Mediterranean

Mussel growers harvest mussels by passing beneath the docks on small barges, pulling up the ropes and cutting the harvest loose.

Unusually warm seas kill off mussel harvests in Spain, leaving restaurant owners with limited options

Most Mediterranean mussels are grown in the Ebro Delta, in Spain’s northeast, and often enjoyed by consumers nearby. But this year’s Mediterranean harvest was nearly wiped out by unusually warm seas, forcing restaurant owners to import their mussels from other countries.

Unusually warm seas kill off mussel harvests in Spain, leaving restaurant owners with limited options
Italian Americans celebrating during a Christopher Columbus Day parade.

How Columbus Day contributes to the cultural erasure of Italian Americans

How Columbus Day contributes to the cultural erasure of Italian Americans
The shoreline of a village on the Greek island of Evia is shown with massive plumes of dark smoke rising in the distance.

Discussion: Climate change and a deepening global health crisis

Discussion: Climate change and a deepening global health crisis
Huseyin Kara shows off his lush green olive trees, like a proud grandfather.

Seed keepers in Turkey revive old farming methods to confront new climate threats

Seed keepers in Turkey revive old farming methods to confront new climate threats
Migrants wearing face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 sit at a pier as Italian police officers stand by.

Some migrants crossing the Mediterranean say they prefer death to being returned

Some migrants crossing the Mediterranean say they prefer death to being returned
A man wearing a blue shirt leans his body over a coffin draped with the Algerian flag in a room full of coffins.

French report reignites debate about colonialism in Algeria

Like the US, France is navigating political disagreements about its history and their relationship to modern issues of race.

French report reignites debate about colonialism in Algeria
Venice’s Grand Canal was for centuries a thoroughfare for the global shipping trade on the ancient Silk Road.

Italy is caught in the middle of the EU's tussle with its 'systemic rival,' China

Italian populists—skeptical of the value of EU membership—drove Italy to become the first G7 country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Then the pandemic brought generous EU aid, leaving Italy to reassess who its real friends are and how best to help its economy.

Italy is caught in the middle of the EU's tussle with its 'systemic rival,' China
A Turkish ship with a flag sails in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Greece and Turkey sail toward a crisis of sea borders 

Greece's and Turkey's land borders are fairly clear these days — but claims over the sea are not. When you add recent, underwater gas discoveries to the mix, the decision about who has the right to drill — and where — becomes tangled and complex. 

Greece and Turkey sail toward a crisis of sea borders 
A view of the Grand Canal following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Venice, Italy, May 24, 2020.

The canals are clear thanks to the coronavirus, but Venice’s existential threat Is climate change

Flooding in November has left experts wondering whether the massive retractable gates the city is constructing will ever keep all of the water out.

The canals are clear thanks to the coronavirus, but Venice’s existential threat Is climate change
A black and white image of a newspaper titled "La Amérika"

I'm an American. But my family came to the US fraudulently.

The Trump administration's immigration policies harken back to the origins of immigration restriction a century ago that sought to keep “undesirables” — like my family — out. 

I'm an American. But my family came to the US fraudulently.
Two men pose in front of an old tree trunk.

Olive oil company unites Cyprus with a ‘taste of peace’

Since 1974, the island of Cyprus has been divided by a ceasefire "Green Line" that separates the majority-Greek south from the Turkish-occupied north. Now, two friends from both sides of the divide are pressing olives for peace.

Olive oil company unites Cyprus with a ‘taste of peace’
Migrants are shown in the near ground walking in a line as they disembark from a merchant ship with armed soldiers behind them.

Maltese soldiers seize small tanker hijacked by migrants

A small tanker that was hijacked by migrants off Libya docked in Malta's port of Valletta on Thursday after Maltese special forces took control of the vessel.

Maltese soldiers seize small tanker hijacked by migrants
an african migrant scales a razor-wire topped fence in Ceuta, Spain

The razor wire that separates Europe from Africa might be coming down

The changes come as migrants’ pathways across the Mediterranean evolve to make Spain the busiest gateway into Europe.

The razor wire that separates Europe from Africa might be coming down
Moroccan migrant camp

Forty-seven people died crossing the Mediterranean in a wooden boat last month. This is their story.

Isabella Alexander has spent years researching and reporting on the effort by migrants to cross from Morocco to Spain, via land routes. Now, she has named 47 previously unidentified victims of a failed sea crossing in early February.

Forty-seven people died crossing the Mediterranean in a wooden boat last month. This is their story.
Man on a boat lifting a young child to hand to rescuers

A year after the Italy-Libya migrant deal: Fewer deaths at sea but persistent abuse on land

In February 2017, Italy and Libya signed an agreement to try to slow the arrival of migrants across the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe, with Italy giving logistical and financial support to Libya's coast guard. Since then, migrant sea arrivals in Europe have declined, and so have drownings, but many migrants returned to Libya face abusive detention.

A year after the Italy-Libya migrant deal: Fewer deaths at sea but persistent abuse on land