Greece: Rescue Operation for Hundreds on Drifting Boat 

Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)
Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)
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Greece: Rescue Operation for Hundreds on Drifting Boat 

Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)
Migrants are escorted upon their arrival on an inflatable boat at Lesbos island where local residents will later prevent them from disembarking. (File/AFP)

Greek authorities say a major rescue operation is underway off the coast of the southern island of Crete after a boat believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants lost steering and was drifting in rough seas. 

The coast guard said Tuesday that passengers on the boat had made a distress call to an emergency number during the night to alert authorities.  

According to the passengers, there were around 400-500 people on board the vessel, the coast guard said, but added that the figure could not immediately be confirmed. 

A Greek navy frigate, two Italian fishing vessels, a tanker and two cargo ships were participating in the rescue operation, but the strong winds and rough seas meant it had not been possible to transfer any of the passengers from the stricken vessel by the morning, the coast guard said. 

It was not immediately known where the boat carrying the migrants had set sail from, what its intended destination was or what the nationalities of those on board were. 

Tens of thousands of people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa try to make their way into the European Union each year via perilous sea journeys, with most attempting to reach Greece from neighboring Türkiye or taking a longer route to Italy. 



Pope Francis, Trump Critic, Meets US VP Vance on Easter Morning

From left, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with US Vice President JD Vance, his daughter Mirabel, his wife Usha, and their sons Ewan and Vivek at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, Handout)
From left, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with US Vice President JD Vance, his daughter Mirabel, his wife Usha, and their sons Ewan and Vivek at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, Handout)
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Pope Francis, Trump Critic, Meets US VP Vance on Easter Morning

From left, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with US Vice President JD Vance, his daughter Mirabel, his wife Usha, and their sons Ewan and Vivek at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, Handout)
From left, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin meets with US Vice President JD Vance, his daughter Mirabel, his wife Usha, and their sons Ewan and Vivek at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, Handout)

Pope Francis held a private meeting at the Vatican on Sunday morning with US Vice President JD Vance, the Vatican said in a statement.

Vance, a Catholic who has clashed with the pontiff over the Trump administration's immigration policies, met Francis at his Vatican residence to exchange Easter greetings, the statement said.

"Pope Francis had a brief private encounter ... lasting a few minutes, in order to exchanges good wishes on Easter day," said the statement.

Vance, who has been visiting Italy with his family this weekend, met senior Vatican officials for more formal talks on Saturday. The pope, who is recovering from double pneumonia, did not take part in those discussions.

The pope and Vatican officials have criticized several of the policies of President Donald Trump's administration, including his plans to deport millions of migrants from the US and his widespread cuts to foreign aid and domestic welfare programs.

Francis has called the immigration crackdown a "disgrace". Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, has cited medieval-era Catholic teaching to justify the policy.

The pope rebutted the theological concept Vance used to defend the crackdown in an unusual open letter to the US Catholic bishops about the Trump administration in February, and called Trump's plan a "major crisis" for the United States.