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The European Union has been weathering plenty of disunity in recent months. But on Friday, the blocs leaders seemed united in concerns over President Trump.

In the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, leaders arriving for the EUs first gathering since Trumps inauguration had some sharp words for the 2-week-old U.S. administration.

Both before and after taking office, Trump has been vocal in his support of Britains vote last June to exit the European Union, and has made repeated if casual references to the likelihood of the bloc breaking up. He has also called NATO obsolete, but in recent days has signaled support for the transatlantic alliance.

Those remarks, though, clearly rankled. French President Francois Hollande, who spoke with Trump last weekend, was perhaps the most openly combative in his view of the U.S. leader.

It is unacceptable that there should be -- through a certain number of statements by the president of the United States -- pressure on what Europe should or should not be, the French news agency AFP quoted Hollande as saying as he arrived at the informal summit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a cooler and more pragmatic tone, telling reporters as she arrived: I have already said that Europe has its destiny in its own hands.

She said that as far as she was concerned, talks about Europe are here in the foreground and not to deal with other parts of the world.

Germany has been unhappy, however, with Trumps talk of the European common currency, the euro, being artificially undervalued, and his suggestions that Merkels government was to blame.

Heading into the meeting, EU President Donald Tusk had taken the unprecedented step of warning in a letter to European leaders that Trump posed a threat to the bloc, listing that alongside other menaces including Russian aggression, jihadist attacks and a wave of populism.

The gathering was a potentially awkward one for British Prime Minister Theresa May as she moves to implement so-called Brexit. May met with Trump last week and pressed European concerns about the degree of American support for NATO.

But Mays offer to serve as a bridge between Trump and the EU drew a tart response from the president of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite who also took a swipe at the U.S. president.

I dont think there is a necessity for a bridge, she told the BBC. We communicate with the Americans on Twitter.

The main goal of the Malta gathering is to take steps to forge a common policy on immigration another point of contention between Trump and the EU. Many of the European leaders have been highly critical of Trumps suspension of the U.S. refugee program and his temporary ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

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European Union leaders at Malta summit bristle at Trump remarks - Los Angeles Times

The European Union has been warned against stranding thousands of refugees in concentration camp-like prisons by making a controversial deal with Libya to stem the flow of migrants over the Mediterranean.

The country is the main launching point for hundreds of thousands of migrants who have crossed to Europe fleeing war, persecution and the dire conditions in Libya itself.

Authorities and militias stand accused of killing, shooting, torturing, detaining and exploiting asylum seekers amid the bloody chaos of the continuing civil war.

The national coastguard, being trained by Britain and other European nations, has also attacked rescue vessels run by humanitarian groups, causing 25 people to drown in one incident.

But the EU is expected to hand Libyan authorities more responsibility for refugee operations, potentially allowing the forced return of boats, following a summit in Malta today.

Theresa May and Angela Merkel are among the leaders to attend talks chaired by European Council president Donald Tusk, which come amid heightened tensions over Brexit and differing reactions to Donald Trumps policies.

As politicians gathered in Valletta on Friday morning, Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF)rescue teams said an absolute nightmare was unfolding in the Mediterranean, with theirships at full capacity as multiple rescues were still underway.

"There are not enough search and rescue vessels," MSF project coordinator Ed Taylorsaid. "There is no coastguard vessel in thearea, there are no navy vessels...we've asked for backup and [Italian authorities] can'tsend anything."

Unicef said that after the deadliest ever winter for refugees, seeing at least 190 children drown in the past three months, the lives of thousands were at stake.

Justin Forsyth, the agencys deputy executive director, said: The decisions taken at Fridays summit could literally mean the difference between life and death for thousands of children transiting or stranded in Libya. They need urgent action now.

Unicef called for the UK and other countries to safely resettle refugees and warned against violating a 1951 convention by sending them back to Libya without a proper plan to protect them.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM), said Libya was not a safe third country.

We believe that, given the current context, it is not appropriate to consider Libya a safe third country nor to establish extraterritorial processing of asylum-seekers in North Africa, a joint statement said, urging European leaders to find humane solutions.

MSF, which staffs two rescue boats in the Mediterranean as well as providing medical care in Libya, said the EU needs a reality check if it is considering allowing migrants to be returned.

Libya is not a safe place and blocking people in the country or returning them to Libya makes a mockery of the EUs so-called fundamental values of human dignity and rule of law, said Arjan Hehenkamp, MSFs general director.

He described visits to dangerously overcrowded detention centres with no natural light or ventilation, where infections and disease are rife and inmates are starved.

Save the Children, which also runs rescue operations, said boys and girls were being beaten and raped as part of widespread abuses at the hands of smugglers and armed factions in Libya.

A Libyan coastguard boat filming a rescue by MSF's Bourbon Argos ship on 4 November 2016 (Lizzie Dearden )

Simply pushing desperate children back to a country which many describe as hell is not a solution, said Ester Asin, the charitys EU advocacy office director.

The EU is yet again outsourcing its responsibility to protect the rights of migrants and refugees with no guarantees about what will happen to the many men, women and children after they have been returned to Libya.

The route from Libya into the Central Mediterranean has become the main passage to Europe after a controversial agreement struck with Turkey last year, which dramatically reduced the number of boats crossing the Aegean Sea by seeing everyone arriving on Greek islands detained under threat of deportation.

A repeat of the EU-Turkey deal has been mooted but is considered impossible in light of the continuing conflict in Libya, where the new Government of National Accord is struggling to stop battles between a plethora of warring militias including Islamists and Isis.

Migrants are a profitable business for gangs who detain them in makeshift prisons, either holding them for ransom or forcing them into labour or prostitution amid widespread lawlessness following the British-backed ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A leaked report by German diplomats described the horrific conditions like concentration camps, where survivors described daily executions to make room for new arrivals.

The asylum seekers who manage to escape are more likely to die attempting the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean than ever before, with more than 5,000 drowning, suffocating or freezing to death in overloaded smugglers boats last year alone.

Sub-Saharan refugees sit on the deck of the Golfo Azzurro after being rescued in the Mediterranean Sea on 27 January (AP)

The number of people dying in the passage between Libya and Italy, the deadliest sea crossing in the world, is now 13 times higher than during the same period last year.

More than 1,300 migrants were rescued on Wednesday alone, with babies and young children among those found on 12 overloaded boats.

They are among more than 5,000 people who have arrived in Europe from Libya so far this year, mainly from Nigeria, Eritrea, Guinea and other African countries.

A damning report by the Unravelling the Mediterranean Migration Crisis (Medmig) found the EU partly responsible for a spike in disasters as smugglers switched from wooden boats to flimsy dinghies in a bit to lower costs and avoid detection.

European naval ships and vessels from the Frontex border agency are already patrolling Libyas coast to track movement, and new measures could include bolstering Libyas military and coastguard to carry out return operations.

As well as trying to disrupt smuggling gangs, the EU aims to deport more failed asylum seekers from Italy, using its cash to overcome resistance among African states to taking people back.

Mr Tusk said the summits main goal was to stem the flow of irregular migration from Libya to Europe in cooperation with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Sarrajs government.

It is the latest part of the Migration Partnership Framework, which was adopted by the EU last year despite opposition from more than 100 human rights organisations.

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EU Malta summit: Leaders warned against stranding thousands of refugees in 'concentration camps' in Libya deal - The Independent

On September 6th opened the new pediatric ward of Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar. A rehabilitated structure standing proudly in the hospital compound, among the trees that provide a welcoming shade from what has been a blistering hot summer. As the last drop of fresh paint dried up, young patients were wheeled in from the old ward into the new one.

The old pediatric ward was located in the main structure of the hospital compound. There were 93 beds spread across the second floor of the building. Most of these beds had to be shared between at least two patients. The new pediatric ward is now a building on its own, with 157 beds spread across three floors. The increased space now allows to have proper isolation areas for children with highly infective diseases such as measles, tuberculosis or meningitis. There is also a day care unit for those suffering from Thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder - very frequent in Southern Afghanistan - that requires frequent and regular blood transfusions. But the pride of the new ward is the 30 bed Neonatal unit which including 11 incubators, 6 warmer cots and new modern equipment that provide quality assistance for the babies, especially the premature, and at same time is a space for mothers, promoting breastfeeding and healthy maternal habits.

This is a cause for celebration. The long awaited rehabilitation of what was once a nursing school, gave way to a larger facility whose sole purpose is to provide children with the free medical care they so desperately need. With it came a considerable effort to increase of staff and more equipment.

Yet there was no time to celebrate. Within the first month, the new and larger ward was already full and new patients kept coming in from all provinces in the Southern Region. "Receiving new patients and having the ability to help them is the best part of the job" says Shagofa, a female pediatric nurse working in the neonatal unit. "We are very happy with the new ward, but we are already looking forward to having more equipment and facilities as we are already over capacity."

While in the end there has been no time to celebrate the opening of the new pediatric ward at Mirwais Hospital, the successful treatment of each and every child is a celebration in itself, just as much for the families as for the pediatric staff such as Shagofa.

See also :

Afghanistan news

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Afghanistan: New children's ward at Mirwais Hospital already over capacity - ICRC (press release)

Afghanistan news February 3, 2017

Phil Simmons was part of West Indies' set-up when they won the 2016 World T20 WICB Media Photo/Philip Spooner

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has roped in former West Indies coach Phil Simmons as consultant for the next three series, against Zimbabwe, Ireland and West Indies. According to the ACB, he will assist head coach Lalchand Rajput on technical issues.

Afghanistan's tour of Zimbabwe starts on February 16 in Harare and includes five ODIs, before they host Ireland in Greater Noida, India, in March. Afghanistan are scheduled to visit the Caribbean in June.

"He will be working with the team as a consulting coach," ACB chief executive officer Shafiq Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo. "His expertise will greatly favour us, as he has coached all three teams we are playing against. His appointment is a valuable step in our players' road to development."

Simmons, 53, was removed last September by the WICB, just six months after coaching West Indies to the World T20 title, due to "differences in culture and strategic approach". He had a successful stint with Ireland before that; in his eight years in charge of the team, they won 11 trophies and qualified for every major ICC event. In the mid-2000s, he had worked with Zimbabwe. An allrounder, Simmons had played 26 Tests and 143 ODIs for West Indies between 1987 and 1999.

After he was relieved of the West Indies coaching job, Simmons was appointed head coach of St Kitts & Nevis Patriots for the 2017 edition of the Caribbean Premier League. He was recently in the UAE for the duration of the Desert T20 Challenge, which Afghanistan won after defeating Ireland by 10 wickets in the final. It is understood that Simmons was attending the tournament on behalf of the ICC Development Programme, offering his services as a coaching consultant to each of the eight Associate teams present.

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Afghanistan appoint Simmons as consultant - ESPNcricinfo.com

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) An Afghan policeman turned his rifle on his colleagues in a northern province, killing eight, while a gunman in the country's east fatally shot a cleric and his wife, officials said on Friday.

The policemen were killed while they were sleeping in an outpost in the district of Almar in northern Faryab province, according to the provincial police spokesman, Abdul Karim Yuresh.

The attack happened on Thursday night and according to the spokesman, a policeman who was on duty opened fire and killed his colleagues, then collected all their firearms and fled the scene presumably to join the Taliban.

The Taliban made no official statement or claim about the attack but Afghanistan has seen several such incidents over the past years. There has been a growing number of cases in which Afghan troops or policemen or Taliban militants dressed in Afghan uniforms have turning their guns on their colleagues or U.S.-led coalition partners.

Also on Thursday night, in the country's eastern Paktika province, a gunman killed a cleric and his wife, said Mohammad Alias Wahdat, the provincial governor.

Wahdat said the gunman entered the cleric's home in the Yusof Khail district and shot the cleric and his wife. Two of their children who were in the house survived.

Police said it was not clear who was behind the attack and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the killings.

In other violence, Gul Agha Roohani, the chief of police in eastern Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan, said Islamic State group militants stormed the security posts in the district of Kot early on Friday, killing at least one police officer.

Afghan security forces responded and killed 12 militants, he said.

Afghanistan has been facing major political and security challenges since the withdrawal of international combat troops at the end of 2014, leaving a smaller contingent of troops behind to focus on training and counterterrorism.

Also, President Ashraf Ghani has been dealing with a stepped-up insurgency by the Taliban seeking to topple the government as well as an affiliate of the Islamic State group, which emerged two years ago and has expanded its footprint, especially in the country's east and in Nangarhar province.

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Attacks in Afghanistan kill 9 policemen, cleric and his wife - Colorado Springs Gazette