By Darrin Zamit Lupi ABOARD THE TOPAZ RESPONDER, June 23 (Reuters) - Ships manned by humanitarian organisations, the Italian navy and coast guard helped rescue about 4,500 boat migrants on Thursday as calm seas returned to the Mediterranean, prompting a surge in departures from North Africa. Rescue operations were continuing, an Italian coast guard spokesman said. The … [Read more...]
Up to 500 Feared Drowned in Mediterranean Shipwreck Disaster, U.N. Agency Says
The United Nations is investigating the sinking of an overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean in what could be one of the worst tragedies involving refugees and migrants since an estimated 800 people drowned in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast exactly one year ago. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said Wednesday that a team has interviewed survivors of the wreck to learn more … [Read more...]
Refugee rescue | 100-year-old ship ferries thousands to safety
A 100-year-old ship ferries thousands of Burundians to safety. Meet the captain, three aid workers and a woman fleeing home for the fourth time. by Céline Schmitt UNHCR Kagunga is a small Tanzanian village close to the border with Burundi. Wedged between a steep mountain range and the waters of Lake Tanganyika, it has little access to other parts of Tanzania except by … [Read more...]
Five Tunisian Migrants Die In Wreck
By Jonathan Saul London, May 22 (Reuters) by Tarek Amara (Reuters) At least five Tunisian migrants died on Saturday when their boat sailing to Italy capsized off the Tunisian coast, officials said. "A migrant boat carrying dozens capsized on Saturday off the coast of Monastir ... Naval forces rescued 49 Tunisian migrants and recovered five bodies of Tunisian migrants," a … [Read more...]
Italian Judge Upholds Arrest of Accused Migrant Boat Captain
By James Mackenzie CATANIA, Italy, April 24 (Reuters) - An Italian judge on Friday ordered that the presumed captain of a migrant boat that sank with the loss of more than 700 lives should remain in custody after prosecutors asked for him to be charged with homicide and people-trafficking. Mohammed Alì Malek, 27, denies that he was in charge of the heavily overloaded … [Read more...]