About 1,000 people joined protests in Greece in support of migrants and refugees, as politicians met to decide how to handle an influx of migrants.
The protests came as interior ministers from five EU nations, including Greece, called for an automatic relocation system for migrants arriving in the bloc's southern Mediterranean nations.
Most of the migrants travelling to the EU on boats and dinghies from North Africa arrive in Italy, Spain, Malta, Cyprus and Greece. On Saturday, those governments said they needed more help.
The protesters in Athens demanded that their government does more to help the migrants, including rights to asylum, safety and education.
The migrants make harrowing journeys to reach Europe and many die – more than 1,200 last year – on the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.
The stretch of water is a major human trafficking route for migrants, who converge on Libya from across Africa and the Middle East, trying to reach Europe.
For the countries on the front line, it has become a political issue as well as a humanitarian one.
"We can no longer be punished for our geographical position. We can no longer be left to deal with irregular arrivals from third countries alone," said Byron Camilleri, Malta's Interior Minister.
"We can no longer be punished for saving lives at sea. Hopefully the joint position that we are highlighting today will serve as another step towards reaching a consensus, a consensus which is based on common sense, justice and European solidarity in practice."
The five nations said they wanted to establish an automatic and mandatory relocation mechanism, but have not yet released details of how it would work.
"We are interested in finding viable solutions within this migration pact but there must be an equitable sharing of responsibility between the 27 member states," said Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. "This cannot fall only on the states at the front line."
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
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