Aug
Two boats carrying more than 500 migrants remain stranded in the Mediterranean after Italy and Malta refused to allow them to dock. Open Arms, the Spanish NGO operating one of the vessels, said they felt “abandoned” and criticised Europe’s alleged silence on the matter. It is now 12 days that the boat has been stranded […]
Aug
The Italian government on Monday won a confidence vote in the Senate on a decree targeting charities operating migrant rescue ships, in a victory for Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and his far-right League party. The government of the League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement has been riven by internal strife in recent weeks but won […]
Jul
An Italian coast guard vessel carrying some 130 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean has finally been allowed to dock in Sicily, but its passengers will not be allowed to leave the ship until Brussels decides on which countries will take them in, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said on Sunday. The EU had to give a clear […]
Jul
Italian police are investigating a leaked photo of a blindfolded American teenager who is accused of killing an officer in Rome. The photo of murder suspect Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, 18, was shown by Italian media on Sunday. Mr Natale-Hjorth and his friend, 19-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder, were arrested on suspicion of killing police officer Mario […]
Jul
The EU’s migration policy ignores problems faced by countries most affected by asylum seekers across the Mediterranean, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini complained on Sunday. Mr Salvini, also Italian Deputy Prime Minister, criticised the central roles played by France and Germany in setting migration policy for the EU. “Enough of making choices only in Paris […]
Jul
A migrant centre on the Italian island of Sicily which had been one of the largest of its kind in Europe has been officially shut down. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini attended the closure of the Mineo centre, which at its peak housed more than 4,000 people. The leader of the populist, right-wing League party, has […]
Jul
Migrant rescue boats have defied Italy and Malta’s attempts to block Italian ports to rescue ships to save dozens of migrants who in search of a better future by trying to reach European shores. Migrant rescue ship Alan Kurdi, operated by the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Sea-Eye, headed to Malta yesterday with 65 migrants on board, […]
Jul
All 54 survivors have been rescued and are now aboard,” Mediterranea, which is made up of left-wing activists, tweeted. “Among them 11 women [three pregnant] and 4 children… “Happy to have rescued 54 lives from the hell of Libya. Now we need a safe port.” Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini who has tried to close […]
Jul
Sea-Watch 3 entered the Italian port of Lampedusa without authorization early Saturday following a two-week standoff between the charity ship’s captain and Italian authorities. German captain Carola Rackete was arrested as the boat docked with 40 migrants remaining on board, spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told Agence France-Presse. Television footage showed a heavy security presence at the port and police escorting […]
Jun
The Sea-Watch 3 NGO boat carrying dozens of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean headed for Lampedusa island on June 26 despite the threat of hefty fines from Italy’s far-right interior minister. “I’ve decided to enter the port of Lampedusa,” Sea-Watch tweeted Captain Carola Rackete as saying. “I know this is risky, but the 42 shipwrecked on board […]
