At least 160 migrants have died in a week of boat sinking off the Mediterranean coast of Libya. This calculation is from 12 to 16 December. In 2021, about one and a half thousand migrants lost their lives on this waterway. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recently reported this information. News AFP.
The country was plunged into civil war in 2011 to oust Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Libyan migrants try to migrate to Europe to escape poverty and conflict. Many try to reach Europe by boat across the Mediterranean.
The IOM reports that 46 people were rescued alive from the sea between December 12 and 16, barred from going ashore or repatriated to Libya.
Morocco is another preferred country for Libyan immigrants. According to the country’s state media, 352 migrants have been stranded in the Mediterranean and Atlantic in the last four days.
The news agency MAP quoted military sources as saying that the migrants had tried to cross into Morocco by boat. Among them are 9 children and 23 women. The rescued migrants were sent to a nearby Moroccan port on a naval ship after receiving first aid. They were then handed over to the local authorities.
Moroccan police say they have arrested more than 12,200 people on suspicion of illegal immigration in 2021. They have broken the network of 150 traffickers.
The United States has suspended duty-free trade with three countries over allegations of human rights abuses and recent military coups. The three countries in Africa are Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea. Khabar Al-Jazeera.
Ethiopia, Mali and Guinea have been left out of the African Growth and Opportunities (AGOA) trade project with African countries, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement on Saturday. The decision was taken due to human rights violations and unconstitutional actions of the governments of these three countries against their own people. Such action is a violation of the terms of the AGOA.
The statement added that the United States is deeply concerned about serious human rights violations in Ethiopia, especially in the north of the country. They are also concerned about the unconstitutional change of government in Guinea and Mali. For these reasons, the administration of US President Joe Biden has canceled duty-free trade with the three countries.
However, subject to the conditions being met, the three countries would be deemed eligible to receive this special benefit again, the statement said. No response was received from the US embassies in the three African countries following the cancellation of the duty-free trade facility. The governments of the three countries also did not comment.
The AGOA was passed by the US Congress in May 2000. Under this, 36 countries of the African continent were getting duty free trade facility in the US market.
Corona graph is upward in West Bengal. Different types of corona infections are increasing rapidly. According to the state health department, 4,512 people have been newly infected with corona in West Bengal in the last 24 hours. Nine people died. And 1 thousand 913 people have been discharged from the hospital. So far 18 lakh 42 thousand 996 people have been infected with corona in this state including Kolkata. And 19 thousand 83 people died. Last Friday, the number of people affected by Corona in West Bengal was 3,451.
