Pope Slams ‘Indifference’ towards Migrants Arriving in Europe by Sea

Sep 23, 2023 | The head of the Catholic Church has urged nations to overcome what he calls a "paralysis of fear" about refugees and migrants. Pope Francis is on a tour in Marseille, in southern France.

There has been a surge in the number of refugees and migrants arriving on Europe's shores in recent weeks.

Al Jazeera's Natasha Butler has this report from Paris, France.

Cyprus I A Mediterranean Journey I ARTE.tv Documentary

Cyprus is one of the oldest civilisations in the Mediterranean. In the Troodos Mountains, winemaker Lefteris Mohianakis and his wife Kristina make an award-winning Cypriot dessert wine - the achievement of a lifetime. In Ayia Napa, we meet marine biologist Louis Hadjioannou, who devotes himself to studying lionfish.

Cyprus I A Mediterranean Journey I ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until the 31/07/2023

Who Wants Migrants Rescued from the Mediterranean Sea? | Inside Story

The arguments over who should take responsibility for refugees arriving in Europe are heating up again. EU leaders have long been divided about how to handle the migrant crisis, which is being highlighted by the grueling voyage undertaken by 630 migrants now in Spain. They were stranded at sea for more than a week because of a diplomatic row. Italy and Malta refused to accept them after being rescued from overcrowded dinghies off the coast of Libya.

After much debate, the new Spanish government allowed the charity ship Aquarius and two other vessels to dock in Valencia. Anti-immigration sentiment has increased in Europe with right-wing parties who want tougher rules making gains in Austria, Germany and Italy.

There is widespread agreement that the EU needs to overhaul asylum and immigration laws, but disagreement on how. An EU summit is due to discuss new rules in Brussels at the end of this month. Can they overcome their deep divisions?

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam | Guests: William Lacy Swing - Director General, International Organization for Migration; Francesco Galietti - Head of Policy Sonar political risk consultancy

Migrants Killed in 'Religious Clash' on Mediterranean Boat

About 1,000 people a day are being rescued at the moment
trying to reach the Italian coast

BBC AMERICA: Italian police say they have arrested 15 Muslim migrants after they allegedly threw 12 Christians overboard following a row on a boat heading to Italy.

The Christian migrants, said to be from Ghana and Nigeria, are all feared dead.

In a separate incident, more than 40 people drowned after another migrant boat sank between Libya and Italy.

Almost 10,000 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean have been rescued in recent days. Italy has called for more help from the EU to handle the crisis.

More than 500 people from Africa and the Middle East have died making the perilous crossing since the start of the year. Earlier this week, 400 people were believed to have drowned when their boat capsized. » | Thursday, April 16, 2015

Spain: "The Mediterranean Corridor of Jihadism"

Samira Yerou was arrested March 7 at Barcelona's airport, on
suspicion of running a jihadist recruiting network.

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: The arrests have, once again, cast a spotlight on the problem of radical Islam in Catalonia, which has the largest Muslim population in Spain. The region is home to an estimated 465,000 Muslims, who account for more than 6% of the total Catalan population of 7.5 million.

Catalonia is home to approximately 465,000 Muslims. At least 10% of them are estimated to be "radicals" who are hardcore believers in the "doctrine of jihadism." — Jofre Montoto, Catalan terrorism analyst.

In February, the lower house of the Spanish Congress approved far-reaching changes to the country's penal code, as a way to combat Islamic extremism and support for the Islamic State.

Under the new law, anyone convicted of carrying out a terrorist attack will be subject to a life sentence (35 years) without the possibility of parole. The law also calls for 20-year sentences for anyone convicted of supplying weapons to terrorists, or ten-year sentences for funding terror networks.

Spanish police have arrested a Moroccan woman on suspicion of running a jihadist recruiting network for the Islamic State.

Samira Yerou, 32, was arrested at Barcelona's El Prat airport on March 7 upon her arrival on a flight from Turkey, where authorities had detained her for trying illegally to enter Syria with her three-year-old son, a Spanish citizen.

Police say Yerou, who lives in Rubí, a Catalan town situated 15 kilometers north of Barcelona, disappeared in December 2014, while her son's father, a Moroccan-Spaniard, was away on a trip to Morocco. Spanish authorities issued an international warrant for Yerou's arrest.

In a statement, the Spanish Interior Ministry said Yerou had specialized in recruiting women from Europe and North Africa to join the Islamic State. She allegedly became interested in militant Islam after visiting Morocco during the summer of 2013, and later became radicalized through the Internet by "spending many hours consulting" jihadist websites. The boy, who was unharmed, has been returned to his father.

Yerou is one of at least 50 jihadists who have been arrested in Spain during the past twelve months alone. Most of the arrests have taken place in Catalonia and in Spain's North African exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. » | Soeren Kern | Wednesday, March 11, 2015

THOMAS STEWART: ISIS May Herald Return of the Barbary Pirates

Americans contemplating a Mediterranean cruise in the near future should perhaps think again. Islamic State militants are now close to securing control of part of the Libyan coast. If they succeed, cruise ships and merchant vessels could be their next targets. The threat is real. Seth Cropsey, a former naval officer and current director of the…

Church Condemns Government as Un-Christian over Stance on Drowning Migrants

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bishop says refusal to support rescue operations in Mediterranean by Europe’s leading naval power is an abdication of moral responsibility

The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the British Government as un-Christian over its rejection of rescue missions for refugees drowning in the Mediterranean.

Bishop Patrick Lynch, who speaks for the Church in England and Wales on migration, said the decision not to support a rescue missions was “a misguided abdication of responsibility” to thousands of desperate people feeling war and persecution in the Middle East and Africa.

He said that as Europe’s “leading naval power” the UK has a moral responsibility to step in to save those risking death attempting to reach Europe.

His remarks came as the Home Office reiterated its stance that search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean, where around 3,000 migrants are estimated to have drowned this year alone, were simply acting as a “pull factor for illegal migration”.

It claims that rescuing migrants has led to more deaths. » | John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor | Thursday, October 30, 2014

Russian Missile Destroyer Heads Towards Mediterranean

Russia Sends Missile Cruiser to Mediterranean

CHINA DAILY: MOSCOW - Russia is sending a missile cruiser to the east Mediterranean to take over the navy's operations in the region, state agency Interfax quoted a military source as saying on Wednesday, as the United States prepares for a possible military strike in Syria.

President Barack Obama has won backing from key figures in the US Congress in his call for limited US strikes on Syria to punish President Bashar al-Assad for his suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.

The ship, Moskva, will take over operations from a naval unit in the region that Moscow says is needed to protect national interests. It will be joined by a destroyer from Russia's Baltic Fleet and a frigate from the Black Sea Fleet.

"The Cruiser Moskva is heading to the Gibraltar Straits. In approximately 10 days it will enter the east Mediterranean, where it will take over as the flagship of the naval task force," the source said. » | Agencies | Thursday, September 09, 2013


RIA NOVOSTI: Russia Sends 1 More Warship to Mediterranean Sea Fleet – Official: MOSCOW – Russia will send another warship to the Mediterranean Sea next week, a high-ranking Russian Navy official told RIA Novosti Friday. » | Ria Novosti | Friday, September 06, 2013