Nearly 900 migrants saved by Italian navy

Italian navy rescued 896 migrants crossing the Mediterranean by boat on Thursday night, after the government warned of an "emergency" caused by a surge in new arrivals.

Three navy warships and two coast guard patrol boats took on the migrants in the Mediterranean and they were then transferred to other vessels and taken to ports in Sicily, the navy said in a statement.

In Geneva, the UN refugee agency UNHCR estimated 6,000 people had been rescued by the Italian navy from over 40 overcrowded boats in the past four days.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the migrants had set off from northern Libya "and many were fleeing violence, conflict and persecution".

"Main countries of origin include Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, Nigeria, Gambia, Mali and Senegal," she said.

Syrians made up the highest number landing in Italy in 2013 with over 11,300 arrivals reported.

The anti-immigration Northern League, a small but vociferous opposition party, has called for migrants to be sent back and, along with a series of far-right parties, accuses the government of failing to act.

Nigerians abroad amongst top migrant remittances: World Bank

  
GENEVA World Bank 2011's Migration and Remittances Study indicates that Nigeria remains in the top-ten category globally, of countries with high remittance-recipient ratio, is as heart-warming as its positive impact on the nation's fragile economy.

 Currently, remittances amount to at least $11 billion dollars annually from the Diaspora. Considering the poverty-alleviating effects this impacts on the cash-strapped recipients and the manner in which it helps to reduce social tension in the country we commend the donors. Many of the families who have benefited from their loved ones have been able to provide roof over their heads and see their children and relations through school as a result. While the others have taken care of the sick and the elderly members of their families in the absence of any social security buffer from the government.
 As shown in the recent study released during the fifth meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Geneva. The top recipients of officially recorded remittances were India, which took in $58 billion, followed by China ($57 billion), Mexico ($24 billion) and the Philippines ($23 billion).
Other top beneficiaries were Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Lebanon.
"Despite the global economic crisis... remittance flows to developing countries have remained resilient, posting an estimated growth of 8 percent in 2011," said Hans Timmer, director of the bank's Development Prospects Group.
 "Remittance flows to all developing regions have grown this year, for the first time since the financial crisis."
The World Bank expects a 7.3 percent rise in such payments in 2012 and a 7.9 percent increase in 2013.

Against the dark backdrop of a corruption-riddled economy, characterized by unstable power supply, lack of good access roads, and a banking sector that cannot offer loans to the real sector, sending money in hard currency by Nigerians in the Diaspora is salutary.