Forty-seven migrants found drowned off the coast of Nouadhibou, northwest Mauritania
August 20, 2021, 5:47 am

migrants

The Xinhua reported the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced in a joint statement that forty-seven migrants were found drowned on Aug. 16 off the coast of Nouadhibou, northwest Mauritania.

According to the statement received on Thursday by Xinhua, a boat carrying the migrants left on Aug. 3 from North Africa's Atlantic coast for the Canary Islands and was carrying 54 people, including three children.

Tthe statement said: "After two days at sea, an engine failure left the passengers stranded without food or water for almost two weeks. When they were spotted by the Mauritanian coast guards on Aug. 16, only seven people were still alive, four of them in critical condition."

The tragedy came 10 days after the death of 40 other migrants on the same route, the two agencies added. According to the IOM, in January 2021, more than 350 people died, while more than 8,000 refugees and migrants reached Spain via this sea route.

Since October 2020, more than 1,200 people have been rescued off the Mauritanian coast and received medical assistance as part of a first aid program set up by the IOM.

The IOM and UNHCR are appealing for more support to be able to continue their lifesaving interventions, including screening and medical and psychosocial aid.

Source: xinhua

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
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