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Italy recovers eight bodies from migrant boat

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Italy recovers eight bodies from migrant boat

Italy’s coastguard recovered the bodies of eight migrants in the Mediterranean, officials said Friday, as a debate rages over Rome’s crackdown on rescue charities in the world’s deadliest crossing.

Rescuers found the bodies of five men and three women — one of whom was pregnant — in a boat late Thursday, according to Filippo Mannino, the mayor of the tiny island of Lampedusa.

The 42 survivors on board were brought ashore, he told AFP.

The deaths come ahead of a European Council summit next week at which Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will push for greater assistance from the bloc on managing boat migrants.

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Italy’s geographical position makes it a prime destination for asylum seekers crossing from North Africa to Europe, and Rome has long complained about the number of arrivals.

Mannino said he had only been mayor six months but migrant arrivals were continuous and bodies of those who died were being brought to the island almost weekly.

“The situation is becoming truly dramatic. Europe must do something, the government must do something. I’ve lost count of the number of dead,” he said.

Nearly 5,000 migrants have landed in Italy since the start of the year, according to the interior ministry, up from just over 3,000 in the same period last year and 1,000 in 2021.

Meloni was visiting Berlin and Stockholm Friday as she attempted to rally support ahead of the summit for EU mechanisms to boost repatriations and readmissions of migrants whose asylum bids fail.

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Her new right-wing government has sought to limit the actions of charity vessels that rescue migrants, sparking criticism last week from the Council of Europe that the policy would risk lives.

Baby overboard

Charity vessels only rescue a small percentage — around 10 percent — of migrants brought to safety in Italy, with most saved by Italian coastguard or navy vessels.

But the government accuses charity ships of acting as a pull factor and encouraging people traffickers.

The migrants brought to Lampedusa late Thursday were soaked through and those who perished were believed to have died of cold and hunger, according to Italian media reports, citing translators who spoke to the survivors.

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The migrants told translators they had sailed from Sfax in Tunisia in the early hours of Saturday.

The bodies of two people were still missing, ANSA news agency said Friday.

Survivors said a four-month-old baby on board had died, and his mother in her grief had put the body in the sea. A man then jumped in to recover it, but drowned, they said, according to ANSA.

The baby’s mother was believed to be one of the three women who died.

Some 1,377 people died or went missing during the crossing last year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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Hinder life-saving assistance

Rescue charities say they perform an essential role in preventing deaths at sea.

The decree law brought in by Meloni’s government at the start of January tightens the rules, obliging charity ships to only perform one rescue at a time.

They have also been routinely ordered to take survivors to ports in northern rather than southern Italy.

Those journeys are much longer and more costly and the charities warn it reduces their abilities to help those in need.

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In a letter to Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi last week, the Council of Europe warned the decree law “could hinder the provision of life-saving assistance by NGOs in the Central Mediterranean”.

It might also “be at variance with Italy’s obligations under human rights and international law”, Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic wrote.

Piantedosi insisted in a reply Wednesday that the decree was not putting lives at risk. 

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India formulate security plan for World Cup 2023

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India formulate security plan for World Cup 2023

 India have chalked out a comprehensive plan for multi-layer security and management of traffic for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup 2023. 

A security official told Indian media that arrangements had been made for smooth influx of fans into the stadiums and maintain uninterrupted traffic flow on roads.

He said multi-layer security plan had been designed for the mega event, adding that a communication system would also be established for seamless coordination between security agencies and local cricket association. 

The security teams would ensure the safe movement of teams from hotel to stadium and back by creating secure pathways. 

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As several stadiums, including Pune, are situated at a considerable distance from the city, seamless arrangements have been made to handle the logistical challenge in an effective way.

Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad police Vinoy Kumar Choubey said told Indian media, “We will be putting in place a multi-layer security cover in and around the stadium. A detailed plan for the same is in the making.

“Each layer will have a specific purpose and a pre-decided number of personnel and officers will be tasked to secure each layer. A communication channel has been established between the MCA office bearers and our team.”

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South Korea opposition leader ends 24-day hunger strike

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South Korea opposition leader ends 24-day hunger strike

 South Korea’s opposition leader ended a 24-day hunger strike on Saturday, a party spokesperson said, two days after parliament voted to let prosecutors serve an arrest warrant against him for alleged bribery.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will maintain a schedule including court attendance while hospitalised for the time being, the spokesman told reporters.

Prosecutors this month sought the warrant in an investigation into bribery allegations concerning a development project. Prosecutors accuse Lee of asking a company to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea when he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province.

He is also accused of breaching his duty over losses of 20 billion won ($15 million) by a municipal development corporation when he was mayor of Seongnam city.

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Lee, who lost South Korea’s presidential election to conservative Yoon Suk Yeol last year, has denied wrongdoing, calling the allegations “fiction” and a “political conspiracy”.

He began his protest on Aug. 31, citing the government’s economic mismanagement, threats to media freedom and the failure to oppose Japan’s release of wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, among other reasons.

Thursday’s surprise vote by parliament, controlled by Lee’s party, has caused an uproar among his supporters.

Police on Saturday detained a man in his 40s who had posted the names of more than a dozen lawmakers outside Lee’s party faction, writing “gotta search for the sniper rifle at home”, said an official with the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police. Police will seek an arrest warrant against him for intimidation, the official said.

South Korea is to hold parliamentary elections in April.

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Landslide causes large chunk of Swedish motorway to collapse

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Landslide causes large chunk of Swedish motorway to collapse

 A large chunk of a motorway in southwest Sweden collapsed overnight, causing three people to be taken to hospital with light injuries, police said on Saturday.

The landslide damaged the motorway between Sweden’s second-biggest city Gothenburg and Norway’s capital Oslo, near the small town of Stenungsund, around 50 km north of Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast.

“The landslide has affected an area of around 100 x 150 meters, around ten vehicles, a wooded area, and a business area with a gas station and a fast food restaurant,” the Gothenburg Rescue Services said.

“A number of people have been helped out of vehicles in the slide area with the help of fire personnel and a helicopter,” they said. Several cars and one truck had fallen into holes and cracks caused by the landslide, Swedish news agency TT reported.

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A rescue services spokesperson told public broadcaster SVT all people in the vehicles had been helped out. The rescue services said specially trained staff and search dogs would now search the area, and that further slides could not be ruled out.

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