Cairo, Egypt | Xinhua | Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated on Saturday the 3rd of July Naval Base in Gargoub on Egypt’s northwest coast, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement. Covering an area of 10 million square meters along the Mediterranean, the new base is considered Egypt’s largest naval …
Read More »Egypt discreetly marks Suez Canal’s 150th anniversary
Ismailia, Egypt | AFP | Since the Suez Canal was inaugurated amid pomp and ceremony 150 years ago, it has become one of the world’s most important waterways. But its anniversary will only be discreetly marked in Egypt. The man-made canal was excavated between 1859 and 1869, in an ambitious project …
Read More »Migrant rescue NGOs defy European states
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | A Spanish charity that saved 121 migrants in the Mediterranean last week vowed Monday to continue sea rescue operations, the latest NGO to defy moves by European nations to shut down a route exploited by trafficking gangs. Proactiva Open Arms founder Oscar Camps called on EU …
Read More »Nigerian women struggle to raise children born of Libya rape
Benin City, Nigeria | AFP | She was only just 18 when she gave birth without a doctor in a Tripoli apartment, gripping the hand of her best friend who had come on a journey they hoped would lead from Nigeria to Europe. For Joy, who told her story to AFP on …
Read More »Migrant boat with 86 on board sinks off Tunisia, 4 rescued
Zarzis, Tunisia | AFP | A traumatised young Malian plucked out of the sea off Tunisia after clinging for two days to debris from an inflatable which sank told Thursday of how more than 80 migrants are feared drowned. The latest tragedy came to light the same week as 44 migrants …
Read More »Eastern Mediterranean countries to boost energy ties
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Eastern Mediterranean countries including Egypt and Israel agreed on Monday to boost energy ties through the creation of a body to strengthen the gas market. The decision came during a meeting bringing together seven energy ministers including those from Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, Italy and the Palestinian territories. The “East Mediterranean …
Read More »Spain rescues 250 migrants in Mediterranean
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Spanish authorities said they rescued over 250 migrants, including children, on Saturday who were making the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe. “We saved 251 people from five improvised vessels all in the Alboran Sea,” Spain’s maritime safety authorities said on Twitter, referring to the westernmost portion …
Read More »Russia sends new submarines to Mediterranean
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia has sent two large newly-upgraded submarines to reinforce its naval presence in the Mediterranean, where it has a Syrian base, the defence ministry said Monday. “The Black Sea fleet’s new large diesel and electric submarines, Kolpino and Veliky Novgorod… have arrived in the Mediterranean,” the …
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