LESBOS, Greece: When Pope Francis visited the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016, he was so moved by the stories he heard from families fleeing war in Iraq and Syria that he wept and brought a dozen refugees home with him.
Speaking to reporters on the way home that day, he held up a drawing handed to him by a child from the island’s sprawling refugee camp.
“Look at this one,” he said, revealing a bird neatly decorated in colored pencil, the word “peace” scrolled in English underneath it. “That’s what children want: Peace.”
Francis is returning to Lesbos this week for the first time since that defining day of his papacy, making a repeat visit to the island where hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants have passed through on their journey to Europe.
But he will find attitudes toward migrants here have only hardened in the intervening five years, as they have elsewhere in Europe, with tensions flaring on the border between European Union country Poland and Belarus and more deadly crossings — most recently in the English Channel.
Francis will first stop in Cyprus, another predominantly Orthodox Christian country in the Mediterranean that is also coping with a rise in refugees so significant that the government is seeking to stop processing asylum claims. As he did in Lesbos five years ago, Francis has arranged for several would-be refugees in Cyprus to travel to Italy after his visit, Cypriot officials say.
“They are our brothers and sisters,” Francis said in a video message to Greek and Cypriot faithful before the trip. “How many have lost their lives at sea! Today our sea, the Mediterranean, is a great cemetery.”
The pontiff starts his five-day trip on Thursday in Cyprus before heading to Greece on Saturday. He returns home on Monday.
While Francis’ renewed messages of compassion and welcome for migrants isn’t quite resonating in European capitals, they are a welcome salvo for the migrants themselves.
“His presence here will strengthen us, spiritually, and give us hope, some comfort,” said Christian Tango Muyaka, a 30-year-old asylum-seeker from Congo who is due to participate in a Sunday service with the pope at a new migrant camp on Lesbos.
“It gives us faith, it strengthens our faith,” he said.
Muyaka was separated from his wife and youngest daughter a year ago on the Turkish coast when they scrambled to board a boat bound for Greece. He has had no news of what happened to them since.
The north coast of Lesbos, just 10 kilometers (six miles) from Turkey, served as the main landing point for boats crossing into Europe during the 2015-16 migration crisis.
Piles of discarded orange life vests covered beaches, local fishermen helped daily rescue operations, and island residents took pride in setting up campaigns to provide hundreds of refugees arriving daily with food and clothing.
Fast forward five years, and the welcome mat is gone.
Migrants reaching the eastern Greek islands are now being held in detention camps, newly built and funded by the EU. Coast guard patrols are instructed to intercept dinghies and boats heading west and send them back to Turkey.
The overcrowded camp on Lesbos that Francis was taken to in 2016 burnt to the ground last year during protests against pandemic restrictions.
And along Greece’s land border with Turkey, a new steel wall and hi-tech sensor network have been installed to stop illegal crossings.
Eva Cosse at Human Rights Watch said Francis’ visit will serve as an urgent reminder of the human nature of the crisis.
“At a time when people are suffering and their rights are threatened, having the pope standing up for them and expressing these concerns is more important than ever,” she told The Associated Press. “Since the pope’s last visit, Greece continues to host large numbers of asylum-seekers while failing to protect their rights.
“Thousands seeking refuge in Greece are violently pushed back to Turkey. Migrant children face homelessness and a lack of access to health care, education and food. And nongovernmental groups face legislative restrictions and criminal harassment by officials.”
Greek authorities deny allegations of summary deportations. They argue that tougher border policing is necessary to counter hostility by several EU neighbors accused of exploiting the crisis and to limit arrival numbers to manageable levels.
“(Francis’) message is that we are one world, that we don’t have borders, that everybody is a child of God. Look, this is the religious point of view,” said Dimitris Vafeas, the deputy director of Mavrovouni migrant camp on Lesbos where the pope will visit.
“In practical terms, I think Greece has delivered ... so I think (Francis) will see calm faces. I don’t dare say happy faces, but calm for sure.”
Migrant crisis front and center in pope’s Greece-Cyprus trip
https://arab.news/2fxzz
Migrant crisis front and center in pope’s Greece-Cyprus trip
- Francis will first stop in Cyprus, a country in the Mediterranean that is coping with a rise in refugees so significant that the government is seeking to stop processing asylum claims
- Greece continues to host large numbers of asylum-seekers while failing to protect their rights
Pickup truck driver killed by police after driving through Texas mall and injuring 5
- The truck crashed into the department store in Killeen, 109 kilometers north of the state capital Austin
- Emergency medical services transported four victims to area hospitals and another traveled to a hospital separately
The truck crashed into the department store in Killeen, about 68 miles (109 kilometers) north of the state capital Austin, around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and continued into the building, striking people as it went, Sgt. Bryan Washko of the Texas Department of Public Safety said in an evening news briefing.
Emergency medical services transported four victims from the mall to area hospitals and another traveled to a hospital separately. They ranged in age from 6 to 75 years old and their conditions were not immediately known, he said.
The chase began around 5 p.m. on Interstate 14 in Belton, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Killeen, after authorities received calls about an erratic driver in a black pickup, Ofelia Miramontez of the Killeen Police Department said.
The driver then pulled off the road and drove into the parking lot of the mall.
“The suspect drove through the doors and continued to drive through the JCPenney store, striking multiple people,” Washko said. “The trooper and the Killeen police officer continued on foot after this vehicle, which was driving through the store, actively running people over. He traveled several hundred yards.”
Officers from the state public safety department, Killeen and three other law enforcement agencies “engaged in gunfire to eliminate this threat,” Washko said.
One of the officers who traded gunfire with the suspect was working as a security guard at the mall and others were off duty, he said.
Washko did not have information about the suspect’s identity at the time of the briefing.
Witnesses interviewed by local news outlets outside the mall said they heard multiple gunshots and saw people fleeing through the mall.
India child marriage crackdown reaches nearly 5,000 arrests
- India is home to more than 220 million child brides, according to the United Nations
- The legal marriage age in India is 18 but millions of children are forced to tie the knot when they are younger
GUWAHATI, India: A crackdown on illegal child marriages in India’s northeast has resulted in nearly 5,000 arrests, after 416 people were detained in the latest police sweep, a minister said Sunday.
“We will continue to take bold steps to end this social evil,” Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of Assam state, said in a statement.
“Assam continues its fight against child marriage,” he added, saying raids have been carried out overnight and that those arrested would be produced in court on Sunday.
India is home to more than 220 million child brides, according to the United Nations, but the number of child weddings has fallen dramatically this century.
Assam state had already arrested thousands in earlier abolition drives that began in February 2023, including parents of married couples and registrars who signed off on underage betrothals.
It takes the total now arrested to more than 4,800 people.
Sarma has campaigned on a platform of stamping out child marriages completely in his state by 2026.
The legal marriage age in India is 18 but millions of children are forced to tie the knot when they are younger, particularly in poorer rural areas.
Many parents marry off their children in the hope of improving their financial security.
The results can be devastating, with girls dropping out of school to cook and clean for their husbands, and suffering health problems from giving birth at a young age.
In a landmark 2017 judgment, India’s top court said that sex with an underage wife constituted rape, a ruling cheered by activists.
Russian defense ministry says it downed 42 Ukrainian drones overnight
- The heads of the Rostov and Bryansk regions said there were no casualties or damage after the latest drone attacks
MOSCOW: Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday its air defense systems destroyed 42 Ukrainian drones over five Russian regions during the night.
Twenty drones were shot down over the Oryol region, eight drones each were destroyed in the Rostov and Bryansk regions, five in the Kursk region and one over Krasnodar Krai, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
One attack triggered a fire at a fuel infrastructure facility in the village of Stalnoi Kon, said Andrei Klychkov, the governor of Oryol.
“Fortunately, thanks to the quick response, the consequences of the attack were avoided — the fire was promptly localized and is now fully extinguished. There were no casualties or significant damage,” he said.
It was the second week in a row where fuel infrastructure facilities in Oryol have been attacked.
The heads of the Rostov and Bryansk regions said there were no casualties or damage after the latest drone attacks.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.
China says US is ‘playing with fire’ after latest military aid for Taiwan
- US President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million for Taiwan
- Separately, the Defense Department said Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved
BEIJING: The Chinese government protested Sunday the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.”
US President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and in military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department said Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement urged the US to stop arming Taiwan and stop what it called “dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Taiwan is a democratic island of 23 million people that the Chinese government claims as its territory and says must come under its control. US military sales and assistance aim to help Taiwan defend itself and deter China from launching an attack.
The $571 million in military assistance comes on top of Biden’s authorization of $567 million for the same purposes in late September. The military sales include $265 million for about 300 tactical radio systems and $30 million for 16 gun mounts.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the approval of the two sales, saying in a social media post on X that it reaffirmed the US government’s “commitment to our defense.”
New hope for flight MH370 families as Malaysia agrees to resume search
- Plane carrying 239 people went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014
- Families say they hope new search operation will offer ‘long-awaited answers and closure’
KUALA LUMPUR: The families of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers have welcomed with renewed hope the announcement of a new search for the aircraft, which disappeared more than 10 years ago in one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014.
The search became the most expensive operation in aviation history but ended inconclusively in 2018, leaving the families of those on board still haunted by the tragedy.
On Friday, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that he hoped to “give closure to the families” as the government agreed to allow private contractor Ocean Infinity, which was the last to try to locate the plane, to resume search efforts.
He told reporters that the operation would focus on a new area spanning 15,000 sq. km in the southern Indian Ocean — a development raising hope among relatives of passengers and crew aboard flight MH370.
“The significance of this renewed search cannot be overstated. For the families of passengers, the scientific community and global civil aviation safety, it offers renewed hope for long-awaited answers and closure,” Voice 370, the association representing them, said in a statement.
“We, the next of kin, have endured over a decade of uncertainty, and we hope that the terms of the renewed search are finalized at the earliest and the decks are cleared for the search to begin.
“We continue to hope that our wait for answers is met.”
Ocean Infinity, the private underwater exploration firm that will undertake the $70 million search, was briefly involved in the 2018 efforts after a three-year operation covering 120,000 sq. km of the Indian Ocean failed to locate the aircraft and was suspended in 2017.
The new agreement was met on a no-find, no-fee basis, meaning that Ocean Infinity will be paid only when the wreckage is found.
“We are encouraged by Ocean Infinity’s readiness to deploy their advanced fleet, including sophisticated vessels, AUVs and cutting-edge imaging technologies,” Voice 370 said.
“We gather that the company has followed this up with thorough due diligence, analyzing all available data, and alternative scenarios proposed by independent researchers and recommendations on potential search areas.”
Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of March 8, 2014 and lost communication with air traffic control less than an hour later. Military radar showed the aircraft had deviated from its planned path. It remains unclear why that happened.
Many conspiracy theories have emerged to explain the aircraft’s disappearance, ranging from suspicions of the captain’s suicide to concerns over the 221 kg of lithium-ion batteries in the plane’s cargo, as well as the involvement of passengers, two of whom were found traveling on stolen passports.
When the probe was suspended, Kok Soo Chon, head of the MH370 safety investigation team, told reporters in July 2018 that his team was “unable to determine the real cause for disappearance of MH370” and “the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found.”
