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An international team of scientists gathering in Spain Wednesday will launch a project to determine once and for all where famed explorer Christopher Columbus came from by examining his DNA.While Columbus has long been claimed by Italy, there is also speculation he may have been Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian or even Polish. There is little known about his early history, and the project is designed to settle the question.In 2003, a team from the Spanish University of Granada’s medical school established, through DNA research, that bones in a tomb in the cathedral of Seville were those of Columbus, settling a dispute with the Dominican Republic which claimed his body was buried there.  At that time DNA technology was not advanced enough to determine much else.  Breakthroughs in the technology since then, however, have made it possible to now roughly ascertain the area of person’s ancestry.  The bones of Columbus, his son Hernando and his brother Diego are to be examined at Granada University, with genetic material sent to laboratories in Italy and the United States.To kick off the project, the University of Granada is hosting a gathering what it is calling the first world meeting of Columbus researchers, who are presenting evidence for their different theories about the explorer’s origins. The scientists and historians brought with them documentation, artifacts and reportedly even some genetic material.Columbus’s four transatlantic voyages on behalf of Spanish monarchs between 1492 and 1504 opened a door to Europe’s colonization of the Americas, then known as the New World.Columbus died on May 20, 1506, and was buried in the Spanish city of Valladolid.
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The European Union has slammed Belarus for its closure of the country’s biggest independent online news publication, Tut.by, as one of its reporters left prison after serving six months for her reporting on the death of a protester killed during a crackdown on demonstrations against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka. In a statement on May 19, an EU spokesman called the blocking a day earlier of the popular news site an “act of continued repression and intimidation” against independent media. Belarusian authorities also raided Tut.by’s offices in Minsk and other regions, and the homes of its journalists and employees, breaking the door leading to the apartment of Maryna Zolatava, the site’s editor in chief. The Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights group said on May 19 that 12 women and two men who worked for the publication had been detained. “The harassment of journalists must stop and all those detained must be immediately released, together with all political prisoners,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said in the statement. “The EU continues to stand by the people of Belarus in their call for respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms and will continue to support civil society and independent media,” he added. The EU statement came hours after Katsyaryna Barysevich was released from a penal colony in the southeastern city of Homel on May 19 after serving her sentence for articles she wrote on the death of Roman Bandarenka, who was protesting against Lukashenka’s victory claim in an August 9 presidential election that the opposition says was rigged. The articles included medical details that contradicted official statements that Bandarenka was drunk at the time of his death.Barysevich told journalists after her release that her incarceration “failed to break” her and that she looked at the absurdities of her situation to ease her mind.”I learned to look calmly at all of the crazy things around me. I cannot say that somebody broke me, or that I entered a jail in November as one person and left it as a different one. To my big surprise, it turned out that I am a very strong person…. There was a moment on the first day [of my arrest] when I wanted to cry but when I saw 19- and 20-year-old students in my cell… I understood that crying is not an option for me,” Barysevich said. 
“I had a brown card that is given to individuals with the status of ‘inclined to extremism,’ so I was transported handcuffed along with two women sentenced to nine years and 10 years in prison for murder. They were laughing that they were not handcuffed, while I was!” she said. The doctor, Artsyom Sarokin, was handed a suspended two-year prison term and ordered to pay a fine of 1,450 rubles ($555) for disclosing the information to Barysevich. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists condemned the raids on the offices of Tut.by and its affiliates across the country, as well as the homes of the company’s editors. A total of 14 employees from the media group were detained as suspects in an alleged tax evasion case. “It’s clear that authorities’ only real motive is to censor Belarus’ premier independent news website out of fear of its reporting. Authorities must release all Tut.by employees immediately and without charge, and should allow the outlet to work freely,” Gulnoza Said, the New York-based watchdog’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a statement. A co-owner of Tut.by, Yulia Charnyauskaya, also was detained on May 18 but rushed to a Minsk hospital with heart problems, where she spent several hours. Her current whereabouts are unknown, Vyasna says. A Tut.by co-founder, Kiryl Valoshin, told Current Time on May 18 that there is sizeable support in Belarus for the publication, which has over 3 million online users. But he said he doubted that an escalating crackdown on the media and civil society in the country following protests over a disputed presidential election last August will stop any time soon. “Unfortunately, let us admit that the level of violence and lawlessness in the country is so high that even the possible closure of Tut.by will not make its supporters do something more than express their thoughts on social networks,” Valoshin said, adding that he hopes Tut.by will be able to continue operating in some form. Belarusian authorities have stepped up their repression of journalists and bloggers ever since the start of mass protests sparked by the presidential election. Tut.by has been under pressure for months. Outrage over what was seen as a rigged vote to hand Lukashenka a sixth term in office brought tens of thousands onto the streets to protest the outcome. Security officials have cracked down hard on the demonstrators, arresting thousands, including dozens of journalists who covered the rallies, and pushing most of the top opposition figures out of the country. Some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials against some of those detained. Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, has denied any wrongdoing with regard to the election and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on stepping down and holding new elections. The European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka, 66, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have slapped him and senior Belarusian officials with sanctions in response to the “falsification” of the vote and postelection crackdown. 
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are set to meet Wednesday on the sidelines of the Arctic Council ministerial in Reykjavik, Iceland. It will be the first face-to-face meeting for the top U.S. and Russian diplomats and comes at a time of heightened tension between their countries.  The meeting will also set the stage for a planned summit next month between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The U.S. State Department said Wednesday afternoon’s session “will provide an opportunity to test the proposition of whether we can achieve a relationship with Moscow that is more stable and predictable.” Blinken on Tuesday urged the global community to avoid militarizing the Arctic.  The United States has previously accused Russia of requiring foreign ships to seek permission to pass through the region and to allow Russian maritime pilots to board the vessels while threatening violence against noncompliant ships.   “We’ve seen Russia advance unlawful maritime claims, particularly its regulation of foreign vessels transiting the Northern Sea route, which are inconsistent with international law,” Blinken said at a joint media briefing with Iceland’s foreign minister.  Blinken’s remarks came a day after Lavrov warned Western countries not to claim rights to the Arctic.  “It has been absolutely clear for everyone for a long time that this is our territory, this is our land,” Lavrov told reporters in Moscow. “We are responsible for ensuring our Arctic coast is safe.”  As climate change accelerates the melting of the Arctic’s ice sheet, the Arctic becomes more accessible.  In recent years, Putin has made Russia’s Arctic region a higher strategic priority, raising tensions with Arctic Council members over its investments in military infrastructure and mineral extraction.  The United States has recently been at odds with Russia over Moscow’s jailing of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, Russia’s buildup of military forces near Ukraine, and a cyberattack on the largest U.S. gas pipeline by hackers believed to be in Russia.  Russia says its government was not involved in the cyberattack. It has accused the United States of trying to interfere in its domestic issues, including the jailing of Navalny. 
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It’s a grand day for the French. Cafe and restaurant terraces reopened Wednesday after a six-month coronavirus shutdown deprived residents of the essence of French life — sipping coffee and wine with friends. The French government is lifting restrictions incrementally to stave off a resurgence of COVID-19 and to give citizens back some of their signature “joie de vivre.” As part of the plan’s first stage, France’s 7 p.m. nightly curfew was pushed back to 9 p.m. and museums, theaters and cinemas reopened along with outdoor cafe terraces. President Emmanuel Macron, among the first to take a seat at a cafe terrace, was seen chatting with Prime Minister Jean Castex, who was attending a movie later in the day. Actress Emmanuel Beart went to a movie theater opening in the center of Paris where her latest film “L’Etreinte” (“The Embrace”) was showing — among the scores of movies produced during the shutdown.Parisians wait for the early first cinema screening and one year delay premiere of ‘Mandibules’ by French director Quentin Dupieux in Paris, May, 19, 2021.France is not the first European country to start getting back a semblance of social and cultural life. Italy, Belgium, Hungary and other nations already have started allowing outdoor dining, while drinking and eating indoors began Monday in Britain’s pubs. Eateries in France have been closed since the end of October, the longest time of any European country except Poland, where bars and restaurants reopened Saturday for outdoor service after being closed for seven months. Some French cafe and restaurant owners have spent days preparing for Wednesday’s milestone, even though rain is forecast for large swaths of the country, including Paris. Still, the government has put limits on how much fun can be had. Restaurants are can fill only 50% of their outdoor seating areas and put no more than six people at a table. Movie theaters can only seat 35% of capacity, while museums must restrict entries so there is 8 square meters of space (86 square feet) per visitor. Starting June 9, the French government plans to extend the curfew until 11 p.m. and to permit indoor dining at restaurants and bistros starting. The final phase of the three-stage reopening plan is scheduled for June 30, when the curfew will end and all other restrictions will be lifted, if pandemic conditions allow. France has recorded more than 108,000 deaths due to COVID-19, among the highest tolls in Europe. But deaths, admissions to critical care units and the coronavirus infection rate are now on the decline. “What counts is the dynamic,” Health Minister Olivier Veran told BFMTV. Vaccinations “have changed the givens.” About 40% of France’s adult population has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Rain or shine, restrictions or not, a good number of people are expected to take advantage of their new freedom on Wednesday. At least that’s what Jérôme Haeffelin, the owner of Le Ponthieu, a Right Bank bistro in a crowded district of Paris, hopes. He invested 20,000 euros ($24,000) to create an outdoor terrace. “We’ll try hard to enforce (the rules), to stack the odds in our favor and stay open in the long run,” Haeffelin said. 
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A Paris summit on supporting African nations hard-hit by COVID-19’s fallout wrapped up Tuesday with sweeping calls for massive financial and vaccination support for Africa — and a broader sea change in relations between donor nations and the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron called earlier for a new deal for Africa. Among the goals he and other leaders outlined were doubling COVID-19 vaccination targets for Africa by the end of 2021 under the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme; persuading International Monetary Fund member states to triple so-called special drawing rights monetary reserves for Africa to $100 billion; and giving Africa the ability to produce and distribute COVID-19 shots at home.  Macron said this moment could be seized to respond to broader, long-standing — and, so far, unaddressed — challenges facing Africa. He said an economic and strategic new deal with Africa would not happen overnight, but the talks had triggered a new dynamic.  French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Senegal’s President Macky Sall and President of Congo Democratic Republic Felix Tshisekedi in Paris, May 18, 2021.The same message was heard from Senegal’s President Macky Sall. He said a paradigm shift is under way in Africa’s relationship with richer nations — from having programs imposed on it to co-constructing what is needed. That offers hope, he said, because Africans know their problems better than anyone.  More than a year in the making, this meeting — gathering leaders from Africa, Europe and global financial institutions — was backdropped by a series of bleak statistics on the pandemic’s toll on Africa. If the continent has been less hard hit by the pandemic than other places, it is suffering in many other ways, with tourism and other revenues drying up.  Africa’s economy is expected to grow just over 3 percent this year — about half the world average. It faces a nearly $300 billion spending shortfall over the next few years. Experts fear millions more Africans may tip into poverty — and less than 3 percent of Africans have been vaccinated against the virus.  There is no durable exit from the continent’s economic crisis, IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva said, without beating the health crisis. She said ramping up the vaccination campaign will generate trillions of dollars in additional output benefiting not only Africa but also richer economies.  “We have worked on the pathway to accelerate the exit from the health crisis, and to sum it up, it would require 40 percent vaccinations of everyone everywhere by 2021 — that is very important for Africa — 60 percent vaccinations by the middle of 2022. And then we have a hope of turning this page,” Georgieva said.Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, who is also African Union chair, said having Africans manufacture and supply COVID-19 vaccines could help overcome the reluctance among some of being inoculated with foreign shots.He called for greater debt relief and market access for the continent — and for international financing to take into account its fight on terror. But he also said African governments need to do their share by establishing good governance, fighting corruption and supporting Africa’s youth.  Tuesday’s financing summit wraps up two days of high-level talks on Africa. On Monday, IMF members states agreed to clear billions of dollars Sudan owes the institution as part of broader support for Khartoum’s democratic transition, and Macron announced scrapping Sudan’s $5 billion debt to France.
 
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the global community Tuesday to avoid militarizing the Arctic region, one day after Russia warned the West against making territorial claims in the area. Blinken is in Reykjavik, Iceland, for talks on climate change and to take part in an Arctic Council ministerial meeting. The United States has previously accused Russia of requiring foreign ships to seek permission to pass through the region and to allow Russian maritime pilots to board the vessels while threating violence against noncompliant ships.  “We’ve seen Russia advance unlawful maritime claims, particularly its regulation of foreign vessels transiting the Northern Sea route, which are inconsistent with international law,” Blinken said at a joint media briefing with Iceland’s foreign minister. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir hold a meeting at the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, May 18, 2021.Blinken’s remarks came a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Western countries not to claim rights to the Arctic. “It has been absolutely clear for everyone for a long time that this is our territory, this is our land,” Lavrov told reporters in Moscow. “We are responsible for ensuring our Arctic coast is safe.” As climate change accelerates the melting of the Arctic’s ice sheet, the Arctic becomes more accessible. In recent years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made Russia’s Arctic region a higher strategic priority, raising tensions with Arctic Council members over its investments in military infrastructure and mineral extraction. The U.S. State Department said earlier the leaders would discuss “the global community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the need for greater climate action, promoting women’s rights and equality, and Arctic security.”  Blinken lauded U.S. President Joe Biden’s return to the Paris climate agreement and resolve to fight combat climate change during a meeting with Icelandic President Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson and Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir.  Blinken also toured a geothermal plant in Reykjavik. Talks with RussiaOn the sidelines of the Arctic Council ministerial meeting Wednesday, Blinken will hold his first face-to-face encounter with Lavrov. The meeting comes at a time of heightened tension between the U.S. and Russia and will set the stage for a planned summit next month between U.S. President Joe Biden and Putin. The State Department said the meeting between Blinken and Lavrov is an opportunity to discuss building a “more predictable relationship with Russia” and “working on areas where we have mutual interests.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to employees at the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland, May 18, 2021.A senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Blinken that the Biden administration has made progress in its relationship with Russia with respect to reaching an agreement to extend the START nuclear weapons treaty, but that it has also faced areas of difficulties.  “We were able to do the extension of the important New START Treaty for five years right off the bat, but we also look at areas where Russia has behaved aggressively and undertaken malign efforts for which, as the president said, there will be a cost,” the official said.  The United States has recently been at odds with Russia over Moscow’s jailing of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, Russia’s buildup of military forces near Ukraine, and a cyberattack on the largest U.S. gas pipeline by hackers believed to be in Russia. Russia says its government was not involved in the cyberattack. It has accused the United States of trying to interfere in its domestic issues, including the jailing of Navalny. Trip to DenmarkBefore traveling to Iceland, Blinken was in Denmark, where he held talks about economic, security and climate issues, as well as the Biden administration’s ongoing push to boost ties with U.S. allies. “Looking forward to deepening our partnership on mutual goals, including combating the climate crisis, enhancing defense cooperation, ensuring energy security and partnering in the Arctic,” Blinken said after meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.  Great visit today with @Statsmin Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen. Looking forward to deepening our partnership on mutual goals including combatting the climate crisis, enhancing defense cooperation, ensuring energy security, and partnering in the Arctic. pic.twitter.com/g5D9tRVGUn— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 17, 2021After the meeting, Frederiksen said the Biden administration is taking a different approach from the Trump administration.   “That means a desire for cooperation around the Arctic region, where changes are taking place,” she said.  Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said, “Today, America is back. … And let me tell you, America has been missed.” Blinken said the United States is determined “to reinvigorate its alliances and partnerships and also our engagement with international institutions.” The Biden administration has renewed emphasis on international organizations, including rejoining the World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement and reengaging with the United Nations Human Rights Council. 
 
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French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday he would make his first visit to Rwanda at the end of this month, a possible breakthrough in relations overshadowed by France’s role during the 1994 genocide. “I confirm I am going to Rwanda at the end of the month. The visit will be one of politics and remembrance but also economic,” Macron said at the end of an Africa summit in Paris. He added he had agreed with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, whom he met on the sidelines of a summit meeting on Monday, “to write a new page in relations”. His visit will be the first trip by a French president since Nicolas Sarkozy visited the country in 2010. Kagame told journalists from the France 24 television channel and RFI radio Monday that Rwanda and France have a “good basis” to create a relationship after a landmark report acknowledged France bore overwhelming responsibilities over the 1994 genocide. “We are in the process of normalization,” he added. Macron moved to repair ties with Rwanda by commissioning a report by historians into the role of French troops in the genocide, in which about 800,000 people were killed.  It concluded in March that France had been “blind” to preparations for the massacres of members of the Tutsi ethnic group by the Hutu regime, which was backed by France. Kagame has in the past accused France of “participating” in the genocide, but he said he accepted the findings of the French commission that Paris was not complicit in the killings. “It’s not up to me to conclude that this is what they should have said,” Kagame said. “It is something that I can accommodate.”  
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tuesday said there is, so far, no conclusive evidence a COVID-19 variant will affect the government’s schedule for lifting restrictions in the country, after warning last week it could do so. Speaking to reporters while touring a London mass vaccination center, Johnson said health officials would continue to gather data on the virus variant first identified in India to determine if is more transmissible and to what degree.  But he said, “I don’t see any conclusive evidence at the moment to say that we need to deviate from the roadmap.” Britain Monday moved into Step 3 of its roadmap, opening pubs and restaurants to indoor seating as well as other hospitality venues. The nation is scheduled to move to Step 4 on June 21, which calls for all restrictions to be lifted.  Johnson said people should remain cautious and that the government should have a better idea of the situation in a few days. He also warned people not to visit countries that have not been cleared for travel by the government due to their coronavirus infection rates. He said travelers who must visit such countries on pressing business, should be tested at their own expense, and self-isolate for 10 days at home after returning.  COVID-19 infection numbers, hospitalizations and deaths continue to fall in Britain. But spikes in infections involving the India variant have been found in communities in northeast Britain and in some parts of London in recent weeks. 
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Spain’s prime minister flew to the country’s North African enclave Tuesday to contain a migration crisis with neighboring Morocco after 6,000 migrants swam or walked over the border.  Spain deployed troops and extra police to repel crowds who were trying to get around security fences from Morocco into the tiny Spanish territory after a huge incursion of migrants the day before.   Videos emerged that appeared to show Moroccan soldiers opening security gates to let migrants through to the Spanish port city.  “This sudden arrival of irregular migrants is a serious crisis for Spain and Europe,” said Pedro Sanchez in a televised address to the nation before travelling to Ceuta and Melilla, another Spanish enclave bordering Morocco.   European Union leaders backed Spain, saying the mass incursion in Ceuta was a breach of the bloc’s borders.  European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas called for a “strong protection of our borders.”  Experts suggested this huge influx, which included entire families, was an attempt by Morocco to pressure Spain to alter its policy toward Western Sahara, the disputed territory to which Rabat lays claim.   Morocco and Spain have been mired in a diplomatic dispute over the presence in Spain of a Polisario Front leader, whose movement has fought for the independence of Western Sahara.  The leader, Brahim Ghali, is receiving treatment at a hospital in Logroño in northern Spain, after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.    FILE – Brahim Ghali attends celebrations marking the 45th anniversary of the creation of the SARD, on Feb. 27, 2021, at a refugee camp, near Tindouf, Algeria.The Polisario Front fought a long war against Morocco to win the independence of the disputed Western Saharan territory, which was a Spanish colony until 1975.   Rabat claims the territory as part of Morocco partly as it contains important deposits of phosphates, but the Polisario Front has demanded an independence referendum.  Ignacio Cembrero, a Spanish journalist who writes frequently on Morocco, said Rabat had relaxed security measures on the border with Ceuta to try to force Madrid to change its stance on Western Sahara.  “The Moroccan foreign minister, Naser Burita, said in January that Rabat wanted Spain to change its policy to support Moroccan claims over Western Sahara. This is how it puts pressure on Madrid,” he told VOA.  Spain has long maintained a solution to the dispute can only come from an agreement brokered by the United Nations.  Moroccan Foreign Minister Naser Burita asked last week whether Spain wanted to “sacrifice relations with Morocco” by failing to inform Rabat of Ghali’s presence in Spain.    Analysts said it appeared Morocco was playing a familiar game by relaxing its border controls to prove a political point against its neighbor Spain.  “What has happened in Ceuta is another example of how Morocco plays with migration as a manner to pursue its own interests. The EU should not give ground faced with this pressure,” Estrella Galan, director of the non-profit Spanish Commission to Aid Refugees, told VOA.  Spain’s foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, dismissed claims the arrival of thousands of Moroccans in Ceuta was linked to the row over Ghali.  “I cannot speak for Morocco, but what they told us a few hours ago, this afternoon, is that this is not due to the disagreement over Ghali,” she told Cadena Ser, a Spanish radio station.  “Spain has been very clear and detailed about the (Ghali) case. It is simply a humanitarian issue.”  
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) issued a report Tuesday outlining what it calls a “viable but narrow” path to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050, a plan that boldly calls for no new investment in fossil fuel projects and the end of the internal combustion engine by 2035.
 
The Paris-based agency’s report, “Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector,” says current climate pledges by countries to achieve the net-zero goal “even if fully achieved would fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to net zero by 2050” and limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the goal established by the Paris climate accords.
 
In a statement, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the report “shows the priority actions that are needed today to ensure the opportunity of net-zero emissions by 2050 — narrow but still achievable — is not lost.” The plan lays out more than 400 milestones to guide the global journey to net zero by 2050.  
 
They include no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects, and no further final investment decisions for new unabated coal plants; no sales of new internal combustion engine passenger cars by 2035; and for the global electricity sector to have already reached net-zero emissions by 2040.
 
The IEA plan requires the immediate and massive deployment of all available clean and efficient energy technologies, combined with a major global push to accelerate innovation. The pathway calls for annual additions of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation to reach 630 gigawatts by 2030, and those of wind power to reach 390 gigawatts. Together, that is four times the record level set in 2020. For solar PV, it is equivalent to installing the world’s current largest solar park roughly every day.
 
Birol said such a historic surge in clean energy investment would “create millions of new jobs” and lift global economic growth.
 
The report comes out with an eye toward the November global climate summit in Glasgow in six months, when world leaders will meet to outline climate measures.
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Following a lull in arrivals of migrants in Italy due to the pandemic, hundreds have now resumed risking their lives in search for a better future in Europe. As weather conditions improve and with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Italy, traffickers are taking advantage and overcrowding vessels with migrants from the Libyan coastline.
Rescue missions to save hundreds of migrants have resumed in the Mediterranean waters between Libya and the small Italian island of Lampedusa as calm seas and warmer temperatures have seen a significant rise in vessels attempting to make the crossing. 
  
Human traffickers are also taking advantage of a drop in COVID-19 infections and lifting of restrictions to travel between regions in Italy. The improving situation is raising concerns that the surge in migrant crossings will continue during the summer.   FILE – Migrants return to the Lampedusa reception center after they were unable to board quarantine ship GNV Azzurra due to strong winds, in Lampedusa, Italy, May 11, 2021.Aid workers aboard the German charity ship Sea Eye 4, which began its first mission to help migrants in distress at the beginning of this month, say the vessel has already rescued more than 400 people. They are calling on EU officials to give the ship access to a safe port. 
  
A spokeswoman on board the ship, Sophie Weidenhiller, says the migrants were from different African nations, some from Syria and Bangladesh, and were rescued in various operations. 
  
In one case it reached a boat after receiving a distress call but instead of finding the expected 50 migrants on board, it found the boat empty. Many migrants are attempting the crossing in vessels that are deemed far from seaworthy.   
 
“In less than 72 hours our crew was able to rescue more than 400 people in distress at sea. Among them we have pregnant women, we have children, we have babies, we have many unaccompanied minors and everybody aboard here is exhausted. And that is why we need a port of safety as soon as possible so that we can bring those people who have suffered so much to safety,” said Weidenhiller. 
  
The German charity has warned that the crew is nearing the limit of their capacity to care for its migrant passengers. It is still awaiting a response from the EU on its request for permission to dock as it heads towards Italy.    Malta refused it entry to its port. 
  
Commenting on the matter following the Maltese decision, Matteo Salvini, head of Italy’s right wing League party, said his country has a duty to defend its borders. 
  
The latest rescues come a week after more than 2,000 migrants landed on Lampedusa, overwhelming its reception center, which was then emptied so as to make space for new arrivals.   
 
Migrants have continued to arrive on the island.  
 
The Libyan coast guard has also been intercepting vessels and returning the migrants. 
U.N. and other agencies have said that over the past week they managed to take 1,000 migrants back to Libya. International Organization for Migration spokesman in Libya Safa Msehli said it provides support to the Libyan coast guard on the condition that no one is arbitrarily detained or otherwise subjected to human rights violations.  
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