French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour said that he supported the UK’s turning back of boats of illegal migrants trying to cross the English Channel. Meanwhile, the Italian coast guard rescued more than 300 migrants whose boat was in distress off the coast of Lampedusa.
In other news, the Norwegian government welcomed a delegation of the Taliban, who were flown to Oslo in a private jet paid for by the Norwegian government.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to Dean, Fjordman, LN, Reader from Chicago, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Fear and Panic as Bitcoin Crashes 50% From All Time High
Just two months after cryptos hit an all time high amid widespread euphoria that the newly launched bitcoin ETF would lead to even more substantial upside, the two largest tokens have lost half of their value, with the broader crypto sector suffering more than $1 trillion in losses amid an accelerating liquidation panic that the Fed’s tightening cycle will lead to another crypto winter.
Such is the volatility in the sector where, as Bloomberg put it overnight, there has been just one constant recently: “decline after decline after decline.” Of course, for veteran hodlers, Bloomberg hyperbole seems trivial in a world where 80% drawdowns are the norm and the current drop may have a ways to go before it hits a bottom, before a new all time high is hit.
Where Bloomberg is right however, is that superlatives for the latest carnage have been easy to come by: Friday’s decline led to the liquidation of more than $1.1 billion in crypto futures positions and overall more than $1 trillion in market value has been destroyed since the last peak. In other words, “the meltdown is pouring salt on an already-deep wound.”
After the latest furious puke that pushed Bitcoin RSI’s indicator to the most oversold level since the covid crash in March of 2020…
[Comment: Hmm. I’m going to analyze this to see if it is a good time to buy.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Day by day, the left’s narrative keeps crumbling.
On Friday, Bill Maher hosted Journalist and author Bari Weiss on his show “Real Time with Bill Maher” to have a discussion about COVID-19 and the unwavering hysteria surrounding it.
During the interview, the former New York Times writer, who is now on Substack, slammed school closures and the crippling restrictions that have been forced through by way of public health measures as a ‘catastrophic moral crime.’
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Alleged Gunman Who Shot Two NYPD Officers in Harlem Ambush Was Out on Probation
Update: The second officer is in critical condition and was originally reported deceased before further information was released Saturday.
The suspect who ambushed and shot two NYPD police officers, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition, on Friday evening is a convicted felon who was out on probation at the time of the attack.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arizona Democratic Party Executive Board Censures Sinema Over Filibuster, Voting Legislation Dispute
The executive board of the Arizona Democratic Party has voted to censure party member Sen. Kyrsten Sinema over her decision to vote with Senate Republicans not to change the chamber’s filibuster rules.
Those rules generally require 60 votes to advance most legislation in the Senate. That policy has effectively allowed Republicans to block Democratic legislation in the Senate, most lately Democrats’ efforts to overhaul U.S. voting laws.
Following Sinema’s refusal to change that rule, the executive board slammed the filibuster as an “archaic legislative norm” and announced a formal rebuke of Sinema herself.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Arnold Schwarzenegger was involved in a serious car accident Friday afternoon and law enforcement sources told TMZ it’s the washed up actor-turned politico’s fault.
Arnold’s monster Yukon SUV rolled over onto a Prius, crushed the tiny car and injured the driver.
According to reports, Arnold Schwarzenegger is uninjured and was never ticketed.
Schwarzenegger reportedly turned left on Sunset Blvd. in Brentwood on Friday after having lunch with his children when the arrow was still red.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Missouri’s Attorney General filed lawsuits against 36 school districts that he claims are “unlawfully” enforcing mask mandates on faculty, staff and students, according to litigation obtained by the Daily Caller.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt argued in litigation filed on Jan. 21 that individual school districts “do not have the authority to impose” public health orders on students. School districts “only have the power to issue those health rules that the General Assembly provides them,” according to the AG’s lawsuit against the districts.
“The General Assembly did not give school districts that authority to condition in-person attendance on compliance with an arbitrary mask mandate,” Schmitt said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
‘Free Speech Advocates’ Panic Over Parents’ Push for More Curriculum Transparency
Teachers, unions and “free speech advocates” argue that more school curriculum transparency would be equivalent to “educational gag orders,” experts told NBC News.
State lawmakers in at least 12 states across the U.S. have introduced legislation to promote more school transparency by requiring teachers to post educational materials online, NBC News reported. Conservatives see more transparency as a way to prevent controversial curricula such as race-based education, Critical Race Theory (CRT) and sexually graphic books.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
In Focus Group of Independents, “Nobody Raises a Hand” To Support Biden for 2024
Fourteen Independent voters were gathered for a focus group on Joe Biden.
The group was made up of people who voted for both Barack Obama and Donald Trump at least once.
When asked if either wanted to see Biden run again in 2024, none raised their hands.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
This is unreal.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday gave some advice to Americans who are angry the Democrats’ voting bills failed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Michigan School District Extends Virtual Learning Period Indefinitely
Public school students in Flint, Michigan, will continue virtual learning after school officials decided to extend the remote instruction period indefinitely.
Flint public schools will only offer virtual classes for the foreseeable future after the school district announced that a period of virtual instruction set to expire next week, when students were slated to return Monday, would now be indefinite.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Reminder: “Defeat the Mandates” March and Rally in Washington DC — Sunday, Starting at 11:30 Et
There is a MASSIVE RALLY planned for tomorrow, January 23rd in Washington DC.
The peaceful rally will include the top authorities on the Coronavirus in the country today.
Speakers Include: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dr. Paul Alexander, Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Peter McCullogh, Lara Logan, Steve Kirsch, etc.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Report: Virginia Teachers Vow to Exclude, Bully Maskless Students
Teachers from multiple school districts in northern Virginia reportedly vowed to exclude maskless students from their classrooms, according to private social media posts obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
School districts and teachers alike promised to defy newly-inaugurated Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s repeal of in-school mask mandates. Districts including Arlington Public Schools (APS) and Alexandria County Public Schools (ACPS) claim that universal masking reduces the transmission rate of COVID-19, though the districts point only to CDC data and not any specific study.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Authored by Jeff Carlson and Hans Mahncke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Four prominent scientists who played key roles in shaping the public narrative around the origin of COVID-19 received substantial increases in grant money from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, in the subsequent two years, a review of funding data by The Epoch Times has found.
Three of these scientists—Kristian Andersen, Robert Garry, and Michael Farzan—were advisers to a teleconference organized by Fauci held on Feb. 1, 2020, in response to increasing public questions about the origin of the virus.
The scientists were also instrumental in the publication of Proximal Origin, a highly influential paper that promoted a natural origins theory for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and has been frequently cited by the government and media.
Emails released under Freedom of Information Act requests, showed that the scientists had told the senior members of Fauci’s teleconference that they were 60 to 80 percent sure that COVID-19 had come out of a lab.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Twitter Locked Out Congressional Candidate Joe Kent Over Tweet Supporting Gun Rights
Twitter suspended the account of Joe Kent, a Republican congressional candidate from Washington state for tweeting in support of gun rights. He had to delete the tweet to recover his account.
“We will never give up our gun laws,” Kent tweeted. “Gun laws are infringements of our god given rights.WA state is back at it, a week ago we caught the board of health discussing forced quarantine, now the legislature going after our 2A. No 2A + forced quarantine = Australia.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Waukesha County Judge Refuses to Stay Drop Box Restrictions Ruling
A Wisconsin judge refused Friday to stay a ruling restricting the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, rejecting arguments that the decision will confuse voters heading into the Feb. 15 spring primary.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren’s decision hands Republicans another win as they battle on multiple fronts to limit drop box use across the state ahead of the November gubernatorial election.
The use of drop boxes has become a charged political issue since the Wisconsin Elections Commission advised clerks in 2020 that they can place drop boxes wherever they wish. A number of Wisconsin cities placed them in multiple locations during the 2020 presidential election, including city parks. Officials hoped that approach would lead to shorter lines at the polls and less chance of spreading COVID-19.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Wife Stands Off With Hospital to Keep Her Husband Alive, And Wins
Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
Sentiments expressed in random phone calls for Anne Quiner as her husband Scott lay in a hospital bed breathing through a ventilator ranged from “I hope your husband dies a vegetable” followed by a litter of profanity, to “he should have taken the vaccine; I hope he dies,” before hanging up.
While not the traditional Hallmark expressions for one to get well soon, Quiner said it was a feeling shared among some of the doctors at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, where Scott had been hospitalized for COVID-19 complications in November.
In one recorded phone call with Dr. Linda Soucie in which Quiner was fighting to keep Scott on the ventilator, Soucie told Quiner, “Unfortunately, if we could turn back time and he had gotten the vaccine, then he wouldn’t be here,” just after Soucie had told Quiner, “After three years, I think we’ve gotten pretty good at determining who’s going to make it and who’s not, and unfortunately Scott’s in that range of the group that is not going to make it.”
In a recorded conference call, doctors told Quiner that they would be taking Scott off the ventilator on Jan. 13 because he would not recover due to what they said were his “destroyed lungs from COVID pneumonia,” and that their attempts at decreasing sedation only caused him pain.
Quiner told The Epoch Times that her petitions for alternative treatments, as well as to keep Scott on the ventilator, had been met with contempt.
With doctors determined to take Scott off the ventilator, Quiner sought legal counsel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Woman on Parole Charged With Shouting Racial Slur, Shoving Asian Man on NYC Subway
A parolee was charged Thursday with shouting a racial slur at an Asian man on a New York City subway and then shoving the victim, according to police.
The attacker accosted the 26-year-old victim at 6:15 pm on Dec. 9 on a southbound F train approaching the 23rd Street station and allegedly shouted, “Hey, are you a c—k? You people brought the virus here. You people killed my people.”
Then the woman shoved the victim and fled the scene, police said.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Woman Stabbed to Death in Denver in Suspect Domestic Violence-Related Incident
Denver police responded to the area near West Colfax Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard after a woman was reportedly stabbed to death. Officers were called out late Friday night.
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
‘Enough is Enough’: Quebec Sees One of Its Largest Protests Against the Lockdown Measures
On the last day of Quebec’s curfew, a demonstration took place in front of the parliament in Quebec City.
Several thousand people gathered despite the glacial Quebec winter. Lively music was playing to keep people dancing and warm. Vaccinated or not, everyone was there to send their message to the government that ‘enough is enough’.
The second curfew was the straw that broke the camel’s back; it was not well accepted by the population, especially with the closing of restaurants and businesses.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Trucker Protest to Ottawa to Pass Through Medicine Hat
MEDICINE HAT, AB — Expect to see a big convoy of semi trailers on Highway One soon — as part of a protest of vaccine mandates for truckers.
Organizers say up to a thousand trucks will pass through Medicine Hat Monday morning.
“We do not want to specifically block roads, we’re just gonna continue down the right hand lane doin’ our thing,” protest organizer Colin Valentim told supporters on Facebook this week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Bombshell: Extensive Corona Data Manipulation Revealed in Austria
An extensive evaluation of data suggests a systematic exaggeration of the number of people affected by Covid-19. The incidence values used to justify the lockdowns could therefore have been fictitious and a complaint to this effect was filed against the Austrian government.
Steffen Löhnitz presented various figures at an explosive press conference on Friday. He had saved the daily figures for cases in his own database. According to his analysis, these values do not agree with the final published results by the government. He is certain that the figures have been massively manipulated to inflate the actual extent of the alleged pandemic. The federal government was therefore charged with gross misconduct.
Graduate engineer Löhnitz dropped the political bombshell at a press conference on Ballhausplatz. The data specialist presented meticulously compiled figures and various graphics. Originally from Saxony, Germany with his adopted home as Vorarlberg, Austria, he did not mince words. Löhnitz distributed a 40-page brochure called “The manipulation of Corona numbers in Austria using the example of the state of Vorarlberg” (which is also available online). This was “explained, documented and proven for the period from October 25, 2021 to December 23, 2021”.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
British Medical Journal Demands Immediate Release of All COVID-19 Vaccine, Treatment Data
Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has demanded the full and immediate release of all data related to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, saying it is in the public’s interest to do so.
BMJ, a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal published by the trade union the British Medical Association, called for the release of the data in an editorial published on Wednesday.
“Today, despite the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, the anonymized participant-level data underlying the trials for these new products remain inaccessible to doctors, researchers, and the public—and are likely to remain that way for years to come,” BMJ said.
“This is morally indefensible for all trials, but especially for those involving major public health interventions.”
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
German companies that side with Communist China over Lithuania are effectively destroying the European Union’s Single Market in favour of a “Sino-centric trade system,” a leading MP has told Breitbart News.
In response to the ongoing diplomatic row over Lithuania’s decision to open a de-facto Taiwanese embassy in Vilnius, the Chinese Communist Party has not only placed a blockade on Lithuanian products but also products made throughout the European Union made with any Lithuanian components.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italian Retirees Could be Forced to Present COVID Pass to Get Pension
Italian retirees could be forced to present their coronavirus health pass in order to access their pensions in person as the government makes the Green Pass mandatory for banks and post offices.
Staring on February 1st, Italians wishing to access banks or post offices in person will be required to present the Green Pass, which is granted by the government to those who produce a negative test result for the coronavirus, those fully vaccinated, or those who have recovered from it.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Memory Holed: Woke BBC Quietly Censoring Classic Comedy Programmes
Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster, the BBC, has been quietly censoring radio rebroadcasts of classic comedy shows, memory-holing jokes deemed too politically incorrect for modern audiences.
A number of skits from classic comedy shows have been memory-holed entirely by the BBC, with the UK’s national broadcaster quietly editing re-broadcasts of old programming to remove supposedly offensive elements of the shows.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Pressure Mounts on Germany’s Leaders as ‘Walks’ Explode
With almost 2,000 protests all over Germany, the resistance against senseless Corona measures and the planned forced jab is literally exploding. Some 1899 walks took place across Germany on Monday, January 17 — 331 more than the week before. According to estimates, around 350,000 people were on Germany’s streets to protest loudly against the Corona regime. The hotspot was clearly Baden-Württemberg, where 459 walks took place.
The “walks” on Mondays, according to the demo counter on Telegram, passed the 2000 mark last Monday. And this hurdle is likely to be cleared next week. The “wide range of protests right down to the smallest town” is “overwhelming” for a protest researcher and the government is concerned about the “decentralized actions”, reported a daily newspaper.
The fact that the unannounced “walks” are taking place in so many places at the same time obviously poses an impossible task for the regime. According to another daily newspaper, the deputy chief of the police union, Jörg Radek, explained: “It is a challenge for the police because we have very small-scale meetings in different places and we have to try to be in these places at the same time.” It is quite difficult, “when you have meetings in 170 places in Saxony in one day,” he added, admitting that the police was being overwhelmed.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Afghanistan: Taliban delegation’s visit to Norway prompts protest in Oslo
There was a small protest of Afghan citizens in Oslo ahead of the Taliban’s visit to the Norwegian capital on Sunday.
They’re against the delegation meeting with Norwegian authorities and representatives from the international community for talks.
It’s the first visit to the West since they took control of Kabul in August.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Sweden: Demonstration Against Vaccine Passports Gathered Thousands
[machine translation]
On Saturday, a demonstration was held against vaccine passes in Stockholm and Gothenburg. Nearly 3,000 people gathered on Sergels Torg in Stockholm to demonstrate. The demonstration also attracted many in Gothenburg and the police estimate that 1,000 and 1,500 participated there, writes GP.
The security police went out in the media on Friday and warned that people who show up at the demonstration may risk being seen together with “violent right-wing extremists” who may be in place. But the authorities’ warnings do not seem to have scared the public from getting there.
“There are many people who express their opinions and so far there are no disturbances,” says Per Fahlström, press spokesperson for the police in the Stockholm region, to Aftonbladet.
The demonstrators gathered on Norrmalmstorg and then continued towards Sergels torg. There were 18,000 registered on Facebook and photos from the city showed an estimated between 2,500 and 3,000 people.
The organization Freedom Movement, which is behind the event, has been granted permission for 3,000 protesters. The police tell Aftonbladet that the demonstration so far stays within this limit.
| — Hat tip: LN | [Return to headlines] |
The UK Signed Up to What Would Become the European Union This Day 50 Years Ago
Prime Minister Ted Heath signed the treaty that took the United Kingdom into the EU on this day in 1972, a ceremony that was delayed after a protester threw a bottle of ink in the PM’s face as he arrived at the Egmont Palace.
Had it not voted to leave the European Union in 2016, the United Kingdom would very likely have been marking the 50th anniversary since the historic signing of the accession treaty in 1972 today, just as the Republic of Ireland — which joined on the same day and is still a member — has.
[Comment: Article dated January 22, 2022.]
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Thousands Protest COVID-19 Restrictions in European Capitals
In several European capital cities, protesters came out in droves to demonstrate against COVID-19 measures and restrictions — the latest in a series of protests that have taken place in Europe over virus protocols.
From Paris to Athens to Stockholm to London to Helsinki, thousands of people on Saturday took to the streets to protest various COVID-19 protocols, The Associated Press reported.
Roughly 4,000 people participated in protests in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, and its second largest city, Goteborg, on Saturday to protest a requirement that indoor events including over 50 people must require vaccine certificates, according to the wire service.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
State Department Orders Families of U.S. Embassy Personnel in Kiev to Prepare for Evacuation
The State Department has ordered family members of U.S. embassy personnel in Kiev, Ukraine, to prepare for evacuation as the threat of a Russian invasion into that country appears to be growing by the day.
The department “has ordered families of U.S. Embassy personnel in Ukraine to begin evacuating the country as soon as Monday,” Fox News reported on Saturday, citing “U.S. officials.”
State officials are also reportedly expected to begin directing Americans to leave the country via international flights by next week.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
China Warns Olympics Athletes Not to Post About Political or Religious Issues
China has warned athletes against speech or actions that break Chinese speech laws during the Winter Olympics next month. Human rights groups have advised athletes against doing anything to protest sensitive issues in China during the games for their own safety.
“Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit, I’m sure will be protected. Any behavior or speeches that are against the Olympic spirit, and especially against Chinese laws and regulations are also subjected to certain punishment,” said Yang Shu, a member of the Beijing Winter Olympics organizing committee.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Australia Delivers Water, Telecommunications Aid to Tonga
CANBERRA, Australia — Three flights from Australia carrying food, water, medical supplies and telecommunications equipment landed in Tonga on Saturday, as the Pacific nation grapples with the aftermath of an underwater volcanic eruption and tsunami.
Planes from other nations, including New Zealand and Japan, have also brought sorely needed aid to the Tongan people, said Zed Seselja, Australian minister for international development and the Pacific.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Protesters Target Australian Open Vowing to ‘Maintain the Rage’
Melbourne’s so-called “freedom” protesters have vowed to “maintain the rage” against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, causing mass disruption in the city and targeting the Australian Open.
Demonstrators returned to Victoria’s State Parliament, a familiar stomping ground, about midday on Saturday for what was dubbed the sixth “worldwide rally for freedom”, as similar rallies went ahead in other capital cities across Australia.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
After three years, a handful of appeals, and a ruling from the information commissioner against the Immigration Ministry for withholding the documents and lying about their existence, Rebel News is finally able to report on 28 pages of department briefing notes and emails that detail the partnership between the Canadian government and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
The partnership was signed in 2016 and Rebel News started an access to information investigation for documents related to the billionaire-backed scheme to increase immigration to Canada in 2018. What followed was three years of back and forth with the Immigration Ministry (IRCC) which claimed no documents existed. Until they didn’t.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Claim: Algeria No Longer Accepting Forcibly Deported Migrants From France
French media have claimed that an internal email from the French Interior Ministry has revealed that Algeria is no longer accepting any forced deportation of its nationals from France.
The alleged confidential internal Interior Ministry email, dating from the 6th of December of last year, states that Algerian authorities now outright refuse to accept any Algerian nationals who have been deported from France against their own will.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mr Johnson’s new gung-ho attitude to border security is part of a series of populist policies which are intended to shore up his tottering premiership as the embattled Tory leader faces calls to quit over the ‘Partygate’ lockdown scandal enveloping Westminster.
Miss Patel is working closely with Attorney-General Suella Braverman to establish what current laws would allow on detention and what new powers would be needed to be approved by MPs, according to The Times.
Currently only migrants who land on the UK coast are breaking the law and can be detained, rather than those intercepted in the Channel.
A government official who was in a ministerial meeting to discuss the plans told the paper: ‘They’re (ministers) convinced this is the way to create a deterrent.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
French Presidential Candidate Zemmour Backs UK Turning Migrant Boats Back
French conservative pundit and presidential candidate Eric Zemmour has stated he would support the United Kingdom turning back migrant boats in the English Channel.
French presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, who has promised to reduce immigration levels in France to zero, has stated that he would support the UK using the Royal Navy to confront and turn back migrant boats and said that he supported the UK’s new initiative to deploy the navy in the Channel.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Rescues More Than 300 Migrants From Boat in Distress
ROME, Jan 21 (Reuters) — The Italian coastguard rescued 305 migrants who were trying to reach Europe aboard an overloaded boat that ran into difficulty off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a statement said on Friday.
Two coastguard units reached the boat about 20 miles from the Italian coast. Those rescued included 17 women and 6 minors.
The operation was particularly complex due to the small size of the vessel and worries it could capsize due to the excessive number of people on board, the coastguard statement said.
Italy has seen an increase in migrant boats in recent months and hundreds of people rescued in the Mediterranean are currently aboard three charity boats waiting for a safe port.
Geo Barents, operated by charity Doctors without Borders (MSF), said on Twitter it was carrying over 430 people that it took on board in several separate rescues.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |