Headline

Seven Die, 23 Rescued In Greece Boat Accident

Published

5 months ago

April 3, 2025

Seven people, including two children, died and 23 others were rescued Thursday when an inflatable boat carrying migrants capsized off the Greek island of Lesbos, the coast guard said.

The coast guard initially said four bodies had been discovered in the Aegean Sea but after a search by patrol boats, three others were found, a spokeswoman told AFP.

The boat was carrying about 30 people and capsized in mild weather a short distance from the coast of neighbouring Turkey.

“Their boat took on water and started to sink,” the spokeswoman said, adding that searches for any other survivors were ongoing.

Among the dead were four women, a boy and a girl, the coast guard said. No details have been released about the three others, including their country of origin.

Greece’s location in the far southeast of Europe in the eastern Mediterranean Sea makes its islands a common passage for undocumented migrants from Asia and the Middle East trying to reach western Europe.

Deaths are commonplace during the perilous crossing. The UN said nearly 2,500 people were reported to have died last year.

Last month, Greek maritime police said one migrant died and 18 others were rescued after a smuggler abandoned them as they tried to cross from Turkey.

According to the UN refugee agency, nearly 9,000 people have entered Greece since the start of the year, most of them by sea.

There were over 54,000 entries in 2024, according to the agency’s figures.

Greece’s conservative government has hardened the country’s stance on migration.

“If you want to enter Greece illegally and are not entitled to asylum, we will do whatever we can to send you back where you came from,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in parliament on Wednesday.

“Smugglers and NGOs cooperating with them will not determine who enters our country,” he said.

AFP

Headline

Israeli Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalist In Gaza

Published

12 minutes ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

Al Jazeera on Monday said one of its journalists was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza, two weeks after the broadcaster lost six staff and freelancers in an attack.

Mohammad Salama, a photojournalist and cameraman, was killed in an attack on a medical complex that left 14 people dead, the Qatar-based news network said.

His death was “confirmed,” a spokesperson told AFP.

Earlier this month, four Al Jazeera staff and two freelancers were killed in an Israeli air strike outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, prompting widespread condemnation.

Mahmud Bassal, Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesman, also said the death toll in the latest attack stood at 14, including journalists.

An Israeli explosive drone targeted a building at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, followed by an airstrike as the wounded were being evacuated, Bassal said.

AFP

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

15 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

15 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP