Italy makes constitution greener, environmentalists call for action

Italian politicians and activists praised a new law building protection of the environment into the constitution, but said action needed to be taken to ensure that the country benefited. Italy is famed for its natural beauty but environmentalists say it does too little to protect jewels such as the Venice Lagoon or thousands of kilometres

Cyprus’ top diplomat: Turkey is creating new Ottoman empire

The foreign minister of the divided island of Cyprus is accusing Turkey’s president of attempting to promote a new Ottoman empire in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East — and says such an approach to geopolitics could adversely impact regional security. Nikos Christodoulides, whose Mediterranean island nation is divided into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot

Huge Oil Spill From Syrian Power Plant Spreads Across Mediterranean Coast

Satellite images show the leak spreading some 20 kilometers north of its source, and authorities say ​work is underway to clean the coast in the rocky areas A massive oil spill caused by leakage from a power plant inside one of Syria’s oil refineries is spreading along the coast of the Mediterranean country, Syria’s state

Italy to investigate Libyan coastguard’s ‘attempted shipwreck’ of migrant boat

Officials to be investigated after film appears to show patrol boat firing shots at a vessel carrying 64 people in the Mediterranean Prosecutors in Sicily have launched an investigation against the Libyan coastguard after footage emerged appearing to show officials firing on a boat of migrant families in the Mediterranean Sea. On 30 June, rescue workers from

Egypt’s Sisi opens naval base close to border with Libya

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated a large naval base on Saturday 135 km from the border with Libya, flanked by close ally Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Libya’s unity president. Egypt says the July 3 base will help it protect strategic and economic interests as well as helping guard

At least 43 migrants drown in shipwreck off Tunisia, Red Crescent says

At least 43 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, the Tunisian Red Crescent told Reuters on Saturday. The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya’s northwest coast, carrying migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh, the humanitarian

As migrants continue to reach Ceuta, Spanish pushback hardens

Madrid ups border security in the North African enclave, returns thousands to Morocco, and fires tear gas into the buffer zone. In a bid to prevent more people’s arrival in Ceuta, Spain has upped security along its shared border with Morocco, fired tear gas into the buffer zone between the countries, and returned people who