AFP, Brussels
EU countries registered 650,000 requests for asylum last year, about half the number from 2016, official figures showed Tuesday, as controversial deals with Turkey and Libya curbed migrant flows.
Syrians, who are fleeing an eight-year civil war, as well as Iraqis and Afghans, whose countries are also gripped by armed conflict, accounted for most of those numbers, Eurostat said.
Chinese dredger capsizes off Malaysia, 14 missing
Reuters, Kuala Lumpur
One person drowned while 14 others are missing after a Chinese sand-dredging vessel capsized off Malaysia’s southern state of Johor on Wednesday, officials said.
Three Chinese crew members were rescued safely after authorities received reports that the JBB Rong Chang 8 had overturned in the waters of Parit Jawa, in Muar district, at 8.50 a.m. local time (0050 GMT), the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said in a statement.
9 dead as bus plunges off Philippine cliff
AFP, Manila
Nineteen people were killed and 21 others injured when a passenger bus lost control and plunged off a cliff in the central Philippines, police said Wednesday.
The bus, which was heading to the capital Manila, skidded off a mountain road on Mindoro island late Tuesday, said regional police spokeswoman Imelda Tolentino.
Obama in New Zealand for 3-day visit
AP, Wellington
Former President Barack Obama arrived Wednesday for a three-day visit to New Zealand, where he will speak with community leaders, meet the prime minister and play golf.
The sessions will be closed to the public and media except for an official welcome ceremony Thursday. Obama does not plan to answer questions from reporters.
Blast kills three Ecuadoran troops
AFP, Quito
Three Ecuadoran soldiers were killed and at least seven other people were injured Tuesday in a bomb explosion on the country’s northern border with Colombia, the government said.
A roadside bomb exploded as a patrol carrying out “surveillance and control” operations on the border passed by, the communications ministry said.
Voters go to Dutch local poll
AP, The Hague
Dutch voters are choosing new municipal councils across the country in local elections and deciding in a referendum the fate of a law giving intelligence agencies broader powers to intercept electronic data.
Wednesday’s voting provides an early popularity test for Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s five-month-old four-party coalition, but the outcome is likely to be influenced more by local issues such as parking problems and garbage collection than nationwide themes, and voter turnout often is low.
