The number of migrants landing on Italy’s shores has more than doubled in the last year as an economic crisis in Tunisia fuels migration in boats across the Mediterranean, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said on Saturday.More than 21,000 people reached Italy between August 2019 and the end of July, up 148% year-on-year, the minister said, speaking at an annual Aug. 15 press conference.Lamorgese said the majority of the arrivals were “autonomous landings, hard to manage … with small boats and dinghies,” rather than those rescued at sea and brought ashore. Many of them land on Italy’s southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.In the 12-month period, just more than 5,000 people were rescued, mainly by ships operated by NGOs, according to data from the ministry.Over 80% of the migrants reaching Italy left from Tunisia and Libya, the data showed, with Tunisia’s crisis stoking the numbers attempting the treacherous crossing.”The numbers aren’t very high – they are certainly higher than last year’s, but we must put them into context: Tunisia is in a deep economic, social and political crisis,” Lamorgese told reporters.”We have seen entire families leave to reach Italian territory,” she said.For years Italy has been the primary route into Europe for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and other migrants and Libya’s west coast a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe.A peak was reached between August 2016 and July 2017, when almost 183,000 migrants reached Italy.Numbers started falling due to an Italian-led effort to disrupt smuggling networks and support the Libyan coastguard to intercept boats but have picked up in 2020.Lamorgese’s predecessor, head of the anti-immigrant League party Matteo Salvini, took a hardline against charity ships that rescued migrants at sea, closing Italian ports and accusing the rescue groups of de facto collaboration with human traffickers.Lamorgese said that she would meet Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday to discuss the issue, along with Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio and EU Commissioners Ylva Johansson and Oliver Varhelyi. 
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A Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground on a reef in Mauritius last month threatening a marine ecological disaster around the Indian Ocean island has broken apart, authorities said on Saturday.
 
The condition of the MV Wakashio was worsening early on Saturday and it split by the afternoon, the Mauritius National Crisis Committee said.
 
“At around 4.30pm, a major detachment of the vessel’s forward section was observed,” it said in a statement. “On the basis of the experts’ advice, the towing plan is being implemented.”
 
The vessel struck a coral reef on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tons of fuel oil and endangering corals, fish and other marine life in what some scientists have called the country’s worst ecological disaster.
 
On Friday, some residual oil from the ship leaked into the ocean, Mauritius Marine Conservation Society President Jacqueline Sauzier told Reuters on Saturday morning.
 
Authorities deployed booms on Saturday to help with oil absorption around the vessel.
 
The Crisis Committee said special attention was being given to sensitive sites such as the Blue Bay Marine Park, Ile aux Aigrettes and the Pointe D’Esny National Ramsar Site.
 
The weather is expected to deteriorate over the next few days with waves of up to 4.5 meters (15 feet), authorities said. Most of the oil from the vessels have been pumped out, the Mauritian government said on Thursday, but there was still 166 tons of fuel oil inside and authorities were working to remove it.
 
Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of officials from the ministry and other specialists to assess the damage. The MV Wakashio is owned by Japan’s Nagashiki Shipping and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines.
 
Scientists say the full impact of the spill is still unfolding, but the damage could affect Mauritius and its tourism-dependent economy for decades.
 
Removing the ship is likely to take months. Former colonial power France has said it will assist with the cleanup.
 
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Many of the young people affected by the explosion that has decimated Lebanon’s capital Beirut are working to put the pieces back together again.  The UN children’s fund says they are among an estimated 100,000 children rendered homeless by the blast who need international support to rebuild their shattered lives. The United Nations issued a flash appeal Friday for $565 million to address Lebanon’s immediate lifesaving needs, with an eye toward achieving full social and economic recovery.  The U.N. Children’s Fund says it needs $46.7 million over the next three months to protect and help children and their families overcome the physical and mental impacts of this disaster.  UNICEF says it has three main objectives.  These are to keep children safe, rehabilitate essential services and provide young people with the skills they need to help rebuild their country.  It acknowledges the job ahead is huge.  UNICEF: At Least 3 Children Dead, 1,000 Injured, in Beirut ExplosionsMany of the surviving children were displaced in the blast, which destroyed over 300,000 homesThe agency’s appeal covers the rehabilitation of 16 damaged primary health care centers serving 160,000 people.   It says restoring the 120 schools that have been damaged or destroyed in the blast so children can keep on learning is a priority.Speaking on a video link from Beirut, UNICEF Lebanon Deputy Representative Violet Speek-Warnery says children are deeply traumatized by the level of destruction and loss they have experienced.“Mental health and psychosocial support for children and their parents is a huge priority for us moving forward—including child friendly spaces, for example where there are referral mechanisms ongoing,” said Speek-Warnery. “GBV, gender-based violence is a major aspect for us as well and making sure that these services are continued and also with hygiene supplies and hygiene supports.”   Speek-Warnery says one of the heartening aspects to emerge from this tragedy is the number of young people volunteering to clean up the mess and rebuild their city.“We have been overrun by young people who want to support, and they have been supporting amazingly,” said Speek-Warnery. “We have been supporting that with tools, resources and equipment for them to be able to be on the streets cleaning debris, cooking, cleaning.  And we will continue with that.  At the same time, we will extend the programs that we have across the country on skills building and cash for work.”   The UNICEF official says money from the appeal will provide thousands of adolescents with training in skills such as carpentry, construction, and plumbing that are crucially needed in the arduous task of rebuilding Lebanon. 
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Huge crowds took to the streets of the Russian city of Khabarovsk Saturday in continued protests following the arrest of former governor Sergey Furgal.Since his arrest on July 9, residents have demonstrated daily in the city, with attendance significantly increasing on weekends.”I do not agree with this government’s course, this is a criminal government, they rob our cities, our regions,” said Elvira, a protester. “I’m against Moscow. All evil comes from the Kremlin.”The governor was arrested by federal law enforcement officers on charges related to murders in 2004 and 2005. He was flown to Moscow, where he was ordered jailed for two months.Furgal, a member of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, has denied the charges.The protesters in the Far East city near the border with China, 6,100 kilometers east of Moscow, believe the charges leveled against him are politically motivated.Khabarovsk protesters also expressed support for the opposition in Belarus, where election officials declared longtime authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko the winner of the August 9 election.”We are very worried about them (Belarusian people),” said Oleg, a businessman who wouldn’t give his last name. “The things president Lukashenko gets away with there – well, president for now still – are just totally unacceptable, you can’t do that to your own people. (Reporter: Do you think they will succeed?) I think so. But it will take time, not so fast.”The Belarusian Central Election Commission said on Monday that after all ballots were counted, Lukashenko took 80.23% of the votes and the main opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had 9.9% of the vote.”I’ve never actually been to Belarus, it’s just that I understand we have a common historical past, which connects us,” said Yelizaveta Lipatova, an engineer. “Our political systems grew up side by side as well in the 90s and before that. And so I believe we have to follow each other closely, support each other, not lose sight of each other. I think that Belarusians are doing great, and we can learn a lot from them.” Some rally participants did not give their last names for fear of being arrested later.Aleksei Vorsin, Khabarovsk’s regional campaign chief for opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was detained Saturday after calling for a strike.
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There are more than 21 million COVID-19 cases worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.  The U.S., with more than 5.3 million infections, has more COVID-19 cases than anyplace else. Following the U.S. is Brazil, with 3.2 million cases, and India, with 2.5 million.“I think it’s fair to say we really have not distinguished ourselves in a positive way by how we responded to the crisis when it was upon us,” U.S. Senator Mitt Romney said Friday.  “And the proof of the pudding of that is simply that we have 5 percent of the world’s population but 25 percent of the world’s deaths due to COVID-19,” the Republican senator from Utah added in an interview with the Sutherland Institute, a conservative public policy think tank located in Salt Lake City.A report in The New York Times says TeleTracking Technologies, the new manager of the Trump administration’s coronavirus database, is citing its non-disclosure agreement for not answering Democratic senators’ questions about the organization’s $10.2 million contract.Canada announced Friday that the border it shares with the U.S. will remain closed to nonessential travel for another month. Many Canadians remain concerned about reopening the border after Canada successfully flattened its epidemic curve.Canada has more than 123,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 9,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.Canada, which first announced the border restrictions in March, made the announcement one day after Mexico announced similar restrictions for its border with the U.S.Spain announced Friday a new set of restrictions to contain a surge in coronavirus cases. Health Minister Salvador Illa said all discos and night clubs will be closed across the country. He also said smoking in public areas would be banned if smokers are unable to stay at least 2 meters from other people.Spanish authorities have recorded nearly 50,000 COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, an average of about 3,500 new cases a day.In Paris, officials are expanding the areas of the city where pedestrians are required to wear face masks, including the Champs-Elysees Avenue and the area around the Louvre museum, as cases continue to increase. France has nearly 250,000 cases and more than 30,400 deaths.Meanwhile, a glitch in California’s COVID-19 reporting system undercounted the state’s cases by as many as 300,000 cases, state officials say.According to a New York Times database Friday, California is the first U.S. state to reach more than 600,000 COVID-19 cases, with almost 11,000 deaths.Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that while the number of cases in California is increasing, the number of confirmed infections as a percentage of tests done has declined from 7% to 6% statewide over the past two weeks.”I’m not going to back off on more tests because I fear (more cases),” Newsom said.The U.S. Postal Service is warning states that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted as the country ramps up preparations for larger numbers of mail-in votes amid the coronavirus pandemic.The Washington Post reported Friday that the Postal Service sent warning letters to 46 states and the District of Columbia.Many states have made it easier to vote by mail to address voters’ concerns about public gatherings at election precincts during the pandemic.     
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech Saturday, said the South Asian nation has three COVID-19 trials underway.Modi, speaking at Delhi’s historic 17th century Red Fort, said India is ready to mass-produce the vaccines when the scientists give the OK.“Along with mass production,” he said, “the roadmap for distribution of vaccine to every single Indian in the least possible time is also ready.”In addition, Modi announced the launching of a National Digital Health Mission that creates a health ID for each of India’s more than 1 billion people, designed to keep track of every individual’s health tests, medications, diagnoses, and more.Without naming them, Modi also issued a warning to India’s neighbors, China and Pakistan, countries with which India shares disputed borders.”Anyone who has cast an eye on the country’s sovereignty, the country’s army has answered them in their own language,” he said. “India’s integrity is supreme for us.”
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President Donald Trump ordered ByteDance on Friday to divest the U.S. operations of its video-sharing app TikTok within 90 days, the latest effort to ramp up pressure on the Chinese company over concerns about the safety of the personal data it handles.”There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance … might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,” Trump said in the Order.Trump’s latest move comes on top of an executive order he issued last week that would prohibit certain transactions with TikTok unless ByteDance divests it within 45 days. ByteDance is already in talks to sell the North America, Australia and New Zealand operations of TikTok to Microsoft Corp.The new order adds to pressure for ByteDance to divest TikTok, and legally buttresses the U.S. government’s crackdown on the Chinese-owned social media app. It authorizes U.S. officials to inspect TikTok and ByteDance’s books and information systems to ensure the safety of personal data while the sale talks are ongoing.While TikTok is best known for its anodyne videos of people dancing and going viral among teenagers, U.S. officials have expressed concerns that information on users could be passed on to China’s communist government.ByteDance said on Friday in response to the order that it is used by 100 million Americans “because it is their home for entertainment, self-expression, and connection. We’re committed to continuing to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform for many years to come.”Trump has said he would support an effort by Microsoft to buy TikTok’s American operations if the U.S. government got a “substantial portion” of the proceeds but has also said there are other interested potential buyers.Last year, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government panel that reviews deals for potential national security risks, opened a new review of ByteDance’s acquisition of app Musical.ly in 2017. That deal created TikTok in its current form.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday the order also requires ByteDance to divest “any data obtained or derived from TikTok or Musical.ly users in the United States.”He said CFIUS “conducted an exhaustive review of the case and unanimously recommended this action to the president in order to protect U.S. Users from exploitation of their personal data.”The Trump administration has stepped up its efforts to purge what it deems “untrusted” Chinese apps from U.S. digital networks. Beyond TikTok, Trump has also issued an order that would prohibit transactions with Tencent Holding Ltd’s WeChat.Asked on Friday if he was concerned that the sweeping ban on WeChat could prevent Apple Inc from selling iPhones in China, Trump did not express worry.”I do what’s good in terms of the security of our country,” he told reporters.A group of major U.S. companies, including Apple, raised concerns this week about the potential negative implications on U.S. firms from the TikTok and WeChat orders.   
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Yemeni rebels on Friday to allow international experts to access an old, neglected oil tanker carrying more than a million barrels of crude oil, which is at risk of leaking or completely spilling into the Red Sea.“The aging tanker has had almost no maintenance since 2015 and risks causing a major oil spill, explosion or fire that would have catastrophic environmental and humanitarian consequences for Yemen and the region,” said Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.U.N. officials have been seeking access to the vessel, known as the FSO Safer, for two years in order to assess its safety, do light repairs and eventually tow it to a safe port to remove the oil, but the Houthi rebels in control of the area have repeatedly reneged on promises to allow that to happen. The U.N. says as soon as authorizations and visas are granted their experts are ready to deploy.The recent oil spill off Mauritius and last week’s catastrophic explosion in the Lebanese capital, apparently from improperly stored ammonium nitrate, have highlighted the urgency to prevent yet another disaster.The U.N. says the FSO Safer has the potential to cause an oil spill four times greater than the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska, which involved about 257,000 barrels of oil.Time is running outOn May 27, seawater leaked into the engine room of the FSO Safer, threatening to destabilize and sink the ship and release its oil into the sea. The U.N. says a temporary fix contained the leak, but it is unlikely to hold for very long.“A spill would have catastrophic environmental and humanitarian consequences, including destroying livelihoods and shutting down Hodeida port, a vital lifeline for millions of Yemenis who depend on commercial imports and humanitarian aid,” Dujarric said.If there is a spill, the U.N. says, the marine-rich coastal areas of Hodeida, Hajjah and Taiz would likely be the worst hit, and the port at Hodeida, which is lifeline for the country, would have to close for as long as six months.“Yemen cannot afford the closure of its largest port as it is almost entirely dependent on imports for its basic needs of food and medicines,” Dujarric said.There is also concern that if oil spills or explodes, it would be extremely difficult to bring in the specialized equipment and personnel to mount the necessary response, especially as Yemen is in the midst of a civil war.In addition to environmental and human tolls, the U.N. projects that the impact of an oil spill from the tanker could cost an estimated $1.5 billion over 25 years.The government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, with the support of Saudi Arabia, has been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels since 2015 for control of the country. More than five years of war has pushed the Middle East’s poorest country to the brink, with about four out of every five people in need of humanitarian assistance.  
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The U.S. Postal Service is warning states that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will be counted as the country ramps up preparations for larger numbers of mail-in votes amid the coronavirus pandemic.The Washington Post reported Friday that the Postal Service sent warning letters to 46 states and the District of Columbia.In letters sent to at least several states, including the key battleground states of Michigan and Pennsylvania, the Postal Service said there is “significant risk” voters will not have enough time to complete their ballots and return them on time under current state laws.In its letter to Pennsylvania, the Postal Service recommended that completed ballots be mailed no later than October 27, a week before the November 3 election, to ensure they can make the Election Day deadline and be counted. Pennsylvania has said voters can request a ballot as late as October 27.In response to the Postal Service’s letter, Pennsylvania election officials late Thursday asked the state Supreme Court for permission to count ballots delivered three days after Election Day.This illustration photo shows a Virginia resident filling out an application to vote by mail ahead of the November Presidential election, on Aug. 6, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia.Many states have made it easier to vote by mail to address voters’ concerns about public gatherings at election precincts during the coronavirus pandemic.The Washington Post reports there are more than 60 lawsuits in the courts of a least two dozen states over the mechanics of mail-in votes.Trump has repeatedly said, without evidence, that the November election could be rigged because of mail-in votes, claiming that Russia and China could forge U.S. paper ballots.“This is going to be the greatest election disaster in history,” Trump told reporters at the White House last month.Trump has also said he does not want to wait “weeks, months or even years” for the results of the election because of problems he predicts will occur with mailed-in ballots.Representatives for the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) told VOA in July that if there is any evidence to support Trump’s claims of potential mail-in ballot fraud, the administration has yet to share it with them.On Thursday, Trump said he opposes emergency funding for the Postal Service to make voting by mail easier. However, on Friday he told reporters at a White House news briefing that he would agree to additional funding for the Postal Service if Democrats made concessions as part of a larger coronavirus stimulus bill. Talks on a new stimulus bill have largely broken down between Republicans and Democrats over sharp policy differences.Most states already offer some form of mail-in voting, so-called “absentee” ballots, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, some states have moved to expand the use of mail-in ballots for the November election.
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After Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalize diplomatic relations, some regional leaders applauded the move and others condemned it.And some countries appeared to be interested in following suit.The agreement could be the beginning of a new trend that may eventually lead to normal relations between Israel and much of the Middle East, according to Hisham Kassem, a veteran Egyptian publisher and analyst.“There will be other countries to follow,” he said. “And eventually there will be normalization between Israel and the whole of the Arab world.”But the controversy over whether this agreement helps or hurts the Palestinian people is already fueling regional divisions.A view shows Israeli settlement buildings around Givat Zeev and Ramat Givat Zeev in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem, June 30, 2020.In the deal, brokered by the United States, Israel agrees to halt current plans to annex vast portions of the West Bank. The United Nations said it hopes the agreement “will create an opportunity for Israeli and Palestinian leaders to re-engage in meaningful negotiations.”Palestinian leaders reacted with almost unanimous fury.“We vehemently denounce and refuse this agreement,” reads a statement posted on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Facebook page. The statement calls the move “a betrayal” by the UAE and accuses Israel of lying in order to eventually snap up more Palestinian lands.The agreement says Israel promises to stop the annexation for now, but not forever, said Giorgio Cafiero, the CEO of Washington-based Gulf State Analytics.“While we can talk about all the benefits this brings the UAE, Israel and Donald Trump,” said Cafiero. “It is clear that the Palestinians are the losers here.”Bahraini officials load medical aid and ground-support equipment into a plane as they head to Beirut to provide support following Tuesday’s blast, at Isa Air Base in Ras Al Bur, Bahrain, Aug. 7, 2020.Following UAE’s leadBahrain in the Persian Gulf and Sudan in North Africa appear to be the most interested in establishing diplomatic ties with Israel next, according to Cafiero. Or at least they have the most to gain, and the least to lose, he said.“It could help Bahrain establish a more formal partnership with a powerful country in the Middle East that shares its perception as Iran as a major threat,” he said. “When it comes to Sudan, the current government has signaled its keenness to engage Israel.”Sudan may be reluctant to say it can work with Israel out loud, as the Jewish state is deeply unpopular in Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Analysts say Sudan is also straining under the weight of Western sanctions, and normalizing relations with Israel might bring some relief.Other analysts have speculated that Saudi Arabia could also benefit from establishing ties with Israel, but the kingdom has remained relatively quiet.Currently, Egypt and Jordan are the only two countries that have normal relations with Israel. For decades, the other Arab countries have agreed not to do so, hoping to pressure Israel into returning some land to Palestinians.Breaking this long-standing agreement may help Palestinians in the short term by delaying the annexation, but it may also permanently reduce the Arab world’s ability to influence Israel on this issue, said Kassem in Egypt.“If this trend continues of piecemeal settlements without addressing the main issue—the Palestinian/Israeli conflict,” he said, “the problem will never really go away.”FILE – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi delivers an address at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, May 26, 2017.Deepening divisionsAcross the Middle East, other leaders have put out statements either for or against the deal, often taking sides against their established foes.For example, Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah el-Sissi tweeted that the new relationship was “taking steps to bringing peace in the Middle East.”Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at odds with both Egypt and the UAE, reacted by threatening to end Ankara’s diplomatic relationship with the UAE.“I think this development can serve to exacerbate polarization in the already deeply divided region,” said Cafiero.
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If you cannot go into the theater, in Annapolis, Maryland, you can see live performances, and from the comfort of your own car.
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Fabien Cousteau talks about the plight of the world’s oceans and new ideas and strategies for cleaning up our polluted seas.
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