Somali pirates kill five crew members on hijacked tanker before rescue

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By Reuters | Posted By TOE Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security ‌forces, Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday. Puntland’s authorities said they also ‌rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May. The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear ​to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade. The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed, in part, to impacts of the Iran war, including elevated oil prices ‌that make tankers more attractive targets. Puntland’s ⁠information ministry said in a statement that a rescue mission had successfully freed the ship and captured 16 pirates. “Before the operation begun, the ⁠pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew. Among those killed were three from Pakistan, one fr...
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More than 500 feared dead after boats sink off Myanmar coast

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By Reuters | Posted by TOE

Two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days, ​UN agencies said on Thursday, as refugees from the ‌war-torn country continue to make perilous maritime journeys in search of safety and better opportunities.

“According to preliminary information, the two vessels departed from ​Myanmar’s Rakhine State in late June carrying mostly Rohingya ​passengers, reportedly including some who had travelled from refugee ⁠camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh,” the International Organization for Migration ​and the UN Refugee Agency said in a joint statement, saying ​more than 500 were feared dead.

Two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days, ​UN agencies said on Thursday, as refugees from the ‌war-torn country continue to make perilous maritime journeys in search of safety and better opportunities.

“According to preliminary information, the two vessels departed from ​Myanmar’s Rakhine State in late June carrying mostly Rohingya ​passengers, reportedly including some who had travelled from refugee ⁠camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh,” the International Organization for Migration ​and the UN Refugee Agency said in a joint statement, saying ​more than 500 were feared dead.

“These journeys ⁠took place outside the regular sailing season, when maritime conditions are typically more hazardous,” the statement said.

The agencies said that nearly ⁠300 people ​are reported to be missing or ​dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal this year, including Rohingya ​refugees and Bangladeshi nationals.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/Oc45dGA

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