World
EU rejects claim it ‘aided & abetted’ crimes against migrants in Libya
Brussels insisted on Tuesday that it’s not handing “bodily cash” to Libyan entities after a UN fact-finding mission discovered that the EU “aided and abetted” the fee of crimes in opposition to migrants within the conflict-torn nation.
The UN report launched on Monday and based mostly on tons of of interviews carried out over a three-year fact-finding mission concluded that there’s proof that crimes in opposition to humanity have been dedicated in opposition to Libyans and migrants caught within the nation.
These crimes embody ladies being compelled into sexual slavery, arbitrary detention, homicide, torture, rape, enslavement, and enforced disappearance.
The Libyan coast guard have been in the meantime discovered to be working “in shut coordination” with trafficking networks in Libya with the exploitation of weak migrants producing “important income”.
“The help given by the EU to the Libyan coast guard by way of pull-backs, pushbacks, (and) interceptions led to violations of sure human rights,” investigator Chaloka Beyani instructed reporters. “You possibly can’t push again folks to areas which might be unsafe, and the Libyan waters are unsafe for the embarkation of migrants.”
He mentioned the European bloc and its member states weren’t discovered to be chargeable for conflict crimes, however “the help given has aided and abetted the fee of the crimes.”
‘A stimulus for us to work extra’
Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for the EU exterior affairs service, instructed journalists on Tuesday that “one factor which is essential to remember, we aren’t financing any Libyan entity. We’re not giving bodily cash to companions in Libya, precisely for these causes.”
The EU and its member states have for years offered materials and technical help to the Libyan coast guard in a bid to spice up interception of boats making an attempt the damaging crossings throughout the Mediterranean to illegally attain Europe. This contains coaching for the coast guard in addition to boats.
It has additionally spent tens of tens of millions of euros to guard and help migrants and refugees and help native communities.
“What we’re doing is allocating some huge cash, which is then normally utilized by our worldwide companions. Loads goes by way of the UN, for instance, once we are doing the repatriations, once we are doing reallocations by way of IOM or with the assistance of the UNHCR,” Stano mentioned.
“So I do not agree with the claims that our cash goes to finance the enterprise mannequin of the smugglers or of those that are misusing and mistreating folks in Libya, fairly on the contrary. Many of the cash goes with the intention to maintain these very folks,” he added.
The cash was used, as an illustration, to fund 60,000 assisted voluntary returns and the vacuation of 5,500 refugees from the nation by way of the UNHCR, Stano mentioned.
The EU, he additionally mentioned, is “taking severely the issues” raised by the UN fact-finding mission.
“Our goal, our joint goal, is to assist to enhance the state of affairs of the folks stranded in Libya. And there are outcomes. In fact, there are incidents, there are points that are supply of concern. We attempt to handle them with the companions in Libya, with the worldwide companions.”
“What we’re seeing and witnessing now’s only a stimulus for us to work extra with the intention to convey to the Libyan companions to work with us on these and in addition with the worldwide companions to have interaction much more, as a result of in the long run, it is folks we’re speaking about and it is folks to whom our efforts are directed at,” he mentioned.
In August 2022, there have been nearly 680,000 migrants from over 41 nationalities in Libya, in accordance with the UN’s Worldwide Organisation for Migration. The overwhelming majority are adults though 11% are kids
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)
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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
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