100 feared dead in Mediterranean after migrant boat capsize

Rome, Nov 16: Around 100 people were missing, feared drowned, in the Mediterranean today after a migrant dinghy capsized off Libya, according to rescue teams frantically searching for survivors in darkness and rough seas.

Italy

German NGO Jugend Rettet, whose boat was at the scene, said 23 survivors had been rescued by an oil tanker which was first to reach the stricken boat. "The crews are searching for survivors in the water and recovering dead bodies," it added in a tweet.

The survivors and four recovered corpses were transferred from the tanker to the Acquarius, a boat operated by another charity group, SOS Mediterranee. A survivor told one of that organisation's staff that the dinghy had begun to sink at 6.00 AM (local time), four hours before the tanker arrived.

"We were 122 on the boat, no children under 15, but there were 10 women travelling with us and only one survived," the survivor was quoted as saying.

"We waited in the water, taking any floating thing to remain afloat, but most of the people drowned, including my little brother. He was 15. "At 10 the tanker came and rescued us. I want to call home to tell them that my brother died."

Attempts to find any survivors were continuing but were being hampered by very rough conditions and the chances of finding anyone alive appeared slim.

The latest tragedy in the Mediterranean came the day after another incident in which it is feared dozens may have drowned after the sinking of another dinghy, from which there were only 15 survivors.

UN refugee agency (UNHCR) officials said today that dozens of people likely perished before a merchant ship reached that dinghy, which was of a type that normally have had 100-150 passengers packed on board.

The survivors were today onboard Italilan coastguard ship the Diciotti en route for the Sicilian port of Catania.

Exactly how many people died will not be known until it arrives but it would be unusual for traffickers to set sail from Libya with as few as 15 people onboard.

The coastguard said a total of 298 people were rescued in three operations today, taking the total rescued since Saturday to 2,600.

The coastguard confirmed the recovery of five corpses yesterday and SOS Mediterranee staff said they had seen another one floating in the water but had been unable to recover it.

The migrants rescued by the Aquarius included a large number of minors -- 24 yesterday, including three under five, and 47 today.

One young boy who was plucked unconscious from the water yesterday was said to be in a stable condition on the Italian island of Lampedusa after being helicoptered off the rescue boat.

The latest deaths add to a tally of 4,271 mostly African people who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, according to the UN refugee agency.

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At least 100 less cockroaches in the civilised world

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Australia to Get $1.4 Billion Over 2 Years to Help Recover From Bushfires

News Network

January 6,2020

Sydney, Jan 6: Reserve troops fanned out across fire-ravaged regions in three Australian states on Monday after a horror weekend, as the government pledged $1.4 billion over two years to help recover from the devastating months-long crisis.

Catastrophic bushfires have turned swathes of land into smouldering, blackened hellscapes and destroyed an area about the size of the island of Ireland, according to official figures, with authorities warning the disaster still has weeks or months to run.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose government has been criticised for its slow response to the emergency, pledged Australian $2 billion ($1.4 billion) of taxpayer money for a national recovery fund.

"It's a long road ahead and we will be with these communities every step of the way as they rebuild," Morrison said.

Firefighters joined by fresh teams from the US and Canada were taking advantage of rainy and cooler conditions to tackle out-of-control blazes ahead of rising temperatures forecast later this week.

In the biggest-ever call up of reserves, military teams were deployed across eastern Australia to help emergency services assess the damage, restore power and deliver supplies of food, water and fuel to cut-off communities.

For the first time in Australian history the government also deployed its medical assistance team, normally sent to other nations to lend support in the aftermath of their disasters to help evacuees.

"There is no room for complacency, especially as we have over 130 fires burning across (New South Wales) state still," Premier of New South Wales state Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday.

New normal

Almost five million hectares (50,000 square kilometres) have been razed across New South Wales and more than 1.2 million hectares in Victoria since late September, officials said.

That took the total amount of land burnt close to eight million hectares, around the size of the island of Ireland or South Carolina.

Twenty-four people have lost their lives so far, with over 1,800 homes damaged.

Two people are missing in New South Wales, the nation's most populous state.

In Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews established a bushfire recovery agency to help devastated towns. It will be a permanent body, he said, as intense fires will become commonplace.

"We should just be honest about the fact that we're going to see more and more fires, more and more damage as each fire season comes... this is the new normal," Andrews told reporters.

The chair of the newly established Victoria state's bushfire appeal fund, Pat McNamara, added that this year's summer bushfire season was a "creeping disaster".

"We're still not even into what we would regard as the peak of the fire season," McNamara told national broadcaster ABC.

In the usually picturesque southeastern town of Eden, Holly Spence said she spent more than 12 hours defending her family's farm on Saturday, less than a week after saving it on New Year's Eve.

"We don't want to go through this for a third time," the 28-year-old told AFP.

Fiona Kennelly, 50, who evacuated with 24 members of her extended family to a motel outside Eden, said she was relieved the easing conditions allowed them to get some respite from the crisis.

"It's good to see daylight at the right time again," she told AFP, adding that the skies had been turning pitch-black in the afternoons.

Public anger

The impact of the bushfires has spread beyond affected communities, with heavy smoke engulfing the country's second-largest city Melbourne and the national capital Canberra.

Some government departments were shut in Canberra as the city's air quality was once-again ranked the world's poorest, according to independent online air-quality index monitor Air Visual.

The disaster has sparked growing public anger with Morrison. Rallies are planned on Friday to call on his government to step up efforts to tackle climate change, which experts say have helped fuel the fires.

In Los Angeles, Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe said he was back home fighting the fires and that the disaster was "climate change-based".

"We need to act on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy and respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is. That way, we all have a future," he said in a message read out by Jennifer Aniston.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett praised the volunteer firefighters battling the blazes, adding: "When one country faces a climate disaster, we all face a climate disaster. We're in it together."

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