Boat carrying migrants capsizes off Yemeni coast; at least 54 dead, dozens missing
Aden: At least 54 migrants are reported to have died as a boat sank off the coast of Yemen due to bad weather on Sunday, with health officials stating that dozen others who were in the boat are missing.
According to a report by Reuters, security sources have said that the boat carrying around 150 people capsized in the Arabian Sea off the Ahwar coast in the southern Abyan province of Yemen.
A provincial health officer Abdul Qadir Bajameel has said that 10 people in the boat, including nine Ethiopians and one Yemeni, were rescued, but dozens of people are still missing. Two medics have said that rescuers were looking for survivors.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that Yemen has been experiencing a significant increase in the number of irregular migrants from Africa. Migrants hoping to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in search of jobs are known to cross the Bab al-Mandab strait separating Djibouti and Eritrea to enter Yemen each year.
The IOM has called the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen as one of the busiest and most dangerous mixed migration routes in the world. It added that, in 2024, more than 60,000 migrants were recorded to have arrived in Yemen.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
