Arnaldo Pomodoro, whose bronze spheres decorate prominent public spaces around the world, dies at 98
Pomodoro died at home in Milan on Sunday, the eve of his 99th birthday, according to a statement from Carlotta Montebello, director general of the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Searchers seek missing after deadly Italy migrant shipwreck
Rescue vessels resumed a desperate search Thursday for migrants missing at sea after two crowded boats sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa, with 27 dead already confirmed. Sixty survivors were brought to shore on Wednesday, two of them taken by helicopter to Sicily for treatment and the others held in the reception centre on the island, according to the Red Cross. "Of the 58, 21 are minors. They spent a quiet night and are generally in good health," said Imad Dalil, the Red Cross official who runs the reception centre. The majority are Somali, with a few Egyptians, he added. Authorites have started efforts to identify the bodies found so far. Around 95 people were on the boats according to the UN, with the number of confirmed dead rising to 27 overnight, suggesting around eight people were missing. "At least 27 people have drowned in a tragic shipwreck near Lampedusa," said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in a social media statement. "Over 700 refugees and migrants have now died in 2025 in the Central Mediterranean. "All responses -- rescue at sea, safe pathways, helping transit countries and addressing root causes -- must be strengthened," he said. - 'Waves took them both' - Lampedusa, just 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia, is often the first port of call for people trying to reach Europe in leaky or overcrowded boats. An Italian helicopter spotted a capsized boat and several bodies in the water on Wednesday, about 14 nautical miles off Lampedusa, the coastguard said. The boats had left Tripoli, Libya, earlier in the day, it said. According to survivors, one of the boats started taking on water, causing people to climb onto the other boat, which then capsized. A newborn baby was among the dead, according to Italian news reports. One Somali woman lost her son and husband, according to an account reported by the Corriere della Sera. "I had my son in my arms and my husband beside me. I don't know how, but we found ourselves in the water. The waves took them both away from me," she said. Five vessels searched for survivors, including one from the EU's Frontex border agency, alongside a helicopter and two aircraft. Despite the tragedy, the boats kept coming, with four others intercepted off Lampedusa overnight, according to the Red Cross. A total of 240 people are currently being held in the reception centre waiting for processing, Dalil said. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered "deepest condolences" to the victims and vowed to step up efforts to tackle migrant traffickers. Her hard-right government took office in 2022 vowing to cut the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe. More than 38,500 people have arrived on Italian shores so far this year, according to interior ministry figures. This is slightly up on last year, but significantly less than the 100,000 reported by the same time in 2023. ar/tw
New York Times
19 hours ago
- New York Times
At Least 26 Migrants Drown Off the Italian Island of Lampedusa
At least 26 people drowned on Wednesday after two boats carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa, according to the Italian Coast Guard, which said search and rescue operations were still underway. The migrants had been making the perilous journey across the central Mediterranean from Libya when the boats capsized, and 60 people were rescued at sea, said Filippo Ungaro, the Italian spokesman of UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. Italian news reports said that a baby and three teenagers were among the victims. It wasn't clear how many people may still be missing. Most of the survivors — 56 men and four women, the Italian Red Cross said — were taken to a migrant center on Lampedusa, where some told volunteers they had been traveling on two rickety boats. After one boat began to take on water, some of the migrants scrambled onto the other boat, which capsized as a result of the added weight, according to accounts told to the International Organization for Migration, another United Nations agency. The Coast Guard said the death toll was 'provisional and being updated.' More than 32,000 migrants have died in Mediterranean waters since the migrant organization began tracking deaths at sea in 2014. So far this year, 675 migrants have died or have gone missing while making the central Mediterranean crossing to Italy and Malta, but that does not include the 26 who drowned on Wednesday, said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the migrant organization. In past reports on deaths at sea, humanitarian agencies have noted that 'the real number of dead and missing along these routes is believed to be higher as many incidents go unreported or undetected.' More than 38,200 migrants have managed to make the crossing to Italian shores so far in 2025, according to Italy's interior ministry. The boats that sank on Wednesday went down 14 nautical miles from the coast of Lampedusa, officials said. They said that the vessels left Zawiya, west of Tripoli, early Wednesday and that the causes of the shipwreck were still unknown. Vessels, helicopters and planes from the Italian Coast Guard, Italy's financial police and Frontex, the European Union's border agency, were involved in the rescue operations, the Coast Guard said. The Italian branch of Sea-Watch, the German nongovernmental organization that operates rescue boats for migrants in the Mediterranean, expressed 'rage and frustration' on X after what it described as the 'umpteenth shipwreck.' It added that civil rescue ships could have helped immediately had they been alerted. Mr. Ungaro, of the UNHCR, said search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean should be reinforced, and called on Europe to better support Italy and its coast guard. He also urged Europe to open humanitarian corridors for migrants, in particular those escaping from wars and countries where their rights have been violated. Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed 'deep sorrow' over the fate of the victims and assailed human traffickers that profit from these journeys. She said the government was committed to fighting traffickers 'in the only way possible: by preventing irregular departures and managing migration flows.' Sea rescues were not enough, she added.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Migrant boat capsizes off Italy and leaves at least 20 people dead, UN says
ROME — A boat carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized Wednesday off the Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least 20 people and leaving another dozen missing, the U.N. refugee agency said. Sixty survivors have been brought to a center in Lampedusa, said a UNHCR spokesman in Italy, Filippo Ungaro. According to survivor accounts, there were 92 to 97 migrants on board when the boat departed Libya. Authorities have recovered 20 bodies, and were searching for another 12 to 17 survivors, according to the UNHCR. It was not immediately known how long the migrants had been at sea. According to the UNHCR, 675 migrants have died making the perilous central Mediterranean crossing so far this year, not counting the latest sinking.
