Italy sends another group of 26 rejected migrants to Albania
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Italian authorities said Tuesday they have transferred a group of 26 rejected migrants to Italian-run detention centers in Albania.
The Italian navy ship Spica left the Italian port of Brindisi on Tuesday and docked in the Albanian port of Shengjin, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of the capital, Tirana, with 26 migrants, government sources in Rome said.
The transfer was also confirmed by sources at the port. From there, migrants are usually transferred to a second detention center in Gjader, 20 kilometers (12 miles) farther inland.
The Italian government has not released the migrants' nationalities or other details.
Both facilities in Albania, which are run by Italian authorities, were originally built to process asylum requests of people intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea seeking a better life in Europe by Italy. But after opening in October, Italian courts have stopped authorities from using them and small groups of migrants sent there have returned to Italy.
In March, Italy's far-right government led by Premier Giorgia Meloni approved a decree that expanded the use of the Albanian fast-track asylum processing centers to include the detention of rejected asylum-seekers with deportation orders.
It is not clear how long the migrants may be held in Albania. In Italy they can be detained for up to 18 months pending deportation. No information on the fate of the first group of 40 rejected migrants transferred in April is available. Local media have issued unconfirmed reports that 16 of them have been turned back to Italy.
The Albanian centers, which opened in October, welcomed three groups totaling 73 migrants in October, November and January. They spent only a few hours in Albania and were returned to Italy after Italian magistrates refused to validate their detention in the non-EU country.
The November 2023 agreement between Italy and Albania — worth nearly 800 million euros over five years — allows up to 3,000 migrants intercepted by the Italian coast guard in international waters each month to be sheltered in Albania and vetted for possible asylum in Italy or repatriation.
Italy has agreed to welcome those migrants who are granted asylum, while those whose applications are rejected face deportation directly from Albania.
——
Associated Press writer Maria Grazia Murru contributed from Rome.
___
Follow AP's global migration coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
PSG fans display banner calling for end to ‘genocide' in Gaza during Champions League final
MUNICH (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain supporters displayed a banner saying 'Stop (the) genocide in Gaza' during the Champions League final on Saturday. They raised it shortly after Achraf Hakimi gave their team a 1-0 lead against his former side Inter Milan in the 12th minute. Désiré Doué scored PSG's second after the banner was raised. PSG fans are known for their stance against the war in Gaza. They previously displayed a giant banner saying 'Free Palestine' in November during the Champions League match against Atlético Madrid. Israel's nearly three-month blockade on Gaza has pushed the population of over two million to the brink of famine. It has allowed some aid to enter in recent days, but aid organizations say far from enough is getting in. The U.N. World Food Program said the fear of starvation in Gaza is high. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 250 hostages. Israeli strikes have killed more than 54,000 Gaza residents, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Spike in steel tariffs could imperil Trump promise of lower grocery prices
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's doubling of tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum could hit Americans in an unexpected place: grocery aisles. The announcement Friday of a staggering 50% levy on those imports stoked fear that big-ticket purchases from cars to washing machines to houses could see major price increases. But those metals are so ubiquitous in packaging, they're likely to pack a punch across consumer products from soup to nuts. 'Rising grocery prices would be part of the ripple effects,' says Usha Haley, an expert on trade and professor at Wichita State University, who added that the tariffs could raise costs across industries and further strain ties with allies 'without aiding a long-term U.S. manufacturing revival.' Trump's return to the White House has come with an unrivaled barrage of tariffs, with levies threatened, added and, often, taken away, in such a whiplash-inducing frenzy it's hard to keep up. He insisted the latest tariff hike was necessary to 'even further secure the steel industry in the U.S.' That promise, though, could be at odds with his pledge to reduce food costs. Rising grocery prices, Trump has said, were among the biggest reasons voters swung his way. A look around a supermarket makes clear how many products could be impacted by new taxes on steel and aluminum, from beer and soda to dog food to can after can of beans, fruit, tomato paste and more. 'It plays into the hands of China and other foreign canned food producers, which are more than happy to undercut American farmers and food producers,' insists Can Manufacturers Institute president Robert Budway. 'Doubling the steel tariff will further increase the cost of canned goods at the grocery store.' Budway says production by domestic tin mill steel producers, whose products are used in cans, have dramatically decreased in recent years, making manufacturers reliant on imported materials. When those prices go up, he says, 'the cost is levied upon millions of American families.' Food companies were already warily assessing the administration's tariffs before the latest hike, which Trump said would go into effect on Wednesday. The Campbell Co., whose soup cans are a staple for millions of Americans, has said it was working to mitigate the impact of tariffs but may be forced to raise prices. ConAgra Brands, which puts everything from cans of Reddi-Whip to cooking sprays like Pam on supermarket shelves, likewise has pointed to the impact steel and aluminum tariffs have. 'We can't get all of our materials from the US because there's no supply,' ConAgra CFO David Marberger said at a recent Goldman Sachs conference on global staples. Beyond the obvious products — canned foods like tuna, chicken broth and cranberry sauce — economists warn of a spillover effect that tariffs can have on a gamut of items. If the cost to build a store or buy a truck to haul food rise, the prices of products may follow. Most Americans will never buy a tractor, but Babak Hafezi, who runs a global consulting firm and teaches international business at American University, says a price spike in such a big-ticket item vital to food production will spill down to all sorts of other items. 'If a John Deere tractor costs 25% more, consumers pay the price for that,' Hafezi says. 'This trickles down the economy and impacts every aspect of the economy. Some of the trickling is immediate and others are slower to manifest themselves. But yes, prices will increase and choices will decrease.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Trump appeared before a crowd of cheering steelworkers to unveil the new tariffs at a rally outside Pittsburgh. In a statement, David McCall, president of the United Steelworkers International union, called tariffs 'a valuable tool in balancing the scales' but 'wider reforms of our global trading system' are needed. It may be harder to gauge the weight of tariffs on, say, a can of chickpeas versus that of a new car, but consumers are likely to see myriad indirect costs from the levies, says Andreas Waldkirch, an economics professor at Colby College who teaches a class on international trade. 'Anybody who's directly connected to the steel industry, they're going to benefit. It's just coming at a very high cost,' Waldkirch says. 'You may get a few more steel jobs. But all these indirect costs mean you then destroy jobs elsewhere. If you were to add that all in, you come up with a pretty large negative loss.' ___ Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ and
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Hamas seeks amendments to Gaza ceasefire proposal but US envoy calls it ‘unacceptable'
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hamas is seeking amendments to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior official with the group told The Associated Press on Saturday, but U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff called the Hamas response 'totally unacceptable.' The Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, said proposed amendments focused on 'the U.S. guarantees, the timing of hostage release, the delivery of aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.' There were no details.
