Thousands of migrants risk their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to reach Europe. AFP PHOTO / FEDERICO SCOPPA
Thousands of migrants risk their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to reach Europe. AFP PHOTO / FEDERICO SCOPPA

Italy promises to airlift 10,000 migrants from Libya



More than 150 migrants have been flown to Rome from Libya for the first time.

The country’s interior minister has pledged to bring another 10,000 by plane next year to save them from being trafficked.

Two Hercules aircrafts transported 162 migrants, mostly women, children and the disabled, were flown to Italy’s capital after being released from detention centres where beatings and torture happen frequently.

By opting to airlift refugees, Italy is able to minimise the number of dangeous Mediterranean crossings desperate migrants embark on. It also enables officials to vet migrants in camps before bringing them into the country.

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The passengers of these first flights were chosen by UN staff visiting detention centres in Libya that hold African migrants who have travelled north only to fall into the hands of traffickers.
Nearly 1,000 visits had been made this year, according to Italian officials.

Marco Minniti, the Italian interior minister, who was at Ciampino airport to meet the migrants, said: “This is a historic moment because we have created the first humanitarian corridor to save migrants given refugee status by the UN from the clutches of criminals.”

“For the first time, we have been able to evacuate extremely vulnerable refugees from Libya directly to Italy,” Vincent Cochetel, an official for the United Nations high commissioner for refugees.

The arrival of migrants in the country has become a key campaign issue, with increasingly popular right-wing parties encouraging hostility to African migrants.

Austria has seen a similar backlash following a generous acceptance of migrants and now has a far-right party in government.

Earlier this year footage appeared to show migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who had attempted to cross the Mediterranean being sold in Libya as slaves.

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German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5