MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Rescuers searched Thursday for dozens of migrants from Africa still missing after smugglers apparently forced them out of two boats in the Red Sea off the coast of Djibouti earlier this week, the Djiboutian coast guard said.
At least 48 people were earlier reported to have drowned. The boats had departed from Yemen, across the Red Sea on the Arabian Peninsula, carrying 310 people, the International Organization for Migration said.
It was not known why the migrants were forced off the boats while still at sea.
Initially, the IOM said the two boats with migrants had capsized but later made no mention of that, saying instead that the smugglers forced the people off the boats and told them to swim.
Djibouti’s coast guard said the tragedy struck some 150 meters (about 500 feet) off a beach in the East African nation's northwestern region of Khor Angar. It said 115 survivors had been rescued.
Moktar Abdi, a member of the Djiboutian coast guard, told The Associated Press over the phone on Thursday that the search operation was now focusing on deep-sea areas and nearby beaches. He said the coast guard would later share an update on the number of recovered bodies.
On Wednesday, the IOM said 111 people were still missing while the Djiboutian coast guard put the number at 61.
"One woman drowned, but her 4-month-old infant survived along with 98 others from the first boat,” said the U.N. agency, which was assisting search and rescue efforts.
Thousands of migrants from African, Middle Eastern and South Asian countries seeking a better life in Europe attempt irregular migration every year. Smugglers pack vessels full of desperate people willing to risk their lives to reach continental Europe.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital of Sanaa and much of the country's nort h, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition of mostly Arab states entered the conflict the following year to back the government forces.
Over the past years, the war has become mostly stalemated along established front lines while efforts to find a negotiated solution have stalled.
Follow AP’s global migration coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration
In this image made from video, Djiboutian coast guard workers load bodies of migrants who were washed away on the shore of the Red Sea, off the coast in Djibouti Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Djiboutian Coast Guard via AP)
In this image made from video, Djiboutian coast guard workers search for bodies of migrants who were washed away on the shore of the Red Sea, off the coast in Djibouti Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. ( Djiboutian Coast Guard via AP)
In this image made from video, bodies of migrants who were washed away are seen on the shore of the Red Sea, off the coast in Djibouti Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Djiboutian Coast Guard via AP)
In this image made from video, Djiboutian coast guard workers load bodies of migrants who were washed away on the shore of the Red Sea, off the coast in Djibouti Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (Djiboutian Coast Guard via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting Thursday, as crude oil prices continue to climb and more signals arrive suggesting the economy remains solid.
The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged in afternoon trading after flipping between modest gains and losses earlier in the day. It's been shaky this week after worries about worsening tensions in the Middle East knocked the index off its record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 120 points, or 0.3%, as of 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Oil prices rose again as the world continues the wait to see how Israel will respond to Iran’s missile attack from Tuesday. A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 4.4% to $77.15 after starting the week below $72.
Iran is a major producer of oil, and a worry is that a broadening war could affect neighboring countries that are also integral to the flow of crude. Helping to keep prices in check, though, are signals that supplies of oil remain ample at the moment.
In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following a pair of reports on the U.S. economy. One showed growth for real estate, health care and other U.S. services businesses accelerated to its strongest pace since February 2023 and topped economists' expectations, though employment trends may be slowing.
A separate report, meanwhile, suggested the number of layoffs across the United States remains relatively low. Slightly more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, but the number remains low compared with history.
Outside of this week’s worries about the Middle East, the dominant question hanging over Wall Street has been whether the job market will continue to hold up after the Federal Reserve earlier kept interest rates at a two-decade high. The Fed wanted to press the brake hard enough on the economy to stamp out high inflation.
Stocks are near their records because of hopes the U.S. economy will indeed continue to grow, now that the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates to give it more juice. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years and indicated more cuts will arrive through next year.
China is also talking about more aid for its economy, and “when the top policymakers in the world’s two largest economies are determined to support economic growth, it pays to listen,” according to Evan Brown, head of multi-asset strategy at UBS Asset Management. He suggests not underestimating policy makers' resolve to cut off the risk of a recession.
The job market could use help, as U.S. hiring has been slowing. The U.S. government will release the latest monthly update on the jobs market on Friday, and economists expect it to show hiring slowed slightly from August's pace.
On Wall Street, Levi Strauss dropped 7.5% despite reporting better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The denim company’s revenue fell short of forecasts, and it said it’s considering what to do with its Dockers brand, whose revenue fell 7% last quarter.
Helping to offset it were gains for Nvidia and other stocks that have been caught up in Wall Street's frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. Nvidia rose 3.2% and was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500, while Super Micro Computer climbed 1.3% for another one of the larger gains in the index.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.83% from 3.78% late Wednesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight rates, rose to 3.69% from 3.64%.
In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2% as its sharp swings continue amid speculation about when the country’s central bank may hike interest rates next.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has also been swerving, and it gave back 1.5%. Stocks in China have been largely surging on hopes for a flurry of recent announcements from Beijing to prop up the world’s second-largest economy. With Shanghai and other markets in China closed for a weeklong holiday, trading has crowded into Hong Kong.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A person walks in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange building Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
FILE - Signs marking the intersection of Broad and Walls Streets appear near the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
