\/p>\n
The moves came as protesters pushed back on federal law enforcement and National Guard troops fanning out in the heavily Democratic city following President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order federalizing local police forces and activating about 800 District of Columbia National Guard members.<\/p>\n
By adding outside troops to the existing D.C. Guard deployment and federal law enforcement presence, Trump is exercising even tighter control over the city. It\u2019s a power play that the president has justified as an emergency response to crime and homelessness, even though city officials have noted that violent crime is lower than it was during Trump\u2019s first term in office.<\/p>\n
National Guard members have played a limited role in the federal intervention so far, and it\u2019s unclear why additional troops are needed. They have been patrolling at landmarks like the National Mall and Union Station and assisting law enforcement with tasks including crowd control.<\/p>\n
National Guard members are coming from West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio<\/p>\n
The Republican governors of the three states said they were sending hundreds of troops at the request of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said he directed 300 to 400 Guard troops to head to Washington, adding that the state \u201cis proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation\u2019s capital.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said he authorized the deployment of 200 of his state\u2019s National Guardsmen to help law enforcement in Washington at the Pentagon\u2019s request. He noted that if a hurricane or other natural disaster strikes, they would be recalled.<\/p>\n
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he would send 150 military police from the Guard to \u201ccarry out presence patrols and serve as added security\u201d and that they were expected to arrive in the coming days. His statement said Army Secretary Dan Driscoll requested the troops.<\/p>\n
The activations suggest the Trump administration sees the need for additional manpower after the president personally played down the need for Washington to hire more police officers.<\/p>\n
Protest pushes back on federal crackdown in Washington<\/p>\n
A protest against Trump\u2019s intervention drew scores to Dupont Circle on Saturday before a march to the White House, about 1.5 miles away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said, \u201cNo fascist takeover of D.C.,\u201d and some in the crowd held signs saying, \u201cNo military occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morgan Taylor, one of the protest organizers, said they were hoping to spark enough backlash to Trump\u2019s actions that the administration would be forced to pull back on its crime and immigration agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hot, but I\u2019m glad to be here. It\u2019s good to see all these people out here,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t believe that this is happening in this country at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fueling the protests were concerns about Trump overreaching and that he had used crime as a pretext to impose his will on Washington.<\/p>\n
John Finnigan, 55, was taking a bike ride when he ran into the protest in downtown Washington. The real estate construction manager who has lived in the capital for 27 years said Trump\u2019s moves were \u201cridiculous\u201d because crime is down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully, some of the mayors and some of the residents will get out in front of it and try and make it harder for it to happen in other cities,\u201d Finnigan said.<\/p>\n
Jamie Dickstein, a 24-year-old teacher, said she was \u201cvery uncomfortable and worried\u201d for the safety or her students given the \u201cunmarked officers of all types\u201d now roaming Washington and detaining people.<\/p>\n
Dickstein said she turned out to the protest with friends and relatives to \u201cprevent a continuous domino effect going forward with other cities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surge of federal law enforcement in Washington draws mixed reactions<\/p>\n
Federal agents have appeared in some of the city\u2019s most highly trafficked neighborhoods, garnering a mix of praise, pushback and alarm from local residents and leaders across the country.<\/p>\n
City leaders, who are obliged to cooperate with Trump\u2019s order under the federal laws that direct the district\u2019s local governance, have sought to work with the administration, though they have bristled at the scope of the president\u2019s takeover.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the administration reversed course on an order that aimed to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an \u201cemergency police commissioner\u201d after the district\u2019s top lawyer sued.<\/p>\n
After a court hearing, Trump\u2019s attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo directing the Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law.<\/p>\n
City officials say they are evaluating how to best comply.<\/p>\n
In his order Monday, Trump declared an emergency due to the \u201ccity government\u2019s failure to maintain public order.\u201d He said that impeded the \u201cfederal government\u2019s ability to operate efficiently to address the nation\u2019s broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that \u201cour limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that if Washington residents stick together, \u201cwe will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy \u2014 even when we don\u2019t have full access to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nTopics: Washington Washington D.C. Donald Trump
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\nTrump drops Ukraine ceasefire demand after Putin summit
\nTrump drops Ukraine ceasefire demand after Putin summit
\nUpdated 17 August 2025
\nAFP
\nAugust 17, 2025
\n03:21
\n144
\n Follow
\nTrump expressed support for a proposal by Putin to take full control of two largely Russian-held Ukrainian regions
\nIn exchange, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the Black Sea port region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine
\nWASHINGTON: Donald Trump on Saturday dropped his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine in favor of pursuing a full peace accord \u2014 a major shift announced hours after his summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin yielded no clear breakthrough.<\/p>\n
Prior to the high-stakes meeting in Alaska, securing an immediate cessation of hostilities had been a core demand of Trump \u2014 who had threatened \u201csevere consequences\u201d on Russia \u2014 and European leaders, including Ukraine\u2019s Volodymyr Zelensky, who will now visit Washington on Monday.<\/p>\n
The shift away from ceasefire would seem to favor Putin, who has long argued for negotiations on a final peace deal \u2014 a strategy that Ukraine and its European allies have criticized as a way to buy time and press Russia\u2019s battlefield advances.<\/p>\n
Trump spoke with Zelensky and European leaders on his flight back to Washington, saying afterward that \u201cit was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement which would end the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ceasefire agreements \u201coften times do not hold up,\u201d Trump added on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n
Complicated<\/p>\n
This new development \u201ccomplicates the situation,\u201d Zelensky said Saturday.<\/p>\n
If Moscow lacks \u201cthe will to carry out a simple order to stop the strikes, it may take a lot of effort to get Russia to have the will to implement far greater \u2014 peaceful coexistence with its neighbors for decades,\u201d he said on social media.In the call, Trump expressed support for a proposal by Putin to take full control of two largely Russian-held Ukrainian regions in exchange for freezing the frontline in two others, an official briefed on the talks told AFP.<\/p>\n
Putin \u201cde facto demands that Ukraine leave Donbas,\u201d an area consisting of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, the source said.<\/p>\n
In exchange, Russian forces would halt their offensive in the Black Sea port region of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, where the main cities are still under Ukrainian control.<\/p>\n
Several months into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia in September 2022 claimed to have annexed all four Ukrainian regions even though its troops still do not fully control any of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ukrainian president refused to leave Donbas,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n
Trump notably also said the United States was prepared to provide Ukraine security guarantees, an assurance German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed as \u201csignificant progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there was a scathing assessment of the summit outcome from the European Union\u2019s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, who accused Putin of seeking to \u201cdrag out negotiations\u201d with no commitment to end the bloodshed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war any time soon,\u201d Kallas said.<\/p>\n
Onus now on Zelensky<\/p>\n
The main diplomatic focus now switches to Zelensky\u2019s talks at the White House on Monday.<\/p>\n
An EU source told AFP that a number of European leaders had also been invited to attend.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian president\u2019s last Oval Office visit in February ended in an extraordinary shouting match, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berating Zelensky for not showing enough gratitude for US aid.<\/p>\n
Zelensky said Saturday after a \u201csubstantive\u201d conversation with Trump about the Alaska summit that he looked forward to his Washington visit and discussing \u201call of the details regarding ending the killing and the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview with broadcaster Fox News after his sit-down with Putin, Trump had suggested that the onus was now on Zelensky to secure a peace deal as they work toward an eventual trilateral summit with Putin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
\u2018Coalition of the willing\u2019 <\/p>\n
The leaders of France, Britain and Germany are due to host a video call Sunday for their so-called \u201ccoalition of the willing\u201d to discuss the way forward.<\/p>\n
In an earlier statement, they welcomed the plan for a Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit but added that they would maintain pressure on Russia in the absence of a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine raged on, with Kyiv announcing Saturday that Russia had launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile during the night.<\/p>\n
Back in Moscow, Putin said his summit talks with Trump had been \u201ctimely\u201d and \u201cvery useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his post-summit statement in Alaska, Putin had warned Ukraine and European countries not to engage in any \u201cbehind-the-scenes intrigues\u201d that could disrupt what he called \u201cthis emerging progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Follow
\nTopics: Ukraine-Russia war Trump-Putin meeting Volodymyr Zelensky
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\nUpdate 511Trump says Ukraine has \u2018gotta make a deal\u2019 after summit with Putin yields no ceasefirevideo
\nTrump says Ukraine has \u2018gotta make a deal\u2019 after summit with Putin yields no ceasefire
\n 752Trump-Putin summit yields no deal on ending war in Ukrainevideo
\nTrump-Putin summit yields no deal on ending war in Ukraine
\nUS suspends visas for Gazans after far-right influencer posts
\nUS suspends visas for Gazans after far-right influencer posts
\nUpdated 17 August 2025
\nAFP
\nAugust 17, 2025
\n02:36
\n203
\n Follow
\nThe Palestine Children\u2019s Relief Fund, a US-based charity, called on the Trump administration to \u201creverse this dangerous and inhumane decision\u201d
\nWASHINGTON: The US government said Saturday it is suspending visitor visas for Gazans after a far-right influencer with the ear of President Donald Trump complained that wounded Palestinians had been allowed to seek medical treatment in the United States.<\/p>\n
The announcement came one day after a series of furious social media posts by Laura Loomer, who is known for promoting racist conspiracy theories and claiming that the 9\/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days,\u201d the State Department, which is led by Marco Rubio, wrote on X.<\/p>\n
In a series of posts on X Friday, Loomer called on the State Department to stop giving visas to Palestinians from Gaza who she said were \u201cpro-HAMAS… affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and funded by Qatar,\u201d without providing evidence.<\/p>\n
Loomer\u2019s target was the US-based charity HEAL Palestine, which said last week it had helped 11 critically wounded Gazan children \u2014 as well as their caregivers and siblings \u2014 arrive safely in the US for medical treatment.<\/p>\n
It was \u201cthe largest single medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the US,\u201d the charity said on its website.<\/p>\n
\u201cTruly unacceptable,\u201d Loomer wrote in another X post. \u201cSomeone needs to be fired at @StateDept when @marcorubio figures out who approved the visas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQatar transported these GAZANS into the US via @qatarairways,\u201d she said. Qatar is \u201cliterally flooding our country with jihadis,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Loomer said she had spoken to the staff of Republican Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, adding that they were \u201calso looking into how these GAZANS got visas to come into the US.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republican Congressman Randy Fine explicitly commended Loomer after the visa change was announced, in a sign of her sway over some US policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cMassive credit needs to be given to @LauraLoomer for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura,\u201d Fine wrote on X.<\/p>\n
The Palestine Children\u2019s Relief Fund, a US-based charity, called on the Trump administration to \u201creverse this dangerous and inhumane decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the last 30 years the charity has evacuated thousands of Palestinian children to the US for medical care, it said a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical evacuations are a lifeline for the children of Gaza who would otherwise face unimaginable suffering or death due to the collapse of medical infrastructure in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Loomer holds no official position, she wields significant power, and is reported to have successfully pushed for the dismissal of several senior US security officials she deemed disloyal to Trump.<\/p>\n
In July, Loomer took aim at a job offer made to a highly qualified Biden-era official for a prestigious position at the West Point military academy. The Pentagon rescinded the offer one day later.<\/p>\n
Trump also fired the head of the highly sensitive National Security Agency, Timothy Haugh, and his deputy Wendy Noble in April at the apparent urging of Loomer, after she met with the president at the White House.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo other content creator or journalist has gotten as many Biden holdovers fired from the Trump admin!\u201d Loomer posted on X Saturday.<\/p>\n
Follow
\nTopics: Gazans United States US Visas Laura Loomer
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\n 135UK must bring sick, injured children from Gaza \u2018without delay,\u2019 MPs say
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\n 170Young Gaza woman flown to Italy for treatment, dies
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\nAs security tightens, migrants take more risks to reach Europe
\nAs security tightens, migrants take more risks to reach Europe
\nUpdated 17 August 2025
\nReuters
\nAugust 17, 2025
\n00:20
\n104
\n Follow
\nExperts say migrants are adapting to stricter EU measures at borders and becoming more reliant on smugglers and newer, often more dangerous routes
\nLONDON: The number of people arriving illegally in Europe has fallen in 2025, but experts warn that irregular migration will persist as conflict and economic hardship intensify and migrants forge new pathways to avoid tougher security measures.<\/p>\n
Arrivals fell by 20 percent in the first six months of the year, continuing 2024\u2019s downward trend, according to the EU\u2019s border agency Frontex, which credited the drop to increased cooperation with transit countries.<\/p>\n
Since 1 million people entered Europe irregularly during the so-called migrant crisis in 2015, the EU has taken an increasingly tough stance on illicit arrivals.<\/p>\n
However, experts say migrants are adapting to stricter EU measures at borders and becoming more reliant on smugglers and newer, often more dangerous routes.<\/p>\n
While overall numbers are down, arrivals have not decreased across every route to Europe, and new corridors have emerged as migrants and smugglers adapt. \u201cAs one route declines, others usually surge or re-emerge,\u201d said Jennifer Vallentine, an expert at the Mixed Migration Center, a research organization.<\/p>\n
Irregular crossings dropped to 240,000 in 2024 after surpassing 300,000 in 2022 and 2023 for the first time since 2016.<\/p>\n
Amid the downward trend, a new Mediterranean Sea corridor between Libya and Greece has emerged, with more than 7,000 people arriving in Crete this year.<\/p>\n
The Greek government has proposed a new law to criminalize illegal entry and impose a temporary ban on asylum applications.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarsh restrictions won\u2019t stop the need and desire to migrate, and with irregular migration the only option for some, smuggler services will stay in demand,\u201d said Vallentine.<\/p>\n
The main irregular entry points across the Mediterranean and over the Greek-Turkish land border have remained consistent over the last decade.<\/p>\n
But activity on specific routes has fluctuated as people try to avoid increasing surveillance and border controls, according to experts. The EU has sought to shutter access at key entry points, said Helena Hahn, an expert at the European Policy Center think tank.<\/p>\n
The bloc has struck deals with Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, key departure points for crossing the Mediterranean, bolstering the countries\u2019 border forces with speed boats and surveillance and offering cash in exchange for preventing illegal migration.<\/p>\n
\u201cCooperation with North African countries has certainly played a role in reducing arrivals,\u201d said Hahn.<\/p>\n
Arrivals across the Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy and Malta decreased by 58 percent from 2023 to 2024, which the International Organization for Migration attributed to more boats being stopped at sea and migrants returned to Libya and Algeria.<\/p>\n
But the organization also said the EU-North Africa partnerships contribute to increased activity on the Atlantic Ocean route from West Africa to the Canary Islands.<\/p>\n
The Central Mediterranean route emerged as the sea\u2019s busiest after the EU struck a deal with Turkiye in 2016, paying Ankara \u20ac6 billion ($6.95 billion) to care for Syrians who had fled their country\u2019s civil war.<\/p>\n
Turkiye also agreed to \u201ctake any necessary measures\u201d to block new illegal routes into the EU.<\/p>\n
Over the last decade, Europe has spent billions on surveillance systems and detection equipment and has posted Frontex staff at its external and internal borders.<\/p>\n
The Western Balkan Route that connects arrivals in Greece with Western Europe via an arduous journey through the Balkan states has been a target of these efforts and last year, Frontex reported detections of irregular crossings on the route had dropped by 78 percent from 2023.<\/p>\n
But the IRC only recorded a 16 percent drop over the same time period, which the organization said suggests people are traveling more covertly to avoid detection. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of deterrence, but it just makes people take more dangerous routes,\u201d said Martha Roussou, a senior advocacy adviser at the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian charity.<\/p>\n
Migrants are paying smugglers higher fees and traveling more quickly by night, stopping less often to seek help, according to the IRC.<\/p>\n
The EU is set to triple its spending on borders in the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework to \u20ac81 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Europe\u2019s) reactive approach fails to acknowledge migration as both inevitable and beneficial,\u201d said Vallentine.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil regular and accessible pathways are established, we will continue to see irregular migration \u2014 and smuggling networks will continue to adapt to facilitate it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hurricane Erin, the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, is a formidable Category 4, the US National Hurricane Center said in an update late on Saturday downgrading the storm from Category 5 as the wind speed eased slightly. The storm was about 636km east of Grand Turk Island packing maximum sustained winds of 225kph, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":85508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85509,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85507\/revisions\/85509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}