19 African migrants drown.

A boat capsized off the coast of the Canary Islands resulting in 19 African migrants drowning, reports the BBC. An 8-year-old girl is among the dead. Six people were rescued from the boat this past weekend and helicopters are searching the area for more survivors. Three people are still thought to be missing. But as time goes by, hope for finding more people alive grows more and more dim. Most of the people on the boat are thought to be from Morocco. Thousands of North Africans have flocked to the Spanish Canary Islands, which are off the coast of North Africa, in the past few years in search of a better life, reports the news service. The number of migrants that actually make it there, however, has gone down recently due to an increase in security. Only 9,000 migrants made it to the Canary Islands in 2008, compared to almost 32,000 in 2006.

Turks and Caicos leader to step down. Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick has announced that he’ll step down from his post next month. He says the move is in the best interest of his political organization, the Progressive National Party (PNP), amid corruption allegations: “In recent months, there has been much discontent among some ministers and PNP members…It now appears to me that the divide within the party is too deep.” Las year, while a Foreign Affairs Select Committee made up of British Parliament members were routinely examining the affairs of British territories, they found that Misick was allegedly gaining from “selling off Crown land to fund current investment.” Misick says he’ll leave office effective March 31. His public separation from actress wife Lisa Raye has also made headlines recently.

Julian Bond to step down as NAACP chairman. Julian Bond, 68, has said he is stepping down as chairman of the NAACP once his term ends in February. After 10 years of volunteer service as the NAACP national board chairman, Bond indicated he would not seek re-election. “This is the time for renewal. We have dynamic new leadership. The country has a new president in Barack Obama; the organization has a new CEO in Benjamin Jealous; and we’ll soon have a new chairman of the NAACP Board,” Bond said in a statement. Read the rest here.