ABOARD THE OPEN ARMS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA: A Spanish rescue boat plucked 60 migrants from a rubber dinghy in the sea near Libya on Saturday, prompting Italy's hard-line interior minister to immediately announce it won't be allowed to dock in any Italian port.
The vessel, run by Spanish humanitarian group Proactiva Open Arms, said it rescued the migrants — including five women, a nine-year-old child and three teenagers — after it spotted a rubber boat patched with duct tape floating in the sea. All the migrants appeared in good health.
Italy's right-wing Interior Minister Matteo Salvini quickly responded, saying the boat "can forget about arriving in an Italian port." He claimed the boat should go to Malta, the nearest port. But Malta swiftly pushed back, with its interior minister contending the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, was closer.
Salvini has vowed that no more humanitarian groups' rescue boats will dock in Italy. In recent years, private rescue vessels brought many of the hundreds of thousands of migrants saved from smuggler boats to Italy.
On Saturday Salvini contended on Twitter that the Open Arms had taken on the migrants before a Libyan motorboat, in Libya's search-and-rescue zone, could intervene.
But the boat's captain, Marco Martinez, said he informed the Rome-based Maritime Rescue Coordination Center and was instructed to call Libyan maritime authorities, who didn't answer either phone or by radio. The captain said officials in Rome then told him it was up to him to decide whether to carry out the rescue or not.
An AP journalist who was aboard a nearby companion vessel when the dinghy was spotted reported that a Libya coast guard vessel was seen approaching the Open Arms, but just as it neared the rescue, it made a U-turn and left, ordering the Open Arms to return to Spain.
Malta's interior minister, Michael Farrugia, tweeted back his retort to Salvini. "Quit spreading incorrect news, dragging Malta into it for no reason," he wrote, attaching a map which he said indicated the rescue occurred in Libya's search-and-rescue area and in waters between Libya and Lampedusa.
Saturday's operation was the latest that highlighted political tensions in the European Union over which countries should bear the burden of incoming asylum-seekers.
Spanish rescue boat saves 60 migrants off Libyan coast
Spanish rescue boat saves 60 migrants off Libyan coast
- A Spanish rescue boat plucked 60 migrants from a rubber dinghy in the sea near Libya on Saturday.
- Italy's hard-line interior minister immediately announced that the boat won't be allowed to dock in any Italian port.
Suspect in Michigan synagogue attack is dead, AP source says
- The person confirmed the death at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township
- Patel said agents were on scene of an “apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation” at the synagogue
MICHIGAN, USA: The suspect in an attack on a synagogue in Michigan is dead, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press, after a sheriff said security at the largest Reform Synagogue in the US had engaged in gunfire.
The person confirmed the death at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, but did not provide additional details. The person could not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The person said no one else was reported injured.
Oakland County Sheriff Sheriff Mike Bouchard confirmed during an earlier news conference that security at the synagogue had engaged in gunfire with at least one person, and that no one was in custody.
WDIV-TV reported that a truck had crashed into the synagogue. Smoke could be seen billowing from the synagogue’s roof. Footage from the scene shows dozens of police vehicles surrounding the building.
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents were on scene of an “apparent vehicle ramming and active shooter situation” at the synagogue.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s office said authorities are clearing the building. About a dozen parents sprinted to get their children from an early childhood learning center inside the building after getting approval from police. West Bloomfield School District went on lockdown.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement saying she was tracking developments.
“This is heartbreaking,” the governor said. “Michigan’s Jewish community should be able to live and practice their faith in peace.”
Temple Israel calls itself the nation’s largest Reform synagogue, with 12,000 members. according to its website. It has an early childhood education center and offers educational programs for families and adults.
The website says the synagogue is “passionate about helping Jewish communities across the globe” and that its mission is to “create a community building through the lens of Reform Judaism.”
The Jewish Federation of Detroit advised all Jewish organizations in the area “to go into lockout protocol — nobody in or out of your building.”
