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"Tourism has been on the slow burner for decades in the Darien," said longtime Panamanian tour guide Rick Morales. Tourists and migrants rarely meet face to face; the routes are almost always separated by dozens of miles. Reuters GraphicsTrip advertising does not mention the humanitarian crisis. At the same time, it acknowledged a "catastrophic humanitarian crisis" in a separate part of the Darien due to migration. Travel Darien Panama is an Indigenous-owned tour operator that says on its website it aims to help fund schools and improve living conditions in their village.

Persons: Franca Ramirez, Ramirez, Rick Morales, Marco Wanske, Kisbel Garcia, Alejandra Peña, Luis Eguiluz, Lorri Krebs, Mark Fischer, Morales, Carmelita Cansari, Nina Van Maris, Van Maris, Daina Beth Solomon, Laura Gottesdiener, Elida Moreno, Stephen Eisenhammer, Claudia Parsons Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Pan, Organization for Migration, Reuters, Tourists, Reuters Graphics, Adventure Travel Trade Association . Social, REUTERS, UNESCO, Salem State University, Tourism Ministry, U.S ., U.S, U.S . State Department, Big, Maria, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Panamanian, Venezuela, Darien, Panama, Americas, United States, Mexico, Alaska, Argentina, Afghanistan, Africa, U.S, selfies, Ecuador, Haiti, Acandi, Colombia, Central America, Salem , Massachusetts, Greece, Texas, Travel Darien Panama, Luxembourg, Mexico City, Monterrey, Panama City, Maria Laguna

CARACAS, July 17 (Reuters) - The families of Venezuelan migrants lost in the Caribbean sea are demanding their government investigate the disappearance of their loved ones after years of stasis. In Aruba, migrants must scale rocky outcrops of up to four meters high and many fail, drowning as a result they said, though bodies have not been found. There are no investigations in Aruba or Curacao into the whereabouts of Venezuelan migrants missing during sea crossings, an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. "We went to Caracas to look for answers," said Ana Arias, a 43-year-old housewife whose daughter Luisannys Betancourt went missing on a boat journey in April 2019. Reporting by Vivian Sequera in Caracas, Tibisay Romero in Valencia and Mircely Guanipa in Maracay Writing by Oliver GriffinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jhonny Romero, Romero, Jhonny de Jesus, Shalick Clement, Ana Arias, Luisannys Betancourt, Luisannys, Carolina Bastardo, Ana Maria, We've, Vivian Sequera, Tibisay Romero, Mircely, Oliver Griffin Organizations: United Nations, International Organization for Migration, UN, Reuters, Boat, Caribbean Coast Guard, Thomson Locations: CARACAS, Venezuela's, Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curacao, Caracas, Africa, Europe, Colombia, Panama, Venezuelan, Grenada, Valencia

CNN —The United Nations has warned that Sudan could be on the verge of all-out-war after a weekend airstrike killed dozens in a residential area in the Sudanese city of Omdurman. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the weekend bombing was an indication that Sudan was now on “the brink of a full-scale civil war.”“The Secretary-General remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilizing the entire region,” a statement from Guterres’ office said condemning the airstrike. “There is an utter disregard for humanitarian and human rights law that is dangerous and disturbing,” the statement added. Guterres urged the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — the two warring factions fighting for control in Sudan to end hostilities. Data from the United Nations International Organization for Migration, (IOM) said nearly 2.8 million people have fled Sudan, many without passports, for neighboring countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya.

Persons: General Antonio Guterres, ”, Guterres Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, Rapid Support Forces, Saturday’s, United Nations International Organization for Migration Locations: Sudan, Sudanese, Omdurman, Darfur, ”, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya

CNN —At least 22 people have been killed and dozens injured in an airstrike in the city of Omdurman, Sudan, according to a Reuters report citing the Sudanese ministry of health. In a statement released Saturday, the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said that more than 31 people were killed with homes demolished and dozens of civilians injured. “The Rapid Support Forces condemn the most severe aircraft bombing on Saturday morning, on innocent citizens in a number of residential neighborhoods,” the statement read. SAF said they carried out an operation on Saturday in Omdurman, Sudan’s most populous city, killing a number of rebels and destroying combat vehicles. Data from the United Nations International Organization for Migration, (IOM) said nearly 2.8 million people have fled Sudan, many without passports, for neighboring countries like Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya.

Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, United Nations International Organization for Migration Locations: Omdurman, Sudan, Khartoum, Sudan’s, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya

☆ Sudan conflict: The US embassy destroyed passports when it fled the violence. Some Sudanese are now 'stranded in this war zone'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Sana Noor Haq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Courtesy Ibrahim Khalid Ibrahim MohamedMany Sudanese have fled the fighting to neighboring countries like Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The embassy advised Sudanese visa applicants without passports to apply for a new passport with the Sudanese embassy in Cairo, despite Egyptian authorities issuing a raft of entry requirements for refugees from the country. Mohamed was among several Sudanese visa applicants who told CNN they witnessed violence while attempting to flee the country. “They had to leave because it’s a life or death matter if they stayed (in Khartoum).”Alhaj Sharafeldin, a 25-year-old university graduate, told CNN he is "stranded in this war zone." “I’m here stranded in this war zone,” he told CNN.

Persons: CNN — Ibrahim Mohamed, “, ”, Haitham Ibrahim, Ibrahim Mohamed, Ibrahim Khalid Ibrahim Mohamed, Mohamed, Fayez Nureldine, Arwa Idris, Idris, Alhaj, “ It’s, ” Sabah Ahmed, Zeyazen, Kareem, Renad, Sabah Ahmed, Madani, Ahmed, Ahmed’s, Abdelazim Alhajaa, ” Alhajaa, ” Ahmed Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Saudi, Hadath, Television, International Organization for Migration, American, Ministry, US State Department, Getty, UN, Sudanese Locations: Khartoum, Nuzha, Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan, United States, Kabul, Cairo, Sudan, Saudi, Port Sudan, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, AFP, New York, “, Wadi Halfa, Iowa, Bahri, Omdurman, Columbus , Ohio

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police camp as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the footage or the RSF statement. Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: RSF, Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Sudan's RSF says it seized police base as fighting rages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur region. The U.N. raised the alarm on Saturday over ethnic targeting and the killing of people from the Masalit community in El Geneina in West Darfur. Khartoum and El Geneina have been worst affected by the war, although last week tensions and clashes escalated in other parts of Darfur and in Kordofan, in the south. The Central Reserve Police has been deployed by the army in ground fighting in recent weeks. There was also fighting between the army and the RSF last week around El Fashir, capital of North Darfur, which the U.N. says is inaccessible to humanitarian workers.

Persons: Witnesses, El Geneina, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed al, Samani, Saleh Haroun, El, U.N, Ravina Shamdasani, Khalid Abdelaziz, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Giles Elgood, Mark Porter Organizations: Sudan's, Rapid Support Forces, Central Reserve Police, Reuters, Human, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: Jeddah, Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman, Nyala, Darfur, El Geneina, West Darfur, El, Kordofan, United States, Saudi Arabia, Omdurman we've, El Fashir, North Darfur, Chad, Sudan, Dubai, Geneva

☆ Greek migrant boat disaster may be ‘worst ever tragedy’ in Mediterranean sea, EU commissioner says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Florence Davey Attlee Elinda Labropoulou Zahid Mahmood Mostafa Salem Nadine Schmidt Eyad Kourdi Sharon Braithwaite Heather Chen | Florence Davey Attlee | Elinda Labropoulou | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The sinking of a packed migrant boat off the coast of Greece may be “the worst tragedy ever” in the Mediterranean sea, according to the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson. “We don’t have all information yet on what has happened but it seems like this is the worst ever tragedy we’ve seen in the Mediterranean,” she told a press conference in Brussels on Friday. On Friday, they denied claims that the boat had capsized after the coast guard attempted to tow it to shore. A rope, not a mooring rope, was also used when the coast guard approached,” he added. “When the Greek navy tried pulling them it caused the boat to capsize.”CNN has reached out to Greek authorities regarding the allegations.

Persons: Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, ”, Johansson, “, we’ve, Ilias Siakanderis, –, …, ” Tarek Aldroobi, ” Aldroobi, Ayman Abu Mahmoud, ” Abu Mahmoud Organizations: CNN, Home Affairs, International Organization for Migration, UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Authorities, ERT, Horan Free League Locations: Greece, Tobruk, Libya, Italy, Brussels, Europe, Syrian, Deraa

☆ Greece hunts for survivors of migrant shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KALAMATA, Greece, June 15 (Reuters) - Rescuers were scouring the seas off Greece on Thursday in a massive search operation as hopes dwindled for survivors of a shipwreck that killed at least 79 people, in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters in recent years. As dawn broke on Thursday, a coast guard vessel sailed into the nearby port city of Kalamata, transferring victims of the year's deadliest shipwreck off Greece. [1/3] Men transfer body bags carrying migrants who died after their boat capsized in the open sea off Greece, onboard a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel at the port of Kalamata, Greece, June 15, 2023. Aerial pictures released by the Greek coast guard showed dozens of people on the boat's upper and lower decks looking up, some with arms outstretched, hours before it sank. Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Persons: Nikos Alexiou, Stelios Misinas, Stamos Prousalis, Michele Kambas, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Authorities, Organization for Migration, Skai, Hellenic Coast Guard, REUTERS, European Union, NATO, United Nations, Thomson Locations: KALAMATA, Greece, Pylos, Kalamata, Tobruk, Italy, East, Asia, Africa, Libya, Europe

☆ Greece scours shipwreck site; hundreds feared drowned in boat's hold
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Stamos Prousalis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"When you are faced with such a situation... you need to be very careful in your actions," coast guard spokesperson Nikos Alexiou told state broadcaster ERT. Citing initial testimonies from survivors, Save the Children charity said around 100 children were believed to be in the vessel's hold. Of the 104 survivors so far transferred by the coast guard to the Greek port city of Kalamata, most were men, authorities said. The search operation will continue for as long as needed, the coast guard said. Aerial pictures released by the Greek coast guard showed dozens of people on the boat's upper and lower decks looking up, some with arms outstretched, hours before it sank.

Persons: Nikos Alexiou, Daniel Gorevan, Stelios Misinas, Nawal Soufi, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Karolina Tagaris, Angelo Amante, Michele Kambas, John Stonestreet, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Rescuers, ERT, Organization for Migration, EU, Hellenic Coast Guard, REUTERS, Independent, European Union, NATO, United Nations, Thomson Locations: KALAMATA, Greece, Pylos, Italy, Europe, Kalamata, Athens, Tobruk, East, Asia, Africa, Libya, Lefteris, Rome

Kalamata, Greece CNN —A boat that sank killing dozens of people was caused by a “sudden” shift in weight, Greek authorities said Thursday, in one of the largest-scale migrant vessel disasters in southern Europe this year. “A sudden shift in weight is likely to be the cause of what led the boat to capsize and then sink,” Hellenic Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told CNN on Thursday. A migrant vessel pictured by the Greek coast guard on June 13 sank in the Mediterranean on Wednesday. From their accounts there seem to have been women and children on board,” he told CNN while helping survivors on the ground. “These people had not eaten for many days, had not drunk water for many days, were burnt by the sun,” the Greek Rescue Team member told CNN affiliate CNN Greece.

Persons: Greece CNN —, Nikos Alexiou, Thanasis Vasilopoulos, ”, “, –, ” Flavio Di Giacomo, Dimitris Chaliotis, Maria Triantou, Triantou, Frido Herinckx, ” Herinckx, Francesco Rocca, ” Rocca Organizations: Greece CNN, Hellenic Coast Guard, CNN, Rescuers, International Organization for Migration, UNHCR, ERT, NGO, Hellenic, Cross, International Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, Greek Rescue, CNN Greece, ” CNN Locations: Kalamata, Greece, Europe, “, East, Asia, Africa, Tobruk, Libya, Italy, ‘ State, Hypocrates, Athens

CNN —At least 79 people died after a migrant boat carrying hundreds of people sank off the Greek coast in the early hours of Wednesday, that country’s Coast Guard said, as fears mount that there could be more fatalities. Those on board said the captain left the vessel three hours after the first distress call was made and passengers were in need of food and water, accoring to Alarm Phone. A merchant vessel is said to have provided the boat with water at around 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday evening. The last time Alarm Phone was able to contact the boat was just before 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning. According to Alarm Phone, all that could be heard was “Hello my friend… The ship you send is…” before the call cut off.

Persons: Thanasis Vasilopoulos, “, ”, Panagiotis Nikas, Antonio Guterres, I’ve, …, Katernina Sakellaropoulou, ” Vasilopoulus Organizations: CNN, Coast Guard, ” Kalamata, AP Migrants, Reuters, Organization for Migration, UN, Twitter, ERT, AP, European Union, UNHCR Locations: Kalamata, “, www.argolikeseidhseis.gr, Eurokinissi, State, Tobruk, Libya, Pylos, Peloponnese, Italy, Greece, East, Asia, Africa, Europe

☆ Sudan: 280 children evacuated from Khartoum orphanage amid intense fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Mostafa Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Two hundred and eighty children between the ages of one month and 15 years were evacuated from a Khartoum orphanage that was affected by the heavy combat in Sudan’s capital, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said. The children from the Mygoma Orphanage in Khartoum have had no access to proper healthcare since fighting broke out on April 15 in Sudan. They were evacuated to the south of Khartoum in an operation facilitated by the ICRC on Wednesday. The ICRC said it obtained security guarantees from warring parties to ensure the safe passage for the children and the orphanage staff. Almost 14 million children are in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian support in Sudan, the highest number ever recorded in the country, UNICEF said.

Persons: Cross, “, Christophe Sandoz Organizations: CNN, International Committee, ICRC, Reuters, Sudanese, UNICEF, International Organization for Migration, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs Locations: Khartoum, Sudan, Sudan Jean

☆ Massive fire as Sudanese factions battle for control of arms factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in the eighth week of a power struggle with the army, attacked the Yarmouk complex on Tuesday, witnesses said. Due to the proximity of fuel and gas depots, "any explosion could destroy residents and the whole area", he said. Residents in Omdurman and Bahri reported towering flames were visible after nightfall at Yarmouk as clashes continued there. The RSF quickly seized swathes of the capital after war erupted in Khartoum on April 15. The army and RSF, which together staged a coup in 2021, fell out over the chain of command and military restructuring plans under the transition.

Persons: RSF, Nader Youssef, Omar al, Bashir, Bahri, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa, Aidan Lewis, Mark Heinrich, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Residents, Army, UNICEF, International Organization for Migration, United, Saudi TV, Al, United Arab Emirates, European Union, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, Darfur KHARTOUM, Yarmouk, Bahri, Omdurman, Darfur, Khartoum's Mygoma, Sudan, El Geneina, West Darfur, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, United States, Al Arabiya

"The fresh water is finished," said Khamis Adel, a lifelong fishermen and indigenous Marsh Arab from Al-Khora in Basra. It's a question asked by many who once lived off Iraq's marshlands, rich waterways which gave birth to civilization in ancient Mesopotamia. As the rivers and marshlands dry out, so too does the economy that they sustain. "Now a fisherman is nothing, they are like beggars," he said, pushing his boat along the canal in humid heat. Even after the 2003 U.S. invasion, when parts of the marshes were flooded again, water levels did not fully recover.

Persons: Essam, Khamis Adel, Mohsen, Hasan Moussa, Hasan, Naame Hasan, Adel, Saddam Hussein, Ahmed Saeed, Issam, Timour Azhari, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, UNESCO, of, U.N's, Organization for Migration, WE, Thomson Locations: Iraqi, Basra, Iraq, BASRA, NAJAF, Al, Khora, of Eden, Mesopotamia, Turkey, Iran, Najaf, U.S, Issam Sudani, Timour, Baghdad

☆ Companies like Microsoft can help manage migration: incoming UN migration chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies 9th American Amy Pope set to lead UN migration agencySays Western asylum systems are 'completely overwhelmed'Mediterranean deaths are symptom of broader trendGENEVA, June 1 (Reuters) - The incoming head of the U.N. migration agency said on Thursday that she has talked to companies like Microsoft (MSFT.O) to see how they can build partnerships to manage migration. "I want to go to the private sector being a major part of how we deliver around the world," Pope told Reuters in an interview. Pope, who formally takes office as Director-General in October, cited talks with Microsoft about projects in Africa as an example of increased private sector investment in migration work. At present only about $15 million of IOM's total budget of $2.5 billion comes from the private sector, she said. Another priority of her mandate is to create more "climate sustainable solutions" for migration, Pope said.

Persons: Amy Pope, Antonio Vitorino, Pope, It's, Joe Biden, Biden, Ted Hesson, Jane Merriman Organizations: Microsoft, Organization for Migration, Reuters, U.S, Biden, IOM, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Geneva, Portuguese, Africa, U.S, Mexico, North Africa, Europe, Washington

☆ Sudan: Nearly 1.4 million people displaced since civil war erupted, UN report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Sahar Akbarzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Even before the fighting intensified, years of political instability meant Sudan had several million people internally displaced. The country also hosted 1.13 million refugees from other conflict-ridden countries, including South Sudan, Eritrea and Syria, according to UNHCR data. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese are flocking home from neighboring Sudan, which erupted in violence last month. Sam Mednick/APAmid the vast displacement, there have been increasing reports of gender-based violence and domestic violence, especially among internally displaced Sudanese populations, the UN Population Fund said. This includes 22 attacks on health facilities, six attacks which impacted warehouses, and nine attacks which affected supplies, among others.

☆ Sudan one month on: Why cease-fires are failing, and what global leaders are missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

KHARTOUM, Sudan - May 6, 2023: Sudanese Army sodliers walk near armoured vehicles stationed on a street in southern Khartoum, amid ongoing fighting against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. AFP via Getty ImagesOne month after fighting between Sudan's two military factions broke out in the capital, Khartoum, internationally-brokered peace talks in Saudi Arabia have yielded no solution. Almost a million people have fled their homes, both to locations within Sudan and across the border to neighboring countries. The World Bank and several global powers froze aid to the country after the military takeover, honoring calls from civilians not to legitimize its leadership. Targeted and collaborative efforts by the international community to exert pressure on the countries supporting Sudan's military factions were needed, Abdel-Magied said.

GENEVA, May 15 (Reuters) - European countries and the United States are running rival candidates to head the U.N. migration agency in an unusually tense contest between allies that opens in Geneva on Monday. Its 175 member states will vote by secret ballot in closed-door meetings starting on Monday morning. She pledges to "proactively address the challenges of migration and harness its benefits" and says she will focus on its root causes. "We have never happened to have an incumbent director general that faces a competition with one of his deputy generals. He said he had Portugal's backing as well as the "strong encouragement" of the European Union.

☆ Factbox: How big is the aid crisis caused by the Sudan fighting?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SUDAN* More than 330,000 people have been displaced in Sudan since April 15, according to the International Organization for Migration. An internal U.N. estimate obtained by Reuters shows this figure is expected to increase by 5 million, including 2.5 million children. * A $1.75 billion U.N. aid programme for Sudan in 2023 is 15% funded. SOUTH SUDAN* Some 240,000 people are expected to flee from Sudan to South Sudan, UNHCR says. * The country's $1.7 billion U.N. aid programme for the year is 26% funded.

☆ Over 200 people evacuated from Sudan to Chad, UN agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - Chad conducted its first evacuation flights from Sudan carrying more than 200 people, including dozens of children, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday. The U.N. agency, which is assisting Chadian authorities with the arrivals, said in a statement that 226 people were on board two charter flights, including 39 children. IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli told Reuters that two more flights were arriving on Friday. She said the flights that landed in Chad on Thursday had students, elderly people, individuals with medical conditions and "extremely vulnerable families" on board. Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Gabrielle Tétrault-FarberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Boat Sinks in Mediterranean, and at Least 55 People Drown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At least fifty-five people drowned after their boat sank off the coast of Libya, the United Nations migration agency said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of deadly accidents in just a few days involving migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The rubber boat, carrying 60 people, left Tuesday morning from Garabouli, a small town a few dozen miles east of Tripoli, Libya’s capital, according to the agency, the International Organization for Migration. Only five survivors were brought to shore by the Libyan coast guard. “This is a very high number of lives,” said Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the organization. “That is a very, very dangerous thing.”Human rights organizations have for years protested the lack of preventive search and rescue patrols by countries around the Mediterranean.

GENEVA, April 25 (Reuters) - There is a "high risk of biological hazard" in Sudan's capital Khartoum after one of the warring parties seized a laboratory holding measles and cholera pathogens and other hazardous materials, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Sudan, the WHO's representative in the country, Nima Saeed Abid, said technicians were unable to gain access to the National Public Health Laboratory to secure the materials. Fighting erupted between the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries on April 15 and has killed at least 459 people and injured 4,072, according to the WHO's latest figures. The WHO has reported 14 attacks on health facilities since the clashes began and is relocating its staff to safety. Smoke is seen rise from buildings during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan.

☆ Civilians Flee Fighting in Sudan for Troubled Neighboring Countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | Lynsey Chutel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Civilians fleeing the fighting between two rival generals in Sudan streamed into neighboring countries on Monday, raising concerns about a humanitarian crisis spreading to countries already grappling with conflict, hunger and dire economic straits. The heavy gunfire, shelling and airstrikes that have rocked Sudan for 10 days prompted foreign countries to begin evacuating diplomatic staff and nationals over the weekend. It also has driven thousands of Sudanese and other people across borders into Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, aid workers said. Sudan, a country of 45 million people and the third-largest by area in Africa, is surrounded by seven countries racked by poverty and instability. Most of those were South Sudanese returning home after having fled Khartoum in cars and on the backs of trucks, carrying whatever they could on the 280-mile journey south.

☆ Over 400 migrants died crossing Mediterranean early in 2023 -UN agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) documented 441 migrant deaths between January and March on the world's deadliest migration route, in what it said was likely an undercount. Around half of those deaths were linked to delays in state-led rescue efforts and, in one case, the absence of any rescue mission, it said. "The persisting humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean is intolerable," said IOM Director General António Vitorino. "With more than 20,000 deaths recorded on this route since 2014, I fear that these deaths have been normalized. This "central" route is distinct from the Western crossing from Morocco to Spain.

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