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Good morning,
Here is our Wednesday’s morning briefing.
The Malta Independent and The Times report the latest developments about the MV Lifeline. The Independent focuses on the fact Malta yesterday signalled its willingness to open its ports to a migrant rescue vessel that has been stranded in the Mediterranean for days, but was until late last night trying to get more European states to agree to share the burden.
The Times highlights the fact that Malta placed condition on taking Lifeline migrants. Similarly, MaltaToday reports that themigrant rescue vessel Lifeline remains stranded in international waters as European member states engage in horse-trading in order to find an equitable solution.
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the Maltese government said that four nations had accepted to take a number of migrants from the ship. It is understood that these four countries are Malta, France, Italy and Spain. The Portuguese government later said it was also offering to take a number of people from the vessel.
The Times reports that “Construction sites across the entire country could start facing hefty delays and fines in the coming days, skip operators warned yesterday as dumping sites for building waste have reached capacity.”
The Independent reports that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s rapporteur on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia has been authorised by PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee to receive information from anonymous sources and to protect the identity of anyone who provides such information.
Earlier, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday that Malta has agreed to let the Lifeline dock there while Italy is set to receive some of the migrants that it has on board. “I have just spoke on the telephone to (Maltese) Premier (Joseph) Muscat,” Conte said.
In a tweet published at 0323 am The MV LifeLine crew said that there was no authorisation as yet.
Giuseppe Conte and Emmanuel Macron held an unscheduled dinner this week to defuse tension over immigration — the issue convulsing European politics and which threatens to overshadow a pivotal EU summit this week.
The Austrian’s EU Presidency will be having a hard line stand on migration as Syrians, Afghans and African nationals seeking refuge in the EU would have to file their asylum applications before entering the bloc under radical migration proposals put forward by Austria’s government.
French President Emmanuel Macron, accused at home of straining France’s secular foundations by seeking to mend ties with the Catholic Church, had an unusually long and cordial meeting with Pope Francis on Tuesday. A Vatican statement said the two discussed “protection of the environment, migration, and multilateral commitment to conflict prevention and resolution, especially in relation to disarmament”.
The US Supreme Court upheld the legality of the latest version of President Trump’s travel ban holding that the President was within his authority when he blocked travel from certain Muslim Majority countries.
Seventeen states, including New York and California, sued the Trump administration Tuesday to force it to reunite the thousands of immigrant children and parents it separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, as the legal and political pressure on the White House to reconnect families more quickly escalated.
Israel’s defense minister has said the proposal aims to “change the reality in the Gaza Strip.” For years, the coastal enclave has been under a naval blockade, preventing it from receiving goods by water. The Cypriot government on Tuesday said Israel has requested it examine the possibility of building a port facility for Gaza-destined goods to pass through.
EU countries should prepare their airports and aviation sector for a “no-deal” Brexit, the European Commission told diplomats at a briefing earlier this month. The warning came during a June 12 meeting chaired by Filip Cornelis, the director of aviation at the Commission’s transport department, attended by EU27 diplomats and representatives of their civil aviation authorities, according to three officials present.
The door to EU membership for Albania and Macedonia remains closed at least until June 2019, but accession is on offer if the countries make progress on reforms, EU ministers decided Tuesday.
Prince William who is on a royal tour of the Middle East, and while in Jordan he went ahead and visited the exact same location in Jerash that Kate visited with her family as a little girl.
French butchers have issued a plea for police protection against vegans, whom they blame for a series of attacks designed to “spread terror” among meat-lovers.
Leo Messi and Argentina, apparently down and out and squabbling among themselves, pulled their act together in yet another last-ditch drama at the 2018 World Cup to qualify for the knockout stages.
Visibly under the effect of substance abuse, Diego Armando Maradona was rushed to hospital from the Stadium during Argentina’s match against Nigeria.
