TRIPOLI: Libya’s coast guard said it had intercepted nearly 500 migrants packed onto a wooden boat and returned them to Tripoli on Wednesday after warning off a ship that was preparing to pick them up for passage to Europe.
Footage filmed by Sea-Watch, a non-governmental organization, showed a Libyan coast guard vessel coming within meters of its own ship as it sped to stop the migrants.
Tripoli coast guard spokesman Ayoub Qassem said the incident occurred about 19 miles north of Libya’s coast.
It highlighted the confusion in the crowded waters as desperate migrants try to reach a better life and authorities scramble to deal with the chaos.
“An international rescue organization called Sea-Watch tried to hinder the work of our coast guard ... in a bid to take the migrants, claiming Libya is not safe for migrants,” he said.
Qassem said the coast guard had also exchanged fire with smugglers, but gave no details.
Ruben Neugebauer, a spokesman for Sea-Watch, said the NGO had received instruction from Italy’s coast guard control center in Rome that the Libyan coast guard would be taking over “on-scene command,” and that the Sea-Watch ship had stopped to await further instructions.
“Without any warning, they crossed our bow on the way to the migrant boat,” Neugebauer said. “They made an extremely dangerous maneuver. They nearly hit our boat, they endangered our crew.”
Libya is the main departure point for migrants hoping to reach Europe by sea. The country has been in turmoil for years and migrants living there or passing through say they are subject to a range of abuses. A record 181,000 made the trip in 2016 and arrivals in Italy so far this year are up 30 percent. Most are from sub-Saharan Africa.
Most migrants attempt the perilous journey on flimsy inflatable boats provided by smugglers that are barely equipped to make it to international waters. Larger wooden boats carrying several hundred migrants are rarer.
Some migrants are turned back by the Libyan coast guard, which generally delivers them to detention centers notorious for poor conditions and ill-treatment. The coast guard is receiving training from the European Union as it seeks to limit migrant departures and deaths.
Other migrants are taken to Italy after being picked up by NGO ships that run rescue missions, European or Italian naval and coast guard patrols, and other international vessels.
Qassem said the wooden boat intercepted on Wednesday was carrying nearly 300 Moroccans, 145 Bangladeshis, 23 Tunisians, and other migrants from elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East.
Those on board said they had left the western Libyan city of Sabratha on Tuesday night. There were about 20 women, some five of whom were being taken for medical treatment as they arrived in Tripoli. One appeared to be seriously ill.
One 24-year-old Moroccan man said he had come to Libya five weeks earlier in order to try to reach Europe. A 28-year-old man, also Moroccan, said he had been working in Libya for four years, but had decided to leave because the situation was deteriorating.
A Syrian woman on board said she had traveled through six countries to reach Libya, paying $1,000 in each and leaving two sons aged 12 and 13 behind in Jordan.
“I wanted to leave for Europe,” she said. “It was an attempt to get a better life and reunite my whole family in Europe, but unfortunately we couldn’t make it.”
Libyan coast guard turns back nearly 500 migrants after altercation with NGO ship
Libyan coast guard turns back nearly 500 migrants after altercation with NGO ship
Russia says no quick ‘breakthroughs’ in ‘complex’ Ukraine talks
Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of “deliberately” targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy
MOSCOW: Russia on Tuesday said it was wrong to expect a quick breakthrough in Ukraine talks, a day after Moscow rejected Kyiv’s call for an unconditional ceasefire at negotiations in Istanbul.
The sides agreed on a large-scale swap of captured soldiers and exchanged their roadmaps to peace, or so-called “memorandums,” at the discussions, which lasted under two hours.
More than three years into Russia’s offensive — which has killed tens of thousands on both sides and forced millions from their homes in eastern Ukraine — the two sides appear as irreconcilable as ever.
“The settlement issue is extremely complex and involves a large number of nuances,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
“It would be wrong to expect immediate solutions and breakthroughs,” he added.
Moscow demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of four eastern and southern regions that Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to pausing its offensive, according to the document handed to the Ukrainians that was published by Russian state media.
Kyiv had pressed for a full and unconditional ceasefire. Russia instead offered a partial truce of two to three days in some areas of the frontline, its top negotiator said after the talks.
Peskov also dismissed the idea of a summit between the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the United States.
“In the near future, it is unlikely,” Peskov told reporters when asked about the chances of the leaders meeting, adding that such a summit could only happen after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reach an “agreement.”
The White House had said on Monday US President Donald Trump was “open” to the idea, which is also backed by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Zelensky on Tuesday accused Russia of “deliberately” targeting civilians in a rocket attack on the city of Sumy, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Russian border, that killed three people.
Russian troops have accelerated their advance, seeking to establish what Putin called a “buffer zone” inside Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
Zelensky posted a video from the emergency services showing destroyed cars and the body of one victim lying on the road.
The attack “says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called ‘desire’ to end this war,” he added, calling for “decisive actions” from the United States and Europe to push Russia into a ceasefire.
“Every day, Russia gives new reasons for tougher sanctions and stronger support for our defense,” he said.
Three people were also killed in a rocket attack in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Moscow’s army said it had captured the village of Andriivka in the Sumy region, located around five kilometers from the Russian border.
Zelensky said last week that Russia was amassing some 50,000 soldiers for an offensive on the region.
Meanwhile Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed it had hit a pillar of the Crimean bridge, linking the annexed peninsula to Russia, with an underwater explosive device.
The extent of the damage was unclear and cars were on Tuesday using the bridge following a temporary closure after the attack.
A delegation of top Ukrainian officials also landed in Washington for talks with US officials on defense and economic issues, including the possibility of new sanctions, Zelensky’s office said.
Trump, who said he could end the conflict swiftly when he returned to the White House in January, has repeatedly expressed anger at both Putin and Zelensky as the fighting drags through its fourth year with no end in sight.
But he has held off from imposing new economic penalties on Moscow.
Magnitude 5.2 earthquake strikes off Crete — EMSC
- The quake was at depth of 17 km
SARAJEVO: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck in the sea off the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday but no damage or injuries have been reported, a Fire Service official said.
The quake was at depth of 17 km, 85 km away from the town of Heraklion, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center said.
Ukraine invited to NATO summit in The Hague: Zelensky
VILNIUS: Ukraine has been invited to a NATO summit later in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, after earlier warning it would be a “victory” for Russia if it was not there.
The heads of NATO states will gather in The Hague, Netherlands, from June 24-26, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s calls for alliance members to ramp up defense spending set to dominate the agenda.
“We were invited to the NATO summit. I think this is important,” Zelensky said Monday after he held a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Vilnius.
Kyiv is seeking to shore up its support from Europe because of uncertainties over vital military aid under Trump.
Last week Zelensky had said that “if Ukraine is not present at the NATO summit, it will be a victory for Putin, but not over Ukraine, but over NATO.”
Zelensky wants NATO to offer security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or peace deal with Russia — something Moscow has called “unacceptable.”
Support for Israel falling across Western Europe: YouGov
- As little as 20% of respondents in 6 surveyed countries hold positive views of Israel
- Trends mirrored in US polling, with negative sentiment among 53% of Americans
LONDON: Support for Israel in Western Europe has hit an all-time low amid the ongoing war in Gaza, according to YouGov.
Data compiled by the polling firm shows that less than 20 percent of respondents in six countries — Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Spain and the UK — have a favorable view of Israel, with unfavorable views accounting for 63-70 percent depending on the country.
The range for those surveyed who believe Israel’s actions in Gaza have been “right” and “proportionate” goes from 16 percent in France to as low as 6 percent in Italy. In the UK, 12 percent believe Israel’s response has been proportionate.
The question of whether Israel was right to invade Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, is slightly higher, with 29 percent of Italians and 40 percent of Germans agreeing. However, 24 percent of Italians and 12 percent of Germans feel that Israel should not have invaded Gaza at all. In the UK, 38 percent feel that the invasion was warranted, with 15 percent disagreeing.
Just 24-25 percent of French, German and Danish respondents feel that Israel has any justification continuing operations in Gaza. The total is 18 percent in the UK and 9 percent in Italy.
The highest number of people on Israel’s “side” in Western Europe is 18 percent in Denmark, while the lowest is Italy at 7 percent.
The lowest polled nation for supporting the Palestinian cause is Germany at 18 percent, while the highest is Spain at 33 percent.
The numbers of respondents believing that Hamas had any justification attacking Israel range from 9 percent to 5 percent. In the UK, the number is 6 percent.
Respondents are pessimistic about the prospects for peace in the region. The French audience is the most optimistic, with 29 percent saying they believe peace is possible in the next decade. At the other end of the spectrum is Denmark with just 15 percent.
The trends mirror polling from outside Europe. In April, Pew Research Center polling found that 53 percent of Americans held a negative view of Israel, up from 44 percent in March 2022.
In addition, Data for Progress found that 51 percent of Americans disagreed with Israeli plans to take full control of Gaza and move Palestinian civilians.
The same percentage said US President Donald Trump should “demand that Israel agree to a ceasefire” in Gaza.
UK govt under pressure from own MPs over Israeli arms exports
- Steve Witherden: ‘We can’t claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach’
- London previously suspended around 30 weapons export licenses but hundreds remain
London: UK authorities are under pressure to halt arms exports to Israel from MPs within the governing Labour Party.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended around 30 arms export licenses to Israel in September, amid warnings that the weapons could be used to breach international law in Gaza, but hundreds of other licenses remain in place.
During a parliamentary debate on Monday, Labour MP Steve Witherden criticized a lack of transparency on arms exports to Israel, and asked the government to explain what criteria would be needed to enact a broader ban.
He highlighted the UK’s role in the manufacture and export of parts for the F-35 fighter jet, which is used by the Israeli military.
Palestinian rights group Al-Haq has previously said the export license for F-35 parts creates a “carve-out” that gives “rise to a significant risk of facilitating crime” by the Israeli military.
Witherden said: “The foreign secretary’s recent condemnation of Israel’s action as ‘monstrous’ was welcome but incomplete, for my very same government continues to facilitate such actions.
“We can’t have it both ways. We can’t condemn atrocity whilst simultaneously fueling the machinery that enables it. We can’t claim to uphold international law while profiting from its breach.”
He added: “It’s the government’s position that the need to continue to supply F-35 components outweighs the risk of genocide and, if so, is there any circumstance that would lead to the UK stopping that supply?
“The government has claimed that there are red lines that would trigger a halt to exports, but Gaza is already a slaughterhouse.”
Witherden continued: “Children are emaciated or dying of hunger. Hospitals have been intentionally destroyed. Israel’s leaders vow to wipe out Gaza and still the weapons flow.”
He added: “I call on this government to suspend all arms exports to Israel to ensure that no British-made weapons are used in Israel’s brutal plans to annexe, starve and ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population.”
Trade Minister Douglas Alexander responded that UK rules prevent sales of F-35 components directly to Israel, but that as part of a global supply network, there are limits on what the UK could do to prevent parts reaching the country.
“Undermining the F-35 program at this juncture would, in the view of the government, disrupt international peace and security, NATO deterrence and European defense as a whole,” Alexander said, adding that he believes Israel’s actions in responding to the “act of barbarism” by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, have been “disproportionate” and “counterproductive to any lasting peace settlement.”
He reminded MPs of the government’s decision to suspend arms licenses shortly after taking office last year.
“This measure is still in place and I’d like to reiterate that, based on our current assessment of potential breaches of international humanitarian law, we aren’t licensing military equipment provided directly to the (Israeli military) that could be used for military operations in Gaza,” he told the House of Commons.
“It’s right to acknowledge that our export licenses granted in relation to Israel cover a wider remit than simply those items that may be used in Gaza.
“There are a relatively small number of licenses for the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) relating to equipment which we assess wouldn’t be used in the current conflict including, for example, parts of air defense systems that defend Israel from acts such as the major aerial attack from Iran in April 2024.
“We also think it’s right for us to continue providing military-grade body armor used by non-governmental organizations and journalists, and to provide parts to the supply chain which are ultimately re-exported back out of Israel to support the defense of our NATO allies.”
