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Valletta, Malta - There is a 20-per-cent chance of finding a commercially feasible oil and gas reserve off the coast of Malta, according to government estimates.
The prospects of two new offshore sites have been described as "more exciting," due to the fact that their geological features are similar to the oil-rich area near Libya. Wells will be sunk between 2010 and 2011.
The Times of Malta reported Monday that international oil companies licensed to conduct oil exploration around the Mediterranean island have spoken about the possibility of striking huge reserves. The Oil Exploration Department of the Maltese Resources Ministry has referred to reserves of "giant" proportions.
Valletta, Malta - A group of 43 Somali would-be immigrants was rescued Monday off Malta, authorities on the Mediterranean island said.
According to the Maltese army, the migrants used a satellite phone to alert a rescue centre in Italy that their dinghy was adrift and that they had lost their outboard engine. The incident took place 88 nautical miles south of the Mediterranean island.
The migrants - 30 men and 13 women - were later picked up by a patrol boat and are in good health, officials said.
Brussels - Tiny Malta obtained a symbolic victory Thursday as European Union leaders acknowledged that the burden of asylum- seekers entering the bloc should be shared out among member states.
At a summit in Brussels, EU heads of state and government formally approved a European Pact on Immigration and Asylum.
The pact seeks to improve the management of legal migration into the EU, tighten controls on illegal immigrants and construct a common asylum policy.
Under pressure from Malta, whose geographical location in the southern Mediterranean Sea regularly exposes it to a massive influx of migrants from North Africa, leaders agreed to share out the country's burden, if only in principle.
Valletta, Malta - Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said Friday that the European Union needs to strengthen its border patrols, and eventually create a European Coast Guard.
Speaking after talks with Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in Malta, Karamanlis said illegal immigration was a major concern for both Greece and Malta and it was important that the EU responds "jointly and effectively."
Valletta - The European Union is right in demanding an end to state subsidies for Polish dockyards, according to Lech Walesa, the co-founder of the Solidarity union movement born in the shipyards where he once worked.
Poland's government signalled Wednesday that EU officials have refused privatization plans for its ailing shipyards and said it would ask Brussels for an explanation.
With 60,000 shipyard jobs at stake, EU approval for a rescue plan that avoids mass layoffs is a critical task for Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government.
Valletta, Malta - A group of 43 Somali would-be immigrants was rescued Monday off Malta, authorities on the Mediterranean island said.
Valletta, Malta - Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said Friday that the European Union needs to strengthen its border patrols, and eventually create a European Coast Guard.
