The Aquarius Berths.

The migrant ship, the Dattilo has finally entered the port of Valencia, Spain. Two other ships, the Orione and the Aquarius itself are expected to follow suit soon. The three ships are carrying between them 629 migrants who were rescued off the coast of Libya in the usual appalling conditions of horrid weather and overcrowded rubber dinghies by the NGO rescue ship, Aquarius. The ships were promptly barred from berthing in Italian and Maltese ports and have been floating in the Med ever since, a situation the Italian right-wing, anti-immigration, populist interior minister Matteo Salvini has received considerable flak for. In political bashing, soft targets are popular objects of attack. Mostly because they are easy explanations for situations that are far more complex than we are wont to admit. Italian migrant camps are overflowing and social and economic tensions are spilling over into the streets; the point that facilitates the crisis, Libya, became the lawless land it is because of the overthrow and killing of erstwhile dictator, Moammer Gaddafi, a mayhem precipitated mostly by France; the real destination of the migrants are the wealthier European countries further north, so why should Italy be at the frontline of the crisis and bear the brunt of a movement to countries that had done little to help it? The situation has become sweaty for many Italians and Salvini is merely harvesting political capital out of a situation growing popular, a not infrequent crime in politics. However it is instructive to note that on Wednesday, with the Aquarius affair raging, the coastguard ship Diciotti brought more than 900 migrants to Sicily.

Salvini.

What actually fuels

this crisis is a strange lack of articulation in EU's response to the crisis. And a poor definition of the crisis itself. Are we dealing with real asylum sekers or economic migrants? In most African countries, democracy, with attendant tolerance, is firmly taking root and political repression is on the back foot. Gone are the gory days of Uganda, Chad, Zaire e.t.c. that gave rise to huge waves of political refugees. It is the economic front that has not improved, conditions are even getting worse and the EU may begin taking some profitable actions by recognizing that the bulk of those migrants they are trying to restrain are people fleeing appalling living conditions of want: incessant power blackouts, slave wages, outright unemployment, hunger, lack of pipe-borne water. Horror of basic living conditions. Drawing an ecnomic blueprint for Africa will begin to address this horrid and intractable migrant crisis. It may turn out that a factory in Nigeria may prove less costly to set up than a migrant center in Spain.
The new Spanish government may want to gain some socialist traction by allowing the Aquarius refugees in but Sanchez has to realize drawbacks of populism are not always apparent. Migrants are from a mass of people watching closely the position every European government is taking on migration and Spain may face far more problems if it is generally perceived it has become a soft center in immigration obstacles. More Aquarius ships might be heading in that direction and the government might find itself unwilling to hunt for goodwill.

Spain vs Portugal: Heroes and Villains.

Every football match produces its heroes and villains and the FIFA 2018 World Cup match between Spain and Portugal was no exception. In fact football turned up the day everyone wanted it and the whole tournament itself would be lit up for the first time.
An expected hero turned up all right; Cristiano Ronaldo producing a dazzling, relentless display that would eventually net him a spectacular hat trick. The third goal, a result of a free kick, was especially well-taken. His team was losing, with a few minute to spare and it was a moment that require steady nerves, precision and brilliance: that called for a hero and perfectly did he answer the call.
Another hero turned up in the shape of Diego Costa. Not everyone expected him to be one, not the least his Brazilian countrymen who have been very tardy in forgiving him for turning his allegiance to Spain. Traitors, real or perceived, are not a particularly welcomed breed anywhere on earth. As a matter of fact, certain folks rather expected some villainy from him, a player notorious for his tempers and tantrums on field. They all got disappointed, Costa putting up a display in which industry and instinct got complemented by brilliance. Check out the first goal, an endeavor in which he had everything to do and he did not shy from duty. The second goal was simply instinctive, a striker's delight.
The villain that rather turned up was a most unexpected one: David De Gea, a goalkeeper that has been excellent all season for Manchester United. His attempt at Ronaldo's penalty could hardly be excused for a world class goalkeeper and he would compound sloppiness with the howler that led to the second goal, a goalkeeping blunder straight out of Robert Green's school of errors. His poor positioning would eventually lead to the third goal. Not a few argue now he helped made Ronaldo's day, gifting him his hat trick on a platter of heinous incompetence. Well, De Gea's woes might be traced to a bite of nerves and he is expected to get far better grip on himself in subsequent games.
Spain was lovely to watch in their possessive tiki-taka but some lethargy could not help peeping up. It was clear that if they had channeled their possession into greater relentless pressure especially in the final third, Portugal would have been toast. The team clearly felt pressure from the turmoil that had bedevilled it in recent days. A mayhem that led to the sack of the coach Lopetegui two days to the tournament and his replacement with Fernando Hiero, ex-national player. But there was no taking from Nacho' s goal, a strike that was as

fortuitous as it was instinctive.