Spanish officials said about 860 children were still in Ceuta on Monday, four days after tens of thousands of migrants crossed into the territory from neighboring Morocco by swimming around border barriers or entering through the sea.

Authorities said 72 people died during the crossing, most of them in the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco separately reported 11 additional deaths that are not included in Spain’s official toll.

Teenager Describes Family Tragedy

Among those waiting for assistance is a 17-year-old girl from Tangier who said she became separated from her mother after witnessing her younger brother drown during the crossing.

The Associated Press is not identifying the teenager because she is a minor in a vulnerable situation.

She said her family joined thousands of others hoping to reach Ceuta in search of better opportunities. During the crossing, she said she saw Spanish police recover the body of her 8-year-old brother from the water.

After reaching the enclave, she survived with food and clothing provided by local residents. One woman allowed her to bathe at her home before she sought help at a government-run youth center, which had already reached capacity.

“I saw people stepping on the dead,” she said through a translator. “Now we are children begging on the street.”

Associated Press journalists also observed other migrant children asking residents for food.

Spanish Law Provides Protection for Minors

The estimated 860 unaccompanied children account for a significant share of the roughly 3,000 to 5,000 migrants who remain in Ceuta after an estimated 60,000 people crossed into the enclave.

Most adult Moroccan migrants have either returned voluntarily or been sent back by Spanish authorities.

Under Spanish law, adults may apply for asylum, although Moroccan nationals are rarely granted humanitarian protection if their applications are denied.

Unaccompanied children, however, are entitled to government protection and care.

An Associated Press journalist witnessed Spanish soldiers escorting a Moroccan boy toward the border despite his repeated pleas not to be returned.

Local residents intervened, telling soldiers the child was a minor. After media arrived at the scene, a Spanish Army lieutenant colonel stopped the repatriation and transferred the boy to the Spanish Civil Guard.

Reception Centers Struggle to Cope

Ceuta’s main migrant reception center, designed to accommodate about 600 people, remains full.

According to Associated Press journalists, food shortages have also been reported, while many migrants continue sleeping on beaches and in the surrounding hills because no shelter space is available.

Those remaining in Ceuta include not only Moroccans but also migrants from Sudan, Gaza, Afghanistan and several African countries.

Ramsés Mohamed Azumik, a migration activist with Asociación Elín, accused authorities of allowing conditions to deteriorate in an effort to encourage migrants to return voluntarily to Morocco.

He said hunger, thirst and exhaustion were placing increasing pressure on people who remain in the enclave.

Spanish authorities continue processing asylum requests and providing protection for unaccompanied children. However, hundreds of young migrants still face an uncertain future as officials work to manage one of the largest migration emergencies in Ceuta’s recent history.

This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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The fires have displaced communities across southern Europe, including about 70,000 evacuees in central Spain. Spanish authorities also confirmed the first reported fatality linked to the fires after a man died in Manises, in the Valencia region.

The widespread evacuations and coordinated international response highlight the growing impact of increasingly severe wildfire seasons across the Mediterranean.

France Deploys Military Resources to Protect Gironde

France expanded its firefighting response on Saturday by deploying an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft modified for aerial firefighting, dropping large quantities of flame retardant over drought-stricken forests in the southwest.

Authorities remain concerned that shifting winds could push the Gironde wildfire closer to Bordeaux, one of France’s largest cities and the center of a globally significant wine-producing region.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said firefighters were strengthening containment lines by digging trenches, deploying flame retardants and carrying out additional defensive operations. He warned the firefighting effort would likely be “long and very difficult.”

The Gironde prefecture said the blaze intensified into what officials described as a “firestorm” on Friday after igniting earlier in the week. Although firefighters have slowed its advance, authorities cautioned that the wildfire remains highly dangerous.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the fire became so intense that it generated its own weather conditions, including powerful local winds, underscoring its exceptional strength.

The French government deployed hundreds of soldiers to reinforce firefighting operations and distributed 1.5 million protective face masks to residents affected by heavy smoke.

Officials said approximately 140 homes have been destroyed in the Gironde region.

Wildfires Disrupt Tour de France and Public Services

The wildfire emergency has also affected one of France’s biggest sporting events.

Tour de France organizers and Paris police announced that Sunday’s final stage would begin directly in Paris instead of Thoiry, shortening the route from 133 kilometers (82 miles) to 89 kilometers (55 miles).

Officials said part of the race’s security personnel would instead assist emergency operations in wildfire-affected regions.

In Bordeaux, authorities converted an exhibition center into a temporary shelter capable of housing thousands of evacuees.

The city’s airport remained open, although bus and tram services were suspended as emergency operations continued.

Residents in threatened communities received evacuation orders through emergency mobile phone alerts.

Spain Continues Large-Scale Firefighting Operations

Spain has deployed approximately 2,600 firefighters, police officers and emergency personnel, supported by 19 water-dropping aircraft and helicopters, to battle two major wildfires west of Madrid.

Firefighters said the blazes have spread so rapidly and intensely that direct attacks on the flames were often impossible.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said approximately 130,000 hectares of forest have already burned in Spain this year, exceeding the country’s average annual total of about 100,000 hectares over the past decade.

After visiting an emergency command center west of Madrid, Sánchez said improving weather conditions had created “a window of opportunity” for firefighters to strengthen containment efforts.

Madrid’s regional government later reported that lower temperatures and lighter winds had reduced the fires’ intensity.

Residents described rapidly changing conditions that left communities with little time to evacuate.

Javier Organista, a resident of El Tiemblo, said neighbors worked together to protect their community as flames surrounded the town and threatened to cut off escape routes.

European Nations Coordinate Emergency Assistance

The wildfires have prompted one of the largest coordinated firefighting responses in recent years.

Authorities said Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland have either deployed or pledged aircraft and helicopters to assist operations in France and Spain.

Officials in both countries said prolonged drought and repeated heat waves left forests and scrubland exceptionally dry, allowing fires to spread rapidly once ignited.

Emergency crews continue working to contain multiple active fire fronts while authorities monitor weather conditions that could significantly influence the direction and intensity of the blazes in the coming days.

This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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Monaco’s chief prosecutor, Stéphane Thibault, said the blast occurred late Monday and that investigators were searching for a suspect who fled the scene on foot. Authorities have not determined a motive, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Media reports identified one of the injured as Ukrainian construction tycoon Vadym Yermolaiev. The businessman has previously said he renounced his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and later became a Cypriot citizen. In 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on him over alleged business ties to Russia.

Officials Say Family Appeared to Be Targeted

Monaco’s Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, said surveillance footage suggested the victims were deliberately targeted.

According to Mirmand, the suspect was seen walking around the area several times before the victims arrived and detonated the explosive device as they entered the apartment building.

“It appears that the family was specifically targeted,” Mirmand said, adding that authorities have not established why the victims were attacked or who may have been responsible.

Monaco police have opened an attempted murder investigation but have not classified the incident as terrorism, Thibault told reporters.

Victims Hospitalized Following Blast

The explosion occurred at approximately 9 p.m. Monday near Monaco’s border with France.

Officials said the injured include a woman, a 13-year-old child and the male victim identified in media reports as Yermolaiev.

Thibault said the woman suffered life-threatening injuries. Mirmand later said she was transferred to a hospital in Nice, France, while her partner and the child sustained less severe injuries but remained hospitalized on Tuesday.

Authorities did not officially confirm the identities of those injured.

Surveillance footage reportedly showed the suspect escaping through a staircase leading to the neighboring French town of Beausoleil. Images published by French media showed an individual wearing a black jacket, light-colored trousers, white shoes and a black bucket hat that partially concealed the face.

Witness Describes Chaotic Scene

Residents living near the building described scenes of panic immediately after the explosion.

Silvano Ippolito, who lives across the street, said he heard the blast before seeing a young boy lying on the ground. He called his wife, a doctor, who rushed to provide emergency medical assistance before paramedics arrived.

According to Ippolito, she applied tourniquets and performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as the seriously injured woman began losing consciousness.

He also described seeing a blood-covered man emerge from the building before part of the staircase collapsed, causing him to fall onto Ippolito’s wife and a firefighter assisting at the scene.

Diplomatic Assistance and International Attention

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said its embassy in France, which also represents Ukraine’s interests in Monaco, was coordinating with local authorities. Ukrainian diplomats visited the scene and were providing consular assistance.

The attack drew a swift response from Monaco’s Prince Albert II, who condemned the explosion as “an odious act” and said all public services had been mobilized to ensure public safety.

Authorities said the injured family were regular residents of Monaco and that investigators had found no evidence indicating they had previously reported threats.

Businessman Previously Sanctioned by Ukraine

Vadym Yermolaiev built his fortune through the Alef Group, a diversified business with interests in commercial real estate, manufacturing and agriculture. Originally from the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, he became one of the country’s best-known real estate developers through large-scale projects in the city.

In an interview with Forbes Ukraine, Yermolaiev said he relinquished his Ukrainian citizenship in 2017 and became a citizen of Cyprus.

In December 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved sanctions against Yermolaiev as part of broader measures targeting individuals and companies that Kyiv alleged maintained business connections with Russia or Russian-occupied territories.

The Cyprus Registrar of Companies lists a Vadym Iermolaiev as director of Vespano Ltd., a company registered in Limassol in 2019. Cyprus’ Interior Ministry declined to comment on his citizenship status, citing confidentiality rules.

Security Questions Raised in One of Europe’s Safest States

The explosion has shocked Monaco, a wealthy Mediterranean principality known for its luxury lifestyle, financial sector and extensive public security network.

Home to approximately 38,000 residents, Monaco is widely regarded as one of the safest countries in the world, supported by an extensive surveillance camera system covering much of the city-state.

Authorities continue searching for the suspect while investigators work to determine the motive behind the apparent targeted attack.

Tags: Monaco, Vadym Yermolaiev, Ukraine, Russia, Prince Albert II, Stéphane Thibault, Christophe Mirmand, Attempted Murder, Explosion, European Security, Criminal Investigation, Beausoleil

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The vessel, carrying 33 people, overturned near the coastal city of Tobruk while en route to Greece, leaving only seven survivors and nine others still missing, according to the United Nations. The incident is the latest in a series of fatal crossings that have intensified international concern over migrant safety and the effectiveness of regional response efforts.

Officials from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said survivors had been stranded at sea for several days before rescue, with some migrants reportedly dying from hunger and dehydration during the ordeal. Rescue operations were conducted by Libyan naval forces, the coast guard, and the Red Crescent, which recovered bodies from the water.

Humanitarian Emergency Intensifies Along Libya Route

The latest tragedy reflects a sharp escalation in migrant deaths along one of the world’s most dangerous sea crossings. The central Mediterranean route, linking North Africa to southern Europe, has seen a significant rise in fatalities this year.

According to UN data cited by The Associated Press, more than 765 migrants have died along the route in 2026 alone, marking a roughly 150% increase compared with the same period last year.

Analysts say the increase is driven by a combination of conflict, economic hardship, and expanding smuggling networks, particularly affecting migrants from countries such as Sudan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The deteriorating situation in Sudan has been identified as a key factor pushing more people toward dangerous migration routes.

Regional Instability Fuels Migration Pressures

Libya continues to serve as a major transit hub for migrants attempting to reach Europe, despite ongoing instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. Weak state control and fragmented governance have allowed trafficking networks to operate with limited oversight.

Humanitarian organizations warn that migrants passing through Libya face severe risks even before reaching the sea, including detention, exploitation, and violence. These conditions, combined with unsafe vessels and limited rescue capacity, contribute to high fatality rates during crossings.

Recent incidents, including another shipwreck earlier in April that left more than 80 migrants missing, highlight the persistent dangers facing those attempting the journey.

International Response Under Strain

The growing number of fatalities has intensified calls for coordinated international action, particularly from European governments and UN agencies. However, divisions over migration policy and border enforcement continue to complicate efforts to establish a unified response.

Officials and analysts interviewed by Reuters note that while rescue operations remain active, they are increasingly stretched by the scale of migration attempts and the frequency of maritime emergencies.

Humanitarian groups have urged expanded search-and-rescue missions, improved legal migration pathways, and stronger action against trafficking networks to prevent further loss of life.

Strategic Outlook for Migration Policy

The latest shipwreck highlights the persistent gap between migration pressures and existing policy frameworks in Europe and North Africa. As conflicts and economic crises continue to drive displacement, experts warn that fatalities are likely to remain high without systemic changes.

The central Mediterranean is now experiencing one of its deadliest periods in over a decade, raising urgent questions about the sustainability of current approaches to migration management.

With crossings expected to continue in the coming months, the international community faces increasing pressure to address both the immediate humanitarian crisis and its underlying causes—before further tragedies unfold at sea.

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Benidorm, once a quiet Spanish fishing town, now attracts millions of tourists each year, earning the nickname “the New York of the Mediterranean.” This remarkable transformation began in the 1960s when 23-year-old Ramon Martinez Martinez left Madrid in search of better opportunities. What was once known for its tuna fishing and orange groves soon became a hotbed of tourism, offering Martinez and his family the chance to build a better life.

As the tourism boom began, Benidorm’s future was forever changed, although even Martinez could never have predicted the scale of what was to come. By 2023, nearly 2.7 million tourists flooded the town—36 times the size of its permanent population.

Today, Benidorm is a towering city of skyscrapers and busy streets, a symbol of Spain’s rapidly growing tourism industry. Yet it also remains a flashpoint for both admiration and criticism, with some hailing its economic success and others pointing to its over-commercialization. The story of Benidorm’s rise is now the subject of a fascinating new book by British photographer Rob Ball, who has captured the town’s unique landscape and thriving tourist culture.

Benidorm’s most noticeable feature is its appeal to British tourists. In fact, nearly a third of all visitors come from the UK. This has led to a unique blend of British culture and Spanish traditions, with British pubs, English breakfasts, and even horse races from England shown on giant outdoor screens. In March, thousands of Brits descend on Benidorm to watch the Cheltenham Festival, a beloved horse racing event.

Despite its popularity, Benidorm is often divisive. For some, it’s the ideal getaway—hot weather, familiar comforts, and a bustling nightlife. For others, it’s a symbol of everything that’s wrong with mass tourism—rowdy tourists and an inauthentic experience. Ball, however, chose to focus on the town’s positive aspects, highlighting its natural beauty and the happy tourists who gather on its sandy beaches.

Some Brits even refer to Benidorm as “Blackpool with sun,” comparing it to the British seaside town known for its working-class tourists. The nickname is used both affectionately and disparagingly, depending on perspective. As Ball notes, the town’s appeal is simple: it’s a place where hard-working people can unwind and have fun without judgment.

When Ramon Martinez arrived in Benidorm, the town was still relatively quiet. But Martinez, like many others, was seeking new opportunities, and he found them as a painter working on the newly built hotels along the coast. These hotels were being constructed by ambitious developers who couldn’t afford to pay him with cash, so instead, they offered shares in their businesses or apartments in their buildings. Martinez’s gamble paid off.

Behind Benidorm’s growth was the vision of Pedro Zaragoza, the town’s mayor from 1950. Zaragoza recognized the town’s untapped potential and set about turning Benidorm into a tourist hotspot. In 1959, he took the bold step of legalizing bikinis on the beaches—a move that shocked Spain’s Catholic establishment. Zaragoza even traveled to Madrid to secure the support of General Francisco Franco, who gave the green light for Benidorm to become a major tourist destination.

As package vacations became popular in the 1960s, foreign tourists flocked to Benidorm, bringing with them a new wave of growth. The town’s economy boomed, and with it, the number of high-rise buildings, including Spain’s tallest skyscrapers outside Madrid, such as the Gran Hotel Bali and Residencial Intempo.

As Benidorm’s popularity soared, so did its architectural growth. Situated between the mountains and the sea, there was little room to expand horizontally, so the town began to build upwards. The result is a skyline filled with towering structures, a stark contrast to the modest fishing village of its past.

Despite the rapid development, Benidorm has avoided the large-scale protests against mass tourism that have occurred in other parts of Spain. While the town has faced issues such as rising rents, the local attitude remains welcoming. Jaime Martinez Gallinar, CEO of the Hoteles Benidorm Group, explains that tourism is essential to the town’s economy. “During Covid, it was like a ghost town. We discovered how much we depend on the people who come here,” he says.

Gallinar is proud of Benidorm’s lively atmosphere, where people from all over the world, including Spaniards, Brits, and others, gather to enjoy the town’s unique charm. However, he is also aware of the challenges that come with such rapid growth. “The challenge now is how to grow with the natural environment. The land is almost used up. Benidorm is almost full all year round,” Gallinar reflects.

Benidorm’s transformation is a tale of ambition, vision, and opportunity—but it also brings with it the pressure of sustainability. As the demand for its beaches, bars, and high-rise accommodations continues to rise, the town faces the challenge of maintaining its natural beauty while accommodating millions of tourists.

If Benidorm is to remain a top destination, it will need to address the environmental concerns that come with such rapid expansion. However, for now, the town shows no signs of slowing down. It remains a place where the sun never sets on the tourist season and where people either love it or hate it—but can’t seem to stop visiting.

Key Takeaways:

• Benidorm’s transformation from a quiet fishing village to a bustling tourist city has drawn millions of visitors, particularly from the UK.
• The town’s rapid development, driven by visionary leaders like Pedro Zaragoza, has resulted in a skyline full of skyscrapers.
• While some view Benidorm as a symbol of uncontrolled mass tourism, others embrace its vibrant and welcoming atmosphere.
• Balancing growth with sustainability will be key to Benidorm’s future, as the town continues to grapple with the demands of a thriving tourism industry.

Source: – CNN – It was once a small Spanish fishing town. Now it attracts millions of tourists every year

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