Mediterranean Sea

Greece to ratify sea accord with Egypt on Aug. 26

Greece plans to ratify an accord on maritime boundaries with Egypt next week, its government said on Thursday, referring to a deal which has angered Turkey and highlighted overlapping claims…

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Merkel, Macron agree to coordinate more on coronavirus travel restrictions

Germany's Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Thursday to coordinate more closely on travel restrictions related to the coronavirus, the chancellor said after bilateral talks on Thursday.…

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Erdogan says no threats can deter Turkey’s operations in Mediterranean

No threats can deter Turkey from seeking natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean, President Tayyip Erdogan warned, adding that Ankara expects actors in the region to take steps to de-escalate…

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Cyprus says willing to engage on defining maritime zones

Cyprus said it was willing to engage with all its neighbours on defining maritime boundaries, amid a tense stand-off with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean over jurisdiction in the energy-rich…

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Turkey’s Erdogan says only solution in Mediterranean is dialogue

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the only solution to Turkey's dispute with Greece over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean was through dialogue and negotiation, and Ankara was…

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France sends two fighter jets, frigate to eastern Mediterranean, Greece in joint manoeuvres with France

France will send two Rafale fighter jets and the naval frigate ‘Lafayette’ to the eastern Mediterranean as part of plans to increase its military presence in the region, the armed…

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France to bolster Mediterranean military presence

France will increase its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, calling on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters that has…

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Greece, US foreign ministers to meet over Eastern Mediterranean tensions

The foreign ministers of Greece and the United States will meet in Vienna on Friday to discuss tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Greek foreign ministry said, amid a dispute…

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Turkey to conduct seismic survey in eastern Mediterranean

Turkey's navy has issued an advisory saying that the Turkish ship Oruc Reis will carry out a seismic survey in the eastern Mediterranean over the next two weeks, a step…

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Egypt and Greece sign agreement on exclusive economic zone

Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on Thursday designating an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the two countries, an area containing promising oil and gas reserves, Egyptian…

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German frigate ‘Hamburg’ leaves for the Mediterranean to participate in Operation Irini

A navy officer watches as the frigate F220 'Hamburg' of the German Navy (Bundesmarine) leaves the port of Wilhelmshaven, northern Germany, on Tuesday 04 August 2020. The vessel of the…

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France’s Macron wants sanctions over violations in Greek and Cypriot maritime space

France's president on Thursday said it would be a serious error by the European Union to not respond to provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean and said he wanted more sanctions…

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Turkey rejects Greek claim over Mediterranean seismic survey

The eastern Mediterranean region where a Turkish ship will carry out a seismic survey is part of Turkey's continental shelf, Ankara said on Wednesday, rejecting Greece's accusation that the ship…

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Greece calls for sanctions against Turkey over disputed gas explorations

Greece said there should be no alternative but European Union sanctions against Turkey if Ankara does not back down on disputed attempts to explore for natural resources in the Mediterranean.…

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Charity boats resume Mediterranean migrant rescue

Two charity boats have headed back to the Mediterranean after a two-month hiatus in migrant rescue operations, as humanitarian groups await a new wave of arrivals. Italian NGO Mediterranea Saving…

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Bodies of twenty lifeless persons recovered after latest migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea

The bodies of 20 persons were recovered on Wednesday following the sinking of a fishing boat carrying irregular migrants. A search is underway for 30 others who are believed to…

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Alarm at Covid-linked Mediterranean pollution

Video shot by a French environmental NGO in the Mediterranean Sea shows masks and gloves littering the seabed. Opération mer propre (Operation clean sea) is trying to clean up the…

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5.8 magnitude earthquake registered in the Central Mediterranean Sea (UPDATE)

5.7 magnitude earthquake was registered in the Mediterranean Sea, 224 km SW of Methoni, Greece . The earthquake was registered at 23:43 UTC Time (01.43 Malta Time). The earthquake hypo central depth…

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Fears mount over migrants dying ‘out of sight’ in Mediterranean

More and more migrants are crossing, Europe is closing its ports and no humanitarian ships are carrying out rescues. As the coronavirus pandemic dominates headlines, activists fear the Mediterranean is…

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Russian pilots intercept US Navy aircraft over Mediterranean

Russian pilots intercepted a US Navy aircraft in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner" on Sunday for the second time within four days, claimed the US Naval Forces Sixth Fleet. A…

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4.3 magnitude earthquake in Israel

A 4.3 magnitude earthquake was felt in the Eilat area in southern Israel on Sunday morning. So far there is no information as of yet on injuries or…

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US Carrier Strike Group in the Mediterranean

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower crossed through the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea over the weekend. The ship reportedly has an escort of several other US Navy…

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Nearly 500 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean seek safe ports

Nearly 500 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by two boats run by aid agencies were looking for safe ports in Malta and Italy, the groups said Monday. The Ocean Viking,…

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Experts say Mediterranean Sea altered by Suez Canal’s invasive species

As Egypt marks the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Suez Canal, marine biologists are bemoaning one of the famed waterway’s lesser known legacies — the invasion of hundreds…

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US expected to intervene in easing tension in East Mediterranean

The United States will be assuming an active role in easing tensions created by Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean, particularly following its maritime borders and defense agreements with…

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Irregular migration to EU at lowest level since 2013

Irregular migration into the European Union has fallen to its lowest annual level since 2013, the European border and coast guard agency has said, despite a significant increase in the…

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Almost 1,300 migrants drowned in Mediterranean in 2019 – IOM

Almost 1,300 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean in 2019, the International Organization for Migration announced. The 1,282 drownings were 44% down on 2018, it said. The number of deaths since…

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Threat of Mediterranean war grows as Turkey renews military pledge to Libya

The threat of a military clash in the Mediterranean has drawn nearer following talks in which Turkey has underlined its willingness to send troops to Libya to defend the country’s…

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Libya has not yet requested Turkey to send troops – Foreign Minister Cavusoglu

Turkey will resolutely continue defending its legitimate rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday. Cavusoglu met UN-recognized Libya's Government of National Accord head…

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Conservationists in Greece and Cyprus tackle invasive species of highly venomous lionfish

A voracious, venomous species of fish that has invaded the Mediterranean from the Red Sea may be about to meet its match as conservationists urge people to start eating them.…

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Mediterranean is warming up faster than the rest of the planet, report warns

The Mediterranean basin is one of the hot spots of this global crisis, and in some ways it is being “hit harder than other parts of the world,” according to…

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Over 900 EASO personnel deployed in operations in four EU Member States

The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has reached unprecedented levels of operational activity in supporting the asylum authorities of Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta. At the end of September 2019,…

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UN Security Council extends Operation Sophia for another year

The UN Security Council unanimously decided to extend the task of the Operation Sophia, off the Libyan coast, for another year. The resolution adopted under Chapter VII has condemned all…

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For sixth consecutive year, migrant, refugee death toll in Mediterranean tops 1,000 victims

More than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that this “bleak milestone” has been reached, the United Nations…

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Levels of micro-plastics are rising across the Mediterranean Sea, new study shows

Levels of microplastics are rising across the Mediterranean Sea, according to marine biologists who have spent six years studying the scale of the problem. Euronews reports that a lot of plastic…

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Interpol operation detects over 12 suspected foreign terrorist fighters crossing the Mediterranean

An Interpol maritime border operation has detected more than a dozen suspected "foreign terrorist fighters" (FTFs) travelling across the Mediterranean. The exercise, Operation Neptune II, took place from July 24…

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Mediterranean : French Cruise Liner rescues 18 shipwrecked persons on migration route

Corsica Linea, a French passenger ferry company, announced on Monday that it had rescued 18 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Euronews reports that the ferry rescued the "18 shipwrecked (migrants)…

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Mediterranean migrant arrivals reach 46,521 in 2019; Deaths reach 909

IOM reports that 46,521migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea through 28 August, roughly a 32 per cent decrease from the 68,029 arriving during the same period last year.…

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Iranian tanker leaves Gibraltar, Iran ready to give it naval escort

An Iranian ship held by Gibraltar since July on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria has left port. The tanker is moving east into the Mediterranean and lists Kalamata in…

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Merkel calls for restarting EU migrant rescue mission, emphasizes need to fix root cause of migration

Several months after the EU's migrant rescue mission in the Mediterranean was suspended, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the operation to be resumed once more. The operation was…

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Migrant arrivals in Europe in July up slightly from previous month

In July, the number of detections of illegal border crossings on Europe’s main migratory routes rose 4% from the previous month to around 10 500. Overall, the total for…

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Richard Gere visits migrants stranded in the Mediterranean

Carrying boxes of fruit, Richard Gere visited rescued migrants Friday on a humanitarian ship that has been struck in the Mediterranean Sea for over a week, landing smack in the…

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Photo Story: Large-scale navy drill in the Mediterranean

Israeli Navy's INS Lahav (L), US Navy's USS Donald Cook (2-R), French Navy's Fremm Auvergne (C) and Hellenic Navy's HS Aegaeon (R) take part in a joint military exercise in…

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62 bodies recovered from Mediterranean’s worst tragedy this year

Libya's Red Crescent said Friday its rescue workers had recovered the bodies of 62 migrants a day after one of the deadliest shipwrecks this year in the Mediterranean. "Our Red…

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SOS Mediterranée resumes migrant rescues off Libya

Humanitarian group SOS Mediterranee announced it has relaunched migrant rescue operations off Libya, seven months after it was forced to abandon efforts using its ship Aquarius. SOS Mediterranee and…

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Malta awards oil exploration licence

Malta has awarded a one-year oil exploration licence to Edison International in areas north of the island. The Times reports that the company had been granted a licence to explore offshore blocks…

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EU interior ministers fail to find compromise on Mediterranean refugee rescue

European Union interior ministers meeting in Finland on Thursday failed to strike a stopgap deal to address ongoing disagreements about the bloc's migration policies, particularly issues of who should take…

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44 persons rescued by Alan Kurdi rescue boat in cooperation with Maltese authorities – Sea-Eye

German humanitarian group Sea-Eye says the crew of its ship rescued 44 people from a wooden boat in the Mediterranean Sea. The sea rescue group says its ship, the Alan…

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Updated: All 65 migrants on board the NGO rescue ship Alan Kurdi are to be brought to Malta for distribution in the EU

All 65 migrants on board the NGO rescue ship Alan Kurdi are to be brought to Malta for distribution in the EU after talks between Malta, Germany and the European…

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Libya considering freeing all migrants, Italian coast guard saves 55 persons whilst others refused port of entry

Libya is weighing freeing all migrants from detention centres after the massacre at Tajoura detention centre after an airstrike on Tuesday evening. Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said that Libyan authorities…

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83 persons die as boat carrying migrants from Libya sinks in the Mediterranean Sea

A boat carrying 86 migrants from Libya sank in the Mediterranean Sea and only three passengers are known to have survived the shipwreck the day after an airstrike on a…

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16 out of the 24 persons rescued by AFM on Sunday aged between 3 and 16 years

The majority of the persons which were taken into Malta yesterday were children aged between 3 and 16 years. Yesterday afternoon 24 migrants were brought into Malta by the Armed…

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Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals Reach 27,834 in 2019

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 27,834 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea through 1 May, roughly a 35 per cent decrease from the 42,274 arriving…

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Eight people lose life while crossing the Mediterranean – Turkish Coastguard

Eight migrants lost their lives on Monday as they were crossing the Mediterranean. The Turkish coastguard said that they managed to rescue 31 people from the sunken ship, off the…

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EU leaders in Malta, support Cyprus over ownership of offshore natural gas deposits

Heads of European Union Mediterranean states offered full support on Friday for fellow EU member Cyprus in a dispute with Turkey over the ownership of offshore natural gas deposits. The…

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Four women, one man and two girls die as boat sinks near Greek island of Lesbos

At least seven people died on Tuesday when a boat carrying migrants sank near the Greek island of Lesbos, the coastguard said. Assisted by an EU border patrol boat, the…

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WWF publishes report on the extent of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean

As the world today commemorates World Oceans Day, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) issued a report on the worrying state of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Roughly 600,000…

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