Rescuers on board a repurposed British lifeboat have saved more than 80 people from a small vessel that started to sink in the Mediterranean Sea.
German NGO Sea-Watch, which operates the Aurora rescue ship, said the under-fire EU border guard Frontex was alerted to the boat in a rescue zone controlled by Malta but sent only a drone.
The 80 people on board were taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa late on Monday after the rescue boat was given permission to dock, according to officials involved in the rescue.
The Aurora, with its crew of six, was one of two rescue ships that helped the 80 people to safety after an alert by a charity on Sunday.
“It is highly cynical that in the face of a life-threatening situation, once again there was no response or help from the relevant European authorities,” said Carla Kneuper, a crew member on the second boat, Nadir. “Only a Frontex drone was sent to watch people in imminent danger of drowning."
Former Frontex chief Fabrice Leggeri quit last month after a misconduct probe, which looked at mismanagement and allegations of illegal “pushbacks” by the agency’s vessels.
The Aurora was in service with the UK’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution until 2019 and was later purchased by a British charity, Search And Rescue Relief, which aims to supply humanitarian efforts around the world with equipment and training.
It is one of the fastest boats among the fleet of civilian search and rescue ships that are operating in the Mediterranean region. It has another vessel kitted out with the help of British street artist Banksy, which is also operating in the area.
More than 32,000 people have arrived in Europe by the sea route from the Middle East and North Africa so far this year. Nearly 700 people are feared to have died during the crossings, taking the total to more than 22,000 since 2014.
SPECS
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
Results
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Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
The specs: 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman
Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870
Engine 2.0L, flat four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed PDK
Power 300hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque 380hp @ 1,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.9L / 100km
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
CABINET%20OF%20CURIOSITIES%20EPISODE%201%3A%20LOT%2036
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