ATHENS: Greek authorities said Friday they safely evacuated dozens of migrants from a sailboat reported in trouble off the southern coast of Greece, amid a rise in migration to the Mediterranean country.
The coast guard said all the people on board, estimated at up to 70, were transferred to a patrol boat in international waters southwest of the Peloponnese region, and were being taken to the port of Katakolo.
The evacuation followed a large search and rescue operation involving three coast guard patrol and rescue boats, a navy ship, aircraft and four merchant vessels, a coast guard statement said.
It was launched after Greek maritime authorities received an alarm message early Friday reporting a boat in danger some 70 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of the port of Pylos in the Peloponnese.
The coast guard said the migrants’ boat was not letting in water or otherwise in danger, as had been initially reported.
The incident occurred near the site of a maritime tragedy in mid-June that left hundreds of migrants dead or missing after a fishing trawler sank in international waters while traveling from Libya to Italy. Greece was heavily criticized for failing to safely evacuate the ship before it sank.
It was unclear where the yacht had sailed from.
International waters off southwestern Greece are on a route used by smugglers in recent years to carry migrants in overloaded sailboats from Turkiye to Italy. Longer and more dangerous than the short crossing to Greece’s eastern Aegean Sea islands, it’s used in an attempt to bypass Greek coast guard patrols in the Aegean.
Also Friday, the coast guard rescued 22 migrants from a stranded sailboat off the eastern Aegean island of Rhodes.
Greece has seen a rise in migrant arrivals from Turkiye, mostly by sea, in recent weeks amid more clement summer sailing conditions.
Greece safely evacuates dozens of migrants from a sailboat off the southern coast
https://arab.news/jhnm9
Greece safely evacuates dozens of migrants from a sailboat off the southern coast
- People on board were transferred to a patrol boat in international waters southwest of the Peloponnese region
Trump says Australia will grant asylum to Iran women footballers
MIAMI: US President Donald Trump said Monday that Australia had agreed to grant asylum to some of Iran’s visiting women’s football team, amid fears they could face retaliation back home for not singing the national anthem before a match.
The gesture ahead of the team’s Asian Cup match against South Korea last week was seen by many as an act of defiance against the Islamic republic just two days after the United States and Israel attacked it.
“I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of,” Trump said Monday on his Truth Social network, less than two hours after an initial post urging Australia to take them in.
Trump added that “some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return.”
There was no immediate comment from the Australian government, which has so far declined to say whether it could offer the players asylum.
Asked about their case on Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia “stands in solidarity” with the people of Iran.
The son of Iran’s late shah, US-based Reza Pahlavi, warned on Monday that the refusal to sing the anthem could have “dire consequences,” and urged Australia to offer the team protection.
Trump then weighed in, pressing Albanese to “give ASYLUM” to the team and adding: “The US will take them if you won’t.”
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” the US leader said on Truth Social.
Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, has billed himself as the man to lead a democratic transition to a secular Iran as the theocratic regime fights to survive.
Politicians, human rights activists and even “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling have also called for the team to be offered official protection.
“Please, protect these young women,” Rowling said in a post on social media.
‘Save our girls’
A presenter on Iranian state TV had branded the players “wartime traitors” after they stood motionless during the anthem before their match against South Korea.
In subsequent games, the players saluted and sang.
Crowds gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium where the side played their last match over the weekend, banging drums and shouting “regime change for Iran.”
They then surrounded the Iranian team bus, chanting “let them go” and “save our girls.”
On Monday, an AFP journalist saw members of the team speaking on phones from their balcony of their hotel.
Asked about the possibility of granted asylum, a spokesperson for Australia’s Home Affairs department told AFP earlier it “cannot comment on the circumstances of individuals.”
Amnesty International campaigner Zaki Haidari said they faced persecution, or worse, if they were sent home.
“Some of these team members probably have had their families already threatened,” Haidari told AFP.
“Them going back... who knows what sort of punishment they will receive?“
Despite being heavily monitored, the side would have a “small window of opportunity” to seek asylum at the airport, he said.
Iran’s embassy in Australia did not respond to a request for comment.
