Happy Newyear 2017...

Jun 29,2016 US Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter lifts Pentagon's ban on transgendered people serving in the US armed forces.

Aug 29,2016 Italian coastguard says 6,500 migrants rescued at sea in 40 separate incidents in 1 day off coast of Sabratha, Libya..

Jun 29,2016: Pentagon ends transgender ban- transgenders in the US armed forces.

The Pentagon said ,it was ending the ban on transgender people being able to serve openly in the U.S. military. The announcement -- which removes one of the last barriers to military service by any individual -- was made by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who had been studying the issue for almost a year The decision comes as the military has witnessed major changes in the role of women and the inclusion of gays, lesbians and bisexual service members in recent years.
Transgender service members will also receive the same medical coverage as any other military member -- receiving all medical care that their doctors deem necessary -- according to Carter. For current members of the military, the coverage will include hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery if doctors determine that such procedures are medically necessary. Incoming service members must be "stable" in gender identity for 18 months before joining the military.

Recent Naval Academy graduate Ensign Ali Marberry publicly transitioned to female and came out to her commanding officers. She has been waiting for a change in U.S. military policy that would allow her to continue to serve. (Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette)

Aug 29,2016: Newborn twins among 6,500 migrants rescued from Mediterranean

A five-day-old newborn peers out from a pink blanket. His dark, almond-shaped eyes stare directly at the camera, his tiny hand tucked underneath his chin. His short life has been anything but easy. He, his twin brother and his mother were among the 6,500 refugees and migrants rescued in a 30-hour period while attempting to make the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean. The twins and their mother were transferred via Medevac for treatment in Italy, according to a tweet from MSF.A total of 40 different rescue operations were responsible for bringing in the 6,500 migrants and refugees, including EU's Marine mission "Sophia," which fights smugglers; and Frontex, the European Agency tasked with border security. The Italian coast guard said the rescued migrants are being taken to ports in Calabria and Sicily.

The number of people plucked from sea on Monday was much higher than the average. Just two weeks ago, in the week that started August 14, the route was used by 2,197 migrants, according to the International Organization for Migration. Monday's rate nearly tripled that weekly amount.
Most of the migrants rescued this week came from sub-Saharan Africa. Many of them using the central Mediterranean route, which runs roughly from Libya or other north African countries to Italy, are from Nigeria, Eritrea and Gambia migrants are taking advantage of Libya's ongoing political chaos to escape over the mostly open borders. The Libyan crisis has helped boost a lucrative smuggling business, with African migrants who reach southern Libya being transported through the desert to northern beaches where they board boats bound for Europe.
Of those who attempted the crossing, 3,165 people have died at sea, authorities said. At this rate, according to the IOM, the number of deaths will likely exceed last year's total of 3,771. Most of the deaths in 2016 came from people risking this particular route -- Libya to Italy -- which is considered dramatically more dangerous. They're also using flimsy plastic rafts or wooden crafts not built for such a voyage, and all of the vessels tend to be overcrowded -- some carrying 600 or more passengers

Refugee boat sinkings rise in Mediterranean Sea

More than 300 refugees have been rescued from a boat which has capsized off Crete. There has been a sharp rise in the number of people who have died trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe in the last week. Al Jazeera's Rob Matheson reports.