The raft and the second day

"What a spectacle presented itself to our view! ten or twelve unfortunate creatures having their lower extremities entangled in the interstices left between the planks of the raft, had been unable to disengage themselves and had lost their lives. Several others had been carried off the raft by the violence of the sea; so that by morning we were already twenty fewer in number."

The next day, a mood of depression settled over the men on the raft. Mutiny was in the air.

"Night came on: the sky was covered with thick clouds; the sea was still more terrible than on the preceding night; and the men, being unable to hold fast to the raft, either fore or aft, crowded towards the centre, the most solid part."

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/3d144844d3f7467298a19eec7ffa49ed/rights-group-blasts-eu-plans-halting-libya-migrant-exodus

Rights group blasts EU plans on halting Libya migrant exodus

By DOMINIQUE SOGUEL Jul. 6, 2016 7:15 AM EDT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Human Rights Watch warned on Wednesday that European Union measures on curbing the flow of migrants from Libya to the bloc risk condemning asylum-seekers to "violent abuse" by armed groups in the North African nation.

In a new report, the New York-based rights group said the migrants had faced abuses, including "torture, rape and killings in squalid detention centers" before setting off on their perilous journey. The migrants told HRW they faced abuse at the hands of Libyan government officials, smugglers, militiamen and criminal gangs.

The violence and lawlessness of Libya has pushed many who had initially planned to work in the oil-rich nation to attempt the dangerous sea crossings to Europe. The report said some migrants had been detained after being intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guards at sea.

Last month, the EU expanded its anti-smuggling operation in the central Mediterranean to include training Libyan coastal and naval forces, which are intercepting boats and returning migrants to Libya.

The EU is also asking NATO to help in the operation — a topic that will likely be on the agenda at the military alliance's summit in Warsaw that starts on Friday.

"The EU isn't sending people back to Libya, knowing that's unlawful, so it wants to outsource the dirty work to Libyan forces," said Judith Sunderland, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The EU - soon perhaps with NATO's help - is basically deputizing Libyan forces to help seal Europe's border."

The HRW report is based on interviews conducted with 47 migrants in June on the Italian island of Sicily. While men reported being beaten and tortured at various stages of the journey, women shared stories of sexual violence at formal detention centers in Libya or while held by smugglers.

The report quotes a 31-year-old Gambian who said criminals had raped his wife: "In Libya, they do whatever they like because there's no law, no nothing," he told HRW.

Since the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the country has sunk into lawlessness and chaos, facing a myriad of militias vying for influence and an emerging Islamic State affiliate.

On the political front, the North African country became split between two different parliaments, each with their own government. A new, U.N.-brokered unity government established this year in the capital, Tripoli, is trying to overcome those divisions.

Rights groups and experts estimate that there are about 3,500 migrants held in roughly 20 official detention facilities across Libya. Others are held in informal detention centers controlled by criminal gangs or armed groups.

The Sun

BARE-FACED CHEEK Woman shopping half NAKED in IKEA sends social media into meltdown

Many questioned whether the shopper brazenly baring her bottom to all was a publicity stunt by the furniture store

WTF BY HAYLEY RICHARDSON  6th July 2016, 10:45 am 

A WOMAN caught on camera shopping half naked in IKEA has sent social media into meltdown.

This woman caused quite a stir as she wandered around IKEA baring her naked bum. She is seen leaning provocatively on her trolley as she peruses the store

The brazen brunette, who flashed her bottom to fellow shoppers in a Chinese branch of the furniture giant, seems unperturbed as she browses the store. Wearing a short grey mini dress, the young woman appears to have forgotten to put a pair of knickers on for her trip to the shop near Siyuan Bridge in Beijing, China. Her bare bum is captured on camera as she cruises down an escalator and provocatively leans on her trolley while perusing the bed section.

The shocking snaps were captured by a stunned male shopper, who posted them on the Chinese social network Weibo, where they quickly went viral and attracted varied reactions. Several were outraged by her cheeky antics, with some suggesting IKEA had staged them in a wild publicity stunt, according to Shaghaiist.com.

IKEA denied this, releasing a public statement on Weibo which claimed: “There is speculation about the behaviour of IKEA as it opens up new stores. “IKEA strongly denies this speculation.”

The company reiterated that it had reported the matter to the relevant authorities.

On this day in 1484 the Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.