Rescue Ship Saves 438 Migrants in Mediterranean

A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)
A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)
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Rescue Ship Saves 438 Migrants in Mediterranean

A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)
A Libyan coast guardsman stands on a boat during the rescue of illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, in June 2017. (AFP)

Rescue ship Ocean Viking has saved 438 migrants in distress in the Mediterranean over the last two days, the organization that runs it, SOS Mediterranee, said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, the NGO said that on Thursday it had "rescued 272 people" of 23 different nationalities from three boats in the central Mediterranean, the most perilous maritime crossing in the world for the migrants.

Those rescued included "32 unaccompanied minors, nine babies and five people with disabilities", said the organization, which is based in Marseille, on the French Mediterranean, AFP reported.

Later Friday, it said it had rescued another 166 people when it "went to the aid of a number of boats in distress".

Those onboard were evacuated "in coordination with the Italian coast guards in the search and rescue area between Tunisia and Lampedusa".

The tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, located just 90 miles (145 kilometres) from Tunisia, is the first port of call for many migrants seeking to make the treacherous sea journey to Europe from North Africa.

In total, "438 rescued people are currently on board", SOS Mediteranee said.

The Ocean Viking was "heading towards Genoa" in northern Italy because the Italian authorities had ordered them to go to the distant port to disembark the migrants, the group added.

At least 2,013 people have died or gone missing so far this year attempting to cross the central Mediterranean, according to the United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration.

That is significantly higher than its figure for the whole of 2022, which was 1,417.

In June, one sinking alone in the western Mediterranean cost the lives of at least 82 people, one of the deadliest incidents involving migrants in the area.

In July, the Italian authorities detained the Ocean Viking for 10 days at Civitavecchia, after questioning the vessel's safety standards, before finally releasing it.



Trump, Musk Target Tax Enforcers, Rocket Scientists, Bank Regulators for Job Cuts 

US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump, Musk Target Tax Enforcers, Rocket Scientists, Bank Regulators for Job Cuts 

US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump's administration targeted on Tuesday bank regulators, rocket scientists and tax enforcers for dismissal, as a federal judge gave the green light for its unprecedented remaking of the US civil service, at least for now.

With Trump's blessing and praise, tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has swept through federal agencies slashing thousands of jobs since Trump became president last month and put Musk, his biggest campaign donor, in charge of a drastic overhaul of government.

Trump claimed without evidence on Tuesday the endeavor would save "hundreds of billions of dollars" and heaped praise on Musk as a patriot. Musk's team has said it has saved $55 billion so far, less than 1% of the annual $6.7 trillion federal budget.

The campaign has delighted Republicans for culling a federal workforce they view as bloated, corrupt and insufficiently loyal to Trump, while also taking aim at government agencies that regulate big business and collect taxes.

Democratic critics in turn have raised concerns that Trump is exceeding his constitutional authority and hacking away at popular and critical government programs at the expense of legions of middle-class families.

They complain that Musk has operated as an unchecked freelance operator who has seized access to sensitive government data.

On Tuesday the downsizing extended to NASA, where 1,000 new hires including rocket scientists were expected to be laid off, according to two people familiar with the US space agency's plans. More cuts were deemed possible.

"People are scared and not speaking up to voice dissent or disagreement," said one employee at the 18,000-person agency who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Musk said the complaints were a sign that DOGE was working.

"All we're really try to do here is restore the will of the people through the president and what we're finding is that there's an unelected bureaucracy ... that is implacably opposed to the president and the cabinet," Musk told Fox News in an interview recorded on Friday and aired on Tuesday.

The White House has not said how many people it plans to fire and has given no numbers on the mass layoffs. The information to date has come from employees of federal agencies.

The Office of Personnel Management, which manages the civil service, set a deadline on Tuesday for all government departments to provide a list of probationary employees who have been terminated and those sought to be retained, an OPM spokesperson said.

It remained unclear whether the numbers would be disclosed.

COURT BATTLES

About 20 lawsuits filed in various federal courts challenging Musk's authority have seen mixed results.

In one of the more consequential cases, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday denied a request to place a temporary hold on DOGE. She instead allowed the campaign to continue while underlying litigation plays out.

But Chutkan raised flags about Musk's authority as an independent operator, writing, "Plaintiffs legitimately call into question what appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual and an entity that was not created by Congress and over which it has no oversight."

Congressional Democrats said oversight committee requests for information had gone unanswered, calls to agency officials were not being returned, and details of new policies essential for constituent casework were difficult to come by.

"This is not normal, at all," one Senate committee aide said about the lack of response.

Trump asserted even more executive authority on Tuesday, issuing an order to rein in independent agencies and claiming presidential supervision and control of the entire executive branch except for the Federal Reserve.

The White House identified the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as agencies that "have exercised enormous power over the American people without presidential oversight."

The job-cutting continued apace.

Senior officials at the IRS identified at least 7,500 employees for dismissal, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which oversees banks, said it had fired an unknown number of new hires, according to an email seen by Reuters.

Layoffs were also expected at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which handles flood insurance and disaster response, as well as its parent, the Department of Homeland Security, sources said.

Among the workers swept up in the overhaul of dozens of agencies are those reviewing Musk's brain implant company Neuralink.

Musk's role has raised questions about the fate of at least 20 federal investigations and regulatory actions affecting his business empire, Reuters reported last month.

On Tuesday, Trump said he would not let Musk participate in any space-related government decisions.