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Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Italy grounds migrant rescue charity plane for first time under new rules
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Seabird, a plane operated by German NGO Sea-Watch, is seen from the migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 as it patrols the search and rescue zone in international waters off the coast of Libya, in the western Mediterranean Sea, July 28, 2021. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo ROME - Italy has grounded a reconnaissance plane used by a German migrant rescue charity, in the first use of tighter regulations for such aircraft, the NGO said. The National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) confirmed on Friday that the Sea-Watch group's Seabird 1 plane had been placed under administrative detention. It said it acted after being informed by the Italian coastguard that the Seabird 1's pilot had failed to notify relevant authorities about an emergency situation at sea. Sea-Watch called the aircraft's detention "a new escalation in the Italian government's fight against civilian human rights observation in the Mediterranean". Italy has temporarily halted dozens of charity rescue vessels, and last year passed a decree allowing similar measures against charity-operated aircraft. The tighter regulations for rescue vessels and planes, which are used to spot boats in distress, were brought in under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who in the past accused charities of cooperating with traffickers to bring in more migrants. The government said the crackdown was necessary to ensure better coordination with authorities and avoid abuses. Charities say the measures seriously limit their capacity to operate, putting migrants' lives at risk. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore PM Wong calls on S'poreans to band together for nation to remain exceptional in National Day message Singapore Nation building is every Singaporean's responsibility, not the work of one party alone: Pritam Singapore Four foreign leaders to attend NDP 2025 at the Padang Singapore 'This is home', for retired shop owner putting up 11th flag display in Toa Payoh to mark SG60 Singapore Singapore leaders send congratulatory letters to South Korean counterparts to mark 50 years of ties Singapore Relaxed rules 'not a silver bullet', but a step in right direction, say nightlife businesses Business Singapore's digital banks trim deposit rates, mirroring moves by incumbent players Singapore Chief Justice allows founder of site that ran fake KKH story to be called to the Bar Sea-Watch said it was considering legal options against the grounding of its plane and had deployed another monitoring aircraft to continue its work. REUTERS
GMA Network
29-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Britain warns Israel it will recognize Palestinian state as Gaza starvation spreads
Demonstrators hit cooking pots during an "Act NOW against Genocide in Gaza" protest, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Valletta, Malta, July 29, 2025. )REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi) UNITED NATIONS/LONDON —Britain said on Tuesday it would recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel takes steps to relieve suffering in Gaza, where starvation is spreading, and reaches a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war with Hamas. The warning came after a hunger monitor said a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death. Palestinian authorities said more than 60,000 Palestinians were now confirmed killed by Israel's air and ground assault on the Gaza Strip. The hunger alert and the new death toll are grim milestones in a conflict that began almost two years ago when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking an offensive that has flattened much of the enclave and ignited hostilities across the Middle East. The alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the man-made starvation crisis in Gaza could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let in far more food. Britain's warning heightens pressure on Israel amid an international outcry over its conduct of the war. France announced it would recognise Palestinian statehood last week in a move that enraged the Israeli government. Israel dismissed Britain's announcement as a "reward" for Hamas. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told his cabinet on Tuesday that Britain would follow suit at the United Nations General Assembly in September "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution," his government said. The move, if carried through, would be mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long aimed to establish that state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. It makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage as a growing number of countries call for it to allow unfettered aid into Gaza, where it controls all entry and exit points to the besieged coastal territory. However, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration - Israel's closest and most influential ally - has made clear it has no intention of joining others in recognising Palestinian statehood anytime soon. Since returning to office in January, Trump has left it unclear whether he would support an eventual Palestinian state. Trump said on Tuesday he and Starmer did not discuss Britain's proposal to recognise a Palestinian state when the two held talks in Scotland over the weekend. Trump told reporters at the time he did "not mind" if Britain did so. Evidence of starvation, malnutrition, disease With the international furore over Gaza's ordeal growing, Israel announced steps over the weekend to ease aid access. But the U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday it was not getting the permissions it needed to deliver enough aid since Israel began humanitarian pauses in warfare on Sunday. "Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said, adding that "famine thresholds" have been reached for food consumption in most of Gaza. It said it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine". Gaza health authorities have been reporting more and more people dying from hunger-related causes. The total stands at 147, among them 88 children, most of whom died in the last few weeks. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have shocked the world, with Israel's strongest ally Trump declaring that many people were starving. He promised to set up new "food centres". Israel has denied pursuing a policy of starvation. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that the situation in Gaza was "tough" but there were lies about starvation there. Deadliest conflict The Gazan casualty figures, which are often cited by the U.N. and have previously been described as reliable by the World Health Organisation, underline the war as the deadliest involving Israel since its establishment in 1948. Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, when militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage - Israel's deadliest ever day. Since Israel launched ground operations in Gaza in October 2023, 454 soldiers have been killed. The new Palestinian toll does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Thousands more bodies are believed to be buried under rubble, meaning the true toll is likely to be significantly higher, Palestinian officials and rescue workers say. Israeli airstrikes overnight killed at least 30 Palestinians in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, Gaza health authorities said. Doctors at Al-Awda Hospital said at least 14 women and 12 children were among the dead. The hospital also said that 13 people had been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli gunfire along the Salahudeen Road as they waited for aid trucks to roll into Gaza. Only half of requests approved Saar said 5,000 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the last two months, and that Israel would assist those wanting to conduct airdrops - a delivery method that aid groups say is ineffective and tokenist. Ross Smith, a senior regional programme adviser at the World Food Programme, told reporters in Geneva by video: "We're getting approximately 50% of what we're requesting into Gaza since these humanitarian pauses started on Sunday. "We are not going to be able to address the needs of the population unless we can move in the volume that we need." Israel and the U.S. accuse Hamas of stealing aid - which the militants deny - and the U.N. of failing to prevent it. The U.N. says it has not seen evidence of Hamas diverting much aid. Hamas accuses Israel of causing starvation and using aid as a weapon.—Reuters
Mint
11-06-2025
- Science
- Mint
Strawberry Moon lights up global skylines — These viral images are unreal
Skywatchers across the globe were treated to a rare and radiant lunar spectacle from Tuesday night into early Wednesday — the Strawberry Moon, which glowed with soft pink and orange hues and appeared unusually low in the sky. The moon's warm tones were especially visible in: The Strawberry Moon glowing orange as it passed the tip of the Empire State Building The moon rising behind Torre del Serpe in Otranto, Italy, casting a gentle light A full moon known as the Strawberry Moon rises behind the steeple of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta, as seen from Sliema, Malta, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi This wasn't just another Strawberry Moon. It stood out for being exceptionally low-hanging in the sky. The full moon reached peak brightness at 3:44 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the Farmer's Almanac The phenomenon was due to a major lunar standstill, a rare astronomical event that happens only once every 18.6 years People watch the full moon known as the Strawberry Moon rise, as seen from Hampstead Heath, in London, Britain, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra It occurs when the Moon's orbit reaches its maximum tilt relative to Earth This causes the Moon to rise and set at its most extreme points along the horizon As a result, the Moon appears lower in the sky than usual in the Northern Hemisphere A plane flies past the Strawberry Moon as it rises in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) Last standstill: 2006 Next standstill: 2043 This year's Strawberry Moon marked the second year of the current lunar standstill cycle. A full moon known as the Strawberry Moon rises behind the steeple of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valletta, as seen from Sliema, Malta, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi Despite its reddish tint, the 'Strawberry Moon' is not named for its color. The strawberry Moon rises in the sky behind the 5th century B.C. Parthenon temple at the ancient Acropolis hill, in Athens, on Tuesday, January 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) The seasonal ripening of wild strawberries in parts of the Northern Hemisphere Coined by Algonquin tribes of the northeastern US. Also used by Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota peoples The strawberry moon rises behind a watermill at a field in Sotira village near Ayia Napa resort in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Straits Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Italian activists face trial for migrant sea rescue in legal first
FILE PHOTO: Crew members and rescued migrants are seen on the deck of the Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, as a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) of the Italian Finance Police patrols nearby, in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo FILE PHOTO: A rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) of the Italian Finance Police patrols near the Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, and the German NGO Sea-Eye migrant rescue ship 'Alan Kurdi' (unseen) in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo FILE PHOTO: The Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, with 34 rescued migrants on board, is seen in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo ROME - A Sicilian judge has ordered six members of an Italian charity ship to stand trial on accusations of aiding illegal immigration, the first time crew members of a rescue vessel have faced such prosecution, the group's lawyer said on Thursday. The case centres on a 2020 operation where the Mare Jonio charity ship, operated by the Mediterranea NGO, picked up 27 migrants who had been rescued by a giant tanker in the Mediterranean Sea. The activists then brought them to Italy. The defendants include a doctor, the Mare Jonio's commander, and Luca Casarini, co-founder of the charity and a prominent left-wing activist. They all deny wrongdoing. "This is the first indictment of its kind," lawyer Serena Romano told Reuters. "All prior proceedings against NGO crews were shut down at the investigative stage or during preliminary hearings." The charges come as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office in 2022, continues her long-running campaign to reduce immigration flows across the Mediterranean. The six defendants, five men and one woman, are accused of facilitating illegal immigration after they agreed to pick up the group of migrants, who had been stranded aboard the Danish tanker Maersk Etienne for more than a month. At the time, neither the Maltese, Italian nor Libyan authorities had let the tanker bring the migrants ashore, according to Maersk Tankers, the operator of Maersk Etienne. The group had been rescued from a sinking wooden dinghy near Malta as they sought to reach Europe. The Mare Jonio took them to Sicily. According to the Ansa news agency, prosecutors allege the rescue was financially motivated. They cite a 125,000 euro ($140,000) payment from Maersk to Idra Social Shipping, which owns the Mare Jonio. Mediterranea denies the accusation, calling the payment a "transparent donation" to support rescue efforts. Casarini, who was a friend of the late Pope Francis, said the trial, ordered by a court in Ragusa, would offer an opportunity to scrutinise official conduct during the incident. "We will call as witnesses the ministers and authorities who decided to leave 27 human beings adrift in the middle of the sea," he said. Meloni's government, in power since 2022, has enacted policies aimed at reducing sea arrivals and limiting NGO rescue operations, though the case predates her administration. Some members of the ruling coalition have accused the judiciary of looking to sink government efforts to prevent migrant crossings, included repeated rulings that have thwarted attempts to detain irregular migrants in Albania. Earlier this year, several Mediterranea members, including Casarini, were targeted with spyware. The government has denied involvement and called for an inquiry. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Italian activists face trial for migrant sea rescue in legal first
FILE PHOTO: The Mare Jonio, operated by Italian charity Mediterranea Saving Humans, with 34 rescued migrants on board, is seen in international waters of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean Sea, August 31, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo ROME (Reuters) -A Sicilian judge has ordered six members of an Italian charity ship to stand trial on accusations of aiding illegal immigration, the first time crew members of a rescue vessel have faced such prosecution, the group's lawyer said on Thursday. The case centres on a 2020 operation where the Mare Jonio charity ship, operated by the Mediterranea NGO, picked up 27 migrants who had been rescued by a giant tanker in the Mediterranean Sea. The activists then brought them to Italy. The defendants include a doctor, the Mare Jonio's commander, and Luca Casarini, co-founder of the charity and a prominent left-wing activist. They all deny wrongdoing. "This is the first indictment of its kind," lawyer Serena Romano told Reuters. "All prior proceedings against NGO crews were shut down at the investigative stage or during preliminary hearings." The charges come as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office in 2022, continues her long-running campaign to reduce immigration flows across the Mediterranean. The six defendants, five men and one woman, are accused of facilitating illegal immigration after they agreed to pick up the group of migrants, who had been stranded aboard the Danish tanker Maersk Etienne for more than a month. At the time, neither the Maltese, Italian nor Libyan authorities had let the tanker bring the migrants ashore, according to Maersk Tankers, the operator of Maersk Etienne. The group had been rescued from a sinking wooden dinghy near Malta as they sought to reach Europe. The Mare Jonio took them to Sicily. According to the Ansa news agency, prosecutors allege the rescue was financially motivated. They cite a 125,000 euro ($140,000) payment from Maersk to Idra Social Shipping, which owns the Mare Jonio. Mediterranea denies the accusation, calling the payment a "transparent donation" to support rescue efforts. Casarini, who was a friend of the late Pope Francis, said the trial, ordered by a court in Ragusa, would offer an opportunity to scrutinise official conduct during the incident. "We will call as witnesses the ministers and authorities who decided to leave 27 human beings adrift in the middle of the sea," he said. Meloni's government, in power since 2022, has enacted policies aimed at reducing sea arrivals and limiting NGO rescue operations, though the case predates her administration. Some members of the ruling coalition have accused the judiciary of looking to sink government efforts to prevent migrant crossings, included repeated rulings that have thwarted attempts to detain irregular migrants in Albania. Earlier this year, several Mediterranea members, including Casarini, were targeted with spyware. The government has denied involvement and called for an inquiry. ($1 = 0.8868 euros) (Editing by Crispian Balmer and Sophie Walker)
