ABOARD THE GEO BARENTS: Two vessels rescued around 190 Europe-bound migrants, including women and children, off the coast of Libya, charities operating the vessels said Monday.
The rescues came amid a spike in attempted crossings of the Mediterranean Sea.
More than 24,000 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya by the country’s coast guard so far this year, according to the UN migration agency. That’s more than double the number from 2020, when about 11,890 migrants were brought back to shore in the conflict-ridden country.
More than a thousand more are believed to have drowned in just the first half of the year, according to the agency’s figures.
Migrants waved to rescuers from a flimsy rubber dinghy at midday Monday before they were given life vests and transferred onboard the Geo Barents, a rescue vessel operated by the charity Doctors without Borders. They numbered 54 in total, according to Barbara Deck, the organization’s project coordinator.
Among them were two dozen minors, six women and a 6-week-old baby, who was among the first to disembark, crying, after being carefully placed in a large orange life vest. The migrants’ original vessel had been packed, with no shade and barely room for all onboard to sit down.
The migrants were not immediately available for comment. They were rushed for medical inspection by workers for the aid agency known by its French name as Medecins Sans Frontieres. Some appeared exhausted and smiled in relief after their rescue, with a few dancing and singing. Among them were migrants from African countries including Ivory Coast, Cameron, Mali, Somalia and Burkina Faso, according to Deck.
It was unclear why this year has seen so many crossings but mid to late summer is typically a peak time for attempts on the Central Mediterranean route because of good weather. Rescues along this route have become routine during the warmer months. Economic hardship, sometimes exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, is a driver for many of the migrants.
Earlier in the day, the Geo Barents also rescued six men in a small fiberglass boat, three of them from Libya, two from Tunisia and one from Morocco. The men had been trying down the rescue ship, according to MSF staff.
The migrants told rescuers that the dinghy’s engine had stopped working, according to Mattijs Melsen, deputy search and rescue leader with MSF.
“The boat was not designated for such a voyage,” he said.
The Ocean Viking, also working in the same area off Libya, rescued around 130 Europe-bound migrants over the past three days, said Claire Juchat, a communications officer for the SOS Mediterranee charity, which operates the vessel.
The migrants, including 44 children and 12 women, were on four separate boats, Juchat said. There were two migrants with critical health conditions whom the Italian coast guard evacuated along with four family members early Monday, she said.
The remaining migrants will stay onboard the two vessels until their missions are completed, then they will be taken to Europe.
Libya has for years been a hub for African and Middle Eastern migrants fleeing war and poverty in their countries and hoping for a better life in Europe. The oil-rich country plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Traffickers have exploited the chaos and often pack desperate families into ill-equipped small boats that stall and founder along the perilous Central Mediterranean route. Thousands have drowned along the way. Some Libyan militiamen have been implicated in widespread abuses of migrants, including torture and abduction for ransom.
Ships rescue 190 Europe-bound migrants off Libya
https://arab.news/26jbc
Ships rescue 190 Europe-bound migrants off Libya
- The rescues came amid a spike in attempted crossings of the Mediterranean Sea
- Over 24,000 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya by the country’s coast guard so far this year, according to the UN migration agency
Trump outlines potential fighter jet plans in Gulf tour
- President says US studying a twin-engined F-55 and upgraded ‘F-22 Super’
DOHA: The US is examining the development of a twin-engined warplane known as the F-55 and an upgrade to its Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor called the F-22 Super, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
Trump was speaking at a meeting of business leaders, including the heads of Boeing and GE Aerospace in Doha, a day after announcing a string of business deals, including an order from Qatar for 160 Boeing commercial jets.
Trump referred to the F-55 both as an upgrade to the Lockheed F-35 and a new development in comments that appeared to echo talk by the US arms giant of a “best value” alternative, after losing out to Boeing to replace the F-22 superfighter.
He also highlighted the role of the new air dominance platform called the F-47, recently awarded to Boeing, and said the US was simultaneously looking at upgrading the stealth fighter that it is designed to replace, the F-22.
“We’re going to do an F-55 and — I think, if we get the right price, we have to get the right price — that’ll be two engines and a super upgrade on the F-35, and then we’re going to do the F-22,” Trump said.
“I think the most beautiful fighter jet in the world is the F-22, but we’re going to do an F-22 Super, and it’ll be a very modern version of the F-22 fighter jet,” he said.
“We’re going to be going with it pretty quickly,” he added.
Trump last month awarded Boeing the contract for the F-47 — a replacement for the Lockheed F-22 stealth fighter featuring a crewed aircraft flanked by a cohort of drones and seen as America’s most advanced or sixth-generation fighter.
Lockheed Martin, which lost out to Boeing in that Next Generation Air Dominance, or NGAD, competition and was dropped from a separate contest for a new US Navy stealth jet, has said it is now looking at plans for a “fifth-generation-plus” fighter.
CEO James Taiclet told analysts last month that Lockheed was looking at ways of applying technology developed for its losing bid for the F-47 contract to the F-35, delivering 80 percent of the capability for half the cost.
“We’re basically going to take the chassis and turn it into a Ferrari,” he told analysts.
Lockheed did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump had revealed the name of this project.
Lockheed is separately in the midst of a delayed technology and software upgrade for the existing generation of F-35 strike fighter to boost cockpit displays and processing power.
Analysts said it was not immediately clear how Trump’s list of potential developments fitted into known programs and spending plans, or the timing of existing programs.
Agency Partners aerospace analyst Nick Cunningham said the F-55 may alternatively refer to the F/A-XX program, intended to replace the US Navy’s aging Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fleet with the service’s sixth-generation stealth fighter.
The Navy and Congress are battling with the administration to keep the plans moving forward, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Lineker says Israel at fault for origins of Gaza conflict, days before tweet furor
- Gary Lineker: Palestinians are caged in this outdoor prison in Gaza, and now it’s an outdoor prison that they’re bombing
- Lineker: People say it’s a complex issue, but I don’t think it is. It’s inevitable that the Israeli occupation was going to cause massive problems
LONDON: English sports broadcaster Gary Lineker, at the center of a backlash over a social media post, said that Israel is to blame for the origins of the Gaza conflict, because it turned the territory into an “outdoor prison.”
Speaking on Friday in an interview at the Football Business Awards days before he was accused of antisemitism over a post on X, Lineker said that his issues are with the Israeli government rather than Jewish people.
The BBC’s outgoing “Match of the Day” presenter criticized the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza as “completely out of proportion” to the Oct. 7 attacks.
Lineker’s post days later featured a pro-Palestinian message containing a rat emoji.
He later deleted the post and apologized but it sparked a furor among Jewish groups and BBC staff members, who have called for him to be sacked.
Lineker, 64, is preparing to host the final episodes of “Match of the Day” before returning to front the BBC’s FA Cup and FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage.
“Obviously, Oct. 7 was awful, but it’s very important to know your history and to study the massacres that happened prior to this, many of them against the Palestinian people,” he told The Telegraph in the Friday interview.
“Yes, Israelis have a right to defend themselves. But it appears that Palestinians don’t — and that is where it’s wrong. Palestinians are caged in this outdoor prison in Gaza, and now it’s an outdoor prison that they’re bombing.”
Lineker also questioned whether Israel could still legitimately argue that it was acting in self-defense. “I understand that they needed to avenge, but I don’t think they’ve helped their own hostage situation at all,” he said.
“People say it’s a complex issue, but I don’t think it is. It’s inevitable that the Israeli occupation was going to cause massive problems, and I just feel for the Palestinians.”
He said that “most” Jews now recognized that Israel’s actions have become too extreme. “The real heroes are the Jews who have spoken out against it,” he added.
Lineker, who was paid £1.4 million ($1.8 million) by the BBC last year, said that he was unfazed by the prospect of his comments provoking a negative reaction.
“I don’t really care about the backlash. I care about doing the right thing, or what I think is the right thing,” he said. “Some people can disagree, that’s fine. But I have to look at myself in the mirror. I think if you’re silent on these issues, you’re almost complicit.”
However, a number of BBC staffers said that Lineker should not be allowed to share his views publicly given his high-profile role at the BBC. They warned that it risked damaging trust in the corporation.
“The vast majority of BBC staff keep their views to themselves precisely because they work for the BBC,” said one.
“Why one individual is beyond that I simply don’t understand. The bosses need to take control. The value of all our collective work is at stake.”
Director-General of the BBC Tim Davie said that “the BBC’s reputation is held by everyone and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.
“We absolutely need people to be the exemplars of BBC values and follow our social media policies, simple as that.”
Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen, army says
- Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel
- Israel has carried out numerous retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets
CAIRO: The Israeli military’s aerial defense system intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Thursday following alarms sounding in several areas of Israel, the army said in a statement.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel as well as attacking numerous vessels in global shipping lanes, in a campaign that they say is aimed at showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza since a deadly raid by the Palestinian militant group Hamas into southern Israel in October 2023.
Israel has carried out numerous retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
The launch, the second in two days, coincides with US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf. Trump announced earlier in May that he reached a ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis that would halt attacks on US vessels.
Tunisia Jewish pilgrimage sees low turn out amid security concerns
- The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa’s oldest, has in the past drawn thousands of pilgrims from Europe, Israel and beyond
- This year’s activities were restricted to indoor events at the place of worship
DJERBA, Tunisia: Only about 30 people turned up Thursday at this year’s Jewish pilgrimage on Tunisia’s island of Djerba amid safety concerns following a deadly 2023 attack and as the war in Gaza rages on.
The pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Africa’s oldest, has in the past drawn thousands of pilgrims from Europe, Israel and beyond, attracting international and local tourists as well.
But after a 2023 deadly attack on the synagogue that killed two worshippers and three police officers, fewer pilgrims have been turning out to make the pilgrimage.
“It has been difficult for people to come, given what’s happening in the world,” Rene Trabelsi, the event organizer, told AFP.
“The pilgrimage has gone through many difficult periods in its history,” he said.
This year’s activities were restricted to indoor events at the place of worship.
“In 30 years, I have never seen the Ghriba synagogue so empty,” said Khoudhir Hanya, the synagogue’s manager.
“Usually even a week beforehand, pilgrims begin to arrive — sometimes up to 1,000 people.”
Earlier this month, a knife attack injured a local Jewish jeweller, but Trabelsi said it was unclear whether it was motivated by anti-Semitism, as authorities have not provided further details.
The pilgrimage is at the heart of Jewish tradition in Tunisia, where only about 1,500 members of the faith still live — mainly on Djerba. Many have left for Israel and France.
Organizers say more than 5,000 people, mostly from abroad, attended the pilgrimage in 2023, whereas up to 8,000 pilgrims had attended in previous years.
Security at the synagogue had already been tightened after previous attacks.
A suicide truck bombing in 2002, claimed by Al-Qaeda, killed 21 at the synagogue, and another attack in 1985 killed four worshippers and a police officer.
US top diplomat Rubio meets Syrian counterpart; discuss Israel, human rights
- Rubio underscored the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians
ANTALYA: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani in Turkiye on Thursday, the State Department said in a statement.
“(Rubio) welcomed the Syrian government’s calls for peace with Israel, efforts to end Iran’s influence in Syria, commitment to ascertaining the fate of US citizens missing or killed in Syria, and elimination of all chemical weapons,” the department said.
“The Secretary underscored the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religion,” the department said.
