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☆ Ronaldo wins first title at Al-Nassr with brace in Arab Club Champions Cup final
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo guided 10-man Al-Nassr to their first ever Arab Club Champions Cup title after scoring twice in a 2-1 extra-time win over fellow Saudi side Al-Hilal on Saturday. The tournament is played by top Arab clubs in the region and included teams from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. The star-studded Al-Nassr side had many chances to score in the first half with close season signings Sadio Mane, Seko Fofana and Marcelo Brozovic all denied by goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais. To rub salt into their wounds, the 27-year-old even produced the Ronaldo goal celebration as he ran to the corner flag and leapt into the air. Ronaldo then doubled the lead in the first half of extra time when he pounced on a rebound off the crossbar and headed home with the goalkeeper off his line.

Persons: Cristiano Ronaldo, Nassr, Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic, Mohammed Alowais, Hilal's Malcom, Michael, Sultan, Ghannam, Abdulelah Al, Amri, Nawaf Boushal, Angelica Medina, Rohith Nair Organizations: Saudi, Saturday, Saudi Pro League, United Arab, King Fahd Sports City, Portugal, Al, Thomson Locations: Al, Hilal, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Sultan Al, Mexico City, Bengaluru

☆ 41 dead in migrant shipwreck in central Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Rome CNN —Forty-one people reportedly died in a migrant shipwreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa, survivors say, the latest tragedy amid a spike in efforts in people making the dangerous sea crossing from North Africa to Europe. The survivors told the Red Cross that the migrant boat left Sfax, Tunisia several days ago. They said they were wearing life jackets and were able to crawl on a remnants of a different shipwrecked boat, according to the Red Cross. Lampedusa, not far from Sicily and the closest Italian island to Africa, is a major destination for migrants seeking to enter European Union countries. On Sunday, three bodies were recovered, including a 3-year-old child and a pregnant woman, and at least 30 people were missing after two migrant boats sank off the Italian island, the Italian Coast Guard said in a statement.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN —, Giorgia Meloni Organizations: Rome CNN, Italian Coast Guard, CNN, European Union Locations: Lampedusa, North Africa, Europe, Sfax, Tunisia, Italy, Sicily, Africa

☆ Dozens of Migrants Die After Boat Sinks in Strait of Sicily
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Emma Bubola | More About Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dozens of migrants died after their boat capsized in the Strait of Sicily, with just a handful rescued, survivors reported on Wednesday, as yet another perilous attempt to cross the Mediterranean in a rickety, unsuitable vessel ended in disaster. Four people, including a child, were saved, according to Flavio di Giacomo, a spokesman with the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, citing the survivors’ own testimony. The migrants were from Guinea and the Ivory Coast, he added, and they had departed from the Tunisian city of Sfax before being spotted and rescued by a commercial boat. They arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily on Wednesday. Survivors told the U.N. migration agency that 41 had drowned out of a total of 45 onboard.

Persons: Flavio di Giacomo, Giacomo Organizations: International Organization for Migration, United, Migrants Locations: Strait, Sicily, United Nations, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Tunisian, Sfax, Lampedusa, Tunisia, Saharan Africa, Europe

ROME, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Italian authorities on Wednesday said forty-one migrants are thought to have died in a shipwreck last week in the central Mediterranean, according to accounts by survivors who have been taken to the island of Lampedusa. Local public prosecutor Salvatore Vella confirmed media reports that four people who survived the shipwreck told rescuers they were on a boat carrying 45 people, including three children. They were then transferred onto an Italian coast guard vessel and disembarked in Lampedusa, where they shared their story. The Italian coast guard did not respond to a request for comment. A source with knowledge of the matter said it was unlikely that the shipwreck experienced by the survivors was one of two the coast guard had reported on Sunday.

Persons: Salvatore Vella, Tunisia's, Vella, Federico Maccioni, Federica, Keith Weir, Crispian Balmer, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Watch, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa . Local, Italian, Lampedusa, Sfax, Italy, Europe

☆ Passengers flying from Italy to the UK took a detour to northern Africa because the airline had to deliver a part for another plane
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A TUI plane was meant to fly from the south of Italy to the United Kingdom. But an unscheduled diversion meant it took a detour and stopped off in northern Africa. Passengers had to wait on the runway in Tunisia while the airline delivered a part for another plane. TUI passengers on board a flight from Italy to the UK found themselves unexpectedly diverted to northern Africa, where they remained on a runway for an hour while the airline delivered a plane part. Last December, TUI passengers were left stranded in the wrong country overnight, after their plane made an unscheduled stop due to staff scheduling issues.

Persons: TUI Organizations: Passengers, London Gatwick Airport, Boeing, Google, Independent, Gatwick Airport Locations: Italy, United Kingdom, Africa, Tunisia, Lamezia Terme, Terme, London, Enfidha, Hammamet

☆ Four dead, 51 missing after migrant ship sinks off Tunisian coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - At least four migrants died and 51 were missing after a migrant ship sank off Tunisia's Kerkennah island, a judicial official told Reuters on Sunday, adding that all the migrants onboard were from sub-Saharan Africa. The Tunisian coast guard recovered 901 bodies of drowned migrants off its coast from Jan. 1 to July 20 this year, the country's interior minister said in July, marking an unprecedented number of victims off the country's coasts. The North Africa country is facing a record wave of migration this year and frequent catastrophes of boats of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa heading to Italian coasts sinking. Tunisia replaced Libya as the region's main departure point for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East in hopes of a better life in Europe. Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tarek Amara, Lisa Shumaker, Leslie Adler Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: TUNIS, Saharan Africa, Tunisian, Jan, North Africa, Tunisia, Libya, Africa, Europe

☆ Two dead, 57 rescued from migrant shipwrecks off Italy's Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Migrants on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat looks at boat Guardia Costiera heading to Lampedusa island, in central Mediterranean Sea, close to Lampedusa island, Italy, August 19, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File PhotoROME, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Italy's coastguard said on Sunday it had recovered two bodies and rescued 57 people off the southern island of Lampedusa, amid reports that more than 30 people were missing following two shipwrecks. A coastguard spokesperson said he could only confirm the number of survivors and the recovery of two bodies. Italy's right-wing government has adopted a policy of assigning far-away ports to charity ships, rather than letting them disembark rescued migrants in nearer Lampedusa or Sicily, with the aim of spreading arrivals across the country. Reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Toby Chopra and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Juan Medina, Ansa, Angelo Amante, Toby Chopra, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Migrants, Uno, Guardia, REUTERS, Italy's coastguard, coastguard, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Sfax, Europe, Ivory Coast, Brindisi, Sicily

☆ Extreme heat has cost the global economy $16 trillion on average, research shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The extreme heat is harming people's health and labor productivity. Newly available economic data and more advanced climate models now make it possible to measure how extreme heat hurts the global economy. "The economic costs of extreme heat do not encompass the totality of the economic costs of climate change," Mankin said. "Average temperatures are rising, so statistically, we are going to have more extreme heat in more places," he said. "What's unique about the extreme heat right now is the number of people it's impacting.

Persons: Justin Mankin, Mankin, Adrienne Arsht Organizations: Service, Dartmouth College, Rockefeller Foundation Resilience, CNN, European Union Locations: . Texas, Southern Europe, North Africa, Italy, Spain, Greece, Tunisia

☆ Can a Rapper Change Italy’s Mind About Migrants?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Alia Malek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Those on the boats seeking to calm their nerves in rough waters sometimes sing the songs together. One summer vacation, when he was 16, Ghali arrived from Italy and began talking up life in Milan to his Tunisian cousin. The large influxes caught Europe off guard, as if it had forgotten that many of these countries were just across the Mediterranean. (The deal also simultaneously strengthened the hand — domestically and internationally — of Turkey’s increasingly authoritarian leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.) The following year, Italy signed an E.U.-sponsored deal with Libya, its former colony, to reduce sea crossings originating there.

Persons: Ghali, ”, Iraq —, Turkey’s, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: soccer, Nike, European Union Locations: Tunisia, Italy, Milan, stow, Tunisian, Italian, Europe, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Libya

☆ Meilutyte shatters breaststroke record at worlds; Hafnaoui wins
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FUKUOKA, Japan, July 30 (Reuters) - Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania set her second world record in as many days in the women's 50 metres breaststroke, powering to the gold medal in a time of 29.16 seconds at the World Aquatics Championships on Sunday. Meilutyte smashed the record of 29.30 seconds that she had jointly held with Benedetta Pilato of Italy after setting that mark in her semi-final on Saturday. She was 0.78 seconds ahead of silver medallist Lilly King of the United States. Ahmed Hafnaoui ensured a second gold of the meeting for Tunisia after edging past Bobby Finke of the United States in a fiercely contested men's 1,500m freestyle race. He finished in 14 minutes 31.54 seconds to miss out on Sun Yang's world record of 14:31.02.

Persons: Ruta, Meilutyte, Benedetta Pilato, Lilly King, Pilato, Ahmed Hafnaoui, Bobby Finke, Finke, Australia's Sam Short, Hunter Armstrong, Justin Ress, China's Xu Jiayu, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Clare Fallon Organizations: Marine Messe Fukuoka, Thomson Locations: FUKUOKA, Japan, Lithuania, Italy, United States, Tunisia, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ July 2023 is planet's hottest month on record, Copernicus reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

We have just lived through the hottest three-week-period on record – and almost certainly in more than a hundred thousand years. “These are the hottest temperatures in human history,” said Samantha Burgess, deputy director at Copernicus. Remo Casilli/ReutersThe news that July will be the hottest month comes amid a slew of alarming records that have already been broken – and then broken again – this summer. Last month was the hottest June on record by a “substantial margin,” according to Copernicus. On July 6, the global average temperature rose to 17.08 degrees Celsius (62.74 Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus data, beating the previous temperature record of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 Fahrenheit) set in August 2016.

Persons: Copernicus, ”, Samantha Burgess, Ronda Churchill, Carlo Buontempo, it’s, Burgess, El, Remo Casilli, we’ve, Fethi Belaid, Kim Cobb, ” Petteri Taalas Organizations: CNN, World Meteorological Organization, Visitor, Popolo, Getty, Brown University, WMO Locations: , California, AFP, Asia, US, China, Europe, Rome, Melloula, Tunisia

☆ What’s Happening in Giorgia Meloni’s Italy Is Scary - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( David Broder | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In recent weeks, Ms. Meloni spearheaded a European Union deal with Tunisia, whose authoritarian regime promotes the great replacement conspiracy theory, to curb migration in exchange for financial support. The new director general, Giampaolo Rossi, is a pro-Meloni hard-liner who previously distinguished himself as an organizer of an annual Brothers of Italy festival. Burying the antifascist legacy of the wartime Resistance matters deeply to the Brothers of Italy, a party rooted in its fascist forefathers’ great defeat in 1945. No matter its novelty, Ms. Meloni’s administration has every chance of imposing enduring changes in the political order. Instead, in galvanizing the political right behind a resentful identity politics, it risks becoming something else entirely: Europe’s future.

Persons: Ms, Meloni’s, ”, — Ms, Meloni, Giampaolo Rossi, ’, It’s, Éric, Democrats ’ Organizations: Union, Amnesty, RAI, “, Brothers, Conservatives, Democrats Locations: Italy, Tunisia, Libya, of Italy, Britain, Germany

☆ Tunisia recovered 901 bodies of drowned migrants off its coast this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TUNIS, July 26 (Reuters) - The Tunisian coast guard recovered 901 bodies of drowned migrants off its coast from Jan. 1 to July 20 this year, the country's interior minister, Kamel Feki, said on Wednesday. Tunisia is facing record waves of migration this year and frequent catastrophes of the sinking of boats of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa heading to Italian coasts. Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kamel Feki, Tarek Amara, Leslie Adler Organizations: Thomson Locations: TUNIS, Tunisian, Jan, Tunisia, Saharan Africa, Italian

☆ EU plans to buy new firefighting planes as climate crisis worsens
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The EU doubled its existing reserve fleet of firefighting aircraft in the past year, after devastating fires last summer in southern Europe exhausted its previous 13-craft capacity. That fleet comprises 28 aircraft, which the EU pays to lease from EU countries' own fleets or the market, to form a bloc-wide buffer during the wildfire season. The EU would finance the purchase of the 12 planes for its own fleet, while member states would pay for their own. EU countries are responsible for responding to wildfires, and request assistance from the EU reserve only when they need back-up. The bloc received 11 such requests in 2022 and has had four this year so far - including in Greece and Tunisia, where EU reserve planes are currently battling blazes.

Persons: Nicolas Economou BRUSSELS, Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic, Lenarcic, Kate Abnett, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, EU, Crisis Management, Reuters, Manufacturer, Havilland, Canadair, Thomson Locations: Gennadi, Rhodes, Greece, Europe, Brussels, Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, EU, Tunisia

☆ EU probes border agency's rescue role after migrant shipwreck killed hundreds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummaryCompanies Rights watchdog probes Europe's deadliest shipwreck in yearsO'Reilly to also look into EU's migration deal with TunisiaMigration politically sensitive in EU ahead of 2024 electionBRUSSELS, July 26 (Reuters) - The EU rights watchdog on Wednesday announced a probe into Europe's deadliest shipwreck in years and whether the bloc's Frontex border agency fulfilled its rescue duties when the boat sank off Greece last month killing hundreds of migrants. Islamabad said the boat was carrying over 700 people, including at least 350 Pakistanis. The Greek coastguard rescued 104 people but hundreds drowned in one of Europe's deadliest shipwrecks in recent years. Fewer than 160,000 people made it across the sea last year, according to U.N. data. O'Reilly also said she would look into a recent EU deal with Tunisia to stem migration to Europe.

Persons: O'Reilly, Emily O'Reilly, Adriana, Frontex, Gabriela Baczynska, Nick Macfie Organizations: Companies, EU, Wednesday, Greek coastguard, Thomson Locations: Tunisia, BRUSSELS, Greece, Europe, Islamabad, East, Africa, Syria, Italy, Netherlands, Poland

☆ Australia's O'Callaghan smashes 14-year-old record to win world title
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FUKUOKA, Japan, July 26 (Reuters) - Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan finished with a flourish to break the longest-standing world record in women's swimming, claiming the 200 metres freestyle title in a time of one minute, 52.85 seconds at the World Aquatics Championships on Wednesday. Summer McIntosh of Canada was 0.80 seconds behind to take bronze in a world junior record time. Olympic champion Titmus had blazed to the 400m freestyle title on Sunday to erase 16-year-old McIntosh's mark and was well placed to go for another record after topping the semi-final time sheet. Hungary's world record holder Kristof Milak was absent from the men's 200m butterfly that followed, as the Olympic and world champion skipped the meet saying that he was not physically or mentally in a position to compete. The mixed 4x100m medley relay concludes the fourth day of swimming with the Americans tipped to win their third title.

Persons: Mollie O'Callaghan, O'Callaghan, Italian Federica Pellegrini, Ariarne Titmus, Summer McIntosh, Titmus, China's Yang Junxuan, Kristof Milak, Frenchman Leon Marchand, Poland's Krzysztof Chmielewski, Tomoru Honda, Qin Haiyang, Nic Fink, Adam Peaty, Matthew Richards, Ahmed Hafnaoui, Sam Short, Bobby Finke, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Toby Davis Organizations: Wednesday, Channel, Marine Messe Fukuoka, Thomson Locations: FUKUOKA, Japan, Italian, Rome, Australia, Canada, Budapest, Tunisia, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Wildfires bring death and destruction to Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Fedja Grulovic And Lamine Chikhi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Without human-induced climate change, the events this month would have been "extremely rare", according to a study by World Weather Attribution, a global team of scientists that examines the role played by climate change in extreme weather. The heat, with temperatures topping 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), is well in excess of what usually attracts tourists who flock to southern European beaches. Neighbouring Algeria deployed some 8,000 firefighters to bring its deadly fires under control, authorities said. Malta, another major Mediterranean holiday destination, suffered a raft of power cuts across the country, affecting its largest hospital, after a week-long heatwave. "I have been through 65 summers in my lifetime... and what I am seeing now is not normal, we can no longer deny it, climate change is changing our lives," Mayor Giuseppe Sala said on social media.

Persons: Rhodes Blaze, RHODES, Ramzi Boudina, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Rhodes, Lanai Karpataki, Europe's sweltering, Giuseppe Sala, Angeliki Koutantou, Renee Maltezou, Federico Maccioni, Alvise, Lamine Chikhi, Jana Choukeir, Nayera Abdalla, David Stanway, Keith Weir, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Algeria, Rhodes, Palermo, Tunisia, Malta, ALGIERS, Sicily, China, United States, Europe, North Africa, Bejaia, Kiotari, Europe's, Milan

☆ Tunisia migration deal a model for others, EU's von der Leyen says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, July 23 (Reuters) - The European Union's pact with Tunisia can serve as a model for other countries, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday, as the EU struggles to stem unauthorised flows of migrants across the Mediterranean. The EU and Tunisia last week signed a "strategic partnership" deal that includes cracking down on human traffickers and tightening borders. Europe also pledged 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in aid to help Tunisia with its battered economy and rescue state finances. For partnerships with other countries in the region," von der Leyen told a conference in Rome. New strategic partnerships would incorporate economic development, trade and investment, with mutual advantages in areas such as climate and renewable energy.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, Angelo Amante, Foo Yun, Keith Weir Organizations: European, Thomson Locations: Tunisia, EU, Europe, Rome, Egypt, Morocco

But she said more needed to be done to prevent migrants trying to make the perilous Mediterranean crossing via unauthorised means. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed Meloni's point about offering legal routes into the 27-nation European Union (EU). Europe has pledged 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in aid to help Tunisia with its battered economy, with 100 million euros speficially earmarked for tackling illegal migration. The EU could work with countries such as Tunisia in expanding their production of renewable energy to the benefit of all, she added. Conference host Italy is struggling to cope with the number of unauthorised migrants arriving in centres such as its far southern island of Lampedusa.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, Mohamed al, POPE, Peter's, Pope Francis, COVID, Antonio Tajani, Ahmed Elumami, Foo Yun Chee, Conor Humphries Organizations: European Union, Presidential, Conference, EU, Thomson Locations: Italian, Rome, Europe, Italy, EU, Tunisia, St, Africa, Lampedusa, Tripoli, Brussels

☆ Titmus shatters world record to win 400m freestyle gold at worlds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FUKUOKA, Japan, July 23 (Reuters) - Reigning Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus of Australia smashed the world record as she blazed to victory in a battle royale for the women's 400m freestyle title on the opening day of the swimming events at the World Aquatics Championships on Sunday. New Zealand's Erika Fairweather edged McIntosh to grab the bronze, finishing 4.21 seconds behind Titmus. Earlier, Australia's Sam Short won the men's 400m freestyle race a year after his compatriot Elijah Winnington prevailed. The women's and men's 4x100m freestyle relays will bring an end to the day's proceedings at the Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall. Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ariarne, Titmus, Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky, Ian Thorpe, Pieter van den Hoogenband, Michael Phelps, Erika Fairweather, McIntosh, Australia's Sam Short, Elijah Winnington, Ahmed Hafnaoui, Germany's Lukas Martens, Winnington, France's Leon Marchand, Carson Foster, Jacob Whittle, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Toby Davis Organizations: Paris, Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall, Thomson Locations: FUKUOKA, Japan, Australia, Athens, Tunisia, Budapest, British, Bengaluru

☆ Italy's migration conference aims to stem flows by helping Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The meeting will focus on building partnership for projects in sectors including agriculture, infrastructure and health, an Italian government statement said on Friday. "The conference aims to govern the migration phenomenon, combat human trafficking and promote economic development according to a new model of cooperation between states," the statement said. Meloni, who has led a right-wing coalition since October, has so far floundered in her efforts to stem the increase. At least 94 people died when their ship broke up just off the coast of Calabria in late February. ($1 = 0.8946 euros)Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Keith Weir and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jihed, Giorgia Meloni, Mattei, Kais Saied, Angelo Amante, Keith Weir, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, United Arab, European Union, IMF, Reuters, Eni, Human Rights Watch, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sfax, Tunisia, Middle, Rome, Africa, Europe, Turkey, Libya, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, France, Calabria

☆ Stranded in a Strange Land, and Waiting for Death
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Vivian Yee | More About Vivian Yee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For nearly three weeks now, more than 1,000 men, women and children from Africa have been clinging to survival in the no-man’s lands at Tunisia’s borders. A few scrubby trees offer fitful shade, videos taken by migrants show, and border guards from neighboring Libya and Tunisian aid workers occasionally drop off water and a bit of bread. Over and over, they sent pleas for help from the dwindling number of phones they managed to keep charged:“Please help us. We are dying,” one wrote to The New York Times on Saturday. If there’s any way you can help us …”By Sunday, the text messages had stopped.

Persons: ” Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Africa, Tunisia’s, Libya, Sfax, Europe, North Africa

☆ Tunisia’s president is accused of racism and dictatorship. He’s now getting a billion euros from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Since 2011, the European Union has been supporting Tunisia’s journey of democracy,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after signing the agreement. But these difficulties can be overcome.”Several European lawmakers and human rights organizations have warned that any agreement that doesn’t include human rights assurances would be seen as an endorsement of Saied’s anti-democratic policies. Values lose.”Saied rose to power in 2019 after the death of Tunisia’s first democratically elected president Beji Caid Essebsi. The EU is cooperating with Tunisia on migration despite serious allegations of human rights abuses against migrants on Tunisia’s part. It brokered a similar agreement with Libya in 2017 despite documented human rights violations there.

Persons: Kais Saied, ”, Ursula von der Leyen, Sophie, Veld, ” Camille Le Coz, Tunisia’s, Beji Caid, Saied, von der Leyen, Georgia Meloni, Mark Rutte, Tunisia “, ” Max Gallien, ” Le Coz, ’ Gallien, Gallien Organizations: CNN, European Union, Civil Liberties, Justice, Home Affairs, Migration, Dutch, European Commission, EU, UN Refugee Agency, UN, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, European Council, Commission, Libya Locations: Tunisia, Europe, ‘, Brussels, Italian, Tunis, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Netherlands, France, Germany, EU, Africa, Libya

☆ In a Bid to Curb Migrants, Europe Strikes a Deal With Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | More About Monika Pronczuk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS — The European Union has struck a deal with Tunisia to try to stem the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, amid heated debate over the fallout of the bloc’s migration policies, including a shipwreck last month that was the deadliest in years. will provide a broad package of support for the North African country’s embattled economy. Tunis, the capital, is a major port city less than 130 nautical miles from the Italian island of Sicily, and even closer to smaller Italian islands. That makes Tunisia not just a source of migrants itself but also a major transit stop for sub-Saharan Africans who are trying to reach Europe. Tunisian authorities have come under fire for alleged rights abuses of sub-Saharan migrants, including rounding up hundreds of them and abandoning them at the desert border with Libya with no food or water.

Organizations: The European Locations: BRUSSELS, Tunisia, Europe, African, Tunis, Sicily, Libya

☆ Tunisia and EU sign pact to stem migration
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The deal follow weeks of talks and Europe's pledge of major aid to Tunisia amounting to 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) to help its battered economy, rescue state finances and deal with a migration crisis. All essential measures for bolstering efforts to stop irregular migration," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Twitter. The European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyens said the bloc will allocate 100 million euros to Tunisia to help it combat illegal migration. Thousands of undocumented African migrants have flocked to the city of Sfax in recent months seeking to head for Europe in traffickers' boats, amounting to an unprecedented migration crisis for Tunisia. "We are very pleased, it is a further important step towards creation of a true partnership between Tunisia and the EU, which can address in an integrated fashion the migration crisis," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Miloni said.

Persons: Kais Saied, Giorgia Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen, Mark Rutte, Read, Europe's, Ursula von der Leyens, Giorgia Miloni, Meloni, Saied, Tarek Amara, Crispian Balmer, Anthony Deutsch, Hatem Maher, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Dutch, European Union, Twitter, European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: Italian, Tunisia, EU, Tunis, TUNIS, Europe, Sfax, Rome, Italy, Libya, Amesterdam

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