The British government said it deplored an Israeli decision to appropriate a large swathe of land inside the occupied West Bank, saying the move would seriously damage Israel’s international reputation.

A ship brought 143 survivors, mostly Syrians, from a capsized smugglers’ boat to Malta today.

The UN refugee agency today said it is braced for a mass flight to neighbouring countries by civilians seeking to escape violence in Somalia.

THE UN refugee agency says 16 African migrants died and another 49 are missing presumed dead after trying to cross the Gulf of Aden in three boats.

ABOUT 100 migrants from Somalia are missing and feared drowned in the treacherous waters off the coast of Yemen after smugglers forced them overboard, Yemeni officials and the UN refugee agency said yesterday.

PAKISTAN yesterday dramatically increased the official death toll from the devastating earthquake that hit the north of the country last month to 73,276 and said it could rise further.

The UN refugee agency today backed the French decision to evict a group of refugees holed up in a Calais church and suggested they had been conned by people traffickers.