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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2020
ROME (AP) — A Spanish non-pro it
group said its migrant rescue boat
received permission on Saturday
from Italy to disembark 363 pas-
sengers after several days in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Maritime rescue organisa-
tion Open Arms said its boat, also
named Open Arms, took the mi-
grants aboard during ive separate
operations in international waters.
The rescued passengers were
picked up from distressed boats
launched by Libya-based smugglers
over the past few days, the group
said. The migrants were crowded
together on the bridge of the Open
Arms, the organisation tweeted.
Mission chief Gerard Canals
said earlier Saturday that the res-
cue crew hoped Italy would assign
a safe port after no permission to
dock came from the island nation
of Malta. Canals expressed concern
that the boat’s supply of food might
run out.
Open Arms tweeted on Saturday
night that Italian authorities gave the
boat “safe harbor” in Pozzallo, Sicily
to disembark 363 passengers who
“will step on safe mainland tomor-
row for the 1st time in a long time.”
In the past fewmonths Italy has al-
lowed such charity ships to disembark
rescued migrants at its ports on con-
dition that other European Union (EU)
nations agree to take some of the asy-
lum-seekers. Several EU nations have
done so, making good on pledges to
share the migrant burden at a confer-
ence in Malta a fewmonths ago.
During Italy’s previous coalition
government, which included the
anti-migrant League party as a part-
ner, then-Interior Minister Matteo
Salvini triggered repeated stand-
offs at sea when he denied port ac-
cess to private rescue ships.
In some cases, the rescuers and
their passengers were left in limbo
for days or forced to sail as far as
Spain to disembark.
Rescue boat with 363 migrants cleared to
disembark in Italy
People wait to disembark from the Ocean Viking rescue ship, at the Taranto harbour, Southern Italy. PHOTO: AP
FRANKFURT, GERMANY (AP) — Eu-
ropean governments ramped up
lights on Saturday to bring their
citizens back from China amid the
outbreak of a new virus that has
sickened thousands of people.
A German air force plane arrived
in Frankfurt carrying 128 passen-
gers who were expected to spend
two weeks quarantined at a military
base. Russia sent military aircraft to
evacuate citizens from Wuhan and
other areas of China most affected
by the virus.
The German plane’s arrival was
delayed after it was refused per-
mission to stop in Moscow to refuel
and change crews. Defence Minis-
ter Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
said the aircraft received clearance
to ly over but not to land because
of what Russian authorities said
was insuf icient capacity.
“Together with the Foreign Min-
istry, we will certainly discuss next
week what other reasons there are
beyond the of icial explanation
about insuf icient capacity at the
Moscow airport,” Kramp-Karren-
bauer said.
Russia’s RIA-Novosti news
agency cited an unnamed avia-
tion source as saying Russia was
not giving permission to any
third-country evacuation flights
to make stops. Russia’s aviation
SYDNEY (AFP) - A 24-year-old Ital-
ian has been found dead in Austra-
lia’s Blue Mountains near Sydney
after a days-long search, police
said yesterday.
The man, who was not of i-
cially named, was reported miss-
ing near the town of Blackheath on
Wednesday. A search party located
the body near the scenic spot of
Baltzer Lookout, New South Wales
police said.
The mountains are only a short
drive from Sydney and are popular
with hikers.
Local and Italian media earlier
said a search was underway in the
area for Sydney resident Mattia Fi-
aschini, who was reported missing
after failing to turn up for work.
An operation was underway to
retrieve the body, police added.
It is not believed the death was
linked to recent bush ires in the area.
Body of Italian hiker found in Australian mountains
Quarantines await Europeans flown
home amid virus outbreak
authority could not be reached
for comment.The Bavaria state
Health Ministry on Saturday night
reported Germany’s eighth con-
firmed case of the new virus,
a 33-year-old man who lives in
Munich and works for the same
company as six of the other
infected patients.
The news brought the total
number of people in Europe known
to be infected with the virus up to
23: Germany with eight, France
with six, Russia, Italy and the United
Kingdom (UK) with two a piece, and
Finland, Sweden and Spain each
with one.
Of the 180 French people lown
back from Wuhan on Friday, one
showed symptoms of being in-
fected with the virus and was sent
to a Marseille hospital for test-
ing, French Health Minister Agnes
Buzyn said.
Ambulances and police cars stay next to an airplaine of the German air
force with evacuated Germans from China aboard after its arrival at the
Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt. PHOTO: AP
ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (AP) —
Police in the Russian city of St
Petersburg detained participants
in a small Saturday protest of pro-
posed changes to the country’s
constitution.
No of icial protest igures
or information about possible
charges was immediately avail-
able. The St Petersburg news
website said 10 peo-
ple were detained.
Russian President Vladi-
mir Putin last month called
for constitutional amend-
ments that are widely seen as
a strategy for him to remain
in power once his term ends
in 2024.
The proposed changes would
redistribute national executive
powers, allowing Russian law-
makers to name prime ministers
and Cabinet members and giving
a greater role to an obscure con-
sultative body of regional gover-
nors and federal of icials called
the State Council.
Protesters opposed to Russian
Constitution changes detained
Riot police of€icers detain a demonstrator holding a poster reading
‘No to Putin’s constitutional amendments’ during a protest near the
Constitutional Court building in St Petersburg. PHOTO: AP