Deaths at sea highlight failings in Europe migration policy
RENATA BRITO and SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press
May 4, 2021
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1of18In this undated family handout photo, 24-year-old Mohammed Abdel-Khaliq from Sudan is seen posing for a picture. Abdel-Khaliq is believed to be among more than 100 migrants and refugees to have died when their rubber boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya on April 21, 2021. When they called repeatedly for help in late April, a rescue never came. It was the deadliest wreck so far this year in the Mediterranean Sea and has renewed accusations that European countries are failing to help migrant boats in trouble. (Family handout via AP)APShow MoreShow Less
Renata Brito And Samy Magdy
Saadia Ahmed, mother of the Sudanese migrant Mutawakel Ali, sits with her daughters at her home, in Khartoum, Sudan, Friday April 30, 2021. Ali narrowly missed drowning in Libya because he was late for the boatâs departure. The rubber boat when on to sink at sea on approximately April 21, and its more than 100 passengers drowned. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali) May 04, 2021 - 2:04 AM
CAIRO - As the waves pounded the gray rubber boat carrying more than 100 Africans hoping to reach Europe from Libya, those aboard dialed the number for migrants in distress frantically. In the series of calls to the Alarm Phone hotline, passengers explained that the dinghy had run out of fuel while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and was quickly filling up with water and panic.
Teaching unions today called for mandatory masks in secondary school classrooms until the end of term.
England is preparing to drop the rule as part of the the next phase of lockdown easing on May 17 because infection rates in schools are so low.
But the National Education Union (NEU) alongside five other unions have demanded it remains until June 21.
In an open letter to the Education Secretary, they claimed lifting the measure too soon could have consequences for the health of pupils, teachers and parents.
The letter suggests that masks may be one of the reasons infections have not yet spiked in schools.