At least 20 migrants are believed to be missing in the Mediterranean after their vessel sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa, Italy's coastguard and a senior UN refugee agency official said Wednesday.
“Twenty people are reported missing in the Mediterranean after a shipwreck on September 1,” Chiara Cardoletti, the UNHCR official for Italy, posted on X.
“The seven survivors, taken in by our team on Lampedusa, are in a critical condition,” she said, adding that several of them had lost loved ones in the disaster.
Italy's coastguard said 21 people were still missing after rescuing the survivors on Wednesday morning.
It said the vessel, found 20km off Lampedusa, “was drifting half-submerged in the water and on the point of sinking, with seven migrants on board, all of them men of Syrian nationality”.
Coastguard footage showed the men in a small vessel filled with water, transferring to the rescue boats on inflatable slides.
“The rescued migrants said that they had left Libya on September 1 with 28 people on board, three of them minors, of whom 21 had fallen in the water because of the bad weather conditions,” said the coastguard.
It was continuing to search for those missing, with an aircraft helping with the operation.
News of the latest sinking came the same day the Italian authorities decided to immobilise a rescue ship run by the Sea Watch group, saying it had not waited for the Libyan authorities to approve a rescue operation.
Sea-Watch 5 arrived in the Italian port of Civitavecchia on Wednesday carrying 289 people it had rescued. It will now have to wait 20 days before being able to leave port again.
Last year's migrant boat tragedy in Italy – in pictures
Many non-governmental organisation ships have been detained, sometimes repeatedly, for breaking the law, though those detentions are sometimes overturned by the courts.
In 2023, more than 3,000 migrants were reported missing after having attempted the perilous Mediterranean crossing from North Africa, according to the UN's International Organisation for Migration.
Italian Interior Ministry figures suggest those numbers have fallen sharply since the beginning of the year.
According to them, 43,061 migrants had arrived in Italy since the start of the year, compared to 115,177 over the same period last year.
Since Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition government came to power in October 2022, it has sought to stem the arrival of migrant boats to Italy from North Africa.
Italian law requires that NGOs head “without delay” to a port immediately after a rescue is completed – preventing them from carrying out several in a row.
The NGOs argue that it violates maritime law, which requires any ship to come to the aid of a boat in distress.
But failing to comply risks a fine of up to €10,000 euros ($10,700), and potentially the seizure of the vessel.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
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The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Company%C2%A0profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Read more about the coronavirus
The five pillars of Islam
MATCH INFO
Watford 2 (Sarr 50', Deeney 54' pen)
Manchester United 0
