Thread: Italy: Illegal immigrants land off coast

Italy: Illegal immigrants land off coast
Adnkronos International August 19 2008

Lampedusa. Sixty-six illegal immigrants were rescued off the southern coast of Italy on Monday. The would-be migrants were spotted 50 nautical miles southeast of the small Italian island of Lampedusa off the Sicilian coast. They called for aid using a satellite phone and were rescued by Italian coast guard authorities.

Twenty-two women and a child were among the immigrants who are believed to have travelled from North Africa.They were all expected to be transferred to the island's temporary reception centre.

More than 15,000 would-be migrants are believed to have landed in southern Italy in 320 landings since the beginning of January 2008.

Italy has the European Union's longest coastline - 4,500 kilometres - making it difficult to police and thus a preferred destination for migrants.

It recently approved a controversial new law targeting illegal immigrants with harsher penalties and swifter deportation procedures.

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged Christians to fight intolerance against foreigners and criticised the government moves to crackdown on illegal immigrants.

http://europenews.dk/en/node/13236

Cyprus on the EU front line for asylum seekers
AFP August 19 2008

The island of Cyprus is now on the immigration frontline, since joining the European Union in 2004, it has the highest intake per capita of population of asylum seekers

KOFINOU. According to the United Nations, 11,000 applications are waiting to be processed. And more than 99 percent of those submitted in 2007 were rejected.

Rachel had never heard of the tiny divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus when she boarded a boat and made her escape from Nigeria, where she said she faced being forcibly circumcised.

Now more than two years later, the 24-year-old nurse and dozens of other refugees from Iraq, the Palestinian territories and Cameroon are stuck in a rural holding centre for asylum seekers, the only one of its kind in EU member Cyprus.

According to the United Nations, 11,000 applications are waiting to be processed. And more than 99 percent of those submitted in 2007 were rejected.

Cyprus also has an estimated 60,000 illegal immigrants, a financial and administrative burden for the small island which has been divided into Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities since the Turkish invasion of 1974.

http://europenews.dk/en/node/13237

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged Christians to fight intolerance against foreigners and criticised the government moves to crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Well Mr.Pope you feed them and supply health care. This pope has a bad habit of sticking his nose into politics . Where as he should be watching his gay azz priests and what their doing imo. THEY call this Religion

Originally Posted by tencz57

Well Mr.Pope you feed them and supply health care.

The Vatican is filled with gold and priceless antiques. More than enough money there!