Sicily
Enjoy some peace in Mistretta, Nebrodi Mountains
December 31, 2016
2017: "Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst" -- Mel Brooks
MSF Aquarius returns to Sicily with 400 of 800 refugees rescued yesterday
December 29, 2016
It's a nice feeling to be on a safe boat, when the sea is that bad. Our guests are having some rest on their way to a safe port in Italy. pic.twitter.com/6zStbo4gOX
— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) December 29, 2016
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Number of Drowned refugees in Mediterraean tops 5,000 in 2016
December 28, 2016
From The Guardian:
"Deaths linked to Mediterranean crossings by migrants trying to reach Europe have spiked in 2016. Last year, 3,771 deaths were recorded as more than a million people made the journey, mostly from Turkey to Greece. This year, about 360,000 people have crossed, most between Libya and Italy, with far more deadly results."
"Deaths linked to Mediterranean crossings by migrants trying to reach Europe have spiked in 2016. Last year, 3,771 deaths were recorded as more than a million people made the journey, mostly from Turkey to Greece. This year, about 360,000 people have crossed, most between Libya and Italy, with far more deadly results."
Death for Christmas
December 24, 2016
A terrible Christmas shipwreck, some hundred victims, many of which were women and children. The news comes from the UN refugee commission which said that two damaged rubber rafts went down in the in the Strait of Sicly with their human cargo. 143 were saved by the Italian Coast Guard. The rest are missing or dead.
573 immigrants rescued, 2 dead
December 9, 2016
Hindered by Force 5 winds and waves in the dark of night, the coast guard ship Gregoretti took on 573 migrants found in a shipwreck at sea last night. Two of the migrants, a man and a woman, were dead. Seven had severe respiratory problems, probably due to breathing in diesel fumes. One is in desperate Read More
Telegraph: Palatine Chapel among world's most beautiful churches
December 1, 2016
Palermo's 1132 Capella Palatina was the only Italian church to make it onto The Telegraph's list of the worlds 23 most beautiful churches.
Migrant boat traffic from Libya to Europe is surging — and turning deadlier
November 30, 2016
From the Washington Post:
By Michael Birnbaum November 30 at 1:00 AM
BRUSSELS — Migrants heading to Italy from Libya in leaky boats and inflatable dinghies have broken an annual arrivals record, Italian authorities said this week, underscoring the rising popularity of an increasingly deadly journey that nowadays aims not for land, but for a frigid mid-sea rescue.
The number of boat migrants reaching Italy from North Africa this year surpassed 171,000, topping the previous record of 170,100, set in 2014, the Italian Interior Ministry said Monday. But 2016 is also the most lethal year for those trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. So far, 4,690 people have died en route, compared with 3,771 deaths for all of last year, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Read More
By Michael Birnbaum November 30 at 1:00 AM
BRUSSELS — Migrants heading to Italy from Libya in leaky boats and inflatable dinghies have broken an annual arrivals record, Italian authorities said this week, underscoring the rising popularity of an increasingly deadly journey that nowadays aims not for land, but for a frigid mid-sea rescue.
The number of boat migrants reaching Italy from North Africa this year surpassed 171,000, topping the previous record of 170,100, set in 2014, the Italian Interior Ministry said Monday. But 2016 is also the most lethal year for those trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. So far, 4,690 people have died en route, compared with 3,771 deaths for all of last year, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Read More
A big flop: Black Friday sales in Palermo
November 26, 2016
No one showed up. They don't have Thanksgiving so there was no starting line impetus, IMHO. La Repubblica says the discounts were not low enough to bring in customers.