Latest News
Migrant boat carrying Afghans sinks off Italy, leaving 45 dead
Forty-five people died, including some children, when a wooden sailing boat carrying migrants crashed against rocks on the southern Italian coast early on Sunday, authorities said.
The vessel had set sail from Turkey several days ago with migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and crashed in stormy weather near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria, Reuters reported.
Eighty-one people survived, with 22 of them taken to hospital, Manuela Curra, a provincial government official, said.
One survivor was arrested on migrant trafficking charges, the Guardia di Finanza customs police said.
Cutro’s mayor, Antonio Ceraso, said women and children were among the dead.
Curra said the vessel left Izmir in eastern Turkey three or four days ago, adding that survivors had said some 140 to 150 were on board.
The survivors were mostly from Afghanistan, as well as a few from Pakistan and a couple from Somalia, she said, adding that identifying the nationalities of the dead was harder.
“Many of these migrants came from Afghanistan and Iran, fleeing conditions of great hardship”, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said.
Latest News
Khalilzad questions Pakistan’s commitment to Afghan welfare
Latest News
India, UN envoy discuss Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs
Latest News
Kazakhstan calls for coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
-
World5 days agoCNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump, challenging White House ban
-
Latest News3 days agoAriana Afghan Airlines ranks seventh among 45 Central Asian airlines
-
Latest News4 days agoUN reiterates call for respect for international law after Kunar airstrikes
-
Regional3 days agoUS and Iran hold first talks since June after Trump’s ‘annihilation’ threat
-
Latest News3 days agoSilk Road highway in Wakhan corridor now reaches the China border
-
Latest News4 days agoAfghan Official: Pakistan’s airstrikes will not go unanswered
-
Sport4 days agoAfghan boxing referee heads to China for international festival
-
Regional5 days agoG7 foreign ministers call on Iran to stop arming Houthis
