ROME: Two large dinghies carrying 204 asylum-seekers landed in Italy yesterday after being intercepted by coast guards south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The arrivals were mostly from sub-Saharan Africa and the vessels were on a cross-Mediterranean route taken by boats arriving from Libya, officials said.
One dinghy was spotted some 70 nautical miles south of Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point and a major gateway for economic migrants and refugees entering the European Union.
The second dinghy was drifting and was rescued 35 nautical miles south of the first one.
The asylum-seekers have been taken to a temporary shelter on Lampedusa, where there are also around 100 migrants from Eritrea who arrived on Sunday.
7-year-old shoots dead playmate
JOHANNESBURG: A seven-year-old girl has shot dead her friend, aged six, with her grandfather’s revolver while playing at a farm in South Africa, police said yesterday.
“They were playing together and in the process she got hold of the revolver, which hit the deceased in the face,” said police spokeswoman Ronel Otto.
The girl died on the scene, police said. The slain girl was the daughter of a farm worker and had been friends with the farmer’s granddaughter for some time.
“The seven-year-old was visiting her grandparents on a farm outside Bela-Bela when she allegedly shot her friend with a 0.38 revolver,” Otto said.
Portugal seeks help to tackle forest fires
LISBON: Portugal appealed for further international aid yesterday to tackle forest fires raging in the country’s north and centre, with 30m flames towering over villagers in some areas.
The fires continued unabated after claiming the life of a female firefighter last week, despite French and Spanish jets dropping water on the affected regions.
A week without a break was taking its toll on firefighters in Tondela, central Portugal. “We sometimes forget to eat,” fire chief Carlos Dias told the Jornal de Noticias newspaper.
Agencies
