Breaking News English

The organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called [in / on] the European Union (EU) to act immediately [on / by] the refugee situation in the Mediterranean Sea. The call follows the latest tragedy that saw at least 700 migrants [perished / perish] in an attempt to flee from their troubled homelands and [reached / reach] Europe. This brings the death [poll / toll] to over 1,000 in the past week. HRW spokesperson Judith Sunderland said: "The EU is standing [at / by] with arms crossed while hundreds die off its [shores / shares] . These deaths might well have been [prevents / prevented] if the EU had launched a genuine search-and-rescue [effort / effect] ." Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi singled out Libya as the [lock / key] problem and said efforts should focus on refugee boats leaving Libyan ports.

The 28-member EU is [under / over] fire from within over its policy to scale down efforts to save lives [at / in] sea. Divisions began last year when the EU cut its search-and-rescue budget [by / as] two-thirds. Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, said: "Europe can do more and Europe must do more. It is a [shameful / shame] and a confession of failure how many countries run [away / out] from responsibility." Maltese PM Joseph Muscat warned: "We will all be judged in the [same / similar] way that history has judged Europe when it turned a blind [ear / eye] to the genocide of this century and last century." Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy said: "This is the [umpteenth / upturned] time we hear of [yet / but] another human tragedy in the Mediterranean….Words won't [be / do] any more."