As presidents, premiers and ministers prepared to huddle for the talks, Pope Francis
...Argentine liberation theologist, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was elected pope in 2013. Rather than setting up shop in Avignon, where he belongs, the first Jesuit Pope chose to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse instead of the papal apartments. He is big on climate change, against consumerism, and in favor of throwing a blanket over homosexual activity within the clergy. He's not real sure about the Resurrection, about Christ's divinity, and a few other things that would have gotten him burned at the stake a few hundred years ago, but he's hot for a certain South American Earth Mother Goddess...appealed to them to help the scores of people who try to enter Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
each year in search of a better life as they flee poverty and conflict.
"The Mediterranean can no longer be the theatre of death and inhumanity", the pontiff said during his weekly Angelus prayer.
Italia’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said talks would focus on illegal and legal immigration, refugee support and "the most important... wide cooperation to support development in Africa".
During the 2022 election campaign that brought her to power, the far-right Meloni vowed to "stop the disembarkation" of
But while the government has put obstacles in the path of humanitarian ships rescuing
Italia and the European Commission have sought to step up engagement with Tunisia, promising funding if it stems emigration from its territory.
Meloni has also sought to act as an intermediary between Tunisia — cash-strapped and on the cusp of a major debt crisis — and the International Monetary Fund, where a nearly $2 billion bailout package for the North African country has stalled amid an IMF demand for structural reforms. Last week, the EU signed a memorandum of understanding with Tunisia that provides for 105 million euros ($117 million) in direct European aid to prevent the departure of migrant boats and combat smugglers.