Serbia detains 2 smuggling suspects, 71 migrants[Ynet] Serbian authorities say that joint police and army patrols have caught 71 migrants and arrested two people smugglers who transported them in vans and cars. A police statement said Thursday that a vehicle carrying 50 migrants was stopped near the border with Bulgaria, while 21 were caught farther west. The two drivers were detained.
Serbian officials said Thursday that migrant pressure on the Balkan country's borders has increased in the past two weeks, with more than 7,500 migrants attempting to cross from Bulgaria and Macedonia since mid-July.
Hungary seeks to aid persecuted Christians around the world
[Ynet] Hungary says it is setting up a special department to coordinate the assistance and rescue of persecuted Christians around the world. Janos Lazar, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, said Thursday that the 10-person office will seek to organize international aid for persecuted Christians when the work of private and nonprofit groups proves insufficient.
Lazar says the new department within the Ministry of Human Resources was inspired by a recent trip the prime minister took to Rome, where he met with representatives of Eastern Christian churches. Lazar says the meetings made clear "there would be a great need for European government organizations to take this issue more seriously." Orban has said that taking in large numbers of Muslim refugees will destroy Europe's Christian identity.
Refugees seek damages from Macedonia over police expulsions
[Ynet] Eight asylum seekers are taking legal action against Macedonia for expelling them back to Greece after a chaotic mass border crossing earlier this year. The migrant advocacy group ProAsyl said it helped the group file a complaint Monday with the Council of Europe's Court of Human Rights. Karl Kopp of the Frankfurt, Germany-based group said Thursday that the asylum seekers were from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. He did not disclose their names.
Kosovo Islamic party leader charged with incitement
[Ynet] Prosecutors in Kosovo have brought charges against the leader of the country's only Islamic political party, accusing him of inciting viewers to resist state authority during a television broadcast two years ago. Charges were also filed against four imams in the predominantly secular Muslim state, where authorities are concerned about militant Islamist recruitment after more than 300 people left in recent years to fight in Syria and Iraq.
In a 2014 television broadcast, Fuad Ramiqi, leader of the then recently-founded LISBA party, criticised authorities over the arrest of several imams on incitement charges and said: "We will not remain idle in the face of terror."
Scuffles on Greek Island over Overcrowded Migrant Camp
[AnNahar] Scuffles broke out on the Greek island of Chios, police said Thursday, during a protest by locals demanding the departure of some 3,500 refugees and migrants held there. Riot police were deployed late on Wednesday to keep a crowd of 800 people from approaching two migrant camps, a police source told Agence France Presse.
There are now over 60,000 refugees and migrants in Greece, most of them seeking to travel to Germany and other affluent EU countries. But they are unable to do so after a succession of eastern European and Balkan states shut their borders earlier this year.
Brawls are common in the eastern Aegean island camps facing Turkey, with many desperate to avoid being returned to Turkey or their home countries after spending a small fortune and risking their lives trying to escape poverty and persecution. Another row between African and Afghan migrants broke out late on Wednesday in a camp on the island of Lesbos, ANA said.
235,000 Migrants Ready to Head from Libya to Italy
[AnNahar] Some 235,000 migrants in Libya are ready to make the dangerous Mediterranean crossing to Italy as soon as the opportunity arises, UN envoy Martin Kobler said in an interview published Thursday.
According to Italy's interior ministry, nearly 128,400 migrants have arrived via the Mediterranean since the start of the year -- which is a five percent jump over the same period in 2015.
Belgium Seeks Shopkeeper Help in Foiling Attacks
[AnNahar] Belgian authorities are preparing guidelines for shopkeepers on how to report suspicious customers to the police in order to foil potential terror attacks, an economy ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
The ministry is drawing up a manual telling owners of businesses such as pharmacies, paint shops and hardware stores what to do if a customer acts suspiciously, such as buying a large quantity of products that could be used to make homemade explosives.
"Shopkeepers are asked to report thefts, disappearances of products or purchases in abnormal quantities," economy ministry spokesman Etienne Mignolet told AFP.
"If there is a suspicious transaction, shopkeepers are urged to inform the police," he added. "Our main objective is to stop the criminal use of home-made explosives."
Explosives made from shop-bought chemical products were used by jihadists in the November 2015 Paris attacks and the March 22 attacks in Brussels. In May, a court found that a Belgian terror cell raided by police in January 2015 had large quantities of chemical products used to make TATP, the homemade explosive used by Islamic State terrorists in the Paris and Brussels attacks.
Certain products such as acetone, fertilizer and sulfuric acid are treated as suspicious if bought in large quantities. Shopkeepers are also expected to inform police if a customer is unable to explain how he or she will use the chemicals, pays using an unusual method of payment or is unwilling to provide proof of identity or address.
Shopkeepers could incur fines of up to 600,000 euros ($673,932), or a prison sentence of between one and five years if they fail to inform the police about a suspicious transaction.
Egypt’s navy foils irregular immigration attempt of 440 people
[AlAhram] Egypt’s navy managed to foil two irregular immigration attempts of 440 people through the Mediterranean Sea during the Eid Al-Adha holiday, the Egyptian armed forces announced.
The navy stopped a fishing boat carrying 198 people from different nationalities in addition to its seven-member crew in the northern city of Burullus in Kafr Al-Sheikh governorate. The navy also stopped a fishing boat carrying 242 people from different nationalities and its five-members crew in the northern city Ras El-Hakima, Marsa Matrouh governorate. Both fishing boats were led to Abu-Kir naval base in Alexandria where the 440 people received medical care and were referred to prosecution.
In recent years, thousands of refugees and migrants have attempted to cross the Mediterranean in search of better jobs and opportunities. Hundreds have been arrested in Egypt for attempting to migrate irregularly.