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Malta rescues migrants as Italian immigration debate heats up
Valetta (AFP) Dec 29, 2008 A Maltese patrol boat on Monday rescued a boatload of 139 would-be immigrants, including 10 pregnant woman, from rough seas off the coast of the Mediterranean island, an armed forces spokesman said. The dramatic rescue came as Italy sent a delegation to Libya in an effort to halt the steady flow of illegal immigrants risking the crossing from north Africa to southern Europe. The Maltese naval vessel moved in to help the ship, 87 nautical miles off south-western Malta, after the Sicilian coastguard in southern Italy reported a distress call received from the boat by satellite phone Sunday. Those on board had said they have no water, food or fuel, Lieutenant Claudio Signanini told AFP earlier Monday. The rescue operation was coordinated by the Maltese authorities as the boat was closer to the island than to Italy. A Maltese armed forces spokesman said the immigrants comprised 103 men and 36 women, of Somali, Ghanaian and Nigerian nationality. An Italian interior ministry delegation arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli Monday to discuss the flood of immigrants across the Mediterranean to Italy, an foreign ministry spokesman in Rome said. Their arrival came as the Italian government came under increasing pressure this weekend to act to stem the flow of immigrants, hundreds of whom have landed on the southern Italian coast over the past three days. Virtually all the clandestine immigrants intercepted off the coast of Italy start their journeys in Libya. On Sunday alone 819 clandestine immigrants arrived on Lampedusa, taking advantage of calm seas. On Friday 1,500 landed. On Monday Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said he had ordered officials to speed up the procedure for the expulsion of illegal immigrants, so they could be sent back within days. On Saturday, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called on Libya to do more to stem the flow of illegal immigrants from its shores. An agreement signed between Italy and Libya in late 2007 to cooperate further on tackling illegal immigration could not yet be put into action as it had not yet been ratified by the Italian parliament, he said. Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing coalition government is under increasing pressure both from the opposition left and from within its own ranks, over its failure to tackle the problem. The reception centre on Lampedusa, which ostensibly has a capacity of 850 people, held 1,100 Monday morning, the authorities said. During the day 250 detainees were due to leave the island. The number of would-be immigrants arriving in Italy by sea has risen sharply in 2008, according to interior ministry figures, from 14,200 between January and mid-September 2007 to 24,241 for the same period this year. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Guinea's junta blocks mining contracts in anti-corruption drive
Conakry (AFP) Dec 27, 2008Guinea's new military leader promised to renegotiate mining contracts and crack down on corruption Saturday as he met with local people as part of a charm offensive after leading a bloodless coup. |
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