Does the story of the Sovereignty Commission surprise you?

 

 

 

 

Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, State Government Funded Racist Department The Mississippi Sovereignty Commission was a secret state police force operating from 1956 to 1977 to suppress the civil rights movement and maintain segregation. The commission kept files, harassed and branded many as communist infiltrators via agents who were retired FBI, CIA and military intelligence. No one was safe in Mississsippi. A form of the Sovereignty Commission continues today in Mississippi.       Does the story of the Sovereignty Commission surprise you?   Did you have any experiences with the Civil Rights Movement, or another social movement, where you felt your privacy or safety threatened?   Spies of Mississippi tells the story of a secret spy agency formed by the state of Mississippi to preserve segregation during the 1950s and ‘60s. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission evolved from a predominantly public relations agency to a full-fledged spy operation, spying on over 87,000 Americans over the course of a decade. The Commission employed a network of investigators and informants, including African Americans to help infiltrate some of the largest Black organizations — NAACP, CORE, and SNCC. They were granted broad powers to investigate private citizens and organizations, keep secret files, make arrests and compel testimony. The film reveals the full scope and impact of the Commission, including its links to private White supremacist organizations, its ties to investigative agencies in other states, and even a program to bankroll the opposition to civil rights legislation in Washington D.C.Spies of Mississippi tracks the Commission’s hidden role in many of the most important chapters of the civil rights movement, including the integration of the University of Mississippi, the trial of Medgar Evers, and the KKK murders of three civil rights workers in 1964.   The 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 falls on Wednesday, July 2, 2014. The act paved the way for affirmative action and further desegregation in schools and workplaces across the country. In Denver the African American community faced harsh discrimination and violence throughout their struggle to achieve racial equality. With photos from The Denver Post archive, here is a glimpse of what it was like to be black in Denver at the time of the civil rights movement and following the signing of the act. MORE ON CIVIL RIGHTS IN DENVER: Growing Up Black in Denver 1 DEC 12 1968 - Denver Militants Leave Post Office Building After Filing Complaint. Left to right are Sorl Shead, Denver Black Panther deputy minister of finance; Clarke Watson, brother of Lauren Watson, Denver Panther leader; Lauren Watson, and Ronnell Stewart, Panther deputy minister of information. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed2 OCT 17 1963 - A black man looks into a white barbershop, a Stronghold of Segregation in Public Accommodations. Officials say white barbers, by custom, do not cut Negroes' hair. If Negro insists, barber often gives poor haircut. (David Mathias/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed3 FEB 23 1972 - A group of University of Denver students protest what they say is lack of news coverage of minority affairs on the campus by the school's newspaper, the Clarion, by burning copies of the paper Wednesday. About 30 students of the Black Student Alliance took part in protest in front of the student union. Russ Richardson, a DU Law school student and Spokesman for the group, said he and other members of the group would try to meet Chancellor Maurice Mitchell to discuss grievances. (Bill Peters/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed4 OCT 20 1974 - Fats Domino. (John J. Sunderland/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed5 JUN 25 1963 - White and black marchers join hands as they approach the Denver City and County Building Tuesday night during a demonstration to protest alleged discriminatory practices. They came to attend a race-relations conference in Council Chambers. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed6 JUL 2 1969 - Contestants Vie for title of "Miss Black Denver" in Pageant Set Friday at Manual High School. From left, front row, are Julia Sistrunk, 18; Kathy Abernathy, 19; Doris Thomas, 21; Judy Benton, 17; center row, Sondra Francis, 20; Florence Ayres, 22; Sherri Baucom, 22; Mary Gilmore, 18; Doris Boyd, 17. Back row, Melodene Alexander, 17; Beverly Flentroy, 22; Joyce Canaday, 19, and Billye Coleman, 20. Parade will start two-day fete. (Don Goodwin/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed7 JUL 18 1970 - Three Miss Black Colorado candidates are Gloria Lott, Left, Brenda Humburd and Brenda Johnson. Following the convertible is Salvation Army's Red Shield Community Center Zodiac drill teams and pompom girls. (Bill Wunsch/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed8 FEB 18 1974 - Children head home at day's end. "The word integration is extremely important. I also think hand in hand with that goes quality education. If you let these kids go into a white school and call it quits with that .. it's meaningless." Mrs. Frances Aschkinasi. (David Cupp/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed9 SEP 25 1970 - Jack C. Beardshear, George Washington High School Principal, Gets black Parents' viewpoint. "Who's going to run this school--black students, white students or you?" she asked as black and white parents gathered in hallway after a meeting about two days of violence that closed the school. (Dave Buresh /The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed10 SEP 21 1963 - Civil Rights Organizations representatives at parade ordinance meeting. From left: Richard Young, James Reynolds, Edward Shoman, Alan Swallow, William Pinkett, Sheldon Steinhauser. (George Crouter /The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed11 JAN 14 1975 - Black legislators lead walkout Tuesday at inaugural ceremonies for Gov. Dick Lamm. State Rep. Wellington Webb, left, and State Sen. Regis Groff leave ceremony as Dick Lamm was preparing to be sworn in as Colorado's 33rd governor Tuesday at the State Capitol. They led a group protesting Lamm's failure to make any appointment to high office from black applicants. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed12 OCT 21 1971 - Virgil Robinson, Foreground, Led Blacks Demanding Action. Group assembled in front of federal courthouse to talk to newsmen. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed13 APR 17 1969 - Paul Chambers, of the Black Student Alliance at CSU, tells a crowd estimated at 500, that President Morgan, right, with arms folded, apparently doesn't understand demands presented to administration. Morgan told audience on grounds at Administration building, more money would be needed to meet stated goals. (Barry Staver/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed14 NOV 2 1969 - Disturbance Mars CSU Football Game. Several helmeted Colorado State University policemen try to break up a ruckus beneath the stands at CSU's Hughes Field during halftime of the CSU-University of Texas at El Paso football game Saturday. A few fistfights and scuffles broke out in arguments over the dismissal of 14 black athletes at the University of Wyoming. Two of the persons in the incident wear black armbands number 14, symbolic of groups supporting dropped gridders. (Barry Staver/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed15 OCT 1 1970 - Dr. Clarence F. Holmes is reflected in a mirror at his desk. (John G. White/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed16 NOV 17 1967 - Highway 80. Roggen Service Station Operator Don Cooper. He says his business is better, but the town's dying. There are more travelers because of new highway. (Monk Tyson /The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed17 MAR 25 1971 - Panelists for "Black Awareness Day" at Kent School command rapt attention of capacity crowd of students, grades six through 12, including some from Denver Country Day School. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed18 MAR 25 1971 - Reaction of students from Kent and Denver speakers and panelists as they hear of Blacks winning rights, freedom today. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed19 AUG 6 1975 - (From left) Romie Lilly, Lew Gaither, Wellington Webb, Warren Alexander, Bill Roberts and James Reynolds. Black leaders ask Safeway to maintain store in a first-class manner at all times. (John J. Sunderland/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed20 JAN 13 1968 - Black Panther Leader Discusses Cole Junior High School Ban On Seven Persons Attempting To Attend Teachers Meeting. From left are Mrs. Jean Moss; Frank Bailey, chairman of Denver Congress on Racial Equality (CORE); Lauren Watson, Denver Black Panther party leader; and Joe Boyd, staff member of the University of Colorado New Careers. Boyd and six others were denied admission to a meeting. (Steve Larson/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed21 SEP 6 1971 - Lauren Watson Addresses A City Park Crowd Of More Than 150 During Memorial Rally For “SOLEDAD Brother” George Jackson. Speakers at the Sunday rally charged that Jackson, killed in an attempt to escape from San Quentin prison, was a victim of racism. (Ernie Leyba/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed22 NOV 3 1968 - Clenched fist raised, Black Panther Lauren Watson denounces Dist. Atty. Mike McKevitt and the Denver Police Department at rally. (Bill Wunsch/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed23 AUG 12 1969 - Allen (Omar) Holmes Heads Denver Black Panthers. Troubleshooter from Los Angeles replaces Lauren Watson. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed24 JUL 12 1973 - X-Ray Technician Florine Callaway, Colorado's first black pro bowler. (Barry Staver/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed25 NOV 5 1969 - Two men, one identified as a member of the Black Panthers Colorado chapter, sit behind Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Wiles Hallock after an interruption of the WAC meeting Wednesday at Cosmopolitan Hotel. The meeting later was recessed. (Millard D. Smith/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed26 AUG 2 1968 - Herbert Griffin Waits For Delivery of Equipment in Vacant Laboratory. The entomologist has filed new charges of discrimination against agriculture agency. (Bill Johnson/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed27 MAY 9 1968 - Warren Alexander, assistant director of Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and Mrs. Dorothy Wham, chairman of Southeast Denver School Action Committee, listen to an unidentified woman attack a proposal. (Steve Larson/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed28 MAR 31 1978 - Jim Reynolds, Director of the Division of Civil Rights, waits for the House Caucus on Regulatory agencies to begin. (Ernie Leyba/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed29 JUN 25 1968 - Black marchers walk past Denver Police Building on last leg of march. The group demanded replacement of white officers with black in their area and pledged to offer assistance. (Dave Buresh/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed30 JUL 4 1970 - Jerry Twiggs of Dee and Jay vocal act performs before a crowd estimated at 1,500 at talent show at Five Points intersection. The show, held on Saturday afternoon, was part of Black Unity Days. (David Cupp/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed31 NOV 17 1965 - The Civic Center assembly, from behind the platform, shows the choir in the foreground and torch bearers beyond at the Wednesday night ceremony. The Denver Religious Council on Human Relations gave homage to "martyrs" in the civil rights cause during the hour-long meeting in which some 350 persons, including clergy, participated on a chilly night in downtown Denver. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed32 JUN 25 1963 - Overflow demonstrators wait on the steps after City Council Chambers filled up. They listened by loudspeakers to spokesmen at the race-relations meeting. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed33 JAN 16 1981 - Thespians Do Reading In ‘Nicely Muddled’ Atmosphere At Eden Workshop. The workshop was formed in 1963 as talent springboard for black and Hispanic actors. (Rhoda Pollack/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed34 APR 9 1969 - Members of the Black Student Alli­ance line stairs of CSU administration building in a quiet, orderly and calm sit-in to call attention to their demands. They want CSU to enroll more black and latino students. Administration officials said a program students advocate would cost $1.5 million more. (Bill Peters/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed35 MAR 9 1965 - FBI Clerk Steps Over Sit-In Group. Demonstrators sat in the hallway of the Denver FBI office for more than five hours Tuesday in a request for sterner federal protection for Alabama race marchers. An FBI investigative clerk here steps over the feet of Mrs. Mamie Whitley, 2295 E. Iliff Ave., left, and Mrs. Sharon Wanner, 2524 S. University Blvd. (David Mathias/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed36 OCT 24 1974 - Editor Marguaret Peterson, Center, Discusses Cartoon With Members Of Black Group. Controversy over cartoon in the Metropolitan State paper arose through differing interpretations of meaning. (Dave Buresh/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed37 SEP 3 1970 - John Rosales, Left, A Candidate For Democratic Nomination As Secretary of State, Addresses "Blacks For Rosales." He said his background and experience qualify him to represent Mexican-Americans and other underprivileged minority groups. (Barry Staver/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed38 APR 4 1981 - Children, carrying signs calling for the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. to be named a national holiday, march in a parade Saturday commemorating the 13th anniversary of his assassination. The parade, with about 150 marchers, proceeded west on Martin Luther King Boulevard (32nd Avenue) from Monaco Parkway to York Street, then south to the statue of King in City Park. (Dave Buresh/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed39 SEP 21 1976 - Visiting A Memorial To His Son. The Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., of Atlanta, came to Denver this week to see a statue of his late son and to speak at a dinner honoring the Rev. M.C. Williams of New Hope Baptist Church. The City Park statue, unveiled recently, depicts Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Emmett Till, a slain youth whose story helped inspire the younger King into civil rights work. (Dave Buresh/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed40 SEP 14 1979 - Denver policeman protect a flag-waving member of the Ku Klux Klan at 16th street and Court place about 11:45 a.m. Friday during a Chicano march through downtown Denver Kicking off festivities for Mexican Independence Day, celebrated Sunday. One of the marchers in confronted by a policeman, left, as he attempts to approach the Klansman. Shortly after, unidentified Klansman rolled up his sign and flag and left. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed41 AUG 10 1980 - Organizer Quits Klan. Fred Wilkins, the state organizer of the Ku Klux Klan, announces his resignation as head of that organization Sunday to join the National Association for the Advancement of White People, a group recently formed by the head of the national Ku Klux Klan. Wilkins said the Klan has suffered from a negative image and that the new group should be seen as a “pro-white” organizaton instead of an anti-black one. (John J. Sunderland/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed42 MAR 13 1965 - Coloradans mass at the State Capitol for Demonstration in support of Selma, Ala. Marchers are still arriving at the rear at the civil rights rally in which some 5,000 participated. (Dave Buresh /The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed43 JUL 28 1963 - Denver Civil Rights Marchers Deposit Letters to Congress. Some 3,000 messages were mailed urging passage of President Kennedy's program. (Duane Howell /The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed44 JUL 28 1963 - Marchers Move through Denver in Demonstration backing civil rights programs in Congress. Wayne Knox, head of the Denver Young Democrats and carrying the group's sign, was among some 1,000 marchers. (Duane Howell/The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed45 MAR 9 1965 - 100 Men and Women take part in Boulder Sympathy March. The grim-faced marchers moved from the University of Colorado campus to downtown Boulder in support of Alabama civil rights workers. There were no incidents during march. (Ed Maker /The Denver Post) Photo by Add this to feed

Images show how the Calais migrant camp has sprawled to the size of a small town that is now home to some 5,000 refugees

 

 

 

 

'Send gunboats to the Mediterranean': Australian PM warns Europe crisis will not stop until it copies tough stance on people-smugglers Tony Abbott insists tough line on migrants is the only way to stop deaths Said army should be deployed to prevent asylum seekers arriving on land He has ordered Australian military to turn back boats carrying migrants Controversial move has seen near-daily arrivals fall significantly, with no reported deaths at sea off the coast of Australia so far this year Europe has been urged to copy Australia's military-led 'stop the boats' policy to avoid migrant tragedies in the Mediterranean. Australian PM Tony Abbott – who sends naval gunboats to turn back asylum seekers before they reach Australia – said the EU should 'urgently' follow his lead. His hardline policy has proved controversial but Mr Abbott said it was the only way to prevent disasters such as the loss of 900 lives when a fishing boat capsized on Saturday night. +11 Hardline: Tony Abbott, whose conservative government introduced a military-led operation to turn back boats carrying asylum-seekers before they reach Australia, said harsh measures are the only way to stop deaths +11 +11 Haunted: Surviving immigrants who escaped the boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea killing up to 900 people appear deep in thought as they arrive in the Sicilian port city of Catania yesterday morning +11 Solemn: A young man, bows his head as he makes the short walk from the rescue boat's deck to the Catania shore where hundreds of people had gathered +11 New life: Members of the Italian Police look on as a migrant who survived the ship sinking off the coast of Libya walks the ramp of an Italian Coast Guard's vessel upon arrival at Catania's port yesterday morning He said: 'The only way you can stop the deaths is to stop the boats. 'That's why it is so urgent that the countries of Europe adopt very strong policies that will end the people-smuggling trade across the Mediterranean.' Conservative Mr Abbott won power in 2013 on a 'stop the boats' pledge, and not a single one has breached his ring of steel in 18 months. Operation Sovereign Borders involves the Australian Navy intercepting boats filled with migrants at sea, and either turning them back or towing them back to where they came from. Mr Abbott has previously said he was sick of being lectured to by the United Nations over Australia's obligations to refugees, saying his policy was the 'most decent, most compassionate' solution. In the Mediterranean, callous people smugglers have been exploiting a willingness by European nations to rescue migrants rather than send them back. Last year, Italy scaled back its rescue operations because it feared they were only encouraging migrants to gamble with their lives. But the horrific loss of life over the past week in a spate of migrant shipwrecks has prompted calls to urgently reinstate the rescue missions. EU leaders including David Cameron are meeting tomorrow in what charities are calling a 'life or death' summit to solve the problem. Save the Children warned that 2,500 youngsters could die in the Mediterranean this year. Chief executive Justin Forsyth said: 'EU leaders hold the lives of thousands of desperate people in their hands when they meet. 'With every day that they prevaricate and delay restarting search and rescue operations, the risk grows that more people will die.' +11 Taken to safety: An unknown survivor of the Mediterranean migrant tragedy is wheeled off an Italian coastguard ship in the Sicilian city of Catania +11 Horror: A man carries the body of a dead child onto the Greek island of Rhodes after a boat carrying dozens of people ran aground, killing at least three in one of a number of tragedies involving migrants in recent days +11 Chaos: Video footage shows a large, wooden double-masted boat with people packed on board, just metres away from the Greek island of Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea Lucky rescue for migrants stranded on rock at sea in Turkey AUSTRALIA'S HARDLINE POLICY Migrant boats approaching Australian waters are turned back by the Navy or sometimes even towed back to where they came from. Any vessels which manage to get close are taken under naval escort to the Pacific islands of Nauru or Papua New Guinea, where they are detained while migrants' asylum claims are processed. Migrants are then matched with a country that will resettle them. Those detained on Nauru are sent to Cambodia, which is paid to take them by the Australian government. A similar arrangement exists with Papua New Guinea for those detained there. Any migrants who actually make it to Australia by sea are automatically blocked from staying – even if they are found to be genuine refugees. The controversial scheme – which began 18 months ago has been attacked by human rights advocates who say it violates Australia's international obligations. However the government says it has greatly reduced the number of illegal immigrants arriving on Australian shores. Yesterday Mr Cameron pledged the UK would 'make a contribution' to search and rescue operations. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said refugees also needed to be persuaded to stay in their home countries in the first place. 'We've got to start in the upstream countries. We've got to deal with the traffickers,' he said, adding he 'absolutely' supported a 'more formidable operation on the sea'. Ed Miliband said the Government's policy of 'leaving people to drown' had been 'wrong'. The Labour leader said: 'Frankly I think it is a stain on Europe to have these things happening. 'We've got to act on search and rescue, and that is about basic humanity and I think that people all around the country will recognise this.' London Mayor Boris Johnson said Britain had a 'moral duty' to do more. 'I think it is an absolute tragedy and obviously we must do whatever we can to help the humanitarian response,' he said. One of the architects of Australia's tough border policies, retired Army Major-General Jim Molan, said European leaders were guilty of 'incompetence'. Mr Molan said the tragedies were 'worsened by Europe's refusal to learn from its own mistakes and from the efforts of others who have handled similar problems'. In the Mediterranean, the tide of human misery has only worsened. Saturday's disaster was the most catastrophic in a series of migrant shipwrecks that have claimed more than 1,700 lives this year – 30 times higher than the same period in 2014. In the past week alone, more than 1,000 have died. Border chiefs have warned that one million migrants are waiting to set sail off the coast of Libya, with the need for drastic action to address the crisis greater than ever before. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has warned of a 'genocide' and said: 'Europe will be judged harshly for its inaction.' +11 +11 Rescue: A woman is laid to the ground after being rescued by Greek men as she tried to reach Europe aboard a wooden boat which ran aground on the island of Rhodes, killing three people +11 Saved: Three people died after a boat carrying dozens of migrants ran aground on the Greek island of Rhodes Infra-red camera shows rescuers trying to locate survivors UP TO 1,000 FEARED DEAD AFTER WEEKEND OF WORST MARITIME DISASTERS FOR DECADES Sunday morning: Italian coastguard responds to migrant ship after it capsizes off the coast of Libya with 700 passengers unaccounted for Sunday afternoon: Passengers accounts of the ship say as many as 950 people may have been on board with 300 locked in the hull. Another boat is rescued off Sicily carrying 100 Syrian refugees. They are all brought to safety Monday morning: A boat runs aground on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes killing a man, woman and child Monday afternoon: Italian and Milanese coastguards respond to two distress calls off the coast of Libya from boats thought to be carrying up to 400 people. EU heads of state call for urgent action to ease the migrant crisis with an emergency summit called for later in the week Monday at midnight: The surviving passengers of the Libyan boat arrive in Catania, Sicily. Among them is the crew's Tunisian captain and his Syrian crew member. Both were arrested and charged with 'favouring illegal immigration'. The captain was additionally charged with multiple manslaughter.   Australia begins controversial policy of processing asylum seekers AT SEA: New rules mean migrants are dealt with without ever setting foot on land A group of Vietnamese asylum seekers sailing to Australia were rejected before they had even reached land - thanks to a new immigation policy Down Under. But the screening of immigrants while they were at sea was condemned by the United Nations, which said they should be properly assessed on land. Until now, Australia has forced boat migrants to live in detention centres across the Pacific in Nauru and Papua New Guinea while their claims are processed. Scroll down for video +4 The Australian navy ship HMAS Choules transported the Vietnamese immigrants back to Vietnam this month The latest policy of not allowing migrants to disembark anywhere came to light a day after Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott urged Europe to adopt his tough immigration policies. He claimed these would stop the boat-loads of migrants currently making their way across the Mediterranean from Africa. According to the UN's refugee agency UNHCR, the group of 46 Vietnamese migrants set sail to Australia in March. They were detected by the Australian navy earlier this month and assessed at sea. All of them were rejected and transported back to Vietnam on the navy's landing vessel HMAS Choules. The two-week mission by the navy vessel, pictured in Sydney harbour last year, is thought to have cost £1.5m The migrants were offloaded in the port city of Vung Tau, south of Ho Chi Minh City, last Friday, according to Australia's ABC News. The two-week mission by HMAS Choules is said to have cost the navy around £1.5million.  The Australian government today refused to comment on 'operation matters'. But the Opposition accused Mr Abbott's Liberal Party of a 'new low' with regards to the secrecy surrounding what happens to asylum seekers. +4 Boat migrants found and rescued in the Mediterranean yesterday are taken to the Italian port of Salerno by an Italian navy ship (pictured). So far this week the crossing has claimed the lives of 1,700 asylum seekers +4 Rescued migrants picked up by another Italian navy ship yesterday line up after disembarking in Sicily +4 Tough stance: Australia's PM Tony Abbott this week The operation was also criticised by UNHCR. Its spokeswoman Vivian Tan said: 'We're concerned that people may not have had access to proper procedures. 'We are concerned that the group wasn't screened and assessed in a way that's fair and effective, that somehow their lives may be at risk.' And Phil Robertson of the international campaign group Human Rights Watch echoed those concerns, saying: 'I think that probably these people had no access to counsel or [were not] able to prepare their case. 'And certainly they had no access to appeal.' Yesterday Mr Abbott lectured Europe on how to deal with the migrant-boat crisis in the Mediterranean. This week alone, the perilous crossing from Africa has claimed 1,700 lives. The captain of one boat, Mohammed Ali Malek, 27, was charged with multiple manslaughter after his vessel capsized on Monday, claiming the lives of up to 900 people. Yesterday new images were released of Italian navy vessels rescuing more asylum seekers and taking them to Italian ports. Mr Abbott told European leaders on Tuesday: 'The only way you can stop the deaths is to stop the boats.' He won power in 2013 on his pledge to stop immigrants entering Australia by sea. Their vessels are now turned away or towed back - and occupants are sent to the Pacific detention centres. There is also a guarantee that they will never be able to live in Australia. In the last 18 months, not a single boat has breached the country's ring of steel.

Images show how the Calais migrant camp has sprawled to the size of a small town that is now home to some 5,000 refugees (and even has its own farm, mosque and shop) Up to 150 migrants arriving each day at shanty town – dubbed the 'New Jungle' – before trying to sneak into Britain Refugees use camp as springboard to launch dangerous bids to jump on truck and trains, sparking travel mayhem These remarkable aerial photographs show how the Calais migrant camp has ballooned to the size of a small town that is now home to some 5,000 refugees.  Up to 150 migrants are arriving each day at the controversial shanty town – dubbed the 'New Jungle' – before trying to sneak into Britain. The tented community is now so established in the dunes just outside the French port that the migrants even have their own shops, churches, mosques and a farm.  Many use the camp as a springboard for launching dangerous attempts to reach the UK by jumping onto lorries and Eurotunnel trains which have sparked a summer of travel misery for British holidaymakers. Scroll down for video  +12 Sprawling: An aerial view tented migrant camp dubbed the 'New Jungle' which is now understood to be home to some 5,000 migrants +12 Staging post: Up to 150 migrants are arriving each day at the shanty town in the dunes outside Calais before trying to sneak into Britain +12 Making themselves at home: The tented community is now so established the migrants have their own shops, churches, mosques and a farm +12 Many are using the camp as a springboard for launching dangerous attempts to reach the UK by jumping onto lorries and Eurotunnel trains The camp – which is also known as 'Jungle Two' – has been branded an 'intolerable humanitarian scandal' and a 'government-sanctioned slum' by activist groups. The migrants moved to the dunes after they were kicked out of their former camp, called the Jungle. State authorities pushed them away from the city to the wasteland next to the Jules Ferry centre, which was renovated with a £3million EU grant to shelter women migrants. It also now provides food and shower facilities for the thousands of men who have set up camp nearby. +12 The 'town' – estimated population 5,000 – already boasts three shops, selling essentials such as tinned food, fizzy drinks and washing up liquid (and with someone else's supermarket trolleys outside) +12 In response to criticism about the conditions, France has vowed to spend £360,000 improving the camp, which lies near the English Channel +12 Solace: Christians mainly from Eritrea have built this church in the 'New Jungle' migrant camp in Calais after fleeing their native country +12 A mosque which has been built in the Calais migrant camp. The new town, recently described by aid workers as 'the worst in Europe – if not the world', is seen as a 'tolerated zone' by the French authorities +12 The migrant camp is just a few hundred metres from the ferry and Eurotunnel terminals, giving them prime position to try to sneak into Britain Between 50 and 150 migrants are said to be arriving in Calais every day as increasing numbers make their way to Europe across the Mediterranean.  Many living in the New Jungle camp have fled conflicts in Syria, Libya and sub-Saharan Africa, while others have arrived by land, often travelling from places like Afghanistan via the Balkans.  The new town, also recently described by aid workers as 'the worst in Europe – if not the world', is seen as a 'tolerated zone' by the French authorities.    +12 The migrants hope to gain entry to the Britain, just 21 miles away across the English Channel, but in May, French police destroyed their camp and told the migrants to go elsewhere. And so they moved... across the street +12 Slum: The new town, described by aid workers as 'the worst in Europe – if not the world', is seen as a 'tolerated zone' by the French authorities +12 Many living in the camp made the perilous boat crossing across the Mediterranean, having fled conflicts in Syria, Libya and sub-Saharan Africa In response to the criticism about the conditions by the UN and other aid groups, France has vowed to spend €500,000 (£360,000) improving the camp, which lies close to the English Channel. News of the makeover provoked a furious response earlier this year from France's former employment minister Xavier Bertrand, who blamed Britain's 'black jobs market' for attracting thousands of migrants to Calais. He said: 'This means the English – and here is the hypocrisy – have a cheap labour market because illegal immigrants are paid so much less.' 'If Mr Cameron wants to hold a debate about the European Union, he should first stop this hypocrisy. 'It's not an 'a la carte' EU where you can choose only the bits of it you want...We need to say very clearly to people who arrive in Europe that there are no more jobs or welfare benefits here.'