The Italian Coast Guard has said that nearly 10,000migrants were rescued in the last week alone as theytried to make the journey across the MediterraneanSea. Nine hundred were rescued today. In the latesttragedy, 40 more migrants drowned as they tried to make their journey from Africa to Europe.Our correspondent Gavin Lee is monitoring developments from Brussels.
“Every day since Friday, around 1,000 people have been saved, the majority who set sail fromthe coast of Libya. This number, according to aid agencies, was unprecedented. But thesystem isn't adequate, is a failing universally-acknowledged Operation Triton with 6 ships, 4planes and one helicopter, is 3 times smaller than the previous search and rescue operationMare Nostrum, which is ran by the Italian military. The Italian government asked for morefinancial help from the EU. Here in Brussels, the European Commissions responded, saying ithas no silver bullet or any kind of panacea. But it urged member states to invest more.”
In a separate development, Italian police arrested a group of Muslim migrants from IvoryCoast, Mali and Senegal. They're accused of throwing Christians from Nigeria and Ghanaoverboard after a fight broke out over religion.
Fighting is underway for control of the western Iraqi city of Ramadi in Anbar Province. Tens ofthousands of people are trying to flee. More from Paul Adams.
“A small glimpse of the battle for the capital of Anbar Province, skirmishes around thenortheastern edge of a city that's been in the sites of so-called Islamic State fighters for morethan a year. 3 outlying villages fell to IS yesterday, triggering fears that Ramadi might soon beoverrun. If that happened, it would represent the worst government defeat since the fall ofMosol last summer. Washington seems aware of the heightened sense of danger. US-ledcoalition aircrafts have launched air strikes today against the same villages. There are alsoreports that government forces, possibly backed by newly-arrived Shiite militiamen, are fightingback.”
As the campaign for Britain's general election gathers momentum, 5 opposition partyleaders have taken part in a second line of television debate hosted by the BBC. The Laborleader Edward Miliband said he would put working families first, while the leader of the UKIndependence Party Nigel Farage said he would help small businesses. He also made a case for areferendum about leaving the European Union.
“We can't be an independent state and be part of the European Union. My view is, we shouldbe outside of that. My view is, we should govern ourselves. So for me, if you get isn't theposition of influence in the next parliament, we would want the British people to have a full, freeand fair referendum, so they can decide whether we have a trade deal with the EU or continuethe membership of the European Union.”
The leaders of the Scottish National Party, the Wales Party Plaid Cymru and the Green Partywere also taking part.
News from the BBC.
A prominent Ukrainian journalist has been shot dead in Kiev by masked gunmen. Oles Buzinawas known for his pro-Russian views, and he worked for a publication with close links to thegovernment of the deposed president Viktor Yanukovych. His death comes a day after a pro-Russian politician Oleg Kalashnikov was killed in a similar attack. Dmitri Kuleba, ambassador-at-large of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, told the BBC why these murders might be happening.
“These people knew a lot about the criminal habits and criminal orders of Mr. Yanukovych-regime-managed team. They could have been presuming beared witness to investigationsbeing carried out to find out the truth about all the crimes committed by President Yanukovychand members of his team.”
Polls have closed in Sudan's presidential and parliamentary elections. With President OmerElbashir expected to extend his 25 years in power after most of the opposition partiesbycotted the vote. Results are expected towards the end of the month. Nearly 13 million peoplewere registered to vote, but on Wednesday, polling was extended following a low turnout.
Spanish tax officials have searched the home in Madrid of a former International Monetary FundChief Rodrigo Rato. He's already under investigation for fraud connection with his time as chiefexecutive of the Spanish Bank Bankia, which had to be bailed out by the government. Mr.Rato, who also served as Spain's economy minister, has denied any wrongdoing.
The financial authorities in Saudi Arabia have announced that from mid-June, foreign investorswill be allowed to trade shares in the country's 500-billion-dollar stock market. Foreign nationalsfrom outside the Gulf States can currently only buy Saudi stocks indirectly. Fund managerssay that once the liberalization is implemented in June, tens of billions of dollars are expected tobe invested in Saudi Arabia.
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