Mediterranean News

The tragedy unfolded at a beach in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, when a young boy ran into the sea and began having difficulties.

A total of 1,422 migrants and refugees perished attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa this year, while 48,629 entered Europe, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN migration agency, said.

Up to 10,000 people stranded in refugee camps and detention centres in Libya could be relocated to Europe in 2018, the Italian government said today.

EU states have pledged to take 34,000 refugees directly from Africa and the Middle East, officials said on Wednesday a day after the UN slammed the bloc's "inhuman" cooperation with Libya to stop migrant boats.

The European Union's policy of helping the Libyan authorities intercept migrants in the Mediterranean and return them to "horrific" prisons in Libya is "inhuman", the United Nations said on Tuesday. 

Last week, Libya's coastguard rescued more than 3,000 migrants aiming to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, while Italy picked up another 2,000.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu, in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Israel was prepared to act unilaterally to prevent an expanded Iranian military presence in Syria.

Some 125,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean by boat this year, according to UN figures, with the vast majority arriving in Italy before travelling on to other EU members. An estimated 2,400 have died en route.

 The humble citrus fruit lemon, a cash crop, was introduced in ancient Rome from Israel and was once considered an item of luxury as well as a status symbol for the ruling elite, a study has found.

Italy has been the main gateway to Europe since a 2016 deal with Ankara shut off the route from Turkey to EU member Greece, which had mostly been used by Syrian refugees.

Italy has also been working to stem migrant arrivals in Libya through better controls on the southern border, cooperation with countries like Niger, Chad and Mali that migrants transit on their way to the Mediterranean and a voluntary repatriation programme.

A total of 43 migrants from Pakistan and Arab countries, as well as several Libyan families, were also rescued by a team from the Coast Guard of the Libyan city of Misrata in the early hours of Friday.

Libyan Coast Guard teams have rescued over 600 migrants from the Mediterranean waters off the coast of the Arab nation, rescue services said on Saturday.

Almost 600,000 migrants have arrived in Italy over the past four years, putting Italy`s network of reception centres under huge strain and causing increasing political tensions.

"According to the survivors about 40 others are missing, including seven children," he said. The body of one woman was had already been recovered.  

Turkey today has over 35,000 troops in Cyprus. Sticking points include security guarantees and hopes among Greek Cypriot leaders for the removal of those forces. 

In 2014, when Italy ran its own search-and-rescue operation called Mare Nostrum, charities carried out less than one percent of all rescues. So far this year, they have carried out more than a third of rescues, according to Italy`s coastguard, which coordinates all the rescues from Rome.

The move has raised fears of a new upsurge in violence, with Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza having fought three wars since 2008.

A Russian warship and a submarine have fired four cruise missiles from the Mediterranean to hit Islamic State manpower and equipment near the Syrian city of Palmyra, Russian news agencies cited the Defence Ministry as saying on Wednesday.

"This number does not include some 6,000 people who have been rescued over the past 72 hours," said Dujarric.