Immigration news

A fishing boat crowded with more than 100 African migrants capsized at least twice while sailing to Spain's Canary Islands, spilling passengers and leaving scores dead as survivors drifted for about 10 days without food or water, officials reported on 18 December.

The boat sank off Senegal's coast two days earlier and a Red Cross official said at least 80 migrants died. Fishermen rescued about two dozen people in the water near St. Louis, and about 12 were hospitalized at the health clinic in this northern Senegal town.

It has long been known that London is a magnet for Russian dissidents and billionaires. For that matter, London and the United Kingdom have been the destination of the elite and the wealthy for centuries.

During the two-month electronic registration period for the United States Diversity Visa Lottery (otherwise known as the Green Card Lottery), over 6.4 million entries were received. Taking into account dependents, there are 10 million participants in the 2008 Diversity Visa Lottery.

Ontario is creating a resource and recruitment center to assist foreigners in navigating the registration practices and procedures required to become licensed to work in the Canadian health care industry, according to Ontario Citizenship and Immigration Minister Mike Colle and Ontario Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman.

The U.S. fiscal year 2006 saw an increased number of H-1B visas granted to highly skilled workers from India, while students wishing to study in the United States should have few problems obtaining their visas if they are accepted by an American university, according to authorities.

H-1B visas

The European Union parliament last week gave final approval for a pan-European driving license scheme. The current plan is to create a database tracking drivers' history throughout Europe, rather than allowing drivers with a bad record in one country to obtain a new license in a different country.