mediterranean

Pope Francis has expressed his sorrow over the recent shipwreck off the coast of Libya in which as many as 150 people lost their lives.

Turkey on Tuesday hit back at E.U. measures designed to punish Ankara for its illegal drilling operations off Cyprus, alleging anti-Turkish “prejudice and bias” in the decision while adding the fine will “in no way” affect the country’s activities in the eastern Mediterranean.

When Turkey dispatched a second ship to drill for oil and gas in disputed waters off Cyprus last month, it drew fire not just from rival Nicosia but also the rebuke of Western allies and threats of EU sanctions.

Turkey made clear on Wednesday it has no intention of heeding a European Union warning to cease illegal drilling activities off Cyprus.

What was once Europe’s biggest migrant reception centre, in Mineo in Sicily, is to officially close on Tuesday in the presence of its biggest critic, far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) – Cyprus’ interior minister is accusing Turkey and breakaway Turkish Cypriots of helping to traffick migrants to the internationally recognized southern part of the ethnically split island nation.

French high school students attending anti-racism sessions this week have been warned that it would be “bizarre” to feel greater emotion over the Notre-Dame cathedral fire than about the plight of migrants in the Mediterranean.

A tanker hijacked by migrants it picked up in the Mediterranean has docked in the tiny island nation of Malta following a special forces operation. 

Sea-Eye, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which ferried migrants to Europe, has claimed that despite a three-week search off the coast of Libya, they were unable to find a single migrant to “rescue” before returning to port in Mallorca.

MADRID (AP) – Spain’s government says that unauthorized immigration by sea has dropped in the last month, falling to 930 people arriving in February compared to over 4,000 in January.

Doctors Without Borders says 116 migrants have been “forcibly returned” to Libya after a day and a half at sea.

The director of Italy’s largest migrant reception centre has slammed left-wing open borders activists, saying mass migration policies have done far more harm than good to Italy and to migrants.

MILAN (AP) – The Italian Coast Guard says that the ship operated by the German NGO Sea-Watch will not be allowed to leave port due to safety violations.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s Delek Drilling and its U.S. partner, Noble Energy, said Sunday the foundation of their rig for the Leviathan gas field has arrived, in the first stage of an ambitious project they say will wean Israel off coal and revolutionize its economy by turning it into an energy exporter.

(AFP) — Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini said Sunday he was gathering legal evidence against the crew of a Dutch-flagged migrant ferry as calls grow for 47 migrants to be allowed to land.

The Italian secret service has warned that people-smugglers in the Mediterranean may seek to engineer a mass drowning in order to garner Western sympathy and resume the flow of migration.

Workers of Israel’s Sea Turtle Rescue Center have rushed to save dozens of injured sea turtles that have washed up along the country’s coast.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that Israel, Greece and Cyprus will sign an agreement early next year to build a pipeline to carry natural gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe, while the United States pledged its support for the ambitious project.

Greek authorities say they have broken a criminal ring that smuggled migrants that had entered Greece illegally to Italy by using small vessels departing from remote beaches.

Libyan authorities forcibly removed dozens of migrants who had barricaded themselves in a container ship in the port city of Misrata for the past 10 days after being picked up at sea.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told the foreign ministers of Greece and Cyprus last month that he is deeply pessimistic about Turkey’s future as a democracy under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said he believes its economy is destined for further decline.

Italian populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has threatened to start returning migrants back to Libya if other European Union countries do not start taking in rescued migrants.

Tunisian authorities have arrested nine Islamist extremists who attempted to board a rubber boat to reach Italy across the Mediterranean on Monday.

The bodies of a man and a woman who went missing Saturday in the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean respectively were found by authorities Monday morning.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has made clear his strong stance on unlimited mass migration after he refused to take part in an EU-wide effort to distribute the migrants of a fishing boat that landed on an Italian island Monday.

BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is urging EU member countries to put more money into an Africa trust fund as the bloc looks to set up migrant screening centers outside Europe. Mogherini said Monday that

Contents: Spain’s offer to take in Aquarius migrants is rejected as dangerous to migrants; Italy cries victory, portending a growing EU migrant crisis this summer

CAIRO — The Egyptian president declared on Wednesday that his country “scored a goal” by signing a $15 billion deal with an Israeli company to supply natural gas that will help turn Egypt into a regional energy hub.

Hezbollah threatened on Sunday to target Israel’s Mediterranean natural gas rigs in a future conflict, the latest in a string of such threats.

People across the West increasingly feel like they are “strangers” in their home countries, with Italy leading the pack.