Greece creates migration ministry after surge in arrivals

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right government has created a ministry of migration affairs as it struggles to cope with the continued high number of arrivals of migrants and refugees from neighboring Turkey. The government said Wednesday the ministry was established from a department previously run by the ministry of public order. Nearly 75,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Greece last year, more than double the annual total in 2018, according to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency. Severe conditions of overcrowding at migrant camps on Greek islands have worsened over the winter despite government efforts to provide more accommodation space on the mainland.