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Europe migrant crisis: Dozens missing off Tunisian coast

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On March 24th, 2023, a migrant boat carrying dozens of people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, went missing off the Tunisian coast. The boat is believed to have been headed towards Italy, where many migrants attempt to seek asylum and a better life.

According to local reports, the boat had set off from the Tunisian city of Sfax, carrying around 50 to 60 people. However, it ran into trouble and is suspected to have sunk in the Mediterranean Sea. The Tunisian navy has launched a search and rescue operation, but so far, no survivors have been found.

The incident is just the latest in a series of tragic events involving migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better life in Europe. Many of these migrants come from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where they face poverty, conflict, and persecution. They risk their lives by taking dangerous journeys across the sea, often in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats.

The European Union has faced criticism for its response to the migrant crisis, with many arguing that it has not done enough to provide safe and legal routes for migrants to enter Europe. Instead, many are forced to take perilous journeys, risking their lives in the process.

The issue of migration has become a highly politicized one in Europe, with many countries taking a hardline stance against allowing migrants in. This has led to tensions between EU member states and has complicated efforts to address the issue.

As the search for survivors continues, the latest tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those attempting to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life. It also highlights the urgent need for the EU and its member states to find a humane and effective way to address the issue of migration.

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Italy migrant boat shipwreck: More than 100 people feared dead

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More than 100 passengers, possibly including children, are thought to have perished after their boat capsized in choppy waters off southern Italy. There have been at least 62 verified deaths among migrants, with 12 children, including a baby, reportedly among the dead.

On Sunday, the ship, which is believed to have been carrying 200 people, broke apart as it attempted to touch down close to Crotone. There were reportedly passengers from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

At a nearby seaside resort in the Calabria region, bodies were found on the beach. Many more are still missing, according to the coast guard, who said that 80 individuals had been rescued alive, “including some who managed to reach the land after the sinking.”

According to customs police, one survivor was detained on suspicion of trafficking in migrants. Many of the passengers were reportedly from Pakistan. More than a dozen Pakistanis are thought to have been among the deceased, according to Shehbaz Sharif, the country’s prime minister, on Monday.

A number of the survivors of the horrific disaster are still dealing with the death of their loved ones as help and relocation efforts go on. Some of them were sobbing silently inside a makeshift reception facility in the town of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, while others were simply covered in blankets and gazing into space.

Secretary General António Guterres called on nations to do more to assist refugees and migrants, as well as for safer transit routes and strengthened rescue operations, in a Monday morning address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, who was elected last year in part on a promise to stop the flow of immigrants into her country, expressed “great grief” and accused human traffickers for the deaths on Sunday.

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Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi acquitted in ‘bunga-bunga’ party case

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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was cleared of paying witnesses to fabricate stories about his infamous “bunga-bunga” parties.

The 86-year-old multibillionaire media tycoon was charged with paying young showgirls and other witnesses to provide false testimony on the allegedly pornographic gatherings.

The remaining 28 defendants were all found not guilty, including Moroccan dancer Karima El Mahroug, also known as Ruby, who was involved in a previous Berlusconi case. Berlusconi has had numerous legal battles.

Right-wing senator Ruby successfully appealed his conviction for paying for sex with a minor prostitute in the Ruby case. He denied having had intercourse with Ruby, and she denied ever having worked as a prostitute.

He has asserted innocence throughout his legal proceedings and charged that the prosecution is out for revenge on account of his political views. He argued that the gatherings, which some people had referred to as “orgies,” were actually formal dinners.

In 2013, Berlusconi was sentenced for tax fraud, which was the sole trial that resulted in a conviction. Italian justice was sympathetic with him because of his advanced age; he completed a year of volunteer work at a nursing home close to Milan. Between 1994 and 2011, Berlusconi served as prime minister three times. In the “bunga-bunga” trial, he was accused of paying witnesses millions of euros in hush money, but he insisted that the money was offered as compensation for persons connected to the notorious parties who had their reputations damaged.

He was temporarily barred from political office over his conviction for tax fraud, but won a seat in the Senate in 2022 elections.

His Forza Italia party plays a key role in Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She hailed his acquittal as “excellent news that puts an end to a long legal case that also had important repercussions on Italian political and institutional life”.

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Italy’s most-wanted Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro arrested in Sicily

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Matteo Messina Denaro, the most sought Mafia boss in Italy, was apprehended in Sicily after 30 years on the lam. According to reports, Messina Denaro was detained while undergoing cancer treatment in Palermo, the capital of Sicily.

He was prosecuted and given a life sentence in prison in absentia in 2002 for a number of killings; he is suspected of being a boss of the infamous Cosa Nostra Mafia. His arrest was carried out with the assistance of more than 100 military personnel.

According to Italian media, the Carabinieri apprehended Messina Denaro soon before 10:00 (09:00 GMT) and took him to a hidden location. According to reports, he went to the clinic under a false identity to receive chemotherapy.

A video circulated by Italian media appears to show people standing in the street and applauding the Italian police as Messina Denaro is led away.

Messina Denaro allegedly bragged that his victims could “fill a cemetery.” The formidable Cosa Nostra organised crime syndicate’s mafia boss also handled racketeering, illicit garbage disposal, money-laundering, and drug trafficking.

According to rumours, he was Tot Riina’s protege. Tot Riina was the boss of the Corleone family and was apprehended in 1993 after 23 years on the lam. Clans dubbed Messina Denaro “U Siccu” and “Diabolik,” both of which refer to elusive thieves in comic books (Skinny).

He is regarded as the final “secret-keeper” of the Cosa Nostra. He is thought to be the source of all information and the identities of people connected to numerous of the Mafia’s most notorious crimes, including the bombings that killed magistrates Falcone and Borsellino.

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Italy shooting: Three women shot dead in Rome cafe

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A guy opened fire at a cafe in Rome, killing three women and wounded four others, one of whom was a friend of Italy’s incoming prime minister. Inside, the residents’ committee of a nearby block was holding a meeting.

Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, called the shooting a “terrible episode of violence” and said he would be present at a Monday emergency meeting. In detention is a 57-year-old suspect. According to reports, he has a history of disagreements with certain of the committee’s board. The vice-president of the committee, Luciana Ciorba, was at the café in the Fidene neighbourhood, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

She claimed that the shooter had shouted “I’ll kill you all” as he entered the club on Sunday before pulling his gun. According to reports, he was overcome by neighbourhood residents before being arrested by authorities. One of the injured, thought to be two women and two men, is still in a critical condition.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, identified one of the victims as her friend Nicoletta Golisano. Sabina Sperandio and Elisabetta Silenzi were the names of the other two deceased women. Ms. Meloni expressed her sympathy to Ms. Golisano’s family in a Facebook post, saying she would always remember her friend as “beautiful and happy.”

A shooting range from which the suspect is suspected of stealing the weapon used in the attack has been closed, according to Ms. Meloni, and is the subject of an inquiry. The suspect, whose identity has been made public by the Italian press but not by the police, has not yet been explained by the police. It is believed that the attack was not political in nature.

According to reports, the suspect and the board of residents of the apartment building have been engaged in a protracted argument. In October, Giorgia Meloni, the head of the far-right Brothers of Italy party in Italy, was elected as the nation’s first female prime minister.

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Italy allows migrant boat to dock but many remain stranded

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After spending a week at sea, migrants from one of four rescue boats that Italy had barred from docking have been let to disembark, according to the charity that runs the vessel. On the Rise Above, 89 persons in total were permitted to set foot on land.

However, although Rome promises to stop irregular migrants from crossing the Mediterranean, individuals are still on three additional rescue boats. Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, has stated that she wants to prohibit human traffickers from “deciding who enters Italy.” Her right-wing administration has come under fire for refusing the rescue boats safe harbour.

But Chiara Cardoletti, the UN refugee commissioner’s representative in Italy, said that Italy had been on the front line of the migrant crisis for too long and she called on the European Union to find a common strategy.

“We appreciate what Italy has done by allowing boats to enter territorial waters, allowing children, women and people with medical problems to disembark,” she told the BBC. “Italy cannot be left alone, the European Union must step forward and find appropriate and faster solutions.”

On Monday, three people leapt into the water from the Geo Barents after being refused permission to disembark in the Sicilian port of Catania. They were among about 250 migrants told to remain on two boats in Catania after officials deemed them “healthy”.

The Rise Above is operated by the German nonprofit Mission Lifeline, which released a statement in which it expressed its “relief that the rescued persons are finally safe on land” at Reggio Calabria, on the Italian mainland, a short distance from Sicily. 89 people disembarked, with several of them being characterised as minors.

Authorities claimed to the Italian media that they were let to go because, in contrast to the two boats parked in Sicily, they had been picked up in a’save and rescue’ (SAR) incident in the Mediterranean.

The nonprofit organisation denounced the “undignified political game” that had left them adrift. Italian reports claim that the Rise Above’s crew has not yet been able to disembark.

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Italy stops adult male migrants from disembarking

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35 men have been unable to disembark from a migrant ship that has been demanding entry to an Italian port for two weeks due to Italy’s new far-right government.

In Sicily, passengers with disabilities and minors were permitted to disembark. One of four migrant-carrying ships awaiting approval to dock in Italy was the Humanity 1.

Giorgia Meloni, the next Italian prime minister, has vowed to crack down on migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. According to the UN, 85,000 migrants have arrived on boats in Italy since the year began, one of the main access routes into Europe. Many of the migrants embark on their journey in small boats and are saved by relief ships.

On Sunday morning, 144 individuals in total were permitted to disembark the Humanity 1, which flies the German flag. The “flag state” should look after those who do not “qualify” as vulnerable, according to Matteo Piantedosi, the interior minister of Italy.

The refugees’ attitude is particularly gloomy, according to the charity that operates the ship: “One individual just had a breakdown,” Petra Krischok of SOS Humanity told the AFP news agency. According to the charity, it is against international law to stop those in need of assistance from disembarking.

While three further ships carrying about 900 people have also asked to enter an Italian port, they have not yet been permitted to dock.

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Giorgia Meloni: Italy’s new PM takes aim at migrant boats in debut speech

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Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new far-right leader, emphasised her goal to stop migrant boats from crossing the Mediterranean in her first speech to MPs. She reiterated her campaign promise to stop boats leaving North Africa for Italy, saying, “We must end illicit departures and human trafficking.”

Italy has always served as a hub for unauthorised immigrants travelling to Europe. This year, more than 77,000 people have attempted the extremely risky crossing into Italy, placing stress on nearby communities. The Brothers of Italy party is led by Ms. Meloni, 45, who was elected as leader of a right-wing alliance.

She addressed the lower house of parliament, “We do not seek in any way to dispute the right to asylum for individuals escaping wars and persecutions. In terms of immigration, what we want to accomplish is make it impossible for people traffickers to choose who gets into Italy.

She referred to herself as a “underdog” and acknowledged the responsibility of becoming the first female leader of her nation while paying thanks to the many Italian women who had come before her in “breaking this ultimate glass ceiling.”

She was greeted with a standing ovation and cries of “Giorgia, Giorgia”.

Even though the Meloni government was only sworn in on Saturday, it has already reverted to a stance taken in 2018–19 by one of its parties, the far-right League.

Matteo Piantedosi, the new interior minister, threatened to restrict ports to two rescue boats carrying hundreds of migrants just before the prime minister spoke, claiming that the Ocean Viking and Humanity1 were breaking the law.

Mr. Piantedosi was instrumental in the prior policy that forbade migrant-carrying rescue boats from arriving in Italian ports. That ultimately led to the League’s leader, Matteo Salvini, facing charges of kidnapping and obstructing the arrival of the rescue vessel Open Arms transporting 147 migrants in Sicily in 2019.

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Italy votes as far-right Meloni looks for victory

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In an election that is being widely watched around Europe, Italians will decide whether to elect their most right-wing administration since World War Two. Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, is attempting to unite two other right-leaning parties in order to become the nation’s first female prime minister.

She dislikes being associated with Italy’s fascist past despite having softened her image. Up to 23:00, nearly 51 million Italians may use their right to vote (21:00 GMT). Long lines were observed at some polling places in Rome by lunchtime, when turnout had reached over 19%, a level similar to that of the previous election four years prior.

Enrico Letta, the leader of the center-left, was Ms. Meloni’s main opponent. Matteo Salvini, a supporter of the far-right, voted in Milan. There are 4.7 million foreign voters and 2.6 million first-time voters. When the polls close, exit polls will be released, and the results will be available hours later.

One voter hailed her “strong character,” while another claimed she had voted to keep the extreme right out, in the southern Rome neighbourhood of Garbatella, where the Brothers of Italy leader grew up. Emma stated, “I don’t want to win; it’s not who I want to win.”

Giorgia Meloni has toned down her rhetoric towards Europe and supports Western sanctions against Russia.

But she continues to support the old fascist adage, “God, fatherland, and family,” which was popularised by Benito Mussolini.

A unity administration led by Mario Draghi, a well-liked former head of the European Central Bank, governed Italy for a year and a half. One of the few party leaders who steadfastly declined to participate was Giorgia Meloni.

The primary goal of the Draghi administration was to implement the reforms that were agreed upon as part of the EU’s eye-watering €200 billion (£178 billion) in grants and loans for post-Covid recovery. Meloni wants those measures to be reviewed in light of the energy crisis because by July the administration had disintegrated. Additionally, she has expressed a desire to “protect” Italy’s national interests within the EU. It seems sense that many European leaders are anxiously monitoring this vote.

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Italy: Floods and rain kill at least 10 overnight – officials

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Authorities in Marche, Italy, reported that at least 10 people had perished as a result of nocturnal flash floods. Late on Thursday, torrential rain forced rivers and streams to overflow, flooding coastal towns near the regional capital of Ancona.

A half-worth year’s of rain, or about 400mm (16 inches), fell in a few of hours. Four more people, including a kid who was split up when a river burst its banks, are still missing and being sought for by rescuers. Local mayor Ludovico Caverni told the state-run RAI radio station that “it was like an earthquake.”

A mother who managed to leave her car while holding her infant in her arms reportedly lost sight of him after becoming submerged in water when the River Misa burst its banks.

Emergency personnel were able to save the woman over night, but several people remain unaccounted for, according to local media. In addition to the 10 confirmed fatalities, 50 additional patients were reportedly being treated in hospitals in Italy for hypothermia and other flood-related injuries.

More than 180 firefighters are helping with the rescue operations by removing residents who were compelled to scale trees or climb onto their roofs to flee the rising water overnight. Video reveals that some of the rescuers reached the stranded families using dinghy rafts and helicopters.

The neighbouring coastal areas were parched after an extremely dry summer and unable to absorb the massive amounts of water that were raining down.

Local officials claim that even though rain was predicted for the area, the accompanying flash floods completely caught everyone off guard.

According to Reuters, regional administrator for the Marche region Stefano Aguzzi told reporters, “We were given a regular rain alert, but nobody had expected anything like this.”

Weather forecasters claimed that a combination of two factors—unusual high temperatures in September and an ongoing drought throughout the summer—explained the intensity of the floods.

Due to the heat, the water was warmer than usual for the season, which increased the amount of moisture in the air. Because of the extreme summer drought, the land was unable to quickly absorb the rain that a storm later discharged as moisture.

Fears about the effects of climate change have increased as a result of unusually hot weather and low rainfall levels in northern Italy.

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