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☆ Opinion | After College Presidents, Republicans Are Coming for Liberal Donors
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Michelle Goldberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland this week, the Republican senator Josh Hawley demanded a federal investigation into dark money groups subsidizing “pro-terrorist student organizations” holding anti-Israel protests on college campuses. He cited Politico reporting linking big liberal philanthropies to some pro-Palestinian organizers. Open Society Foundations, for example, founded by the oft-demonized George Soros, has given grants to the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace, which has an active university presence. That’s one reason I fear that the backlash to the pro-Palestinian campus movement — which includes lawsuits, hearings and legislation — could help Republicans wage war on progressive nonprofits more broadly. If they do, the right would be following a well-worn authoritarian playbook.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Josh Hawley, George Soros, Hawley, “, Garland, Donald Trump, Trump, Rachel Kleinfeld, Kleinfeld, it’s Organizations: Politico, Society, Jewish Voice, Soros, Carnegie Endowment, International, Service, Carnegie Locations: Israel, Hungary

A pile of flowers blanketed a small memorial in the center of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius after the death of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny last month. The impromptu tribute at the memorial, an unassuming pyramid commemorating victims of Soviet repression, has highlighted Vilnius’s growing status as the center of Russian political opposition. In Vilnius, exiled Russian journalists have set up studios to broadcast news to millions of compatriots back home on YouTube. Russian activists have rented offices to catalog the Kremlin’s human rights abuses, and exiled Russian musicians have recorded new albums for the audience back home. The arrival of the Russian dissidents in Vilnius has added to a larger wave of Russian-speaking refugees and migrants from Belarus and Ukraine over the past four years.

Persons: Aleksei A, “ Putin, ”, Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Lithuanian, YouTube Locations: Lithuanian, Vilnius, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Belarus

Chhetri is one of Israel’s approximately 110,000 registered migrant workers; tens of thousands of other foreign workers lack a permit, often having entered as tourists or overstayed their visas, according to workers’ rights organization Kav LaOved. Pranita Chhetri, who moved from India seven months ago and is a caretaker in northern Israel, considers Israel a safe country for foreign workers despite the Israel-Hamas war. (Michele Chabin)When Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 people and took more than 200 others hostage last month, they didn’t spare migrant workers. With so many Israeli farmers killed or kidnapped, the workers didn’t know where to turn for help, she says. While it may sound counterintuitive right now, Chhetri insists that Israel “is a safe country for foreign workers.

Persons: JERUSALEM, Pranita Chhetri, Chhetri, ”, Esther, Yad Sarah, Kav, Michele Chabin, Shira Abbo, Eldose, Yahel Kurlander, ” Kurlander, “, Abbo, Assia Ladizhinskaya, Kav LaOved, “ Israel, ” Abbo, ” Umkudiyil, “ don’t, Israel “ Organizations: Hamas, Hotline, Refugees and Migrants, Hai, ” Locations: Gaza, Israel, India, Kiryat Shmona, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Tel Aviv, Thailand, Nepal, China, Moldova, Tel, Bangkok, Ashkelon

☆ ‘There is no school for girls’: Afghans who fled to Pakistan sent back to a homeland that is foreign to many
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I was born in Pakistan, I’ve lived here for 42 years, I went to school in Pakistan,” said Nasim, who had traveled to the Torkham border crossing from the northern city Peshawar. Nasim, who was born and raised in Pakistan, and is now preparing to return to Afghanistan. International bodies and human rights groups have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster as they return. He hoped the Taliban would greet those forced out of Pakistan and help them find new jobs. The steady deterioration of human rights under the Taliban since its return to power have only confirmed the worst fears of many Afghans.

Persons: I’ve, ”, Nasim, “ I’ve, –, “, ” Nasim, Abdul Basit, Sarfraz Bugti, Ravina Shamdasani, Wakil Kohsar, Ghulam Sakhi, we’ve, Raza Muhammad, ” Muhammad, Akhtar Muhammad, Zahid Bahand, can’t, I’m Organizations: Pakistan CNN, CNN, ”, Getty, Security, Authorities, United Nations, Human Rights, Rights Watch, ” CNN, Interior Ministry, “ Police, UN, International Organization for Migration, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taliban Locations: Chaman, Pakistan, Pakistan’s, Peshawar, Afghanistan, ”, Quetta, “, Soviet, States, AFP, Afghan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Balochistan’s, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Kabul

☆ EU migration ministers address militant Islamist attacks, risks from Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A teacher was slain in northern France last week in an attack President Emmanuel Macron condemned as "Islamist terrorism". The killings occurred at a time of heightened security concerns across much of Europe linked to the Israel-Hamas war. The attack in Brussels underlined persistent failings of the EU's troubled migration and asylum systems, including security gaps and ineffective returns. The EU, a bloc of 450 million people, has recorded some 250,000 irregular arrivals this year, in large part aided by smugglers. Last year, the EU took in several million refugees for Russia's war in the neighbouring Ukraine.

Persons: Darrin, Morocco Broad, Emmanuel Macron, Israel, Gabriela Baczynska, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Geo, Medecins Sans Frontieres, REUTERS, France Ministers, Palestinian, EU, Thomson Locations: Italy, Libya, Belgium, France, Israel, Egypt, Morocco, BRUSSELS, Europe, Brussels, EU, Gaza, Afghanistan, Syria, Tunisia, Tunis, Ukraine, East, Africa

Not only in the EU but in all of Europe," Zelenskiy said on his arrival, warning of Russian "disinformation attacks". "It does worry me," Biden said on Wednesday, though he added that a majority of U.S. lawmakers continued to support funding Ukraine. In Slovakia, former prime minister Robert Fico's party came first in a parliamentary election on pledges of halting military aid to Ukraine, while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said Warsaw was no longer arming Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday he was "very confident" that U.S. support for Ukraine would continue. Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation, which triggered an exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

Persons: Zelenskiy, Spain Zelenskiy, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, U.N, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Rishi Sunak, Democrat Biden, Biden, Ursula von der Leyen, Robert Fico's, Mateusz Morawiecki, Pedro Sanchez, Ilham Aliyev, Belen Carreno, Andreas Rinke, Anna Pruchnicka, Gareth Jones Organizations: Political, EU, British, U.S, Republican, Democrat, European Commission, Kyiv, Polish, European Union, NATO, Spanish, Thomson Locations: Spain, Europe, Balkans, Caucasus, Granada, GRANADA, Kyiv, Spanish, Ukraine, Norway, Albania, Russia, Poland, Brussels, U.S, Slovakia, Warsaw, EU, East, Africa, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Nagorno, Karabakh, Baku, Berlin

☆ EU states try to seal migration deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Migrants arrive on an Italian Coast Guard vessel after being rescued at sea, near the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023. Envoys were meeting at 0730 GMT on an amended text of the tentative agreement proposed by Spain, which chairs EU talks until the end of the year, sources said. The meeting is the last chance to seal a deal before the bloc's 27 national leaders meet in Spain's Granada on Thursday and Friday, where they are due to discuss irregular migration amid increased arrivals across the Mediterranean, including to the Italian island of Lampedusa. A dispute over NGOs picking up people in the sea prevented an deal among the EU's migration ministers last week but the bloc is still keen to get it done ahead of key elections in Germany, Poland and a pan-European parliamentary vote in 2024. Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; editing by Bart MeijerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yara, Gabriela Baczynska, Bart Meijer Organizations: Italian Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Rights BRUSSELS, Brussels, Rome, Berlin, Spain, Granada, Germany, Poland, Hungary, East, Africa

BERLIN (AP) — A leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party was given medical treatment and then taken to a hospital shortly before he was due to speak at an election rally in Bavaria on Wednesday, police said. There were few details about what exactly happened at the event in Ingolstadt, before a state election on Sunday. The party said that Tino Chrupalla, one of its two co-leaders, was hospitalized following what it called a “violent incident,” German news agency dpa reported. According to the party, the incident happened in a crowd shortly before he was due to speak. Alternative for Germany, known by its German acronym AfD, was founded in 2013, initially with a focus against eurozone rescue packages.

Persons: —, Tino Chrupalla, Chrupalla, Alice Weidel Organizations: BERLIN Locations: Germany, Bavaria, Ingolstadt

☆ EU States Try to Seal Migration Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Envoys of the European Union's 27 member states were meeting in Brussels on Wednesday hoping to overcome a latest spat between Rome and Berlin over charity ships to finalise an agreement on sharing out the task of caring for refugees and migrants. Envoys were meeting at 0730 GMT on an amended text of the tentative agreement proposed by Spain, which chairs EU talks until the end of the year, sources said. The meeting is the last chance to seal a deal before the bloc's 27 national leaders meet in Spain's Granada on Thursday and Friday, where they are due to discuss irregular migration amid increased arrivals across the Mediterranean, including to the Italian island of Lampedusa. A dispute over NGOs picking up people in the sea prevented an deal among the EU's migration ministers last week but the bloc is still keen to get it done ahead of key elections in Germany, Poland and a pan-European parliamentary vote in 2024. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; editing by Bart Meijer)

Persons: Gabriela Baczynska, Bart Meijer Locations: BRUSSELS, Brussels, Rome, Berlin, Spain, Granada, Lampedusa, Germany, Poland, Hungary, East, Africa

☆ EU talks migration as Italy, Germany worry over increased arrivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] An Italian Coast Guard vessel carrying migrants rescued at sea passes near a tourist boat, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Acquire Licensing Rightsサマリー Higher arrivals, looming elections put migration high on agendaFocus on whether Berlin backs proposed new EU 'crisis mechanism'Some propose Egypt for next migration deal after TunisiaBRUSSELS, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The European Union's migration ministers meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how to handle migrants arriving by sea as Italy and Germany worry over increased immigration, with Berlin launching border controls inside Europe's zone of open travel. "There is a lot of unrest in (the) direct neighbourhood of Europe," said one senior EU diplomat. The EU has been pushing tougher anti-immigration policies since more than a million people reached its southern shores in 2015, catching the bloc by surprise and overwhelming security and reception capacities in countries including Italy. The 27-member governments have since struggled to modernise their shared asylum and migration rules - including the "crisis mechanism" - especially as they want to look in control for their voters ahead of a pan-EU parliamentary election in 2024.

Persons: Yara, Giorgia Meloni, Nancy Faeser, Faeser, Gabriela Baczynska, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Italian Coast Guard, REUTERS, Berlin, Italy's, EU Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Egypt, Tunisia BRUSSELS, Brussels, Germany, Berlin, Tunisia, Europe, EU, Poland, Czech Republic, Bavaria, East, Africa, Asia

☆ Germany's Baerbock Joins Chorus Criticizing EU Migration Deal With Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By Gabriela BaczynskaUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock joined a growing chorus of critics of the European Union's new migration deal with Tunisia, saying human rights and procedural faults ruled it out as a blueprint for the future. Her letter to the EU executive European Commission highlights the EU's inner conflict between those pursuing ever-tougher policies to stop illegal immigration and others who emphasize humanitarian considerations and labor market gaps. But in her letter dated Aug. 2, Baerbock expressed "incomprehension" at what she said were insufficient consultations with other countries in the 27-nation bloc. 'SERIOUS VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES'Asked to comment on the letters, a European Commission spokeswoman said the EU executive consulted member states enough. On Friday, the EC announced 60 million euros ($64 million) in support for the Tunisian budget and a further 67 million euros ($71 million) in assistance on migration.

Persons: Gabriela Baczynska, Annalena Baerbock, Kais, Giorgia Meloni, Baerbock, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Oliver Varhelyi, Viktor Orban, Meloni, Howard Goller Organizations: Gabriela Baczynska UNITED NATIONS, Reuters, EU, Commission, European Commission, EC, Human Rights Locations: Tunisia, Italy, Netherlands, EU, Tunis, Africa, Egypt, Hungary, East, Geneva, Ukraine

☆ Germany's Baerbock joins chorus criticizing EU migration deal with Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Migrants rescued at sea walk after disembarking from a vessel, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023. "Democracy, human rights and the rule of law must guide us in our cooperation - something that was not given suitable consideration, in the agreement with Tunisia," she wrote. "The MoU (memorandum of understanding) with Tunisia cannot become a template for further agreements," she added. 'SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND ABUSES'Asked to comment on the letters, a European Commission spokeswoman said the EU executive consulted member states enough. On Friday, the EC announced 60 million euros ($64 million) in support for the Tunisian budget and a further 67 million euros ($71 million) in assistance on migration.

Persons: Yara, Annalena Baerbock, Kais, Giorgia Meloni, Baerbock, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Oliver Varhelyi, Viktor Orban, Meloni, Gabriela Baczynska, Howard Goller Organizations: Migrants, REUTERS, UNITED, EU, Commission, Reuters, European Commission, EC, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Germany, EU, Tunisia, Netherlands, Tunis, Africa, Egypt, Hungary, East, Geneva, Ukraine

☆ Vital Places of Refuge in the Bronx, Community Gardens Gain Recognition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( David Gonzalez | José A. Alvarado Jr. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sheryll Durrant left her family farm in Jamaica in 1989 and embarked on a career in corporate marketing. Now she runs a thriving urban farm wedged into a triangular plot in the Bronx, between the Grand Concourse and the Metro North railroad tracks. “Just putting your hands in soil is a form of healing,” Ms. Durrant, 63, said. The plot she has managed with volunteers for eight years sits on city land and is among more than 500 community gardens in New York City. About a third of them have sprouted in the Bronx, where the gardens are emerald oases, providing residents a respite from hot, treeless streets clogged with traffic, as well as a bounty of locally grown food.

Persons: Sheryll Durrant, “, Ms, Durrant Organizations: Metro, International Rescue Committee Locations: Jamaica, Bronx, New York City

☆ Opinion | Amanda Gorman: In Memory of Those Still in the Water
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Amanda Gorman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Panicking people stepped on each other in the dark, desperately using each other to come up for air, to stay alive. At the water’s surface, some clung to pieces of wood, surrounded by drowned friends, relatives and strangers. As the headline on another Times story, by Richard Pérez-Peña, put it: “5 Deaths at Sea Gripped the World. Hundreds of Others Got a Shrug.”Refugees and migrants dying while trying to cross the Mediterranean in search of safety is not new. The United Nations estimates that more than 27,000 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.

Persons: Adriana, torturous, Richard Pérez Organizations: BBC, The New York Times, Coast Guard, ”, The United Nations Locations: Greece, African

☆ Greek migrant boat tragedy: Pakistani boy's fateful journey exposes impossible choice faced by millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Anna Coren Azaz Syed Sophia Saifi Jadyn Sham Helen Regan Rhea Mogul | Anna Coren | Azaz Syed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

“It will all be OK,” Muhammad Abuzar told him. The boat was carrying up to 750 Pakistani, Syrian, Egyptian and Palestinian refugees and migrants. His uncle had decided to try and make it to Europe and Abuzar saw his chance. More than 600 people drowned on June 14 in what would become one of the deadliest migrant boat tragedies. Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty ImagesSpeaking to CNN in Pakistan, Mohammad Tahir said his brother Mubasher Sahzad, 29, was also on the boat.

Persons: Pakistan CNN — Pervez Akhtar, “, Muhammad Abuzar, ” Akhtar, gaunt, Abuzar, CNN Akhtar, –, we’ll, he’ll, Akhtar, – Abuzar, ’, “ Papa, Adriana, ” Akhthar, Rana Sanaullah, ”, Angelos Tzortzinis, Mohammad Tahir, Mubasher Sahzad, ” Tahir, Roberto Forin, ” Forin, Mia Sato, ” Sato, Forin, Qayyum Bibi’s, He’s Organizations: Pakistan CNN, CNN, UNICEF, Hellenic Coast Guard, Pakistani Interior Ministry, Medical, Getty, Migration, International Organization, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency Locations: Gujrat, Pakistan, Pakistan’s, Europe, Italy, Karachi, Dubai, Egypt, Libya, Tripoli, Tobruk, North Africa, Greece's, Greece, Kalamata, AFP, East, Asia, Africa, Islamabad, Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, European Union, Bandali, Kashmir, ”

☆ Greek PM says not fair to manage EU migration problem alone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Greek coast guard rescued 104 people but hundreds of migrants drowned after an overloaded boat capsized and sank in international waters off Greece's Pylos on June 14, in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters in recent years. Survivors have said that the ship capsized after a disastrous towing attempt by the Greek coast guard, which Greece denies. Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Mitsotakis is expected to meet re-elected Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO Summit this week. Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis, Tayyip Erdogan, Renee Maltezou, Christina Fincher Organizations: European Union, EU, Latvian, NATO, Thomson Locations: ATHENS, Greece, Pylos, Riga, East, Asia, Africa, Turkey, Greece’s, EU

☆ Greeks vote in repeat election, likely to return conservatives to office
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mitsotakis's New Democracy party won an election on May 21, 20 points clear of the leftist Syriza party that ruled Greece from 2015 to 2019. Mitsotakis, prime minister since 2019, stepped down in favour of a caretaker premier after the inconclusive vote last month, as required by the constitution. The boat had been shadowed by the Greek coast guard before it sank: the coast guard has said that the occupants refused all offers of help. Mitsotakis, whose administration has taken a hard stance on migration, said "wretched traffickers" were to blame for the disaster and praised the coast guard for rescuing people. Tsipras has questioned why the coast guard did not intervene earlier.

Persons: Kyriakos, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, Mitsotakis, Tsipras, Michele Kambas, Frances Kerry Organizations: Greek, New Democracy, REUTERS, Democracy, Thomson Locations: Athens, Greece, Stoyan, ATHENS, Libya, Italy, Europe

☆ Greek migrant boat tragedy: CNN investigation raises questions about coast guard's account of shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Florence Davey-Attlee Elinda Labropoulou Jomana Karadsheh Gianluca Mezzofiore Katie Polglase | Florence Davey-Attlee | Elinda Labropoulou | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

They also call into question the Greek coast guard’s version of events, suggesting more lives could have been saved, and may even point to fault on the part of Greek authorities. The Hellenic Coast Guard has declined to answer CNN’s specific requests for response to the survivor testimonies. The Greek coast guard has maintained that people onboard the trawler had refused rescue and insisted they wanted to continue their journey to Italy. The haunting final words sent from the migrant boat came just minutes before it capsized. Most of all, Mostafa says, he wishes the Greek coast guard had never approached their boat: “If they had left us be, we wouldn’t have drowned.”

Persons: “, Rami, ”, Mostafa, Nikos Alexiou, Byron Smith, ” Rami, Lucky, –, ” Mostafa, Nawal Soufi, …, superyacht, Stringer, Eurokinissi, Vincent Cochetel, Stelios Misinas, Reuters Cochetel, ” Omer Shatz, Mohammad, Fadi, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis Organizations: CNN, Hellenic Coast Guard, Reuters CNN, Cross, UNHCR, European Union, “, Getty, ” Workers, Reuters, Center for Constitutional, Human Locations: Greece, Syria, Greek, Coast, Athens, Tobruk, Libya, Italy, Kalamata, AFP, Berlin, Netherlands, Sunday’s, Europe

☆ With scores missing from shipwreck, family members flock to Greek migrant camp
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Relatives have been turning up outside the Malakasa migrant facility since survivors were brought here on Friday, showing photos of the missing through the camp gates, in the hopes someone might recognize them. The vessel is thought to have set off with passengers from the Libyan coastal city of Tobruk on June 10. At Malakasa, Mohammad sprinted into his brother's open arms as they both sobbed, holding each other for several moments. "My uncle was with me on the same boat, the boat that capsized. In Pakistan, 14 people were arrested in connection with the alleged trafficking of several of the victims, police there said.

Persons: Atia Al Said, Mohamed El Sayed, Radwan, Stelios, Read, Mohammad Hadhoud, Fadi, Mohammad, Karolina Tagaris, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Amnesty International, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Greece, Malakasa, Athens, Germany, Tobruk, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Kalamata

☆ Scores drown, countless missing after migrant boat capsizes off Greece
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Syrian survivor Mohammad, 18, who was rescued with other refugees and migrants in the open sea off Greece after their boat capsized, hugs his brother Fadi, who came to meet him from Netherlands, as they reunite at the port of Kalamata, Greece, June...more

Persons: Mohammad, Fadi Locations: Greece, Netherlands, Kalamata

☆ Emotional reunion amid despair as Greece searches for shipwreck survivors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Lefteris Papadimas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster 104 survivors and 78 people who drowned were brought to shore by Greek authorities, but nothing has been found since. They wept and hugged through metal barricades, erected by Greek police around a warehouse in Kalamata where survivors had been sleeping for the past two days. Survivors who spoke to Greek authorities said they paid $4,500 each to go to Italy. The group, Alarm Phone, said it had alerted Greek authorities and aid agencies hours before the disaster unfolded. Greek authorities denied accounts that surfaced late on Thursday that the boat flipped after the coastguard attempted to tow it.

Persons: Mohammad, Fadi, Fedi, Stelios Misinas, Nikos Alexiou, Renee Maltezou, Michele Kambas, Alex Richardson Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Greek coastguard, coastguard, ERT, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Greece, Syrian, KALAMATA, Greek, Kalamata, Pylos, Syria, Netherlands, Italy, Egypt, Tobruk, Malakasa, Athens

☆ Greece hunts for survivors of migrant shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KALAMATA, Greece, June 15 (Reuters) - Rescuers were scouring the seas off Greece on Thursday in a massive search operation as hopes dwindled for survivors of a shipwreck that killed at least 79 people, in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters in recent years. As dawn broke on Thursday, a coast guard vessel sailed into the nearby port city of Kalamata, transferring victims of the year's deadliest shipwreck off Greece. [1/3] Men transfer body bags carrying migrants who died after their boat capsized in the open sea off Greece, onboard a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel at the port of Kalamata, Greece, June 15, 2023. Aerial pictures released by the Greek coast guard showed dozens of people on the boat's upper and lower decks looking up, some with arms outstretched, hours before it sank. Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Persons: Nikos Alexiou, Stelios Misinas, Stamos Prousalis, Michele Kambas, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Authorities, Organization for Migration, Skai, Hellenic Coast Guard, REUTERS, European Union, NATO, United Nations, Thomson Locations: KALAMATA, Greece, Pylos, Kalamata, Tobruk, Italy, East, Asia, Africa, Libya, Europe

☆ Greece scours shipwreck site; hundreds feared drowned in boat's hold
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Stamos Prousalis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"When you are faced with such a situation... you need to be very careful in your actions," coast guard spokesperson Nikos Alexiou told state broadcaster ERT. Citing initial testimonies from survivors, Save the Children charity said around 100 children were believed to be in the vessel's hold. Of the 104 survivors so far transferred by the coast guard to the Greek port city of Kalamata, most were men, authorities said. The search operation will continue for as long as needed, the coast guard said. Aerial pictures released by the Greek coast guard showed dozens of people on the boat's upper and lower decks looking up, some with arms outstretched, hours before it sank.

Persons: Nikos Alexiou, Daniel Gorevan, Stelios Misinas, Nawal Soufi, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Karolina Tagaris, Angelo Amante, Michele Kambas, John Stonestreet, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Rescuers, ERT, Organization for Migration, EU, Hellenic Coast Guard, REUTERS, Independent, European Union, NATO, United Nations, Thomson Locations: KALAMATA, Greece, Pylos, Italy, Europe, Kalamata, Athens, Tobruk, East, Asia, Africa, Libya, Lefteris, Rome

Greek authorities said it was too soon to speculate on the total number. Greek authorities said it remained unclear how many the vessel was carrying when it went under, and that 104 people had been rescued by midday. We do not know how many people were in the hold," Greek coast guard spokesperson Nikos Alexiou told Greece's MEGA TV. [1/4] Rescuers transfer a migrant to an ambulance following a rescue operation after their boat capsized at open sea, in Kalamata, Greece, June 14, 2023. Italian authorities then alerted Greece to the vessel's presence, and the Greek coast guard approached it and offered help.

Persons: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nikos Alexiou, Greece's, Filippo Grandi, Stelios, Mitsotakis, Stamos Prousalis, Karolina Tagaris, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, John Stonestreet, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European Union, ERT, Twitter, Greece's MEGA, Refugees, REUTERS, EU, Frontex, NATO, Wednesday, United Nations, Reuters, Thomson Locations: KALAMATA, Greece, East, Asia, Africa, Turkey, Italy, Libyan, Tobruk, Crete, Europe, Kalamata, Pylos, capsizing, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Athens, Libya, EU, Europe's, Geneva, Reuters Libya

[1/5] A migrant is transferred by rescue personnel, following a rescue operation, after their boat capsized at open sea, in Kalamata, Greece, June 14, 2023. Eurokinissi via REUTERSATHENS, June 14 (Reuters) - At least 59 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and more were feared missing after their overloaded boat capsized and sank off Greece in the country's deadliest shipwreck this year, the coast guard said. "We fear the number of dead will rise," said a shipping ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity. A coast guard vessel then approached the boat, which was en route to Italy, and offered help. The large number of migrants on its outer deck "refused assistance and stated their desire to continue their voyage," the coast guard said.

Persons: Karolina Tagaris, Sharon Singleton, John Stonestreet Organizations: Eurokinissi, REUTERS, EU, Frontex, State, ERT, European Union, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Kalamata, Greece, REUTERS ATHENS, Pylos, Italy, Libyan, Tobruk, Crete, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, East, Asia, Africa, Turkey, Spain, Malta, Cyprus

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