Labour welcomes US resettlement programme

The Labour Party has welcomed the long-term programme to resettle hundreds of refugees from Malta to the US. On Thursday, 15 Somali refugees left the island to be resettled in different cities in the US as part of an "ongoing and continuous" programme.

A second group of the 260-odd refugees to be resettled are expected to leave the island in the coming weeks.

They will join some 70,000 refugees that make it to the US every year. In a statement, opposition spokesmen for foreign affairs and internal affairs, Leo Brincat and Gavin Gulia respectively, said the party was happy that the scheme was being extended to an ongoing and continuous programme, following a referral by the UN High Commission for Refugees.