CATANIA, Italy: More than 1,400 migrants disembarked in Italy on Friday, the first of more than 4,400 who are expected to come ashore during the day after being picked up by rescue boats this week in the southern Mediterranean.
Their arrival comes as the Italian government, looking to stem the flow of migrants into the country, has drawn up a draft code of conduct for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the Mediterranean.
The Interior Ministry said that up until July 13, some 86,123 migrants had come to Italy so far this year, up 10 percent on the same period in 2016.
While NGOs have criticized plans for a code of conduct, saying it will make it more difficult to help migrants fleeing poverty and war, a UN spokeswoman said Italy needed more help dealing with the crisis.
“Basically, in Italy we need more solidarity from the rest of the European Union. In Libya we need more stability, but we also need across all of Africa better investment in order to help people (there),” said Carlotta Sami, spokeswoman for UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Besides 1,428 newcomers who disembarked from an Italian coast guard vessel in the Sicilian port of Catania, a further 935 were due in the southern Italian port of Salerno, 860 were due to arrive in Brindisi and 1,200 in Crotone.
Over 4,400 migrants arrive in Italian ports
Over 4,400 migrants arrive in Italian ports
Russia will examine Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ invite: Putin
- Invites were sent to dozens of world leaders with a request for $1 billion for a permanent seat on the board
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said Russia would study US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace.”
“The Russian foreign ministry has been charged with studying the documents that were sent to us and to consult on the topic with our strategic partners,” Putin said during a televised government meeting. “It is only after that we’ll be able to reply to the invitation.”
He said that Russia could pay the billion dollars being asked for permanent membership “from the Russian assets frozen under the previous American administration.”
He added that the assets could also be used “to reconstruct the territories damaged by the hostilities, after the conclusion of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.”
Invites were sent to dozens of world leaders with a request for $1 billion for a permanent seat on the board.
Although originally meant to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the board’s charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian coastal enclave and appears to want to rival the United Nations, drawing the ire of some US allies including France.
