Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The UN Security Council called Friday for a ceasefire in Libya as the death toll from a three-month offensive on Tripoli reached 1,000, including scores killed in an air strike that hit a detention centre for migrants. The council condemned the late Tuesday attack on the …
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 »Deadly air strike on Libya migrant centre sparks outrage
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Outrage and calls for an independent probe mounted Wednesday as 44 migrants were killed in an air strike on a detention centre in Libya that the UN said could constitute a war crime. UN chief Antonio Guterres denounced the “horrendous” attack and demanded an independent investigation, …
Read More »Sea-Watch 3 migrant ship enters Lampedusa, captain arrested
Lampedusa, Italy | AFP | The Sea-Watch 3 charity ship carrying dozens of migrants rescued off Libya forced its way into the Italian port of Lampedusa on Friday night after a lengthy standoff, the charity said. Sea-Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told AFP the boat’s German captain Carola Rackete, 31, was arrested …
Read More »Tunisia fishermen turn life-savers in the Med
Zarzis, Tunisia | AFP | The Tunisian trawler radioed in for help as it passed the migrant boat in distress out at sea. But with the packed craft still adrift two days later, captain Chamseddine Bourassine took direct action. Fishermen from the North African country are spending more and more time …
Read More »US, Mexico hammer out last-minute deal to curb migration, avoid tarif.
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States and Mexico reached an 11th-hour deal late Friday to crack down on migration from Central America, with President Donald Trump relenting on threats to slap potentially devastating tariffs on the neighboring country. With Trump ready to impose five percent tariffs on …
Read More »Merkel’s ‘crown princess’ seeks to chart own path
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Dismissed by some as a mini-Angela Merkel, the new leader of Germany’s centre-right CDU party and likely next chancellor has marked the turn of the year by underlining a change in tone from her mentor. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, known in Germany as AKK after her …
Read More »Pope urges EU leaders to show solidarity with migrants off Malta
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday urged EU leaders to show “concrete solidarity” with 49 migrants stranded on NGO ships off the coast of Malta who have been refused permission to land. “Forty nine migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by two NGO ships have been onboard …
Read More »Around 100 Central Americans try to enter US on New Year’s Eve
Tijuana, Mexico | AFP | Around 100 Central American migrants made a failed attempt on New Year’s Eve to cross over from Mexico into the United States. They were among 1,500 migrants who have remained in Tijuana after a once-5,000-strong caravan of travelers largely gave up and dispersed. An AFP …
Read More »Nearly 300 migrants rescued off Libya: aid group
Madrid, Spain | AFP | A migrant group said Friday it had rescued nearly 300 migrants off the coast of Libya over the previous 24 hours. “More than 300 people safe on board the #OpenArms,” the Proactiva Open Arms organisation tweeted. The organisation added that it had rescued people on …
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