World
EU focus on Mediterranean ignores Canary Island, claims president
Fernando Clavijo met Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in Strasbourg. “When you close one door, migrants exit from another.”
The Canary Islands suffers from less focus from the EU than the Mediterranean in relation to irregular migration, despite experiencing the largest number ever of arrivals by sea, the island’s regional government’s President Fernando Clavijo said during a meeting with Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
“We demand solidarity because migrants are not landing in the Canary Islands or Spain; they are landing in Europe,” Clavijo told Euronews before the meeting, during which Brunner assured him that he would travel to the Canary Islands to assess the situation.
In an interview with Euronews, the Spanish region’s president claimed that the EU has been focusing on addressing the migration issue in the Mediterranean Sea while ignoring his territory.
“This works like communicating vessels: the EU has shielded the Mediterranean, and when you close a door, migrants exit from another,” he argued. “Now we have an accumulation of people ready to sail from countries like Morocco, Gambia, Senegal, and especially Mauritania. We ask to be treated with the same measures adopted for the Mediterranean.”
Indeed, the so-called “Atlantic route” or “Western Africa route” saw almost 47,000 arrivals in 2024, an increase of 18% compared to 2023. According to NGO Caminando Fronteras, 9,757 people died in 2024 along this route, while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded 1,062 victims.
This increase occurred as flows of irregular migrants decreased along several other routes to Europe, marking a significant 38% drop in irregular border crossings into the EU in 2024 compared to the previous year.
While some countries like Italy or Greece saw fewer people irregularly crossing their borders or landing on their shores, the Canary Islands face “absolute overflow”, as Clavijo described it.
Currently, migrants mainly arrive in El Hierro, the westernmost of the Canary Islands. Adults remain on average 10–15 days in the archipelago before being transferred to mainland Spain. However, unaccompanied minors are hosted where they arrive, as the Spanish constitution assigns responsibility for them to each regional community.
At present, Canary Islands authorities are hosting 5,812 unaccompanied minors, a thousand of whom are expected to be granted refugee status. “It is unfair that only one government has to bear all the pressure without knowing how many people will come or for how long,” Clavijo said, emphasizing that El Hierro Island has a population of 10,000 but saw almost 30,000 arrivals last year. “Although the Canarian people have a history of emigration and understand what it means, there is already some discontent.”
Distribution of migrants and Frontex on African shores
To alleviate pressure on his islands, Fernando Clavijo has specific requests for Madrid and Brussels. On a national level, he wants to establish an automatic distribution mechanism for migrants as soon as the reception capacity of a regional community is exceeded. Additionally, he calls for an “extraordinary distribution” to relocate a significant number of minors and the allocation of adequate financial resources from the central government to address the upcoming flows.
If Pedro Sánchez’s government fails to provide solutions, the relationship with Madrid will deteriorate, and tensions will rise, Clavijo warned. The Canary Islands government claims it only received €50 million to manage the hosting of unaccompanied minors, while the resources needed amount to €184 million, he claimed.
Clavijo belongs to the regional party Coalición Canaria, and his coalition includes the centre-right Partido Popular, while Prime Minister Sánchez leads PSOE, Spain’s socialist party.
At the European level, Clavijo’s main requests include redistributing migrants arriving in the Canary Islands among EU member states, deploying the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) to the Atlantic islands, and working with African countries to prevent departures. “Distributing 5,800 minors within Europe is a perfectly manageable number. But concentrating all of them in a fragmented and remote territory makes it impossible to adequately care for them,” he stated.
Clavijo hopes the EU can strike a deal with Western African countries, similar to agreements with Tunisia or Egypt. He noted that the €210 million promised to Mauritania by Ursula von der Leyen one year ago as part of a partnership has yet to reach the country.
In his view, these deals should focus more on developing local economies than merely preventing people from leaving their countries. “There will be no walls or border protections strong enough to stop people from seeking a future,” he said.
Clavijo also advocates for sending Frontex officials to Western African countries and Canary Island shores to save lives by preventing departures in the former and rescuing people at sea in the latter.
However, deploying the EU Coast Guard to a specific area requires a request from a competent national government, which Spain has yet to make. Brunner promised Clavijo he would discuss the matter with Spanish authorities at a meeting scheduled for February 17.
Frontex’s presence in a third country is more complex to arrange, as it requires a working agreement between the EU and the country, approved by the Council and the European Parliament. Currently, the only African states where Frontex can operate are Nigeria and Cape Verde.
World
Sporticast 510: The Sordid Saga of a Legends’s Former Mansion
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest in a strange sports real estate story.
In 2012, Michael Jordan listed his Bulls-era mansion outside Chicago for about $29 million, or $41 million in today’s dollars. It took more than a decade and multiple price drops for the home to sell, which it did late last year for $9.5 million. The buyer, a partner in a local real estate firm, has since tried multiple ways to monetize the property. Initially he tried to sell timeshares for $1 million each, but that plan was thwarted by the local town council. He’s back in front of that same council this week, seeking approvals related to his next plan: to build a “multi-sensory experience focused entirely on personal transformation.” The tourist attraction would require the use of a parking lot on an adjacent nature preserve.
Next the hosts discuss major upset in college sports. Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team, the top seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, was upset by Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. Riding a wave of volleyball commercial growth, the Huskers spent more on the sport than any other public school in the country, according to numbers from Sportico‘s college finance database. The team reported $2.57 million in ticket sales during the 2023-24 school year, the third highest total for any women’s team at any public school in the country, trailing only Iowa and UConn women’s basketball.
They close by taking about the Big 12‘s proposed private equity plan. A few days after Big 12 member Utah laid out its own on-campus capital ambitions, Sportico reported that the Big 12 is in talks to set up what essentially amounts to a credit facility for its members via a potential partnership with RedBird Capital-backed Collegiate Athletic Solutions.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)
World
Bystanders seen confronting Australian gunman during ISIS-inspired deadly rampage
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Bystanders were seen on video confronting a gunman before his ISIS-inspired deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, could begin.
Despite their efforts to disarm him, the gunman eventually overpowered the two bystanders and killed them, according to authorities.
The bystanders were later identified as Boris and Sofia Gurman, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The outlet reported that the Gurmans were walking by as they saw the assailant exiting a vehicle. Though Boris had the upper hand for a moment after picking up the shooter’s rifle, the attacker allegedly picked up another rifle during the confrontation and fatally shot the couple, making them the first victims of the massacre.
“We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia Gurman,” the family said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness.”
RABBI KILLED IN SYDNEY HANUKKAH ATTACK HAD WARNED AUSTRALIAN PM ABOUT RISING ANTISEMITISM
Bystanders were seen confronting one of the gunmen behind the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach. (Jenny/Reuters)
In the video, obtained and verified by Reuters, an eyewitness replaying the dashcam footage recalls how the incident unfolded.
“You see the shooter here — he fired shots from here, shooting from here. And then look, this guy went and tackled him (shooter), knocking him to the ground. At that point, he had already grabbed the gun,” the witness, who was speaking in Mandarin, said in the video, according to a Reuters translation.
Authorities have identified the shooters as a father, 50, and a son, 24. The father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by police and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Australian authorities also said that the shooters had improvised explosives and homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle.
On Sunday, the pair opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and leaving more than two dozen injured. The Australian government is investigating the incident as a terror attack targeting the Jewish community.
GAL GADOT, ASHTON KUTCHER CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC TERROR ATTACK AT BONDI BEACH HANUKKAH EVENT
Police teams take security measures at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday after a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community during the first night of Hanukkah. ( Claudio Galdames A/Anadolu via Getty Images)
During the deadly rampage, another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian immigrant, wrestled a gun away from one of the shooters. His attorney said that Ahmed does not regret intervening, despite being “riddled with bullets” and in intense pain.
“He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him,” Ahmed’s attorney, Sam Issa, told The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.”
The outlet reported that Ahmed has undergone his first round of surgery and that Issa fears the hero bystander may lose his left arm.
“He’s a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don’t think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood,” Issa said.
President Donald Trump praised Ahmed for his actions, calling him “a very, very brave person” and saying that he has “great respect” for him.
People attend a floral memorial in honor of the victims of a mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. (Flavio Brancaleone/Reuters)
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The Bondi Beach attack is the worst mass shooting Australia has seen since the country implemented sweeping reforms after a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. Following the Bondi Beach attack, Australian leaders have vowed to strengthen the country’s already restrictive gun laws.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced several proposed actions, including limiting the number of guns one can possess.
“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” he said after meeting with his National Cabinet.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano, Bradford Betz and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
World
Venezuelan opposition leader Machado injured on covert Nobel Prize trip
President Maduro’s rival was hurt as she sped on a boat through choppy waters in secret escape from hiding to reach Oslo ceremony.
Published On 16 Dec 2025
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was injured as she made a clandestine dash to collect her Nobel Peace Prize last week, her spokesperson has said.
Claudia Macero said late on Monday that the right-wing opposition figure fractured a vertebra during a choppy boat ride that had formed part of a risky cloak-and-dagger journey to reach the Norwegian capital, Oslo, for the Nobel award ceremony.
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Machado has been in hiding since she was banned from running in Venezuela’s July 24 presidential election, fearing that her life is under threat from long-time Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“The vertebra fracture is confirmed,” Macero told the AFP news agency, adding that no further details would be released beyond what had been reported in the Norwegian daily Aftonbladet.
The newspaper had earlier reported that the 58-year-old Machado sustained the fracture while crossing the sea in a small fishing boat battered by high waves.
The opposition leader was examined by doctors at Oslo University Hospital during her time in the city.
Dangerous dash
Media reports in the United States said Machado’s escape last week involved wearing a disguise, including a wig, and travelling from a small Venezuelan fishing village on a wooden boat to the island of Curacao, before boarding a private plane to Norway.
Machado has said she feared for her life during the voyage, which saw US forces situated in the Caribbean alerted to avoid a strike on the vessel.
Several similar boats have been attacked in recent months in a campaign that the Trump administration asserts is a bid to avert drug smuggling into the US.
Maduro has accused Washington of seeking to engineer regime change in the hope of seizing Venezuela’s large oil reserves.
The leader of the opposition Vente Venezuela party was attempting to reach the ceremony at which she was due to be presented with the Nobel Peace Prize.
She was announced the winner of the prestigious award in October, with the selection committee praising her role in the country’s opposition movement and her “steadfast” support for democracy.
‘Broken soul’
Despite her speedy trip, Machado failed to reach Oslo in time for the ceremony. Her daughter received the award on her behalf and delivered a speech that slammed Maduro and warned of the need to fight for democracy.
Hours after the ceremony, early on Thursday morning, Machado greeted supporters from an Oslo hotel balcony in what was her first public appearance in a year.
Despite the fracture, she climbed over a barrier to greet supporters outside the hotel, AFP reported.
Machado said authorities in Venezuela would have attempted everything possible to prevent her journey to Norway.
Appearing set to challenge Maduro in the vote, the opposition leader was barred from running in the country’s presidential election in July last year.
She then announced that she would be going into hiding within Venezuela due to fear for her life while Maduro is in power.
The Venezuelan president commented dismissively on the reports of Machado’s injury on television on Monday.
Machado “says she has a broken vertebra”, he said. “What’s broken is her brain and her soul because she’s a demon – she hates Venezuela.”
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