At least 49 people have died and 140 others remain missing after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Yemen, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday.
The vessel was carrying 260 migrants when it capsized on Monday near Alghareef Point in Shabwah governorate, the International Organisation for Migration said.
Among the dead are 31 women and six children, the agency said. It is providing aid to 71 survivors.
The boat left from Bosaso in Somalia on Sunday, carrying 115 Somali citizens and 145 Ethiopians, with 90 women among them.
“This mirrors the recent rise in migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling to Yemen, spurred by political and economic instability, alongside severe droughts and other extreme weather events in countries like Ethiopia and Somalia,” the agency said.
“This recent tragedy is another reminder of the urgent need to work together to address urgent migration challenges and ensure the safety and security of migrants along migration routes,” said IOM official Mohammedali Abunajela.
“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families as we remain committed to supporting survivors and improving search and rescue efforts in the region.”
The UN said 97,000 migrants travelled from the Horn of Africa to Yemen last year.
The majority of Yemen’s East African migrants first arrive in Djibouti before being packed into small boats by a network of people smugglers. In recent years, many have drowned trying to make the crossing, with human rights groups accusing smugglers of throwing people overboard.
In April, two boats sank off the coast of Djibouti two weeks apart, leaving dozens dead.
The IOM at the time said it had recorded a total of 1,350 deaths on the migration route from 2014 to 2023.
Last year alone, it said it documented at least 698 deaths on the route, including 105 lost at sea.
Those migrants who successfully reach Yemen often encounter further threats to their safety. The Arabian Peninsula's poorest country has been mired in civil war for a decade.
Many are trying to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries where they can work as labourers or domestic workers.
Calls
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
4/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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A Prayer Before Dawn
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai
Three stars
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
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Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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