UN: 700 migrants feared dead

Over 700 migrants are feared dead in three Mediterranean Sea shipwrecks south of Italy in the last few days as they tried desperately to reach Europe in unseaworthy smuggling boats, the U.N. refugee agency said yesterday. The shipwrecks over three days appear to account for the largest loss of life reported in the Mediterranean since April 2015, when a single ship sank with an estimated 800 people trapped inside.

First US case of germ resistant to last resort drug

For the first time, a U.S. patient has been infected with bacteria-resistant to an antibiotic used as a last resort treatment, scientists said last week. The patient — a 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania — has recovered. But health officials fear that if the resistance spreads to other bacteria, the country may soon see supergerms impervious to all known antibiotics. “It is the end of the road for antibiotics unless we act urgently,” Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during an appearance in Washington.

India: Arrests over attacks on African residents

Police in New Delhi said yesterday that they have arrested five people who assaulted six Africans in the Indian capital last week, as African diplomatic missions urged India’s government to ensure the safety of Africans living in the country. Police officer Ishwar Singh said the two scuffles on Thursday night were not racial attacks but were stray incidents triggered by objections to drinking and loud music by the Africans. The Africans said they were racially abused and attacked by a mob. Singh said that the Africans suffered minor injuries and that the arrested people were being investigated for criminal intimidation and assault in New Delhi’s Mehrauli area. If convicted, those arrested can be jailed for up to two years.