Fire Earth

Earth is fighting to stay alive. Mass dieoffs, triggered by anthropogenic assault and fallout of planetary defense systems offsetting the impact, could begin anytime!

Posts Tagged ‘migrants’

900 People May Have Drowned in Mediterranean Last Week

Posted by feww on May 29, 2016

550 people including 40 children drown in one shipwreck alone: Report

Up to 900 refugees and migrants are feared drowned in several shipwrecks off the coast of Libya in the past few days, MSF Sea Group says.

“Around 900 people may have died in the Central Mediterranean in the last week alone. Europe, this is unbearable,” MSF said.

Meanwhile, the Italian officials reported they had rescued about 600 others off Libya on Saturday, making a weekly total of about 13,000.

An estimated 190,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year. About 156,000 entered Greece and 34,000 went to Italy. About 1,375 people are missing, presumed dead, reported the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Posted in News Alert | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

NOTHING SHORT OF GENOCIDE: 10,000 Migrant Kids Missing in EU

Posted by feww on January 31, 2016

Fate of the migrant kids who don’t drown at sea…

At least 10,000 migrant children may have disappeared in Europe over  the past 24 months, said the EU’s police intelligence unit (Europol).

“We estimate that at least 26,000 unaccompanied children entered Europe last year – children who have risked everything to flee war, persecution and extreme poverty alone. They come from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Iraq, among other places, seeking sanctuary,” said Save the Children’s CEO, earlier this month.

On Friday, IOM said an estimated that 55,528 migrants and refugees had crossed the Mediterranean to enter Europe during the first 28 days of 2016 – a rate of nearly 2,000 per day. The daily average is nearly equivalent to the total numbers for the month of January as recently as two years ago.

During the same period IOM has recorded some 244 deaths at sea [global total of 361 fatalities,] as well as at least a dozen more deaths of migrants and refugees who died either after reaching Europe or traveling to a launch point in Turkey. By comparison, total deaths on Mediterranean Sea routes were 12 in 2014 and 82 last year.

Just hours after IOM released its latest statement, 39 more migrants and refugees including 10 children drowned on Saturday trying to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece.

In May 2015, Italian authorities warned that about 5,000 children had disappeared from asylum reception centers since the previous summer.

In Sweden, about 1,000 unaccompanied refugee children and teens had gone missing by October last year, within a month of arriving in the southern town of Trelleborg, officials have admitted.

In 2015, a total of 1,047,844 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe [Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Malta, as well as Cyprus] including 1,011,712 by sea, with at least 5,394 fatalities recorded globally, said IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.

Posted in News Alert | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

One Million

Posted by feww on December 22, 2015

1,000,000+ migrants and refugees cross into Europe

The number of migrants and refugees crossing into Europe by land and sea this year has passed one million, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Myanmar: Precursors to genocide
Violence since 2012 has killed scores and left 140,000 trapped in displacement camps that have been described as open air prisons. More than 1 million face persecution in Myanmar and nowhere in the world are there more known precursors to genocide.

Boko Haram violence forces one million children out of school – U.N.
Violence targeted by the terrorist group Boko Haram has shut down than 2,000 schools in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, forcing more than one million children out of school, “leaving them prey to abuse, abduction and recruitment by armed groups,” said the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF on Tuesday.

Extreme Weather Events and Storms

Extreme weather events and storms on the lower end of intensity scales regularly affect at least a million or people across African, Asian, Pacific and South American countries.

Air Pollution
Smog caused by coal consumption is expected to kill an estimated one million people in China in 2015.

Flooding
“From the onset of the rains in mid-December 2014 through mid-January 2015, the country received continuous rainfall that led to the worst flooding in many years,” said Malawian President Peter Mutharika. “The floods affected about 1.1 million people. It damaged people’s property and public infrastructure and at least 64,000 hectares of crop fields throughout the country. 101 people were killed and 172 people were reported missing.”

Mortality 2015 and Crude Death Rate
Total number of deaths in 2015 is estimated at 57.6 million. The estimate is based on the 2014 crude death rate of 7.89 deaths per 1,000 and global population of 7.3 billion.

In 2015, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will be responsible for about two-thirds of all deaths globally.

In 2012, more than half (514) of each 1,000 deaths were caused by the following 10 conditions:

WHO data
Source: WHO, 2012. [Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that makes it hard to breathe.]

More than One Million

Cancer
The most common cancers in 2015 are projected to be breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma of the skin, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, endometrial cancer, leukemia, and pancreatic cancer.

In 2015, an estimated 1,658,370 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 589,430 people will die from the disease.

Cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14.1 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012 [latest data available -WHO.]

  • Tobacco use was the most important risk factor for cancer causing around 20% of global cancer deaths and around 70% of global lung cancer deaths.
  • Cancer causing viral infections such as HBV/HCV and HPV are responsible for up to 20% of cancer deaths in low- and middle-income countries (2).
  • More than 60% of world’s total new annual cases occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. These regions account for 70% of the world’s cancer deaths

The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic: 78 Million people infected
Since the beginning of the epidemic, almost 78 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 39 million people have died of HIV. Globally, 35.0 million [33.2–37.2 million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2013. An estimated 0.8% of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide are living with HIV, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

  • The 39 million people have died from AIDS-related causes so far, including 1.2 million in 2014.
  • An estimated 2.0 million individuals worldwide became newly infected with HIV in 2014. This includes over 220,000 children
  • About 17.1 million people are unaware they have the virus and an estimated 22 million do not have access to HIV treatment, including 1.8 million children.
  • The vast majority of people living with HIV are in low- and middle-income countries, with sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected region, with 25.8 million people living with HIV in 2014.
  • Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for almost 70 percent of the global total of new HIV infections.
    According to WHO, Exit Disclaimer an estimated 34 million people have died from AIDS-related causes so far, including 1.2 million in 2014.

Background: On June 5, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publish a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), describing cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles. All the men have other unusual infections as well, indicating that their immune systems are not working; two have already died by the time the report is published. This edition of the MMWR marks the first official reporting of what will become known as the AIDS epidemic.

Parkinson’s disease
As many as one million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease, with 60,000 diagnosed with the disease each year. Worldwide, an estimated 10 million people are living with Parkinson’s.

 

Posted in News Alert | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

680,000+ Refugees & Migrants Cross the Mediterranean

Posted by feww on October 24, 2015

Greece records highest migration inflows so far this year: IOM

Between January 1 and October 21, 2015 some 680,928 refugees and migrants crossed the the Mediterranean Sea, arriving in Greece (537,460), Italy (139,518), Malta (105)   and Spain (3,845). Some 3,175 people perished in the Mediterranean (estimated global toll stood at 4,480 dead).

About 50,000 refugees and migrants crossed from Turkey to the Greek islands in the past five days alone, reported IOM International.

During the same period, “18 migrants are believed to have lost their lives in two incidents – one on October 19th off the coast of Megisti, the other on October 21st off the coast of Samos.”

“In the shipwreck off Samos, the Hellenic Coast Guard rescued a 32-year-old Syrian, but 14 others, including his wife, two children and other relatives are missing, believed drowned.

“Meanwhile in Italy, so far in the month of October a total of 7,447 migrants have been rescued at sea in the Channel of Sicily. No deaths have been recorded since eight bodies (seven women; one man) were shipped on Monday into Taranto, brought by the Spanish ship Rio Segura, which carried another 633 survivors. Authorities discovered the eight victims in a rubber dinghy carrying 113 migrants. Their cause of death remains unknown,” said the report.

http://missingmigrants.iom.int/en/mediterranean-update-23-october-2015

Posted in News Alert | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Refugee, Migrant Arrivals by Sea Surpass a Record 430,000: IOM

Posted by feww on September 14, 2015

Updated

More than 432,000 refugees, migrants arrive in Europe by sea since January, with 2,748 recorded fatalities

An estimated 432,761 asylum-seeking refugees and migrants have reached Europe by sea in 2015 so far this year (as of September 10, 2015), reported the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “This figure is double the amount of arrivals in the Mediterranean for the entire 2014, emphasizing the scale of the current migration emergency.”

About 70% of the arrivals were registered in Greece (309,356 people), and 28% in Italy (121,139 people). At least 2,748 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea (year to September 10), while 2,223  migrant deaths were recorded in 2014, according to Missing Migrants*.

Greece, the largest arrival portal, registered about 246,000 people: over 70% came from Syria alone (175,375), while the other main countries of origin were Afghanistan (50,177), Pakistan (11,289), and Iraq (9,059) between January 1 and August 31. (Additionally, more than 50,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece since the beginning of September, IOM estimates).

Italy recorded 116,149 arrivals during the same period—a 3% increase compared with last year—with the bulk of refugees and migrants coming from Eritrea (30,708), Nigeria (15,113), Somalia (8,790), Sudan (7,126), Syria (6,710), and Gambia (5,514), said the report.

At various border crossings between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) IOM staff recorded that more than 3,000 migrants were in the area passing the borders in groups of 50 every 20 minutes in recent days. Fewer than 50% of the migrants and refugees were nationals from Iraq and Syria, most of them families with little children. The rest were mainly nationals from Afghanistan and Pakistan along with some from Sub-Saharan Africa. Many were also speaking Greek, confirming the fact that along with recent arrivals, there were also those who have lived for years in Greece, wanting now to head to Northern and Western Europe.

More than 450,000 migrants have entered Germany so far this year, with a total of at least 800,000  expected for all of 2015.

*[Some 39 migrants, including 4 infants and 11 older children, drowned on their way to Greece in two separate incidents last weekend, reported AP. ]

Related Links

Posted in News Alert | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

300,000 Refugees, Migrants Cross Mediterranean Sea

Posted by feww on August 28, 2015

Up to 3,000 migrants, refugees killed while crossing the Mediterranean: UNHCR

More than 300,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year including about 200,000 landing in Greece and 110,000 in Italy. In comparison, about 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean during the whole of 2014, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

More than 2,500 people have lost their lives while making the crossing this year, excluding about 200 who are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya over the past day. About 3,500 people died or went missing in the Mediterranean during the whole of 2014, said UNHCR spokesperson at a press briefing in Geneva earlier today.

In the last few days, more people have lost their lives in three separate incidents.

The Libyan Coast Guard carried two rescue operations on Thursday morning, seven miles off the port town of Zwara. Two boats carrying an approximate total of 500 refugees and migrants were intercepted and survivors taken to shore in Libya. An estimated 200 people are still missing and feared dead. A still undetermined number of bodies were recovered and taken to shore. The Libyan Red Crescent has been helping with the collection of the bodies.

On Wednesday (26th August), rescuers coming to the aid of a boat off the Libyan coast found 51 people dead from suffocation in the hold. According to survivors, smugglers were charging people money for allowing them to come out of the hold in order to breathe. One survivor, Abdel, 25, from Sudan told our colleagues, “we didn’t want to go down there but they beat us with sticks to force us. We had no air so we were trying to get back up through the hatch and to breathe through the cracks in the ceiling. But the other passengers were scared the boat would capsize so they pushed us back down and beat us too. Some were stamping on our hands.” Another survivor, Mahdi, an orthopaedic surgeon from Baghdad, told us he paid 3,000 euros to get his wife and two-year-old son on the top deck.

Last week (15 August), in a similar incident, the bodies of 49 persons were found in the hold of another boat. They are thought to have died after inhaling poisonous fumes.

Also on Wednesday, a rubber dinghy carrying some 145 refugees and migrants ran into trouble when the person steering it made a manoeuvre that caused the dinghy to tilt dangerously to one side. Some people fell into the sea and two men jumped into the water to rescue them. Panic ensued and people began to jostle and shove and, as a result, three women were crushed to death on the dinghy. Of those who fell in the water, 18 are still missing and believed to have drowned. The survivors were rescued and taken to Lampedusa, including the two-month old baby of one of the women who died. Most of the survivors are in critical condition, suffering from shock, cuts and bruises.

Bodies of 71 people found in Austria meat truck

Austrian police say they have discovered bodies of 71 people, believed to be migrants, in an abandoned truck near the Hungarian border.

The victims, believed to be Syrian migrants and thought to have been dead for several days, included four children, eight women and 59 men.

Related Links

Posted in News Alert | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Hundreds of Migrants Drown in Mediterranean Sea

Posted by feww on February 11, 2015

300 Migrants and Refugees Missing in Mediterranean

The missing, presumed drowned, were among migrants and refugees, mainly from Sub-Saharan Africa, who had left the coast of Libya in four dinghies.

Some 29 refugees and migrants died on Sunday from one dinghy, but 110 survivors landed in Lampedusa, after being rescued by Italian coastguard and a merchant vessel, said reports.

The survivors confirmed to UNHCR that they had left on Saturday, February 7, from Libya on four rubber dinghies without food and water. Only nine out of 216 passengers survived on two other dinghies, with the fourth one still missing.

“This is a tragedy on an enormous scale and a stark reminder that more lives could be lost if those seeking safety are left at the mercy of the sea. Saving lives should be our top priority. Europe cannot afford to do too little too late,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Europe Bureau Director.

At least 218,000 people, including both migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean in 2014 and the trend is expected to continue in 2015, said UNHCR.

Related Links

Posted in News Alert | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Decomposed Bodies of 87 Migrants Found in Niger

Posted by feww on October 31, 2013

Migrants died of thirst after their vehicles broke down in the Sahara: Report

The corpses, which were severely decomposed and partly eaten, possibly by jackals, are thought to be migrant workers and their families, said a report.

Thousands of migrants cross Niger along a popular route across Sahara desert to reach the coasts of North Africa on their way to Europe.

Soldiers and volunteers found many of the corpses across a wide area about 10km from the Algerian border.

At least 48 of the corpses  found were children or teenagers, who were probably in search of low paid jobs in neighboring Algeria, the report stipulated.

Related Links

Posted in Global Disaster watch, global disasters, global disasters 2013, significant events | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

State of Emergency Declared in Sicily

Posted by feww on October 15, 2013

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – October 16, 2013

Governor of Sicily declares a state of emergency amid migrant crisis

The declaration came after Italian navy said it hads rescued about 300 migrants from two boats near the island of Lampedusa, said a report.

At least 36 people were killed when their boat capsized between Malta and Lampedusa, on Friday.

Another migrant boat capsized on October 3, 2013 killing more than 350 migrants less than 600 meters from Lampedusa.

lampedusa disaster
Recent disasters have occurred when boats overcrowded with desperate migrants capsize in the Mediterranean Sea. Source: UNHCR

Increasing number of people from Africa and the Middle East are fleeing war and poverty in search of a better life in Europe.

About 32,000 migrants have arrived in Italy and Malta so far this year, said UNHCR.

On average, about 1,000 migrants have been killed, mostly by drowning, over the past 25 years.

Related Links

—|o|o|—

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

NSA collects millions of e-mail address books globally: Report

T”he National Security Agency is harvesting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts around the world, many of them belonging to Americans, according to senior intelligence officials and top-secret documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden,” said the report.

NSA collected about 680,000 e-mail address books from Yahoo, Hotmail, Facebook, Gmail and others in a single day, or 250 million per year. Read more...

—|o|o|—

Big tech companies plan to track you even more aggressively

Biggest tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and a dozen others “are assembling new forms of online tracking that would follow users more aggressively… Microsoft is developing such a system, following, apparently, in the footsteps of Google.”

Read more….

—|o|o|—

The Shutdown of the U.S. Government and “Debt Default”: A Dress Rehearsal for the Privatization of the Federal State System?

Read more…

Posted in Global Disaster watch, global disasters, global disasters 2013 | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »