A charity group asked the European Union on Tuesday to find a port where it can dock to disembark hundreds of migrants it has rescued in the central Mediterranean over recent days.
Some 572 people, including 183 minors, are currently onboard the Ocean Viking vessel, the SOS Mediterranee organisation said after it picked them up in six operations in Maltese and Libyan search and rescue areas.
The group said maritime authorities had not helped in the operations and urged the European Union to intervene.
“We are calling upon the EU to at least coordinate the disembarkation of the 572 survivors currently aboard our ship,” it said in a statement.
The statement did not give details of where the vessel was, but the marinetraffic.com website gave its position as between Malta and Sicily.
Migrant boat departures from north Africa towards Europe have picked up in 2021 after a decline in the previous few years.
Scores of migrants have died in recent days following shipwrecks as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy, one of the main routes into Europe.
via Reuters
11th September 2026
In the 25 years since al Qaeda militants hijacked passenger jets and flew them into New York's World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, the group founded by Osama bin Laden has spawne...
11th September 2026
Europol has supported an international operation targeting a criminal network linked to the Italian mafia-type organisation Camorra, leading to six arrests and searches of 16 residential...
11th September 2026
Morning Briefing
Abela, Costa discuss EU budget, migration and Ukraine in Malta
Prime Minister Robert Abela and European Council President António Costa discussed the EU’s long-te...
10th September 2026
Morning Briefing
Abela outlines first 100 days of government, unveils startup, AI and social measures
Prime Minister Robert Abela said the government’s first 100 days have deliver...
25th June 2026
The European Commission has unveiled an ambitious package of tax reforms aimed at simplifying tax rules across the European Union, reducing compliance burdens for businesses and strength...
10th June 2026
The European Union's new Migration and Asylum Pact enters into force on 12 June, ushering in the most significant reform of the bloc's migration framework in years and placing renewed em...
10th September 2026
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary on Thursday accused the head of Britain's air traffic control operator of lying about the cause of an outage that led to thousands of flight can...
10th September 2026
Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending gains that took Brent over $100 a barrel in the previous session, as traders braced for deeper supply disruptions after Iran and the United States ...
5th August 2026
Artificial intelligence has already transformed industries such as finance and education, but one of its most important tests may come in medicine: discovering new drugs.
Pharmaceutic...
2nd August 2026
Malta’s new pay transparency regulations, which came into effect on the 5th of June, aim to strengthen fairness and equality in the workplace, but employers are warning that the rushed i...
4th September 2026
Malta Public Transport is encouraging passengers attending Una Notte Con Le Stelle at The Granaries, Floriana, on Saturday 5 September to make use of the regular night bus services opera...
3rd September 2026
The first edition of HEKATECH.HEALTH 2026, to be held in Malta on November 26, will focus on how health systems can reconcile two increasingly urgent demands: expanding access to new med...
3rd September 2026
Fears of renewed escalation gripped the Middle East on Wednesday after the United States and Iran exchanged their biggest barrage since July, with Washington striking Iran's southern co...
4th August 2026
President Donald Trump announced late Saturday that he had called off planned U.S. strikes on Iran, saying renewed negotiations had raised hopes of easing the conflict and reopening ship...
25th June 2026
At least 32 people have been killed and more than 700 injured after two powerful earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 — struck central Venezuela seconds apart, causing widespread destruct...
25th February 2026
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
10th September 2026
The departure from Moldova of a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Norway was delayed when authorities closed the country's airspace over a drone alert, a Moldov...
24th August 2026
Ukraine wants peace but will not just give in to Russia at any price, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday in a defiant speech marking Independence Day celebrations.
British...