World

EU releases €127 million in aid for Tunisia amid Lampedusa crisis

Published

1 year ago

September 22, 2023

EU releases €127 million in aid for Tunisia amid Lampedusa crisis

The European Commission announced on Friday the first round of payments under the contentious EU-Tunisia memorandum of understanding.

The executive will release nearly €127 million in the coming weeks to buttress Tunisia’s wobbling economy and curtail irregular departures of migrants.

The disbursements come amid increasing political pressure from the Italian government, which is struggling to manage a new influx of asylum seekers on Lampedusa.

More than 10,000 migrants arrived from Tunisia to the tiny island in a matter of days, prompting an emergency visit by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over the weekend.

During the trip, von der Leyen unveiled a 10-point action plan and vowed to speed up the disbursement of funds under the memorandum of understanding that was controversially signed with Tunisia in July.

Friday’s announcement is a direct response to von der Leyen’s pledge.

The new envelope is split into two strands: €60 million for budgetary assistance and almost €67 million for migration support.

The €60 million comes from an instrument previously earmarked for post-coronavirus recovery and is not part of the €150 million promised under the memorandum.

The budgetary support will be directly sent to the Tunisian treasury with the ultimate goal of preventing a financial meltdown inside the crisis-hit country, a scenario that Brussels fears would push a larger number of migrants to European shores.

Meanwhile, the €67-million strand for migration combines two sources:

€24.7 million from a financial instrument adopted in 2022.
€42 million from the €105-million envelope included in the memorandum to combat smuggling operations, reinforce border management and accelerate the return of asylum seekers whose applications are denied.

The €67 million will be divided between Tunisia’s coast guard and navy, which will receive search-and-rescue vessels, thermals cameras, radars and other surveillance equipment, and NGOs that offer services on the ground, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

It’s unclear how much money will go to each.

“We will have different implementing partners,” a Commission spokesperson said on Friday afternoon. “Contracts are in the process of going forward.”

Ever since its signature, the EU-Tunisia memorandum has become the target of intense criticism and media scrutiny, with strong attention to human rights.

Tunisia, under the strong-arm leadership of President Kais Saied, has been repeatedly accused of committing abuses and collective expulsions of sub-Saharan migrants, many of whom have been found abandoned in the middle of the desert near the Libyan border.

Saied has made racist comments on black Africans and denounced what he calls a “criminal plan to change the composition of the demographic landscape of Tunisia,” words that echo the far-right conspiracy theory known as the “great replacement.”

Last week, the European Ombudsman formally asked the Commission to clarify how the memorandum will ensure that Tunisian authorities respect fundamental rights in their operations to curtail irregular flows of migration.

“Under the (memorandum), the EU and Tunisia have agreed to cooperate in full respect of the principles of international law and respect for the dignity of migrants,” said the Commission spokesperson when asked about financial safeguards.

“Contracts will now be signed. But, in general terms, EU contracts always have standards clauses of human rights.”

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview.

World

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

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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)

HOW TO SAY ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ IN 10 LANGUAGES TO FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD

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.

17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL

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.

CHRISTMAS TREES IN GERMANY WERE DECORATED WITH APPLES INSTEAD OF ORNAMENTS IN THE 1600S FOR ‘ADAM AND EVE DAY’

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.

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

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.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

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.