One man has died and six other people are missing after a British yacht sank off the coast of Sicily during bad weather

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, 59, is among those missing – sources say his wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued

Authorities in Sicily tell the BBC Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, is also missing, along with the boat’s chef

There were 22 people on board in total – 15 people were rescued including a one-year-old child

Authorities say the missing could still be in the yacht, which is more than 50 metres underwater: “We should have found something by now”

One English woman says she held her daughter “with all her strength” to stop her drowning.

Source: BBC

The former head of Catalonia, Charles Puigdemont, was back in Spain on Thursday after seven years on the run, despite facing arrest. Puigdemont, who fled the country over his role in a failed bid for Catalonian independence, addressed supporters at a park near the regional parliament, which is set to elect a new leader later in the day.

Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia who fled Spain over his role in a failed 2017 independence bid for the wealthy region, returned to Spain on Thursday after seven years on the run despite a pending arrest warrant.

Puigdemont shouted “Long live a free Catalonia!” as he climbed onto a stage in Barcelona to address thousands gathered near the Catalan regional parliament which is set to elect a new leader later in the day.

“I have come here to remind you that we are still here,” he said as many in the crowd waved red, yellow and blue Catalan independence flags.

After his brief address, Puigdemont appeared to head towards the nearby Catalan parliament but the assembly began an investiture vote to pick a new leader for the region without him being present.

It was not immediately clear where he was.

Nuria Pujol, a woman in her fifties who came to Barcelona from the Alt Penedes region to see Puigdemont, called him “a very noble person”.

“The only one who believes in independence and has not stopped believing,” she added.

A small group of protesters gathered nearby waving Spanish flags and holding signs that read “Catalonia is Spain” in a demonstration organised by far-right party Vox.

Source: AFP

The High Court cases of three asylum seekers who had brought legal action to block their potential removal to Rwanda were resolved on Tuesday after the UK’s incoming Labour government vowed to scrap the controversial deportation policy.

Three asylum seekers who brought court action to block the UK’s attempt to send them to Rwanda had their cases resolved on Tuesday, after the incoming Labour government ditched the policy.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Saturday that the migrant deportation plan forged by the ousted Conservative government was “dead and buried”.

There had already been a spate of legal challenges to the scheme, with the UK Supreme Court in November last year ruling that it was illegal under international law as Rwanda could not be considered a safe country for asylum seekers.

Government lawyer James Eadie told the High Court in London on Tuesday: “In relation to the three named claimants, these claimants’ cases will be fully disposed of and withdrawn subject to the (interior ministry) paying their costs.”

The Labour Party said before last Thursday’s general election that it would ditch the scheme, which the Tories said would deter huge numbers of migrants trying to get across the Channel to the UK on small boats from northern France.

Sixty-five people were brought ashore Monday – the first under the new government – taking the total number of arrivals so far this year to 13,639, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

‘No obligation’ to return the money

Rwanda, home to 13 million people in Africa’s Great Lakes region, claims to be one of the most stable countries on the continent and has drawn praise for its modern infrastructure.

But rights groups accuse veteran President Paul Kagame of ruling in a climate of fear, stifling dissent and free speech.

A spokesman for his government said Monday that “Rwanda takes note of the intention of the UK government to terminate the Migration and Economic Development Partnership Agreement”.

As part of the deal, the UK has already paid some £240 million ($307 million) to Rwanda, with a further £50 million scheduled to be sent at a later date.

In January, Kagame said the money was “only going to be used if those people will come. If they don’t come, we can return the money”.

However, he later specified there was “no obligation” to do so.

Source: AFP

If you’ve ever longed to live in Germany, now might be the perfect time to try. The country recently announced a new work visa, the Chancenkarte, or “Opportunity Card”, which offers non-EU nationals a new opportunity to immigrate to Germany.

The Chancenkarte, which opened for applications on 1 June, offers a new points-based system that rates applicants by specific criteria, including academic qualifications, language skills and past professional experience.

“[The Opportunity Card] will make it easier and quicker for people with experience and potential to find a suitable job and get started,” Nancy Faeser, Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior and Community, said in a statement to the BBC.         

Those granted the Opportunity Card can live in Germany for up to one year while looking for work, rather than requiring an employer to sponsor them beforehand. The card also allows people to legally work part-time while searching for something more permanent. It represents a major shift in the way the country is addressing its growing labour shortage and is intended to help increase the number of professional workers in fields like medicine, education, manufacturing and engineering. Much more than just a digital nomad visa, the new card offers non-EU citizens the opportunity to streamline the German immigration process and search for work on the ground in the country, a move that has been hotly debated by conservatives, who argue that it could allow for already-rejected asylum seekers to find work in Germany.

Successful applicants will either have a professional qualification or academic degree that is fully recognised in Germany, or a combination of criteria such as years of professional experience, a certain age and language skills, each of which are worth a certain number of points. Applicants must have a rating of six or more points to qualify for the visa. They must also show proof of ability to cover living expenses during their job search, at least €1,027 per month.

Because EU citizens can already live and work in Germany, the new opportunity visa is geared towards those currently living outside the EU and in Switzerland, as Swiss citizens also do not require a visa for entry or a permit to work in Germany. The Chancenkarte is set up to favour non-EU citizens with connections to the country, as extra points are available for those who have German language skills or have studied in a German school.

Alex Masurovsky, a former Master’s student at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, who now lives in New York, is intrigued by the opportunity the new visa affords to return to live and work in Berlin.

“For me, [Germany] had just enough of those European sensibilities, like sitting down for coffee and staying out late, to enjoy without it feeling pretentious,” he reflected. “It also has a great appreciation for music, mostly electronic, but small and sincere pockets of jazz, blues and punk rock, too. I’d recommend it to anyone.”

Though it’s true that the country’s culture and nightlife can be a draw, ultimately the new visa aims to provide a long term solution to address the nation’s labour shortages, which is one of the major factors contributing to Germany’s ongoing financial issues. “We are making sure that we can attract the skilled workers our economy has urgently needed for years,” Fraser said. “This is vital for our country’s future.”

Those interested in learning more can visit the Make It In Germany website for more information. The site has a “self-check” that allows visitors to check their eligibility status for the Chancenkarte. Official applications for the visa should be made in person at your local German Diplomatic Mission.

Source: BBC

Gunmen in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have killed six police officers in a series of attacks, security officials say.

Twelve other officers were wounded in the attacks, which targeted a synagogue and churches in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala.

A Russian Orthodox priest has also been killed and two attackers shot dead, state media report, quoting the local Interior Ministry. Footage on social media shows buildings on fire.

The assailants have not been identified, but Dagestan has in the past been the scene of Islamist attacks.

An unofficial channel on the Telegram messaging app, Mash, said gunmen were barricaded in a building in Derbent.

Source: BBC

The presidents of Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Somalia will join many Western heads of state and government and other leaders at a conference this weekend aimed to plot out first steps toward peace in Ukraine – with Russia notably absent.

Swiss officials hosting the conference say more than 50 heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will join the gathering at the Bürgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne. Some 100 delegations including European bodies and the United Nations will be on hand.

Who will show up – and who will not – has become one of the key stakes of a meeting that critics say will be useless without the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and is pushing ahead with the war.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to attend while Turkey and Saudi Arabia have dispatched their foreign ministers. Key developing countries like Brazil, an observer at the event, India and South Africa will be represented at lower levels.

China, which backs Russia, is joining scores of countries that are sitting out the conference, many of whom have more pressing issues than the bloodiest conflict in far-away Europe since World War II. Beijing says any peace process needs to have the participation of both Russia and Ukraine, and has floated its own ideas for peace.

Russian troops who now control nearly a quarter of Ukrainian land in the east and south have made some territorial gains in recent months. When talk of a Swiss-hosted peace initiative began last summer, Ukrainian forces had recently regained large swaths of territory, notably near the cities of southern Kherson and northern Kharkiv.

Against the battlefield backdrop and diplomatic strategizing, summit organizers have presented three agenda items: nuclear safety, such as at the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia power plant; humanitarian assistance and exchange of prisoners of war; and global food security – which has been disrupted at times due to impeded shipments through the Black Sea.

That to-do list, encapsulating some of the least controversial issues, is well short of proposals and hopes laid out by Zelenskyy in a 10-point peace formula in late 2022.

Putin’s government, meanwhile, wants any peace deal to be built around a draft agreement negotiated in the early phases of the war that included provisions for Ukraine’s neutral status and limits on its armed forces, while delaying talks about Russia-occupied areas. Ukraine’s push over the years to join the NATO military alliance has rankled Moscow.

With much of the world’s focus recently on the war in Gaza and national elections in 2024, Ukraine’s backers want to return focus to Russia’s breach of international law and a restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

The International Crisis Group, an advisory firm that works to end conflict, wrote this week that “absent a major surprise on the Bürgenstock,” the event is “unlikely to deliver much of consequence.”

“Nonetheless, the Swiss summit is a chance for Ukraine and its allies to underline what the U.N. General Assembly recognised in 2022 and repeated in its February 2023 resolution on a just peace in Ukraine: Russia’s all-out aggression is a blatant violation of international law,” it said.

Source: AP

Russia on Tuesday announced the start of tactical nuclear weapons drills close to Ukraine, in what it said was a response to Western “threats”.

Throughout its two-year offensive on Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly talked-up its arsenal of nuclear weapons and its readiness to deploy them if it senses an existential threat.

The West has accused President Vladimir Putin of irresponsible nuclear sabre-rattling.

Russia’s defence ministry said Tuesday the drills were taking place in its Southern Military District, which borders and includes parts of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed. It did not specify exactly where.

The drills are designed to test “the readiness of personnel and equipment of non-strategic nuclear weapons combat units to respond and to unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

It added they were a “response to provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials.”

Putin ordered the drills earlier this month after a series of Western statements on the Ukraine conflict drew scorn in Moscow.

Russian officials pointed to comments by French President Emmanuel Macron about NATO countries needing to not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine and British Foreign Minister David Cameron saying Kyiv had the right to fire Western missiles at Russian territory.

Russia’s Southern Military District is the command centre for its offensive on Ukraine. It is headquartered in Rostov-on-Don, 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the border with Ukraine and also includes parts of the country Russia says it has annexed—the Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

The defence ministry published footage showing trucks carrying missiles to a field where launch systems were prepared and troops at an airfield readying a bomber to carry a nuclear warhead.

It said this was the “first stage” of the drills, which involved practicing the loading of launch vehicles, driving to designated launch sites and loading planes with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.

It did not indicate whether any test firings had taken place.

Tactical nuclear weapons, also known as non-strategic nuclear weapons, are designed for use on the battlefield and can be delivered via missiles.

Source: AFP

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned his nuclear forces were “always” on alert and added that Moscow would not tolerate any Western threats during an address on the annual Victory Day parade.

In a defiant speech on Red Square before thousands of soldiers dressed in ceremonial attire, Putin heaped praise on his army fighting in Ukraine and accused “Western elites” of fomenting conflicts around the world.

“Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash, but at the same time we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always on alert,” Putin told the crowd.

“Dear friends, Russia is now going through a difficult, crucial period. The fate of the Motherland, its future depends on each of us,” he said.

The May 9 parade marks the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II and has become Russia’s most important public holiday as Putin puts the country firmly on a combat footing.

Putin has used nuclear rhetoric throughout the conflict but has grown increasingly belligerent since last year, pulling out of a nuclear test ban treaty and a key arms reduction agreement with the United States.

Earlier this week, he ordered the Russian military to hold nuclear drills involving the navy and troops based near Ukraine, raising fears he could use the powerful weapons on the battlefield.

Source: AFP

Asylum seekers are going into hiding or fleeing to Ireland as the UK government is proceeding with a plan to detain them for deportation to Rwanda, reports say.

The detentions began a week ago under the controversial Rwanda scheme, with the first deportation flights expected to take off in July.

“Frontline asylum charities report people leaving their asylum accommodation in order to avoid arrest. They are raising the alarm about the increasing risks of destitution and exploitation,” Lou Calvey, the director of the charity Asylum Matters, said.

The Guardian questioned whether the officials had anticipated the asylum seekers’ reaction, citing the growing fallout from the high-profile round-ups that the government is dealing with following the dissemination of its message about detaining people for Rwanda.

It is not clear whether officials had anticipated that some asylum seekers would go into hiding and others would go to Ireland, it said.

According to the report, asylum seekers who have attended regular reporting sessions at centers around the UK have said that they had never seen things so quiet.

“I walked right in and didn’t have to queue at all. In all the years I’ve been reporting I’ve never seen it so deserted,” said one man from Belarus who has been in the UK for more than a decade, but is still fearful the Home Office could detain him even though he isn’t among those identified in the initial cohort of returns.

The initial cohort includes those who illegally arrived between January 2022 and June 2023.

Another asylum seeker, who has received a notice of intent for Rwanda, said he got several calls from friends in his community urging him to go into hiding.

A Syrian refugee also said he was calling on asylum seeker friends at risk of being deported to Rwanda to hide.

“I was an asylum seeker in 2020 when the Home Office was trying to deport as many asylum seekers as possible to European countries they had passed through before Brexit started. Some asylum seekers went into hiding then and I can see that it is happening again because of Rwanda.”

The first week of round-ups saw at least one asylum seeker going on hunger strike and another threatening suicide.

The detentions, however, have not acted as a deterrent for small boat crossings, with 1,420 people crossing in the last seven days up to Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ireland, that removed a tent city of asylum seekers in the heart of Dublin outside the International Protection Accommodation Services center last week, saw the return of tents close to where they were before.

The Irish authorities are expected to provide more accommodation later this week to deal with the unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers, some arriving from the UK.

Critics of the Rwanda scheme say the deportations breach international law.

Source: Presstv