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A video clip shows a coastguard ship travelling slowly in the Mediterranean Sea, off the North African coast.

What sounds like gun fire can then be heard twice in the footage.

The video was published on Twitter by humanitarian organisation MSF and Proactiva Open Arms, a non-governmental organisation from Spain.

The Barcelona-based NGO aims to rescue refugees from the sea that arrive in Europe fleeing wars, persecution or poverty.

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Video of Libyan coast guard firing warning shots at Proactiva

Zach Campbell, Barcelona-based freelance jorunalist

The group also re-tweeted Zach Campbell, a freelance journalist from Barcelona, who said the coastguards were being trained and were having gear supplied to by Europe.

He said: Video of Libyan coast guard firing warning shots atProactiva@openarms_fund. The same CG that Europe is training and supplying gear to.

Meanwhile, Proactiva Open Arms said on Tuesday that one of its boats had been barred by Italy and Malta from disembarking migrants rescued two days ago, according to Reuters.

Humanitarian groups have played a growing role in rescuing migrants who pay criminal gangs for passage from Libya.

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Nearly 1,000 migrants leave Libya bound for Europe in just 24 hours

This has led to accusations in Italy that they are facilitating people smuggling and encouraging migration, something which the groups deny.

It was not clear why the Golfo Azzurro, run by Barcelona-based Proactiva Open Arms, was not allowed to dock in Lampedusa. It is now in international waters.

The Italiancoastguardcould not be reached for comment.

European states have squabbled over how to deal with the flow of more than 600,000 migrants to Italy since 2014.

Italy has said the European Union has not given it enough help.

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WATCH: Shocking clip of EU-trained Libyan coastguards 'shooting' at NGO workers - Express.co.uk

On 25 July, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) held a ceremony at the Burj Shemali camp to celebrate three years of cooperation to improve the living and health conditions of Palestine refugees in Lebanon through rehabilitation works with the support of the European Union (EU).

The project, Improvement of Housing and Health Conditions of the Most Vulnerable Palestine Refugees in Lebanon, funded by the EU with EUR 400,000, helped rehabilitate over 440 shelters in 9 out of the 12 camps in Lebanon, ensuring that the beneficiary families are able to live in safe and healthy shelters. The project also entailed rehabilitation works to three health centres in Saida, Ein El Hilweh and Burj Shemali camps.

The Deputy Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, Gwyn Lewis, said: Today I would like to recognize the hard work and achievements of this project as we stand inside the rehabilitated Burj Shemali Health Centre, a health centre that, prior to its rehabilitation, was struggling to cope with the needs of the camps population.

I look forward to the continuation and, indeed, development of this partnership between UNRWA, the EU and the other partners on the ground, supporting the basic human needs of Palestine refugees in Lebanon, she added.

In addition to the rehabilitation works, the EU support allowed the three health centres to adapt the Family Health Team approach, which focuses on the comprehensive history of the patient, rather than treating the specific ailment, thus providing a more person-centred approach to their health-care needs. EU and UNRWA: Together for Palestine Refugees

Since 1971, the European Union and UNRWA have maintained a strategic partnership governed by the shared objective to support the human development, humanitarian and protection needs of Palestine refugees and promote stability in the Middle East. Today, the European Union is the largest multilateral provider of international assistance to Palestine refugees. This reliable and predictable support from the European Union enables UNRWA to provide core services to more than 5 million Palestine refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, including quality education for roughly half a million children and primary health care for more than 3.5 million patients. Collectively, the EU and its Member States are also among the largest contributors to the Agencys humanitarian emergency appeals and projects in response to various crises and specific needs across the region. The partnership between the European Union and UNRWA has allowed millions of Palestine refugees to be better educated, live healthier lives, access employment opportunities and improve their living conditions, thus contributing to the development of the entire region.

Background Information

UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agencys Programme Budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.

For more information, please contact:

Huda Samra Communications Advisor Lebanon (Arabic and Francophone) Mobile: +961 81 666 134 h.samra@unrwa.org

Abdallah Chebly EU Delegation to Lebanon Communication Officer Mobile: +961 71 522701 Office: +961 (1) 569400 ext: 295 abdallah.chebly@eeas.europa.eu

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UNRWA and the European Union Celebrate Three Years of Shelter Rehabilitation - Reliefweb

Accra, Aug. 7, GNA The European Union (EU) is funding the construction of 224 housing units for workers of Golden Exotics Limited (GEL) with 5.9 million Euros.

The project, which is being undertaken by the contractor, KO&G, is expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2018.

This came to light when the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, Mr William Hanna; and the Member of Parliament for Shai Osudoku, Madam Linda Ocloo, paid a working visit to the GEL Banana Plantation, in the Greater Accra Region.

The visit was to inspect the progress of the construction of the housing and social infrastructure site at Kasunya, near Asutsuare in the Shai-Osudoku District.

When completed, it would house about 800 to 1,000 workers of GEL.

The EU funding is being provided in the framework of the Banana Assistance Measures (BAM), which provides financial assistance to facilitate trade between banana-producing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Ghana is one of the 11 countries receiving financial assistance for the banana trade.

The houses would ease accommodation and transportation cost of GEL employees, who now have to commute long distances, thereby saving travel time and costs on one hand and providing decent housing on the other.

In a statement issued to the Ghana News Agency Mr Hanna said: I am pleased to see work progressing well on the new houses for banana workers.

He said providing decent work and working conditions was one of the reasons Ghanas banana exports obtained the Fair Trade Label.

Mr Hanna said it was also encouraging to see that, one year after Ghanas ratification of the EPA that producers were investing more in organic production, which gave added value and secured jobs for thousands of workers.

This is an excellent example of sustainable production and consumption in the agricultural sector, he said, in the statement.

GNA

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European Union provides houses for Banana Plantation workers - Ghana News Agency

The European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to speed up a case against Warsaw over large-scale logging in the Bialowieza forest, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The forest is also home to the largest herd of European bison, unique birds and insects, and the ECJ has issued an interim order demanding Poland cease its activities.

But the Polish government, led by the eurosceptic Rule and Jutice Party (PiS), has claimed the logging is necessary to control a beetle outbreak and has ignored the ECJ ruling.

It is the latest act of defiance by PiS, having passed controversial judical reforms giving the government greater powers over the judiciary and the state-run media.

Last week European Council president Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, admitted there was a "question mark" over his country's future with the EU.

He said: "It smells like an introduction to an announcement that Poland does not need the European Union and that Poland is not needed for the EU.

"I am afraid we are closer to that moment.

Katarzyna Lubnauer, an MP for the opposition Nowoczesna party, suggested PiS was deliberately trying to provoke the EU into expelling the country from the bloc.

She said: "When we look at what is happening now, we get the deep feeling that the farewell has already begun."

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There is no precedent for expelling an uruly member state from the bloc. The first country to leave the European Union in its history will be Britain in 2019, and of its own volition.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has threatened to strip away Polands right to vote on EU matters by invoking Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty for the first time in history.

He said: If the Polish government goes ahead with undermining the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Poland, we will have no other choice than to trigger Article 7."

It would take at least of third of the EUs 28 member states to back Article 7 in order to impose sanctions and suspend voting rights..

But it can only triggered if there is a "clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2.

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An EU official said last week Brussels sent a letter to Warsaw, requesting it complies with the ECJ order on the forest.

The Commission also asked the ECJ to inquire with Warsaw on what it has done to stop the logging and whether "in view of these developments (the court) could give priority treatment to the case".

ECJ cases can take years to conclude and the interim order to stop the logging was meant to ensure the primeval forest is not irreversibly damaged by the time a final ruling comes.

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'The farewell has already begun' Lawmakers warn Poland is ready to leave EU - Express.co.uk

The Council has adopted a decision authorising a stabilisation action in the central regions of Mali, in the Mopti and Segou governorates. In response to the invitation from the Malian authorities, the European Union (EU) will deploy a team of experts to support Malian national plans and policies, in order to counter the growing insecurity and to re-establish and expand the civilian administration in these regions. The action's primary objective is to help consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and gender equality by strengthening general governance in this region for the benefit of the local communities.

The EU stabilisation team will be responsible for advising the Malian authorities in Mopti and Segou on governance-related issues, and supporting the planning and implementation by the Malian authorities of activities aimed at reinstating the civilian administration and basic services in the region. The team will be able also to support an enhanced dialogue between the Malian authorities and the local communities.

The stabilisation team will consist of 10 people and will have a budget of 3.25 million for an initial operating phase of one year. It will be based within the EU Delegation in Mali and will operate in Bamako, Mopti and Segou. This action will complement those of the EU Delegation in Mali and the CSDP missions deployed there (EUCAP Sahel Mali and EUTM Mali), and is part of the EU's integrated approach in Mali. The stabilisation team will also work in close cooperation with other international actors in the region, particularly the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

This stabilisation action is decided by the Council on the basis of Article 28 of the Treaty on European Union, which states that 'where the international situation requires operational action by the Union, the Council shall adopt the necessary decisions. They shall lay down their objectives, scope, the means to be made available to the Union, if necessary their duration, and the conditions for their implementation.' This is the first time that a Council decision has been decided in that context. The decision was adopted by the Council by written procedure.

Press contacts

Ester Arauzo-Azofra Press officer +32 22815361 +32 473630723

Virginie Battu Press officer +32 22815316 +32 470182405

Originally posted here:
Mali: European Union supports the stabilisation in the central regions of Mopti and Segou - ReliefWeb