Migrant boat capsizes off Italy and leaves at least 20 people dead, UN says
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.
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Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
2 Widows Unexpectedly Find Love in Different Countries, Despite Not Speaking the Same Language (Exclusive)
"She took my heart away," Dwight Mosberg, from California, says of his Italian bride, Gina Ceccarelli NEED TO KNOW Widowed after more than six decades, Dwight Moberg and Gina Ceccarelli found love again through a friend who played matchmaker But first, Menbere Aklilu had to track down Ceccarelli in Italy to thank her for her kindness 40 years earlier Although Ceccarelli and Moberg lack a common language, the two fell in love and communicate in other ways, including through Google Translate It's hard enough to find true love, but to discover it twice in one lifetime? The notion seemed impossible to widowed octogenarians Dwight Moberg, who lived in Richmond, Calif., and Gina Ceccarelli, of Rome. Both were living solitary lives continents apart — without even a shared language. But, as the 89-year-old Moberg tells PEOPLE, 'In our hearts, we both speak the same language.' Fate conspired to bring them together in an unlikely series of events: The couple, who celebrated their first wedding anniversary on July 12, tell PEOPLE they'd each had long, happy marriages. They never expected romance to come knocking again at their door. And then Ceccarelli, 82, was coaxed into coming to America for a visit by a long-lost friend, who also happened to be Moberg's neighbor. Moberg heard the neighbor, Menbere Aklilu, speak of Ceccarelli's kindness to her when she was escaping a past, abusive relationship. When he saw the elegant Italian beauty last year in California, he was smitten. 'She took my heart away,' Moberg says. 'Seeing her next door and how friendly she was to us, and then later on we went walking every morning together ... it just sort of multiplied things from that point on.' Their matchmaker, Aklilu, was repaying a kindness by Ceccarelli from many years ago. Her life has been filled with adventures, heartache, blessings and love. The child of rape, she grew up in Ethiopia, raised by a half-brother after their mom was murdered by a local policeman. Seeking a new life as an actress, Aklilu married and moved to Rome to pursue her dreams. But once there, she realized her husband was an abuser and, then a pregnant young woman, she fled to a shelter days before giving birth to son Christian in 1984. There she found Ceccarelli, a sympathetic worker who would sneak food to her and help in any way she could. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In the '80s, Aklilu left Italy to find a new life in the United States, going on to become a successful restaurateur, philanthropist and activist. But she never forgot Ceccarelli. So almost 40 years later — and at the urging of her son — she decided to track the older woman down. She discovered the widow living in a small town in the mountains, some two hours from Rome, resigned to the fact that she was in her waning days of life. Ceccarelli's children and her grandchildren were grown, with kids of their own. They visited, but she was largely on her own. Her first husband, Biagio Fochetti, had died after 65 years of marriage. Then Aklilu appeared. 'How [could] I forget her? I was bringing her dinner every night, my leftover dinner, and hiding it under her bed. I was making a sweater for her baby. I don't have much, but I was trying to help,' Ceccarelli says. (She spoke PEOPLE via video interview, with Aklilu translating.) "So immediately when I saw her, she smiles and I remember her.' Aklilu soon decided a change in scenery was in order. She was determined to get Ceccarelli, who had never been on a plane in her life, to come visit her at her waterfront home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ceccarelli did not, however, expect their reunion to lead to a complete upheaval in her life. 'I was scared to fly because I had never been on a plane. My husband tried to convince me for 65 years, but I refused,' Ceccarelli says. She relented, with Aklilu holding her hand, and last year flew for the first time to a strange country. It was there that she met Moberg, who lost his own wife of 65 years, Teresa, in 2023. He also has two sons and a daughter. Of Teresa, Aklilu says, 'She wanted me to look after him [Moberg] when she was gone, and I know she would have wanted him to find love.' As the cliché goes... the two hit it off right away. Aklilu remembers making dinner for Ceccarelli and Moberg and seeing them hold hands under the table. She left the room and caught them kissing when she returned. They went on walks, Ceccarelli cooked for Moberg, and they found they were very comfortable in each other's company. 'We also go out for our walks and so forth, and it has been delightful,' Moberg says. As for the language barrier? Google Translate, with a speak-to-talk feature, came in handy. After her initial trip in 2024, Ceccarelli went back home to Italy. But she and Moberg decided they wanted to spend more time together. For a woman who had spent her entire life in one country, and had children and grandchildren there, it was a big decision. 'The flying was one scary thing, but another was leaving my family, my kids, grandkids. But his love convinced me to come here,' Ceccarelli says. 'Everything is new — new country, new language, new habits. But I did it because I have a love for him.' As for when Moberg might start speaking Italian, he has a quick quip: 'I have that under control because anything that is asked, my answer is strictly sì. That seems to answer everything and does not cause any conflict.' And, of course, Ceccarelli speaks the Italian love language of food, another thing that bonded them. 'I'm afraid I'm going to grow to maybe 300 lbs. because she's an excellent cook and brings all that Italian flavor to the kitchen and our table,' Moberg says. He says he is picking up small words and has 'little flip cards that have Italian messages on them.' On Sept. 2, the two will take their honeymoon trip — to Italy. Ceccarelli is eager to return and to show her husband around. Moberg has only ever been 'as a tourist,' he says. 'It will be totally different. ... Now I'll see what an Italian sees,' he says. This unexpected romance, he says, has rejuvenated him. 'It's given me a different perspective on growing old, because growing old doesn't necessarily mean getting old in your ways,' Moberg says, adding: 'Love has fulfilled all the dreams of the aging process.' Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Italian authorities try to identify Lampedusa capsize victims
Italian authorities on Friday sought to identify the bodies of 27 people who died when two crowded boats sank off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. One wooden coffin, marked with an "X", could be seen at the local cemetery, where the bodies of some of the victims were being held, an AFP journalist said. Lampedusa, just 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia, is often the first point of arrival for people trying to reach Europe in fragile or overcrowded boats. Its reception centre is currently home to 317 people, including about 70 mostly unaccompanied minors, said Giovanna Stabile, from the Italian Red Cross which runs the facility. Most of them come from Egypt, Somalia and Bangladesh, she added. Of the 60 survivors of Wednesday's capsize, 58 were at the centre. The two others were airlifted by helicopter to Sicily for treatment, she said. "Last night, the procedures for identifying the bodies began," said Stabile. "This was a delicate moment, which was supported by the psychologist, the linguistic-cultural mediator and the multidisciplinary team. "People reacted to the identification in a very composed manner." The 27 victims, including three minors, died when two crowded boats heading from Libya capsized about 20 kilometres off Lampedusa. The UN refugee agency said the boats were carrying at least 95 people, although the Italian news agency ANSA said 100 to 110 people may have been on board, meaning up to 23 could still be unaccounted for. On Thursday, the Italian coastguard published a video of the rescue operation, showing young men desperately trying to cling to a floating rescue cylinder in the water. The sombre scene at the reception centre was in stark contrast to elsewhere on the island, as throngs of tourists spent Friday's Ferragosto public holiday and long weekend. At the port, where dozens of migrants were still arriving by boat at the port, pleasure craft were bringing back tourists from sea trips to the sound of festive music, an AFP journalist said. At the cemetery, women came to pray and leave flowers for those who lost their lives, while a vigil in memory of the dead was held at a local Catholic shrine. "Migrants continue to arrive... our arms are always open but when these deaths occur, it hurts us deeply," one local woman, who gave her name only as Angela, told AFP. sl-ved/phz/rmb
New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
‘This Was a Revelation in Cooking Eggplant'
Good morning! Today we have for you: A reader-favorite (and me-favorite) eggplant dish A tomato salad for that nice tinned fish you picked up Plus, strawberry and sesame swirl soft serve 'This was a revelation in cooking eggplant' By Mia Leimkuhler It's hit that time of the summer when, if I'm at the farmers' market and standing in front of a table heaped high with baskets of eggplant, I must tell myself the same thing my mom told me in front of the supermarket candy display: just one. If I don't, I run the risk of bringing home too much eggplant. The shiny, almost black Italian eggplant. The lavender-smudged Rosa Bianca eggplant, as bulbous and knuckly as the heirloom tomatoes. The long, slim Chinese and Japanese eggplants, the adorable fairytale eggplant. I want all the eggplants, but they won't all fit in my bike panniers (of course I've tried). So this week it'll just be some Japanese eggplant for Sue Li's five-star sweet and sour eggplant with garlic chips. (I've also made this with larger eggplant varieties; just cut them into slenderish batons.) If you're not so into eggplant — or you're cooking for the eggplant-avoidant — this recipe is a great place to start your eggplant journey. Any lingering bitterness is completely canceled out by the pungent garlic oil and the assertive soy-vinegar sauce that's sweetened with brown sugar. And the garlic chips (the tasty result of that garlic oil) add a solid crunch to counter the eggplant's melting softness. I usually eat this dish with rice and a fried egg, but it's occurring to me now that, for a really nice dinner, I could serve it as a side to a roast duck I pick up from an Asian grocer. Oh, or a plate of pan-fried dumplings, also snagged from said grocer. Maybe some cold, fresh tofu? More reasons to leave room in the panniers. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
