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Rescue Ship Picks up 80 Migrants off Libya

A member of the French NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) new boat Ocean Viking takes part in a team exercise to get ready for a rescue situation at sea with an inflatable dinghy, on their way to the coasts of Libya, on August 5, 2019. / AFP / Anne CHAON
A member of the French NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) new boat Ocean Viking takes part in a team exercise to get ready for a rescue situation at sea with an inflatable dinghy, on their way to the coasts of Libya, on August 5, 2019. / AFP / Anne CHAON
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Rescue Ship Picks up 80 Migrants off Libya

A member of the French NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) new boat Ocean Viking takes part in a team exercise to get ready for a rescue situation at sea with an inflatable dinghy, on their way to the coasts of Libya, on August 5, 2019. / AFP / Anne CHAON
A member of the French NGOs SOS Mediterranee and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) new boat Ocean Viking takes part in a team exercise to get ready for a rescue situation at sea with an inflatable dinghy, on their way to the coasts of Libya, on August 5, 2019. / AFP / Anne CHAON

A ship operated by the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders has rescued 80 migrants from a rubber dinghy off Libya.

Doctors Without Borders said on Twitter Friday that the migrants were in distress, and posted pictures showing the migrants being ferried to the Norwegian-flagged rescue ship Ocean Viking aboard an orange dinghy.

A hotline for migrants run by a network of activists said it was alerted to the boat off Libya carrying 80 people, including five women and four children, and informed both authorities and the Ocean Viking.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has triggered a government crisis in Italy, said he is preparing to sign a ban on the ship's entry into Italian waters. Under a new government decree, the ship would risk a 1 million-euro fine.

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France Raises Bird Flu Risk to High as EU Cases Spread

Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
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France Raises Bird Flu Risk to High as EU Cases Spread

Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
Test tubes are seen labelled "Bird Flu" in this illustration taken on Jun 10, 2024. (File photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

France has stepped up its bird flu risk assessment to 'high' from 'moderate', it said on Friday in a decree that will trigger reinforced security measures around poultry farms.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has been spreading faster among poultry in the European Union this season than in 2023, raising concerns of a repeat of previous crises that led to poultry deaths in the tens of millions and fears it could lead to human-to-human transmission, Reuters said.
The heightened risk status follows confirmation of infection in migratory wild birds in neighboring countries and aims to strengthen surveillance and prevention measures, the agriculture ministry said.
The change in status will take effect on Saturday. The upgrade to risk status in the seasonal assessment is kicking in earlier than last year, taking effect in early November rather than December.
France has reported eight bird flu outbreaks on farms since the summer and last month launched a second vaccination campaign among farm ducks after a successful program last year.
The British government said on Tuesday that cases of bird flu had been confirmed at premises in Yorkshire, hours after it increased the risk level of the disease to 'high'.