'These crossings are nothing but fatal'
The tale of one rescuer and one desperate day at sea
The moon is but a faint sliver on this early July morning and, without its glow, sky and sea meld into a darkness so deep that before John Hamilton can clearly see the people he has come to save, he can smell them.
It is the sour stench of human misery. Of sweat, urine, vomit, blood.
He prays it is not also the smell of death.
At sunrise the previous day, Hamilton stood on the bridge of his vessel, the Topaz Responder, and took in panoramic views of the fortified Maltese capital of Valletta. Night gave way to the sight of centuries-old limestone buildings bathed in fiery hues. Ahead lay the opening to the Mediterranean Sea, shimmering in the morning's new light.
'Liberate Hong Kong': pre-election calls for independence from China grow
Although dismissed by many as impossible, support for a break away from Beijing appears to have grown especially among the young
When Edward Leung closes his eyes and dreams of Hong Kong’s future he pictures a utopian metropolis of skyscrapers and social justice, “where people can do whatever they want as long as it isn’t harmful to others”.
“It’s an international place. A cosmopolitan state,” says the fashionable 25-year-old politics and philosophy graduate.
Is it part of China? “No,” Leung replies emphatically. “Not any more.”
Leung is one of the leaders of a small but increasingly visible independence movement in the former British colony that is setting the agenda before key elections for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council parliament on 4 September.
Sweden sees record numbers of asylum seekers withdraw applications and leave
Sweden is no longer a utopia for asylum seekers, but the Swedish Government is offering migrants up to £3,500 each to go home
A record 10,655 asylum seekers withdrew their applications and left Sweden in the first eight months of 2016 as a result of long processing times, strict new rules on family reunion, and payouts to migrants who voluntarily returned to their country of origin.
There were also less than half as many new claims made between January and August 2016, as in the same period of 2015.
Sweden used to be one of Europe’s most popular destinations for migrants, with the number of asylum applications doubling between 2014 and 2015 to more than 160,000.
Building homes out of recycled plastic in Colombia
OBSERVERS
The Colombian company Conceptos Plasticos has been turning plastic into construction materials, and building homes with them since 2014. Their approach is both environmentally friendly and socially conscious, aiming to provide housing to the needy, particularly those who have been forced to flee rural areas due to armed conflict.
Based in Bogotá, Conceptos Plasticos was founded by three Colombians in 2010. Initially, their business simply aimed to recycle waste plastic from certain companies, so that the companies could reuse it. The notion of using the recycled plastic to build homes for the needy came later. Oscar Mendez, a 34-year-old architect and one of the co-founders of the company, which currently employs a dozen people, explains.
Girl, 5, latest victim in Philippines 'war on drugs'
Little Danica's grandfather, Maximo Garcia, who she was living with after her 29-year-old mother separated from her husband, learnt last week that he was on a list of alleged drug suspects that somebody had given to local police.
He was shocked, his wife Gemma told the Inquirer newspaper, because he was only a tricycle driver, had suffered a stroke three years ago and had never been involved in drugs.
On the advice their village chief, Mr Garcia surrendered to police rather than risk being shot on sight on the President's orders for police to use deadly force if suspects don't give themselves up. He was questioned and allowed to return home.
Bolivian minister Rodolfo Illanes 'killed by miners'
Rodolfo Illanes, Bolivia's deputy interior minister, was reportedly beaten to death after being kidnapped by miners.
Bolivia's Deputy Interior Minister, Rodolfo Illanes, has been killed after being kidnapped by protesting miners, a senior government official has said.
"All the indications are that our deputy minister Rodolfo Illanes has been brutally and cowardly assassinated," Carlos Romero, the Minister of Government, said late on Thursday in comments quoted by the Reuters news agency.
He said the 56-year-old had gone to talk to protesters earlier on Thursday in Panduro, around 160km from the capital, La Paz, but was intercepted and kidnapped by striking miners.
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