About 5,000 refugees bound for Italy were rescued in waters off the coast of Libya between Thursday and Saturday morning by Italian and Libyan coastguards, according to statements from both countries. About 2,900 people were rescued on Thursday, 2,300 of whom were found in international waters and taken to Italy, while 580 picked up in … Read more
Libya on Thursday asked Italy to arm the patrol boats it uses in the fight against illegal immigration across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe. Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti this week handed over to the Libyan coastguard four patrol boats repaired in Italy as part of a cooperation deal against people traffickers. Another … Read more
Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti on Monday handed over to the Libyan coastguard four patrol boats repaired in Italy as part of cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration. The crews were trained in Italy “to monitor Libyan territorial waters… and contribute, together with Italy and Europe, to security in the Mediterranean”, Minniti said in … Read more
Top US and EU officials will meet on Wednesday to discuss a controversial plan to outlaw carry-on laptops and other large electronics in planes flying from Europe to America. The scheme, proposed by the US Department of Homeland Security, would extend the existing ban placed on eight Muslim countries to a string of EU nations, … Read more
The European Union will hold high-level talks with the United States in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss a possible US airline ban on carry-on computers. The US Department of Homeland Security sparked deep concern in Europe last week when it said it would soon decide on extending to European airlines a ban on eight mostly … Read more
Seven bodies were recovered and 484 people were rescued from boats in the Mediterranean Sea while attempting to cross into Europe, Italy’s coastguard said. The Italian coastguards, navy, an aid group and two private vessels rescued the refugees and migrants, who were travelling on four rubber boats, on Saturday, the coastguard said in a statement. … Read more
The EU is seeking urgent talks with Washington over a possible US ban on carry-on computers on European flights to the United States, an EU source said Friday. The European Union has not yet received a response from Washington to its request, the source said. The US Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday it … Read more
Illegal migrants, who were rescued by the Libyan coastguard in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan Some 6,000 migrants hoping to head to Europe were rescued in the Mediterranean on Friday and Saturday in dozens of frantic operations coordinated by the Italian coastguard. Some 3,000 were picked up Saturday by the navy, coastguard, EU border … Read more
Libya’s coastguard on Wednesday intercepted a wooden boat packed with more than 350 migrants after duelling with a German rescue ship and coming under fire from traffickers, the navy said. The migrants, who were bound for Italy, were picked up off the western city of Sabratha, said navy spokesman Ayoub Qassem. The German non-governmental organisation … Read more
US authorities are considering banning carry-on computers on European flights to the United States, widening the security measure introduced for flights from eight countries in March, an official said Tuesday. The Department of Homeland Security is close to making a decision on a wider ban as the busy summer transatlantic travel season looms, department spokesman … Read more
Tunisia’s election chief Chafik Sarsar has resigned just months before the country is due to hold its first post-revolution municipal elections, public television reported on Tuesday. AFP was unable to immediately reach Sarsar. An employee of the electoral commission refused to comment. Sarsar and the commission were praised for their organisation of legislative and presidential … Read more
About 100 African migrants stormed over a high double fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Tuesday in a violent assault that left three police officers injured, officials said. Around 300 sub-Saharan African migrants attempted to force their way across the fence at about 7am (0500 GMT) in a coordinated operation, a … Read more
Eleven migrants have died and nearly 200 are missing after two boats carrying asylum seekers sank off the coast of Libya, UN agencies said on Monday citing survivors. A spokesperson for the United Nations migration agency said more than 193 drowned over the weekend, and that those rescued showed signs of torture. The Libyan Red … Read more
Military pressure, in-fighting within Boko Haram and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s health combined to secure the release of 82 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, sources said Monday. The latest batch of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in April 2014 were freed Saturday in a prisoner swap for three senior jihadist commanders, all of them Chadian nationals. … Read more
Eleven migrants have died and nearly 200 are missing after two boats sank off the coast of Libya, UN agencies said Monday citing survivors, in the latest such tragedy. The first involved an inflatable craft which left Libya early Friday with 132 people on board, only to start deflating a few hours later, before overturning. … Read more
Egypt’s parliament on Sunday adopted a law whose aim is to attract foreign investors to the country as authorities seek to redress its struggling economy. Political instability and jihadist attacks in Egypt have put off tourists and foreign investors since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak. The law, which still has to … Read more
A French mineworker who was kidnapped in Chad and taken to neighbouring Sudan has been freed after more than six weeks in captivity, French and Sudanese officials said on Sunday. Thierry Frezier, 60, was freed after collaboration between Sudanese, Chadian and French intelligence services, a member of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) told … Read more
Some 6,000 migrants hoping to head to Europe were rescued in the Mediterranean on Friday and Saturday in dozens of frantic operations coordinated by the Italian coastguard. Some 3,000 were picked up Saturday by the navy, coastguard, EU border agency Frontex and several NGOs, the coastguard said in a statement. Some of them have already … Read more
Gunmen mugged 129 migrants on a rubber dinghy headed for Europe and also stole the craft’s motor, abandoning them off the Libyan coast, Libya’s navy said Saturday. Navy spokesman General Ayoub Qassem said the gunmen in a speedboat chased the dinghy on Friday, boarded around five nautical miles off the Libyan town of Zuwara and … Read more
Rescuers in the Mediterranean raced Friday to the aid of more than 20 migrant dinghies in distress as the debate in Italy over privately-funded aid ships intensified and the death toll at sea ticked steadily upwards. “There are over 20 boats in difficulty off Libya and an already tense situation has worsened with people in … Read more