Greece: Sinking of Sailboat Carrying Migrants Kills 7

Migrants walk to reach Pazarakule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, at the Turkish-Greek border on Sunday. (AP)
Migrants walk to reach Pazarakule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, at the Turkish-Greek border on Sunday. (AP)
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Greece: Sinking of Sailboat Carrying Migrants Kills 7

Migrants walk to reach Pazarakule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, at the Turkish-Greek border on Sunday. (AP)
Migrants walk to reach Pazarakule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, at the Turkish-Greek border on Sunday. (AP)

Coast guard divers searched the hull of a submerged sailboat for passengers possibly trapped inside Friday after the vessel hit rocks off the coast of southern Greece and sank, leading to the deaths of at least seven people.

The Greek coast guard said 90 people were rescued overnight from a rocky islet some 235 kilometers (145 miles) south of Athens, near the remote island of Antikythera, The Associated Press reported.

Smugglers based in Turkey increasingly have packed sailboats with migrants and refugees and sent them across the Mediterranean Sea toward Italy, avoiding the heavily patrolled Greek islands.

In a separate incident Friday, Greek police arrested three people on smuggling charges and detained 92 migrants after a yacht ran aground in the southern Peloponnese region.

A search operation also continued for a third day in the central Aegean Sea, where a boat carrying migrants sank near the island of Folegandros.

Thirteen people were rescued, and the survivors reported that at least 17 others were missing. Authorities said the passengers originally were from Iraq.



UK's PM Confirms Plan to Boost Defense Spending to 2.5% of GDP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
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UK's PM Confirms Plan to Boost Defense Spending to 2.5% of GDP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on December 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated on Wednesday his Labour government's plan to increase defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), after NATO called on members to boost spending to meet threats from Russia.

In an interview with LBC radio, Starmer was asked whether Britain would be willing to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP, but the leader repeated his government's position that it would plot a route to spending 2.5%.

"The commitment we've made is to set out a path to 2.5%," Reuters quoted him as saying. Starmer has said his government will set out that path next year
Last week, NATO head Mark Rutte warned the US-led alliance that it was not ready for the threats it would face from Russia in the coming years and called for a shift to a wartime mindset, with much higher defense spending beyond the 2% target.
US President-elect Donald Trump has called on NATO members to boost defense spending to 3% of economic output. The alliance estimates 23 of its 32 members will meet its target of dedicating 2% of GDP to defense this year.