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Police in Spain's Ceuta enclave in North Africa have arrested 383 migrants who tried to enter Spain by hiding in fairground attractions.
The migrants - mostly Moroccans - wanted to reach the Spanish mainland in the lorries and fairground rides.
Ceuta and another Spanish enclave - Melilla - have become magnets for African migrants, and now have razor-wire border fences.
Meanwhile, another 71 migrants have reached the Canary Islands by boat.
An American woman arrested in Canada after two years on the run with her young daughter is expected to appear before an immigration hearing in the near future.
Citizenship and Immigration Department officials, citing privacy laws, would not confirm or deny that Claudia Librett, of Norriston, Pa., has applied for refugee status.
Immigration hearings, which are normally open to the public, are closed if there is a request for privacy or a refugee claim involved.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has amended Maritime Conventions to facilitate search-and-rescue at sea. In response to several incidents in recent years, as well as updated refugee and asylum-seeker legislation passed and under consideration in several countries this year, UNHCR is attempting to make it easier for ships to perform rescues with fewer political entanglements with regional governments.
'Polish plumbers, doctors and dentists have brought a lot of skills and a lot of benefits,' Home Secretary John Reid said in a keynote speech on immigration this week.
Legal services in the United States are experiencing a surge in need for bilingual employees. Mostly, Spanish speaking professionals are needed, but a general need for other languages is being felt, also. Immigrants can use specialist language skills to qualify for work permits when seeking U.S. jobs.
During a heated joint parties meeting this morning, Prime Minister John Howard ruled out making any more changes to the laws, which would send all boat people to island detention centers for processing.