#refugee

#refugee

Alfie Franco, 20, must serve a minimum term of 23 years for the murder of 16-year-old Syrian refugee Ahmad Al Ibrahim in Huddersfield town centre. Al Ibrahim who fled war-torn Homs after being injured in a bombing, had been living in Huddersfield for only a couple of weeks when he crossed paths with Franco, who had been for a Jobcentre appointment that day and was going to buy eyelash glue with his girlfriend.

Back in 2015, with his native Syria in the full throes of civil war, Maso had little choice but to leave if he wanted to pursue a career in swimming. Hailing from Aleppo, a major battleground in the war, he was going for months on end without training. "It always had to depend on how safe the situation was and what the priorities were," he said. And so, together with older brother, Mo, he took the long and arduous journey to Europe via Turkey.

"At around 1:55 pm today a man on an ICE train travelling towards Vienna injured several people with dangerous objects," police said.

"I was evacuated on April 16, very reluctantly. I came to Ireland as a student to finish my education, but the main reason I came here was so that my life might be saved."