Record High Migrant Arrivals in Europe

A record number of migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe in the first half of 2015, according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report published Wednesday. The report found 137,000 migrants have arrived in Europe in the first six months of this year, an 83 percent increase from the same period in 2014. The migrant crisis has hit countries in southern Europe the hardest, with Greece serving as the largest arrival point. More than 1,000 people have been entering the struggling country every day, “as opposed to 200 just a few weeks ago,” the report said. Syria provided the largest group arriving in Europe, accounting for almost 44,000 people.