VALLETTA, Malta: Five migrants, including a woman, died when their boat capsized as they were being rescued off Malta on Friday, the island’s armed forces said.
Another eight were injured and taken to hospital, including two who swallowed a considerable amount of seawater and fuel.
Armed Forces of Malta deputy commander Col. Edric Zahra told reporters that the incident happened at about midday when the eight-meter (26-ft) boat was four miles (6.5 km) south of Malta.
Some 21 migrants were rescued and taken to a migrant center. They are believed to be from Syria, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Mediterranean sea crossings from North Africa to Italy or Malta are among the most dangerous migration routes in the world. Last year almost 2,500 migrants died or went missing on those routes, the International Organization for Migration says.
The vast majority of migrants head for Italy. Malta’s armed forces rescued 380 migrants at sea last year, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said in parliament in January.
Five migrants die as boat capsizes during rescue off Malta
https://arab.news/v4ssq
Five migrants die as boat capsizes during rescue off Malta
- Some 21 migrants were rescued and taken to a migrant center
- They are believed to be from Syria, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Egypt
Thousands of Venezuelans march to demand Maduro’s release
- Several demonstrators, many of them public sector workers, held photos of Maduro and of his wife, Cilia Flores, who were both seized by US forces on January 3 to stand trial on drug charges in New York
CARACAS: Thousands of backers of Venezuela’s former leader Nicolas Maduro, ousted in a deadly US military operation a month ago, marched in Caracas on Tuesday to demand his freedom.
“Venezuela needs Nicolas,” chanted the crowd, as stand-in President Delcy Rodriguez navigates a tightrope between holding on to support from Washington but also from Maduro acolytes in her government and the Venezuelan people.
Several demonstrators, many of them public sector workers, held photos of Maduro and of his wife, Cilia Flores, who were both seized by US forces on January 3 to stand trial on drug charges in New York.
Called by the government, the march stretched for several hundred meters, accompanied by trucks blaring music.
Many protesters waved Venezuelan flags and were dressed in the red colors of the ruling “Chavista” movement named after Maduro’s socialist predecessor Hugo Chavez.
“We feel confused, sad, angry. There are a lot of emotions,” said Jose Perdomo, a 58-year-old municipal employee who also declared his backing “for the decisions taken by our interim president, Delcy Rodriguez.”
He added that “sooner or later they will have to free our president.”
US President Donald Trump has said he is willing to work with Rodriguez as long as she toes Washington’s line, particularly on granting access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Under pressure, Rodriguez has started freeing political prisoners and opened Venezuela’s nationalized hydrocarbons industry to private investment.
She was a staunch backer of Maduro, and served as his vice president.
