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MADRID Hundreds of migrants may have died off Libyas coast, a Spanish aid organization said Friday, and Turkish media reported that 11 migrants died after a boat sank in the Aegean.

Video footage from DHA in Turkey showed a half-dozen covered bodies that were laid out near ambulances. The migrants boat capsized near the Turkish resort town of Kusadasi and nine people were rescued, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said. It said two people, believed to be smugglers, were detained.

Concerns about the missing migrants near Libya rose after Spains Proactiva Open Arms group found five bodies near two capsized boats on Thursday. Proactiva spokeswoman Laura Lanuza said the German aid organization Jugend Rettet found a sixth body in the area Friday.

The International Organization for Migrations said it had no confirmation of the two boats mentioned by Proactiva near the Libyan coast, but believed the bodies could be part of an earlier wreckage. About 120 people were believed to be on board a smugglers boat that capsized on March 21, the IOM said, but only 54 were rescued.

Meanwhile, the search for a third vessel reported missing in the area has so far proved futile.

Lanuza said their vessel was expected to arrive Saturday at the Italian port of Catania to hand over the bodies of the five young men who had drowned. Other agencies, meanwhile, continued the search for more possible victims off Libya.

The U.N. refugee agency said it was deeply alarmed by the reports. Both it and Proactiva said they feared the death toll may be much higher as migrant dinghies are normally crammed with around 120 people each.

The agency cited NGO sources as saying the five floating corpses of the young men had been recovered 14 miles (22 kilometers) off the Libyan coast near two empty and partially submerged rubber dinghies.

Lanuza said the boats were found Thursday morning, north of the Libyan town of Sabratha. The five men of African origin were estimated to be between 16 and 25 years old and appeared to have drowned, she said.

The Red Crescent in Libya, and the Libyan coast guard, said Friday that they had no reports about dead migrants or capsized boats in Libyan territorial waters.

The UNHCR said the latest incidents come after an intense week of arrivals across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, with almost 6,000 migrants and refugees rescued in just five days this week.

It said so far this year some 21,903 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

The agency said since the beginning of 2017, and excluding the latest incidents, around 590 people have died or have gone missing in crossings.

Last year was the deadliest ever recorded with 5,096 migrants perishing or going missing, according to the UNHCR.

Amnesty International called the European Unions cooperation with the Libyan coast guard to intercept departing smuggling boats full of migrants as a hopelessly blinkered approach and urged European leaders to offer safe, legal routes for migrants to enter Europe.

How high must the body count get before European governments accept that their current strategy isnt working? said the groups deputy Europe director, Gauri Van Gulik. (AP)

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Aid group fears hundreds of migrants drowned off Libya - The Philadelphia Tribune

Crude capped a second-straight day of gains for the first time in more than a month after U.S. gasoline stockpiles fell more than estimated.

Gasoline supplies dropped 3.75 million barrels last week, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report Wednesday. A 2 million-barrel decline was forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.Crude stockpiles climbed by a less-than-anticipated 867,000 barrels to 534 million, the highest in weekly data going back to 1982. Refineries boosted the amount of crude they processed by the most in almost three years.

Oil slid last week to the lowest since November as rising U.S. stockpiles bolstered concern that production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and others will fail to ease a global glut. Production in Libya, an OPEC member thats exempt from the curbs, was said to drop 200,000 barrels a day after a pipeline carrying crude from the Sharara field -- its biggest -- stopped operating.

"Total inventories, when you include both crude and the products, are down, which is supportive," Adam Wise, who helps run a $7 billion oil and natural gas bond and private equity portfolio at John Hancock in Boston, said by telephone. "With refineries increasing runs youll expect to see a pull-down of crude inventories soon."

West Texas Intermediate for May delivery rose $1.14, or 2.4 percent, to $49.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Its the highest close since March 8. Total volume traded was about 14 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for May settlement climbed $1.09, or 2.1 percent, to $52.42 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange,and closed at a $2.91 premium to WTI.

Analysts projected the report would show that crude supplies rose 2 million barrels last week, according to the Bloomberg survey.

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Refineries processed 16.2 million barrels a day of crude last week, up 425,000 barrels from the prior week, the report showed. It was the biggest weekly increase since June 2014. Refineries operated at 89.3 percent of capacity, up 1.9 percentage points from the prior week, and the highest since January. Refiners typically boost activity at this time of year as they prepare for the summer surge of gasoline consumption.

"The crude build came in under 1 million barrels, which is less than projected, which indicates to the market things are improving," Brian Kessens, a managing director and portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC in Leawood, Kansas, who helps manage $17.1 billion in energy assets, said by telephone. "Demand for finished products is pretty strong as well."

U.S. gasoline demand increased 3.5 percent to 9.52 million barrels a day, the highest level since September. Total fuel consumption rose 3.2 percent to 19.9 million barrels a day.

Inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.48 million barrels to 153 million, the lowest this year.

April gasoline futures climbed 2.3 percent to close at $1.672 a gallon, the highest since March 7. Diesel for April delivery climbed 1.7 percent to $1.5425.

Oil market news:

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Oil Gains as Libyan Crude Drop Offsets What OPEC Curbs Couldn't - Bloomberg

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Military commanders and analysts see Moscows efforts as aimed at taking advantage of the geopolitical turbulence in the Middle East to re-establish Russia as a major player in the region and by extension the world stage

The Soviet Union maintained a substantial military presence there during the Cold War, propping up an array of anti-Western regimes to counterbalance American partners and extend its geopolitical sphere of influence.

Russia is known to be operating in Syria, Afghanistan, and, more recently, in Libya and Egypt, areas that theUnited States appeared to beabandoning under the former administration.

Russia is certainly expanding its influence and trying to reestablish itself as a superpower, Bill Roggio of the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) told CNN.

Roggio, who also serves as managing editor of the Long War Journal, described the Kremlins efforts as a new form of growing Russian imperialism intended to undermine the US and NATO.

The assessment of the Kremlins ambitions comes as the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan declared to the Sunday Times of London that the United States and Europe need to deploy 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to break a stalemate between the Afghan forces and jihadists, primarily the Taliban.

American Commander Gen. John Nicholson and other U.S. military officials have accused Russia of lending support to the Taliban in an effort to delegitimize the U.S.-backed Afghan troops, allegations that Moscow has dismissed as false.

These fabrications are designed, as we have repeatedly underlined, to justify the failure of the US military and politicians in the Afghan campaign. There is no other explanation, Zamir Kabulov, the Kremlins special envoy toAfghanistan, recently told the state-run RIA Novosti.

Currently, there are 8,400 American troops and 5,000 forces from other NATO countries fighting terrorists in Afghanistan where Nicholson conceded the Afghan government only controls about 62 percent of the population and about 57 percent of the territory.

Citing U.S. officials, CNN points out that Russias ambitions extend well beyond the Middle East:

From Afghanistan to Libya, US Pentagon officials are increasingly concerned by mounting Russian military and diplomatic activity they believed is aimed at undermining the US and NATO.

Some of the actions Moscow is accused of participating in include sending operatives to support an armed faction in Libya and providing political legitimacyand maybe even supplies to the Taliban in Afghanistan. These moves come on top of their overt dispatching of warplanes and ships to target the political opponents of its ally in Syria.

Referring to U.S. Central Commands (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), which includes 20 countries stretching from Northeast Africa across the Middle East to Central and South Asia, the top American commander in charge of that region said he believes Russia is trying to expand its influence there.

It is my view that they are trying to increase their influence in this critical part of the globe, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Joseph Votel told the Senate Armed Services Committeethis month.

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US Military Concerned Russia Expanding into Obama Power Vacuums: Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt - Breitbart News

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Many came with family members who supported the defendants. Family and friends of people killed by Stockton Police gathered and marched at San Joaquin County Courthouse, hoping to get answers for their loved ones.

Lareesha Brown is one of 12 people arrested at a Stockton City Council meeting in early March. She has been an avid Black Lives Matter demonstrator since her friend, Colby Friday was shot and killed by Stockton Police on August 16.

"Eight months went by, and there's no answers to his children," Brown said.

Stockton police said Friday was suspected ofarmed robbery. When confronted by an officer, they say he reached for a gun. That is why they said officers had to shoot him.

The Stockton Black Lives Matter group disagreed.

At recent Stockton Council meetings, protesters have been pressuring the council to force the police department to release videos of these recent shootings.

Instead, Brown said things got rowdy.

In late February, she said a police officer in tactical gear hit her face with a baton. Brown was one of 12 people arrested for misdemeanor charges, including battery, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.

On Tuesday, she faced a judge for her first arraignment. Colby Friday's mother Denise came to show her support.

"I feel like my son was assassinated. And I'm here to support the people that support me," Denise Friday said.

On Tuesday morning, Brown's arraignment was continued. She said she has an uphill battle. But will continue ask Stockton Police and the San Joaquin County District Attorneys Office to release the videos, to give the families closure.

"[Let's] Make it less physical. More verbal," Brown said.

The group will reconvene at tonight's Stockton City Council meeting. They plan to speak when council addresses upgrades for the police department's body cameras.

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Stockton Black Lives Matter Demonstrators Appear in Court, Vow to ... - FOX40

WASHINGTON There was barely any standing room left at a recent town hall meeting on the unacceptable number ofmissing black and Latinx teenagers in the nations capital.

The March 22 gathering was tense.Local D.C. police attempted to answer questions from the predominantly black residents of Ward 8. Residents shared a range of stories about family members who had run away, who had been abducted and returned home safely, and who had never come home at all. The police chief was there.

But photos of the event, circulated later on social media, revealed a disturbing truth:Few, if any,white people showed up for the meeting.

The lack of white faces at an event about missing girls of color provokes a familiar sense of outrage. White people dont turn out for protests condemning police violence, calling for a living wage or pushing for immigrant rights at the same rates as black and Latinx folks.

White feminists, in particular, have been criticized for their tendency not to show up for issues pertaining to women of color. Signs from the Womens March on Washington, a large-scale movement to protest the policy stances of President Donald Trump, targeted these women, asking them if they would be attending the next Black Lives Matter protest and reminding us all who helped put Trump in office.

Kevin Banatte

Its not as though the issue doesnt affect everyone.Children of all races go missing. But black and Latinx kids are less likely to return home, more likely to be written off as runaways, and often dont get as much media attention when foul play is suspected.

The minimal white attendance at the town hall highlights the hypocrisy of the All Lives Matter crowd. That phrase, constructed to both mirror and contradict Black Lives Matter, supposedly advocates for the lives of all people by cautioning against focusing on one demographic. The same criticism applies to Blue Lives Matter folks, who attack the Black Lives Matter movement any time a person of color commits an act of anti-police violence. When white people kill police, they usually have nothing to say.

In reality, All Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter are racist attempts to distractfrom the black-led push against police violence. If the people crying those slogans cared about each life, as they proclaim, they would be fighting to save black and Latinx kids, too.

The missing white people at last weeks meeting also highlighted the terrible power of residential segregation. Washington remains one of the countrys most segregated cities. The town hall was held at a school convenient for many worried black residents and completely off the radar for most white residents because everybody knew who wasnt coming anyway.

They probably wont show up until white children go missing en masse.

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All Lives Matter Didn't Show Up For A Meeting About Missing Black And Brown Teens - Huffington Post