US aircraft carrier to return to base from Mediterranean
According to the Navy, the carrier will redeploy to its home port "as scheduled to prepare for future deployments." The Navy said it is"collaborating with Allies and partners" to shore up maritime security in the region, adding the Defense Department will continue to rely on the presence of its forces...Sharjah’s ‘Mleiha’ and ‘Al Dhaid’ added to Islamic World Heritage
Sharjah, UAE - The Islamic World Heritage Committee of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) added the Mleiha archaeological site and Al Dhaid Fort and Falaj to the List of the Islamic World Heritage. The Sharjah Archaeology Authority (SAA) has completed the nomination dossier of the Mleiha...More than 2,500 migrants dead or missing in Mediterranean in 2023: UN
The land journey from sub-Saharan African countries, where many of the migrants hail from, to departure points on the Tunisian and Libyan coasts "remains one of the world's most dangerous," Ruven Menikdiwela, director of the UNHCR New York office, said. The migrants and refugees "risk death and gross human rights violations...Devastating Libya floods displace more than 43,000 people
"An estimated 43,059 individuals have been displaced by the floods in northeastern Libya," the IOM said, adding that a "lack of water supply is reportedly driving many displaced out of Derna" to other areas.Israeli court orders government to release seized Palestinian boat
GAZA CITY, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES - Israel returned a boat to a Gaza fisherman it had seized for allegedly breaching the limits of the Palestinian enclave's fishing zone, an NGO said on Sunday, following an Israeli court order. Israeli authorities had called for the vessel, belonging to fisherman Mohammad al-Hissi, to be permanently...Libya court sentences 37 traffickers to prison over migrant deaths
A statement from the prosecution said that the appeals court pronounced the verdict against a "criminal gang" whose members organized for migrants to travel on a "dilapidated boat, resulting in the death of 11 of them. Libya is a key departure point for migrants, with many risking the perilous sea...Egypt to pour US$1.8bn into offshore gas exploration program
Vienna, Austria-- Egypt plans to drill new gas wells in the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile Delta as part of its ambitious $1.8 billion offshore exploration program. According to Tarek El Molla, Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the country is developing several exp fields in the Mediterranean Sea,...Lebanon looks to recycling to rid streets of garbage
Beirut, Lebanon--Beirut motorists pull up to a drive-through counter -- not for fast-food, but to exchange empty bottles and cardboard for cash, a novelty in a country long plagued by garbage crises. Festering landfills often overflow in crisis-hit Lebanon, waste is burnt illegally at informal dump sites and rubbish floats off...Rescue ship saves 86 migrants off Libyan coast: charity
The UN's International Organization for Migration estimates that 1,724 migrants had disappeared trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, up from 1,417 last year. According to the Italian interior ministry, around 90,000 migrants have arrived by sea so far this year.EU offers Tunisia more than $1bn to boost economy, reduce migrant flows
The EU is ready to offer Tunisia a 900-million-euro package plus 150 million euros in immediate support, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said. Aside from trade and investment, it would help Tunisia with border management and to combat human trafficking, with support worth 100 million euros this year,...Morocco intercepts 550 migrants trying to reach Europe
Coastguards of the kingdom's navy operating in the Mediterranean and Atlantic rescued 552 illegal migrants of varying nationalities between April 8 and 18," mostly from sub-Saharan African countries, the military source told official news agency. The source said among them were people attempting the crossing aboard makeshift boats, in canoes,...Justice best solution to global challenges
Wars and conflicts have made it more difficult for millions of people to live in dignity and have in turn hampered efforts to bring about global peace, adds Abdelsalam during a session titled “Migration as a Manifestation of Global Poverty, Inequality, climate change and conflict”.Tunisian coastguard intercept about 200 migrants
Nearly 200 migrants attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean Sea were intercepted by Tunisian coastguards over the weekend. In what is being called "rescues" the authorities launched nine separate operations off the southern and north-eastern coast to bring them to the shore.UN says six Syrians die in attempt to reach Italy
More than thirty people attempted the crossing on the vessel, with many of the survivors in an "extremely serious" state of health according to UNHCR.New Israel strikes put Aleppo airport out of service: Syria state media
It is the second reported Israeli strike on the airport in northern Syria in less than a week. "At around 8:16 pm (1716 GMT), the Israeli enemy fired missiles from the Mediterranean Sea... targeting Aleppo International Airport, damaging the runway and rendering it out of service," it said.US envoy pushes Lebanon-Israel talks over maritime dispute
US envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut Sunday to push talks to resolve a bitter maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel over Mediterranean waters with offshore gas fields. "Reaching a resolution is both necessary and possible, but can only be done through negotiations and diplomacy," the US State Department...22 Malian migrants died in boat disaster off Libya: UN
Twenty-two Malian migrants died in a boat disaster off the Libyan coast, the UN said Tuesday, citing survivors who reported victims drowning and dehydrating with three children reportedly among the dead. After nine days at sea, 61 survivors, mostly from Mali, were rescued by the Libyan coastguard and brought back...Swimming and surfing, Gazans savour a cleaner sea
Marine pollution has worsened in recent years in Gaza, where insufficient wastewater solutions have turned the Mediterranean into a dump.Turkey spots another mine floating off its coast
Turkey on Monday said a second mine which could have come from Ukraine was discovered off its coast near Bulgaria, adding that experts had been sent to defuse it.Turkey looks to revive frozen ties with Israel
Turkey's Erdogan said he was resurrecting talks with Israel on an old idea to bring Mediterranean gas to European clients via Turkey.Lebanese army stops boat carrying 90 people off coast
Women and children were among the group intercepted Friday by a navy patrol off the coast of Qalamoun in northern Lebanon, the army says























