Foreign News

More than 60 migrants feared drowned off Libya, IOM says

Published

2 years ago

2023/12/17

Priyan

Migrant boats in the Mediterranean (file pic) are often overcrowded and unstable (pic BBC)

More than 60 migrants are believed to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Citing survivors, the UN agency said on Saturday the vessel left the city of Zuwara with around 86 people on board. It said high waves swamped the boat and that 61 migrants, including children, were missing and presumed dead.

Libya is among the main departure points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean and enter Europe.

The IOM estimates that more than 2,200 people have drowned while attempting the crossing this year alone, making it one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. The agency said most of the victims of the latest incident were from Nigeria, Gambia, and other African countries.It also said 25 survivors had been transferred to a Libyan detention centre and were being given medical support.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, an IOM spokesperson called the death toll for this year a “dramatic number which unfortunately demonstrates that not enough is being done to save lives at sea”.

In June, at least 78 people died and another 100 were rescued after a fishing boat sank off southern Greece. The Mediterranean crossings frequently see scores of migrants crowded onto boats too small to safely hold them. Those making the trip are typically hoping to land in Italy before making their way to other countries in Europe, some escaping conflict or persecution, others in search of work.

More than 153,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year from Tunisia and Libya, according to the UN’s refugee agency.

On Saturday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had talks in Rome with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni and Albania’s PM Edi Rama on how to reduce illegal migration to Europe.

At the start of this year, Mr Sunak made stopping small boat crossings in the English Channel one of the five key priorities of his government.

(BBC)

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Foreign News

Powerful cyclone kills at least 31 as it tears through Madagascar port

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/12

Priyan

Trees were uprooted and some districts left without power [BBC]

At least 31 people have died after a powerful cyclone struck Madagascar, says the disaster authority in the Indian Ocean island.

Cyclone Gezani made landfall on Tuesday, hitting the island’s main port, Toamasina. Madagascar’s disaster management office said there was “total chaos” – reporting that houses collapsed in the impact zone, where the bodies were found.

Neighbourhoods were plunged into darkness as power lines snapped, while trees were uprooted and roofs ripped off.

“What happened is a disaster, nearly 75% of the city of Toamasina was destroyed,” the country’s military leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who seized power in October, told the AFP news agency.

“The current situation exceeds Madagascar’s capabilities alone,” he added.

The cyclone’s landfall is likely to have been one of the most intense recorded around the city in the satellite era, according to the CMRS cyclone forecaster on France’s Reunion island, AFP reports.

The National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said many were killed when houses collapsed. Cyclone Gezani hit Toamasina – the country’s second-largest city – with winds reaching 250 km/hour (155 mph).

“It’s total chaos, 90% of house roofs have been blown off, entirely or in part,” the head of disaster management at the Action Against Hunger aid agency, Rija Randrianarisoa, told AFP.

Madagascar’s disaster management office has evacuated dozens of injured people and hundreds of residents from a district around Toamasina, home to 400,000 people.

Residents in and around Toamasina described scenes of chaos as the cyclone made landfall. “I have never experienced winds this violent… The doors and windows are made of metal, but they are being violently shaken,” Harimanga Ranaivo told the Reuters news agency.

Gezani is the second cyclone to hit Madagascar this year. It comes 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia killed 14 and displaced over 31,000 people, according to the UN’s humanitarian office.

Ahead of the cyclone’s arrival, officials shuttered schools and rushed to prepare emergency shelters.

Madagascar’s meteorological service said on Wednesday morning that Gezani had weakened to a moderate tropical storm and had moved westward inland, about 100km (60 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo.

“Gezani will cross the central highlands from east to west today, before moving out to sea into the Mozambique Channel this evening or tonight,” the service said.

Cyclone season in the Indian Ocean around Madagascar normally lasts from November to April and sees around a dozen storms each year, AFP reports.

More about Madagascar from the BBC:

[BBC]

Foreign News

Bangladesh election 2026: Polls to open amid heavy security

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/12

Priyan

Voters queue up at a polling station at the Sangeet Government Music College in Dhaka, February 12, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Nearly 127 million eligible voters are heading to the polls in Bangladesh, in a key test of the country’s return to democracy after a student-led uprising toppled longtime leader Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.

The vote is a direct contest between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a Jamaat-e-Islami led coalition of 11 parties, which includes the National Citizens Party (NCP), formed by youth ‌activists instrumental in ousting Hasina.

Corruption, inflation, employment and economic development are the main issues deciding the election in the world’s eighth most populous nation.

Besides the parliamentary election, the country is holding a referendum on the National Charter 2025 – a document drafted by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, setting the foundation for future governance.

[Aljazeera]

Foreign News

Pilot praised after crash-landing faulty Somali passenger plane on seashore

Published

1 day ago

2026/02/11

Priyan

The plane was on its way to Puntland before the pilot requested a return to Mogadishu [BBC]

An airline in Somalia has praised one of its pilots after he crash-landed his passenger plane, which had suffered a technical fault, on the shoreline next to the capital’s international airport with all 55 on board surviving.

Starsky Aviation said the pilot’s quick thinking was crucial in saving the 50 passengers and five crew.

The crew of the aircraft, a Fokker 50, reported a problem shortly after take off from Mogadishu on Tuesday morning and requested that the plane return, Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.

It then touched down but failed to stop on the runway, overshooting the tarmac before coming to rest in shallow water, the CAA’s director Ahmed Macalin Hassan said.

It is not clear yet exactly what the issue was.

Footage posted on X appeared to show passengers leaving the aircraft and walking away from the wreckage on the shore of the Indian Ocean. No serious injuries have been reported.

The African Union’s mission in Somalia said UN and AU troops were “swiftly deployed” to help with rescue efforts. Somalia’s transport minister was also at the scene, its post on X added.

“We are relieved to confirm that all passengers and crew are safe. Investigations are under way to establish what caused the technical issue that led to the emergency landing,” Starsky spokesman Hassan Mohamed Aden said.

“The pilot’s swift and calm decision-making played a decisive role in ensuring the safety of everyone on board, and we commend him for how he handled the situation,” he added.

[BBC]