Feared drowning of migrants raises alarms in Europe ADVERTISING Feared drowning of migrants raises alarms in Europe MILAN (AP) — The feared drowning of 400 migrants in a shipwreck this week in the Mediterranean Sea — one of the deadliest
Feared drowning of migrants raises alarms in Europe
MILAN (AP) — The feared drowning of 400 migrants in a shipwreck this week in the Mediterranean Sea — one of the deadliest such tragedies in the last decade — raised alarms Wednesday amid an unprecedented wave of migration toward Europe from Africa and the Middle East.
The U.N. refugee agency expressed shock at the scale of the deaths in Monday’s capsizing and renewed calls on European governments to redouble search and rescue efforts, while the International Organization for Migration maintained the situation had reached “crisis proportions.”
The Mediterranean “has emerged as the most dangerous” of four major sea routes used by the world’s refugees and migrants, taken by 219,000 people last year, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said.
The Italian Coast Guard rescued some 140 people off the coast of Libya on Monday and recovered nine bodies, but could see immediately from the size of the capsized smuggler’s boat that there likely were hundreds more on board.
EU commissioner files complaint against Google
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s competition chief filed a complaint Wednesday alleging Google has been abusing its dominance in Internet searches.
After days of rising speculation, the EU said that Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager will debrief the media on the weekly commission meeting, where issues of antitrust are discussed.
Google’s general counsel, Kent Walker, wrote late Tuesday that a “statement of objections” to Google’s business practices is to be released by Vestager.
Many skeptical that public safety has improved
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A year ago, as South Korea writhed in grief and fury after more than 300 people, most of them schoolchildren, drowned in a ferry sinking, it seemed things would never be the same. Yet, not much has changed as the first anniversary of the Sewol disaster is marked today.
Experts think it will be decades before any major shift is seen in widespread attitudes that make safety subservient to economic progress and convenience. Already there’s growing fatigue and frustration among citizens who see their government sliding back to business as usual, and a lack of accountability at high levels.
“I’m tired of talking about the Sewol because it’s obvious that nothing has changed because of it,” said Choi Chul-su, a 36-year-old office worker in Seoul. “It wasn’t supposed to be all about helping families overcome their grief. It was also about the government and society learning from the accident and executing those lessons. But nothing has been done there.”
