Latest news with #ERT
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Greece arrests hundreds of migrants after imposing asylum freeze
Greece has detained nearly 200 migrants who arrived after an asylum freeze imposed on claimants from North Africa. 'The illegal immigrants who entered from Libya in recent hours were arrested by the coast guard,' migration minister Thanos Plevris said on X on Saturday. 'They do not have the right to apply for asylum, they will not be taken to reception centers, but will be held in police custody until the process of their return is initiated,' he added. The 190 migrants arrived in three groups south of the island of Crete, the coastguard told AFP. A fourth group of 11 people was found near the island of Agathonisi, opposite the Turkish coast. State TV ERT reported one of them was injured and later died in hospital. The move marks a further hardening of Greece's stance towards migrants under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government, which has built a fence at its northern land borders and boosted sea patrols since it came to power in 2019. Greece is experiencing a rise in migrant arrivals from Libya, mainly landing in Crete, the home island of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Over 2,000 people have landed just in July, sparking anger among local officials and tourism operators who have put pressure on the conservative government to take action to stop the flows. The government has declared a three-month suspension on asylum requests from any persons arriving by sea from North Africa. Earlier this month, dozens of migrants were seen in shocking footage leaping off a boat and running onto a beach in front of tourists on a Greek holiday island. In one clip, recorded at Diskos beach in the south of Crete, a group of asylum seekers were seen crammed in to a small boat as it bobbed near the shoreline. The concerning levels of sea arrivals prompted a visit by Greece's foreign minister George Gerapetritis to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar this month. Last month Athens also said it would deploy two frigates near Libyan territorial waters to help stem the flow. It urged Libya to cooperate more closely with Greece and the EU to stop migrants sailing from there or turn them back before they exit Libyan territorial waters. The North African country has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi. Human rights groups accuse Greece of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders. This year, the European Union border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece. The government denies wrongdoing. Greece was on the front line of migration crisis in 2015-16 when hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa passed through its islands and mainland.
Global News
5 days ago
- Health
- Global News
Charleigh's case: Disease experts ‘strongly oppose' move to cut rare drug funding
A group of experts on Batten disease in the United States has penned a letter to B.C.'s health minister and premier, strongly opposing the decision to withdraw funding for 10-year-old Charleigh Pollock. The letter is signed by the Clinical Directors from the U.S. Batten Disease Clinical Centers of Excellence and Batten Disease Clinical Research Consortium and asks the B.C. government to review the current discontinuation criteria. Pollock has a neurological disorder called Batten disease that leaves her with recurring severe seizures and mobility loss, and will eventually cut her young life short. On June 18, Charleigh's family was informed that government funding of a drug called Brineura, which her family said has stabilized her condition and radically improved her quality of life since her 2019 diagnosis. The drug is expensive, carrying an annual bill for the twice-monthly infusions of about $1 million. Story continues below advertisement Charleigh's family appealed to the B.C. Ministry of Health to reverse the decision and consider more research and speak to more experts. However, the decision was not reversed. 2:00 Review of Charleigh Pollock's case finished The doctors and researchers who wrote the letter say their international colleagues and collaborators Angela Schulz MD and Miriam Nickel MD in Germany were instrumental in developing the clinical outcome measures used to track disease progression in CLN2 disease, which is a type of Batten disease. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Drawing from our collective and unparalleled expertise in CLN2 disease, we strongly oppose the decision to withdraw funding for life-sustaining ERT from Charleigh Pollock and call for a review of the current discontinuation criteria,' the letter reads. Prior to 2017, the late-infantile form of CLN2 disease was universally fatal, however, the introduction of intracerebroventricular ERT, which is the medication Pollock was given, 'fundamentally altered the disease trajectory.' Story continues below advertisement The experts said the treatment 'has demonstrably prolonged survival, slowed progression, improved seizure control, and enhanced quality of life.' The B.C. government has always maintained that the decision to stop funding Charliegh's medication was never about money but a panel of experts decided the drug was not helping Charleigh anymore. 'This is a really awful case,' B.C. Premier David Eby said on Thursday. 'This is a beautiful child and a family facing a horrific diagnosis. Medical experts are disagreeing about the best course of action. 'We received a letter this morning from slightly more than a dozen experts in Batten disease from the United States who wrote to the (health) minister and I expressing that their perspective on this medication is that it would continue to provide benefit for patients, including for Charleigh, that are at the stage that she's at.' Eby said Health Minister Josie Osborne will likely have more to say on the matter on Friday. 2:15 Langford mom devastated after province pulls funding for daughter's expensive drug The letter from experts said they are concerned by the clinical and scientific justification used by B.C.'s ministry of health to terminate treatment for Charleigh. Story continues below advertisement Andrew McFadyen, executive director of the Issac Foundation in Toronto, which is a patient advocacy organization dedicated to supporting individuals living with rare diseases, was one of the experts who signed the letter to Eby and Osborne. He said they provided the same information to Osborne when they met with her a few weeks ago and he was appalled the government stopped funding the drug in the first place. 'So while this may not be overly new information, I think the idea that every single Batten disease expert in the world has signed on to say, we're unified, we agree, we're imploring you to change this decision, but we're also imploring you to look at developing new criteria so that this situation doesn't have to take place for other children across the country, but also around the world, like it did here now,' McFayden added.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Greek police arrest five people in murder case of UC Berkeley professor, including his ex-wife
Greek police have arrested five people in the case of murdered UC Berkeley professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, including his ex-wife and her current partner. Jeziorski was shot dead on July 4 while visiting Athens to see his children and attend a family custody hearing. According to Greek national broadcaster ERT, the five people are expected to testify in front of a prosecutor on Thursday morning. ERT reported that the arrests include two Greek nationals – the 43-year-old ex-wife of the victim and her 35-year-old current partner – along with two Albanians and one Bulgarian. The victim's ex-wife, Konstantina 'Nadia' Michelidaki, denies any involvement, her lawyer told CNN. Jeziorski, 43, an economist and professor of marketing at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business who went by the nickname Przemek or 'PJ,' was shot multiple times at close range in a residential suburb of Athens and died at the scene, according to police. A masked gunman 'approached the victim on foot and opened fire from close range' at about 4:15 p.m., hitting the victim in the neck and chest, according to police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglidou. Seven bullet casings from a 9mm caliber firearm were found at the scene, police said. Eyewitnesses described seeing a masked man in black who approached the victim on foot, with one telling local media that she heard about six shots and saw the perpetrator run from the scene. The shooting happened near the home of Jeziorski's ex-wife in the suburb of Agia Paraskevi, one day after the father-of-two attended a custody court hearing, police said. Police said Jeziorski had no criminal record in Greece. 'Our family is heartbroken' Jeziorski's two young children are now in Greek child custody, according to the victim's brother. 'Przemek's ten-year-old children, who are US and Polish citizens, are now under care in accordance with Greek child custody procedures,' Łukasz Jeziorski said in a statement. 'Our primary concern is their safety and wellbeing, and helping them reconnect with their family to minimize the trauma they have already endured.' 'Przemek loved his children and fought for them until the end. He paid the heaviest price, unnecessarily, for this,' the family statement said. 'This summer, he wanted to bring his children to his hometown of Gdynia, Poland. This death and the circumstances surrounding it remain impossible for us to accept, but we find some measure of comfort knowing that progress is being made toward justice, and that the kids are about to reunite with their family into a safe environment.' The victim's brother said, 'Our family is heartbroken,' but grateful to Greek police and security professionals who made the arrests. 'We are also thankful for the help of the US Consulate in Athens, and the Polish Consulate in Athens, helping care for the well being of the kids,' the statement added. In addition to American and Polish citizenship, the children had applied for Greek citizenship and were awaiting a decision, according to Michelidaki's lawyer. Jeziorski's family started a fundraiser to repatriate his remains to his native Poland and pay for legal representation in Greece. UC Berkeley said in a statement that Jeziorski 'had a passion for teaching' and during his 13 years there, he taught data analytics skills to more than 1,500 graduate and PhD students. The dean of UC Berkeley's business school, Jenny Chatman, said she was 'heartbroken' by the death of Jeziorski, who she described as a 'beloved member of our marketing faculty.' Jeziorski was also the co-founder of a start-up called Keybee, a short-term rental property management platform, along with his ex-wife Michelidaki. This story has been updated with additional developments.
08-07-2025
- Politics
EU migration delegation ordered deported from eastern Libya on alleged entry violations
CAIRO -- CAIRO (AP) — Authorities in eastern Libya refused entry to three European ministers and the EU commissioner for migration on alleged entry violations, apparently after they stopped first in the rival Libyan capital of Tripoli in the west. A statement from the prime minister of the eastern part of Libya, Osama Hammad, said the interior ministers of Italy, Greece, Malta and the EU migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, were 'persona non-grata' after they were denied entry shortly after their arrival in Benghazi. It said the ministers had entered illegally and had not followed Libyan diplomatic conventions. The ministers were in 'flagrant contravention of established diplomatic norms and international conventions, and through actions that demonstrably disregard Libyan national sovereignty, as well as in violation of Libyan domestic laws,' the statement said. The delegations 'are urged to engage with the Libyan Government in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, as enshrined in international agreements, treaties, and diplomatic custom,' it added. In addition to Brunner, the delegation included Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri. The delegation was visiting Libya seeking tougher migration measures against boats carrying migrants from Libya. The EU has spent years and millions of euros trying to stem the people smuggling operations that have thrived in Libya's lawlessness and brought hundreds of thousands of desperate people to European shores. Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the country split, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. Currently, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah heads the internationally recognized government in the capital of Tripoli in the west while Hammad heads the administration in the east, where the powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter continues to also hold sway. The EU delegation had met first with Dbeibah, and the deportation incident was apparently caused because the European delegation stopped first in Tripoli, said Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hadzidakis. Usually foreigners including diplomats coordinate with both administrations if they want to visit western and eastern Libya. Speaking to state-run ERT television in Greece, Hadzidakis said the Tripoli meeting went ahead as planned. 'However, in Benghazi —perhaps because the visit to Tripoli came first — the Benghazi government decided it would not receive the European Commissioner and the three ministers. I don't think that was a constructive move, especially given that the European Union is genuinely trying to find a solution to this very unusual situation — just as it has tried with our other southern and eastern neighbors — on a complex issue like migration." For southern and eastern Libya, which are under the control of Hifter's forces, visitors have to coordinate and get permits from the east-based government, which is allied with Hifter. It's not clear if such permits were sought or granted. In Italy, opposition lawmakers who have criticized the hard-line stance against migration of the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni were quick to point out the irony that her migration minister was deported from a country on alleged immigration violations. 'Piantedosi was turned back from Libya because he was accused of illegal entry,' Democratic Party lawmaker Matteo Orfini wrote on Facebook. 'I was thinking of an ironic comment but I'd say that's good as is.'
New Straits Times
05-07-2025
- Climate
- New Straits Times
Greece battles wildfires as temperatures soar past 40°C
ATHENS: A new fire broke out on Friday near the Greek capital, Athens, as the country was put on high alert for wildfires due to increased temperatures and strong winds. Thousands of tourists and locals were meanwhile forced to flee hotels and guesthouses in a resort on the popular island of Crete. Hot, dry weather – not unusual for this time of year – has heightened the risk of summer fires and scientists say human-driven climate change is making them more frequent and more intense. The latest fire broke out in the municipality of Koropi, some 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Athens, fanned by strong gusts. It quickly spread through the area, which includes homes surrounded by dense vegetation and extends to the shores of the Aegean Sea, and residents were ordered by text message to evacuate. Fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyannis said some 800 people had left their homes, as the flames "quickly grew to dangerous proportions" because of the wind, with several outbreaks. Roads on the outskirts of Athens were closed to traffic. Public television channel ERT broadcast images of fire damage to houses, olive groves and undergrowth. By late afternoon, a fire department official told AFP that the situation appeared "improved" but added "there remain some scattered clusters." "Operations are ongoing, mainly to control small outbreaks," he told reporters. In all, 120 firefighters were deployed, with 30 engines, eight planes and the same number of helicopters, fire service spokesman Vathrakoyannis said. A coastguard vessel was patrolling nearby. Concerns remain for the coming days, particularly Saturday, when temperatures are due to rise to above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Greece had until now been generally spared the heatwave roasting parts of Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal and France over recent days. Among the most threatened regions were Attica, in the Athens region, which is home to more than four million people, as well as the northern part of the second-largest Greek island Euboea. In the past 24 hours, 47 agricultural and forest fires have broken out, most of which have been contained. Firefighters earlier managed to bring under control a separate fire which had on Thursday threatened the port of Rafina, around 20 kilometres northeast of Koropi, after some 300 local people were evacuated from their homes. Fire crews remained on alert, as the Rafina wildfire was not far from Athens International Airport and winds still posed a threat. The blaze destroyed a several houses and vehicles, local mayor Dimitris Markou told ERT. It also disrupted ferries to and from tourist islands in the western Aegean, including Mykonos. On the island of Crete, around 230 firefighters, 48 fire engines and six helicopters remained at the scene near the resort town of Ierapetra, even though the blaze was receding. Some 3,000 visitors had been forced to leave their hotels and guest houses on Wednesday evening and 2,000 local residents were also evacuated, authorities said. "The fire is retreating," Vathrakoyannis told AFP. "There are still fears of flare-ups but there is no longer a major front," he added. Scattered hot spots still remained and firefighters were dealing with several smoke-filled areas from which flare-ups had restarted, the fire department told the ANA press agency. Weakening winds in the hard-to-reach area had improved the situation, firefighters said, although a fire brigade spokesperson had warned overnight of some "difficult" days ahead. Last month, fires on Greece's fifth-biggest island Chios, in the northern Aegean, destroyed 4,700 hectares (11,600 acres) of land, according to the WWF and the National Observatory of Athens research institute. The most destructive year for wildfires was 2023, when nearly 175,000 hectares were lost and there were 20 deaths.--AFP
