A search and rescue vessel operated by Doctors Without Borders near the Libyan coast. AFP
A search and rescue vessel operated by Doctors Without Borders near the Libyan coast. AFP
A search and rescue vessel operated by Doctors Without Borders near the Libyan coast. AFP
A search and rescue vessel operated by Doctors Without Borders near the Libyan coast. AFP

Deadly week in Mediterranean as at least 160 migrants drown


Tim Stickings
  • English
  • Arabic

At least 160 migrants have died in the space of a week after trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya.

Rescuers said two boats had capsized on consecutive days, with women and children among the dead and bodies starting to wash up on the coast.

A separate search and rescue mission was under way off the Greek island of Folegandros after a dinghy sank, killing at least one person.

Greek coastguards said they had rescued 12 people, including children, but there were conflicting reports about how many people had been on the boat.

The shipwrecks off Libya bring the death toll on the perilous route from North Africa to Europe to 1,500 this year, said the International Organisation for Migration.

Another 450 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to the Libyan coast in the week ending on December 18.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said he was saddened by the 163 reported deaths.

“We can and must do more to ensure a proper management of migration and prevent traffickers from putting people’s lives at risk through perilous journeys across the sea,” he said.

Capt Carola Rackete, one of the Mediterranean’s most prominent rescue ship captains, said refugee deaths should not be regarded as “simple accidents”.

The EU’s migration policy, the actions of Libyan authorities and a global reluctance to settle people through the UN were all to blame, she said.

Inspectors commissioned by the UN said in October that the treatment of migrants in Libya could amount to crimes against humanity.

The IOM said there were 102 people dead or missing, including 17 women and children, after the first wooden boat went down in the Mediterranean on Friday. It had left Sabratha, Libya, one day earlier.

The victims included people from Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal and Togo.

Another 61 people were missing or presumed drowned, their nationalities not given, in the second disaster a day later. The same day, another 210 people were taken back to Libya aboard a third wooden boat.

Late on Tuesday, the charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said it had rescued another 69 people from a rubber boat.

When they were taken aboard the rescue ship Geo Barents, many were found to have leg injuries apparently inflicted deliberately.

Libya is a common departure point for migrants seeking to reach Europe, many of whom come from other North African countries, such as Tunisia and Egypt.

Arrivals across the Mediterranean in Italy have almost doubled this year.

Of those who arrived in Italy last month, the majority had started their journey in Libya, according to UN documents.

Officials have noticed others are taking a longer sea route, from Turkey. The deaths of 27 people in the English Channel last month threw another perilous sea route into the spotlight.

Others, who tried to make the crossing by land, have died in the Poland-Belarus border stand-off.

UN investigators said on Tuesday they had been denied access to inspect what they said were “dire conditions” on the Belarusian border.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it

Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm

Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you

You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it

Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

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Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:

Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

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Ticket prices

General admission Dh295 (under-three free)

Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free

Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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Brief scores:

Juventus 3

Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'

Frosinone 0

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Rain Management

Year started: 2017

Based: Bahrain

Employees: 100-120

Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund

Leaderboard

63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)

64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)

66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)

67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)

68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)

Traits of Chinese zodiac animals

Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent   

Specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%20train%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%20and%20synchronous%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20power%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E800hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20torque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E950Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEight-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E25.7kWh%20lithium-ion%3Cbr%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%203.4sec%3Cbr%3E0-200km%2Fh%3A%2011.4sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E312km%2Fh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20electric-only%20range%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2060km%20(claimed)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Q3%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1.2m%20(estimate)%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback

Price, base: Dh315,000

Engine: 3.0-litre V6

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm

Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km

Updated: December 22, 2021, 1:54 PM`