Posted on Categories Uncategorized

PBC News & Comment: Over 700 Boat People Die Crossing Mediterranean

Thousands of African refugees attempt fleeing to Europe, more than 700 feared dead in three separate shipwrecks over weekend…

--Italian coast guard scrambles to rescue boats that foundered off coast of Libya

--last week, Muslim refugees crossing the Mediterranean threw 12 Christians overboard

--6 Somali-Americans arrested for allegedly trying to join IS in Syria, but who bought their airline tickets?

--Der Spiegel reports that Islamic State’s takeover of northern Syria was carefully planned by former Saddam-era officer

--hot wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen stoke orders and profits for American military contractors

--at The Intercept, Jeremy Scahill details that Ramstein air base in Germany is critical command-relay center for US drones

--SF Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll opines on drones and secrecy

--Israel’s Lieberman plays the anti-semitism card as EU wants accurate labels on products made in the West Bank

--Iran reveals new charges against American journalist Jason Rezaian

--as Iran nuke talks resume, Obama signals flexibility on sanctions removal

--new book charges that foreign donors to Clinton Foundation got favors from State Department when Hillary was in charge

--5 years after the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf, damage is still evident, only minor fixes have been made, here’s a recap from VICE

--Boston bomber penalty phase starts, as parents of youngest victim oppose death penalty

--on 4/20/15, Willie Nelson rolls out his own weed brand