Albanian Parl okays deal to hold migrants for Italy

Albania’s Parliament on Thursday approved a deal for the country to hold thousands of asylum seekers rescued in international waters by Italy while their applications are processed, despite protests from opposition lawmakers and human rights groups.

Under the five-year deal, Albania would shelter up to 3,000 migrants at any one time. With asylum requests expected to take around a month to process, the number of asylum-seekers sent to Albania could reach up to 36,000 in a year.

The deal was endorsed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen but has been widely criticised by human rights groups.