'Games of Thrones' Liam Cunningham and Greta Thunberg set sail aboard 'Madleen' to protest Gaza blockade
The Gaza Freedom Flotilla set sail from Sicily on Sunday, aiming to challenge the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The vessel, named Madleen after a Palestinian fisher, carries prominent international figures including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, actor Liam Cunningham, and EU lawmaker Rima Hassan. Their participation has drawn global attention to the effort, which organisers describe as a peaceful mission to 'break the siege.'
This departure follows a drone strike last month that disabled a previous vessel, Conscience, near Malta. The Madleen is now the latest attempt to reach the enclave by sea. It carries humanitarian aid and is equipped with a live-tracker
Greta Thunberg addressed the media before boarding: 'The world cannot be silent bystanders. This silence and passivity that we are seeing from most of the world is deadly. We are seeing a systematic starvation of 2 million people. Every single one of us has a moral obligation to do everything we can to fight for a free Palestine.'
Rima Hassan, who has been denied entry into Israel over her vocal stance on Palestinian rights, also joins the voyage alongside other rights advocates.
The mission, according to its organisers, is both humanitarian and symbolic, intended to spotlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and put pressure on global leaders to intervene. While the flotilla's fate remains uncertain, the passengers appear committed to drawing international focus on the blockade and its consequences.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
10 hours ago
- Express Tribune
German court rules against migration crackdown
Berlin The new German government's policy of turning asylum seekers away at its borders is illegal, a court ruled on Monday, dealing a blow to one of conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz's flagship measures. The policy was brought in on May 7, just a day after Merz and his cabinet took office with a promise to crack down on irregular migration. However, Berlin's Administrative Court said in a statement that people "who express the wish to seek asylum while at a border check on German territory may not be sent back" before it was determined which state was responsible for processing their claim under the EU's so-called "Dublin" system. Monday's decision follows an appeal made by three Somali nationals who encountered an immigration check at a train station at Frankurt an der Oder on the Polish border on May 9. They expressed their wish to claim asylum but were sent back to Poland the same day. The court said that their pushback was illegal and that its "findings can also be applied to other cases" of people being turned away at Germany's borders. However, the court also ruled that "the petitioners cannot demand to be allowed into" Germany. The process of establishing which EU state is responsible for the asylum application "can be carried out at or close to the border", the court said. The court rejected the government's argument that the Dublin procedure could be disregarded if this is necessary to "keep public order and protect domestic security". The government had failed "to demonstrate a danger to public security or order" that would justify such a move, the court said. Under the Dublin procedure, irregular migrants should be registered in the EU country they first enter. Should they head to another nation in the bloc, they can in most cases be returned to their first port of call in the EU. The German government has limited options to challenge the decision, for example by appealing to the federal Constitutional Court. The new policy of pushing back undocumented migrants at Germany's borders, including almost all asylum seekers, was quickly introduced after Merz's government took office early last month. This was despite worries voiced by some in his coalition's junior partner, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), that the policy was not legally sound. The government has also stressed that the pushbacks were temporary and that the longer-term solution has to be improved security at the EU's external borders. According to the interior ministry, 1,676 people were denied entry to Germany in the first two weeks of the new policy being applied, including 32 people who wanted to claim asylum. A crackdown on irregular migration was a key plank of Merz's platform for February's general election. That vote saw the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) score its best-ever result of just over 20 percent and Merz insists that action on migration is the only way to halt the party's growth. The new government's pushback policy has led to some irritation among Germany's neighbours as well as fears of adverse impacts on cross-border commuters and border communities. AFP
Express Tribune
11 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Cinecittà plans comeback despite Trump's tariffs
Europe's largest film studio Cinecittà is aiming to re-launch Italy as a film powerhouse, even as U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on foreign productions cast a shadow over the film industry globally. Cinecittà, the homonymous company that manages Rome's historic film studio, approved a five-year plan this week backed by the EU's post-COVID Recovery Fund, which includes building new high-tech sound stages and boosting production capacity by 60% by 2026. "We want to lead the game," said CEO Manuela Cacciamani. "Cinecittà must be a factory that works at full capacity with excellence as a minimum standard." Founded in 1937 under Benito Mussolini's fascist rule, Cinecittà became known as the "Hollywood on the Tiber". It has hosted over 3,000 films, attracting world-renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese, Federico Fellini and Francis Ford Coppola. The company is targeting revenue of 51.9 million euros ($58.8 million) in 2029, almost double the 2024 figure, and aims to turn a 4.3-million-euro net profit after a loss of 11.6 million euros last year. Trump has said he will impose a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the United States to save Hollywood from "a very fast death", but has issued few details on how the levy would work. The tariff plan threatens to disrupt the current industry set-up, in which big U.S. productions rely on the services of studios around the world that can provide expertise, cheaper costs and striking location scenery. Trump's sweeping tariffs were temporarily reinstated by a federal appeals court on Thursday, a day after a U.S. trade court blocked them, ruling Trump had exceeded his authority. Cacciamani told Reuters Cinecittà was monitoring developments "with the utmost care". "The hope is that two historic powers of cinema worldwide, (Italy and the U.S.) which owe so much to each other, will continue to cooperate," she said. Italy's tax credit of up to 40% for film production is "among the most competitive worldwide", Cinecittà said, helping attract some of last year's international successes such as Emilia Perez and the papal thriller Conclave. Among projects slotted for filming in Cinecitta this year is Mel Gibson's The Resurrection of The Christ, a sequel to his 2004 The Passion of The Christ. Gibson is one of Trump's "Special Ambassadors" in Hollywood, tasked with rescuing the US film industry alongside actors Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone. Reuters
Business Recorder
18 hours ago
- Business Recorder
US stocks retreat on heightened tariff tensions
WASHINGTON: US stocks mostly slipped Monday on global trade tensions, with China rejecting Washington's accusations that it violated a pact to de-escalate tariffs, while President Donald Trump's plans to double steel levies added to strain with the EU. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4 percent to 42,109.92, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index lost 0.1 percent to 5,903.38. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent to 19,153.48. 'Every time it seems as if the trade war is cooling off,' said Sam Stovall of CFRA Research, 'another little fire gets set.' Wall Street Week Ahead: Jobs data, tax bill, trade on tap for rebounding US stocks 'I think that's an issue,' he added, noting that tariffs could push inflation measures higher. Temperatures between Washington and Beijing rose as Trump on Friday accused China of violating a deal to temporarily lower tit-for-tat tariffs, signaling renewed strain in trade ties. China denied Trump's claims, saying on Monday that Washington made 'bogus charges' against it. It vowed to push ahead with countermeasures to safeguard its interests if necessary. Separately, Trump's announcement late Friday that he would double US tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50 percent starting midweek sparked dismay from the European Union over the weekend. The bloc said Saturday that it 'strongly regrets' the planned tariff hike and warned it was prepared to retaliate. Steel stocks surged Monday on Trump's tariffs announcement, with mining firm Cleveland-Cliffs' shares popping by more than 20 percent. Looking ahead, investors will be eyeing official employment data released at the end of the week. 'We're heading into a month in which a lot of the economic data could end up being a bit challenging,' said Stovall.
