has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Wind Energy Pozzallo a special-purpose company that is developing a 975 MW floating offshore wind project in Sicily Edison’s investment in Wind Energy Pozzallo was facilitated through a partnership with Blunova a renewable energy developer managing the company The special-purpose company is planning to build a 975 MW floating wind project off the coast of Pozzallo in Sicily The construction of the project could take three years The wind farm is currently undergoing authorisation with the Italian Ministry of the Environment (MASE) EDF’s Italian subsidiary estimates that the project will avoid the emission of more than 780,000 tonnes of CO2 per year “The agreement will allow Edison to accelerate its growth plan in renewable energy aiming to reach a green capacity for the Group of 5 GW from the current 2 GW by 2030 In line with the Italian Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) we also contribute to developing innovation in the service of the energy transition and decarbonisation targets,” said Marco Stangalino Vice President and Power Asset Director at Edison According to the press release, Wind Energy Pozzallo has no direct employees and will rely on Edison and Blunova to perform all engineering tasks Italy, with just one operational offshore wind farm to date has not yet developed any floating offshore wind farms the European Commission approved an Italian state aid scheme which is outlined in a draft decree and is valued at EUR 35.5 billion The objective of Decree FER2 is to incentivise the buildout of 4.6 GW of new projects by 31 December 2028 including fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind farms Get in front of your target audience in one move OffshoreWIND.biz is read by thousands of offshore wind professionals daily Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox Leveraging 20 years of experience with offshore windDecember 2023 will forever mark a milestone in our company history as we became part of the world-wide CS WIND group The acquisition goes beyond a mere change in ownership; it marks a leap into a future where our combined strengths will pave the way for optimized production […] This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Myanmar earthquake: Working to meet the biggest needs 90% of our funding comes from individual donors. Learn how you can support MSF’s lifesaving care with a gift. We need your support to continue this lifesaving work ROME—Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will end its medical activities in a reception center for migrants and in other reception centers in Italy's Ragusa Province due to unacceptable conditions including overcrowding and a lack of protection for vulnerable people The minimum standards are no longer met for effective collaboration with authorities reiterating its call for a concrete and long-term response to the medical and humanitarian needs of vulnerable migrants the lack of protection and the all-round precarious and undignified conditions in which people are received in Sicily continue," said Stefano di Carlo our capacity to offer an effective response to the medical and psychological needs of vulnerable people—including pregnant women and victims of torture—in Pozzallo and in secondary reception centers across Ragusa Province is extremely limited." MSF has repeatedly highlighted the shortcomings of Italy's reception system for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, during months of negotiations with the authorities and in a report presented to an Italian parliamentary commission last month local or national authorities have so far shown no concrete sign of improvement or a political willingness to improve conditions raising concerns that an inadequate model of reception may become the norm in Italy "Less and less attention is given to the protection of vulnerable people who arrive after long journeys at sea," said Dr MSF medical coordinator for migration programs "During the landing and in the first reception stage in Pozzallo the health and psychosocial wellbeing of new arrivals must be made the priority As the Pozzallo center is about to become one of Europe's 'hotspot' reception centers over 150,000 people have arrived in Italy by sea and 15,000 of them have landed at the port of Pozzallo has been supporting the Ragusa Provincial Health Agency with medical screening and a 24-hour medical service carrying out more than 3,000 consultations since February In secondary reception centers in Ragusa Province MSF has provided more than 800 consultations for people in need of psychological support particularly for those suffering from traumatic events the organization will continue its activities in support of refugees and migrants elsewhere in Sicily and mainland Italy MSF made the unprecedented decision to begin search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea the three boats operated by MSF have assisted over 23,000 people. In addition a new team—made up of a psychologist and cultural mediators—has been providing psychological first aid in ports of arrival The team has responded to 14 events in eight Italian ports assisting 2,500 survivors of traumatic events during their sea journey Haiti violence pushes MSF trauma hospital to its limits South Sudan: MSF strongly condemns deliberate bombing of its hospital .. © Médecins Sans Frontières 2025 Federal tax ID#: 13-3433452 Unrestricted donations enable MSF to carry out our programs around the world we will reallocate your donation to where the needs are greatest A significant number of the unaccompanied children had been at the center for two weeks around 100 unaccompanied children were in the center including some who had been there since May 28 Police Abuses Against Child and Adult Migrants in Calais Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808 You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed This is the first in a year-end photo series spotlighting eight images of beauty or hope where 45 migrants suffocated to death in the hull (AFP Photo / Giovanni Isolino) in the port of Pozzallo at the southern tip of Sicily It shows migrant families waiting to disembark from an Italian navy ship after being rescued in the Strait of Sicily They were discovered two days earlier on board a fishing boat where 45 migrants suffocated after being locked in the hull by traffickers and I took the picture from the quayside as the ship was mooring I don’t know the story of the man and boy in the picture But it’s likely they were Syrians fleeing civil war Among them were many families with very young children Migrants disembark from the Italian military ship 'Grecale' in the port of Pozzallo  operation at sea (AFP Photo / Giovanni Isolino) Rescuers found men’s bodies piled on top of each other inside the fishing vessel -- like a mass grave The victims had tried to escape the hold as it started to fill with engine fumes but were locked inside by people-smugglers who feared they would capsize the boat women and children crammed onto a vessel 20 metres long Last summer I photographed migrant landings all over Sicily There have never been as been as many migrants arriving here as over those few months Sometimes you see young children arriving alone Seeing a child smile like this is something very rare Giovanni Isolino is a freelance photographer and AFP contributor based in Sicily Rescuers hold babies as the navy ship 'Chimera' arrives in the port of Pozzallo Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a leading global news agency providing fast comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives Drawing from an unparalleled news gathering network across 151 countries AFP is also a world leader in digital verification With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities with a unique quality of multimedia storytelling spanning video See what triggers an intervention and how supply and logistics allow our teams to respond quickly Discover our governance and what it means to be an association Find a quick visual guide to our offices around the world Read through our annual financial and activity reports and find out about where our funds come from and how they are spent and plans on how we address issues like racism and reduce our carbon footprint ensuring our actions align with the highest ethical standards Visit this section to get in touch with our offices around the world Médecins Sans Frontières brings medical humanitarian assistance to victims of conflict and where MSF teams respond to different diseases around the world and the challenges we face in providing treatment Learn about the different contexts and situations in which MSF teams respond to provide care including war and natural disaster settings and how and why we adapt our activities to each Learn about our response and our work in depth on specific themes and events Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical humanitarian assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of people in crisis situations We set up the MSF Access Campaign in 1999 to push for access to diagnostic tests and vaccines for people in our programmes and beyond CRASH conducts and directs studies and analysis of MSF actions They participate in internal training sessions and assessment missions in the field UREPH (or Research Unit) aims to improve the way MSF projects are implemented in the field and to participate in critical thinking on humanitarian and medical action ARHP documents and reflects on the operational challenges and dilemmas faced by the MSF field teams MSF Analysis intends to stimulate reflection and debate on humanitarian topics organised around the themes of migration health policy and the environment in which aid operates This logistical and supply centre in Brussels provides storage of and delivers medical equipment logistics and drugs for international purchases for MSF missions This supply and logistics centre in Bordeaux provides warehousing and delivery of medical equipment This logistical centre in Amsterdam purchases water-processing facilities and nutritional supplements BRAMU specialises in neglected tropical diseases This medical unit is based in Rio de Janeiro Our medical guidelines are based on scientific data collected from MSF’s experiences other renowned international medical institutions Providing epidemiological expertise to underpin our operations conducting research and training to support our goal of providing medical aid in areas where people are affected by conflict Evaluation Units have been established in Vienna assessing the potential and limitations of medical humanitarian action thereby enhancing the effectiveness of our medical humanitarian work MSF works with LGBTQI+ populations in many settings over the last 25-30 years LGBTQI+ people face healthcare disparities with limited access to care and higher disease rates than the general population The Luxembourg Operational Research (LuxOR) unit coordinates field research projects and operational research training and provides support for documentation activities and routine data collection The Intersectional Benchmarking Unit collects and analyses data about local labour markets in all locations where MSF employs people To upskill and provide training to locally-hired MSF staff in several countries MSF has created the MSF Academy for Healthcare and rules of humanitarian law in accessible and reader-friendly alphabetical entries The MSF Paediatric Days is an event for paediatric field staff policy makers and academia to exchange ideas inspire and share frontline research to advance urgent paediatric issues of direct concern for the humanitarian field The MSF Foundation aims to create a fertile arena for logistics and medical knowledge-sharing to meet the needs of MSF and the humanitarian sector as a whole non-profit drug research and development organisation that is developing new treatments for neglected diseases founded in 2003 by seven organisations from around the world Our digital portal dedicated to sharing the latest medical evidence from our humanitarian activities around the globe Noma is a preventable and treatable neglected disease but 90 per cent of people will die within the first two weeks of infection if they do not receive treatment The TIC is aiming to change how MSF works to better meet the evolving needs of our patients MSF's telemedicine hub aims to overcome geographic barriers for equitable the MSF Sweden Innovation Unit deploys a human-centered approach for promoting a culture of innovation within MSF Rome – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will end its medical activities inside the first reception centre in Pozzallo as well as its psychological support projects across the secondary reception centres of Ragusa province Minimum conditions are no longer met for an effective collaboration with authorities and MSF reiterates its call for a concrete and long-term response to the medical humanitarian needs of vulnerable migrants refugees and asylum seekers who have survived extremely harsh conditions during their journey to Europe as well as in their countries of origin During months of bilateral negotiations and in a report presented to a Parliamentary Commission last month MSF has repeatedly highlighted the shortcomings of Italy’s first reception system local or national authorities have so far shown no concrete sign of improvement or a political willingness to improve raising concerns that a structurally inadequate model of reception may well become the norm in Italy the lack of protection and the all-round precarious and undignified conditions in which people are received in Sicily continue,” said Stefano di Carlo our capacity to offer an effective response to the medical and psychological needs of vulnerable people – including pregnant women minors and victims of torture – in Pozzallo and in secondary reception centres across Ragusa Province is extremely limited.” where the MSF team – made up of medical doctors psychologists and cultural mediators – has been supporting the Ragusa Provincial Health Agency with medical screening and a 24 hour medical service inside Pozzallo’s first reception centre (CPSA) more than 3,000 consultations have been carried out In secondary reception centres (CAS) of Ragusa province MSF has provided over 800 consultations for people in need of psychological support and in particular to those in need of assistance following traumatic events “Less and less attention is given to the protection of the vulnerable people who arrive after long journeys at sea During the landing and in the first reception stage in Pozzallo the health and psycho-social wellbeing of new arrivals must be made the priority” MSF Medical Coordinator for Migration Programmes “As the Pozzallo centre is about to become a ‘hotspot’ might become the model for first reception in Italy.” the organisation will continue its activities in support of refugees and migrants elsewhere in Sicily and mainland Italy Rome and Gorizia and calls on Italian authorities to ensure adequate reception conditions and put the needs of the most vulnerable refugees and migrants first MSF took the unprecedented decision to begin search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea As of today the three boats operated by MSF have assisted over 23,000 people. In addition a new team – made up of a psychologist and cultural mediators – has been providing psychological first aid The team has responded to 14 events in 8 Italian ports assisting 2500 survivors of traumatic events during their sea journey Your donations pay for millions of consultations Konecranes will deliver its Gottwald Model 6 Mobile Harbour Cranes to terminal operator SERMI at the Port of Pozzallo as the terminal expands its capacity SERMI is increasing its fleet of mobile harbour cranes at the Mediterranean harbour which handles bulk The crane will increase the handling performance and reduce the operator’s overall carbon footprint due to its diesel-electric drive we’ve provided the best industry services for our clients who include some major local shipping lines “Our new Konecranes Gottwald mobile harbour crane will help us to continue meeting increasing customer demand for the traffic of containers worldwide at the highest level of quality Regional Sales Manager for Konecranes Port Solutions “The advanced electric drive at the heart of our cranes and the high performance that results perfectly fit the productivity and sustainability needs of SERMI “This agreement builds on years of good cooperation and we look forward to continuing on this path into the future.” highlights Konecranes’ commitment to the growth and transformation of customers and industries so they run more efficiently DP World is set to implement OneStop Modal and the OneStop Vehicle Booking System (VBS) The US House of Representatives has voted to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA) 2023 global schedule reliability surged to 57.5 per cent Container throughput at the Port of Melbourne totalled 267,000 TEUs in March 2025 Cover image: ©Associated Press The death toll has risen to at least 70 has applied for a maritime concession with the Italian authorities to build an 800 MW floating wind farm in the Malta Channel some 55 kilometres off the town of Pozzallo on the island of Sicily The developer is seeking a 40-year maritime concession to build the 54-turbine Pozzallo offshore wind farm and connect it to the grid via cables that will make landfall in the Municipality of Pozzalo The application was submitted to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility and the Port Authority of the town of Pozzallo The wind farm will feature 44 wind turbines with a nominal power of 15 MW each According to the project’s technical report the developer intends to install the Vestas V236-15.0 MW wind turbines on the wind farm The project also includes the construction of a 200 MW storage plant located in the municipality of Chiaramonte Gulfi The developer has not revealed the construction timeline for the project is a special-purpose company established by Agon Engineering This is not the only floating wind project planned to be installed in the Malta Channel As reported by our sister site, Offshore Energy, a project with a capacity of over 900 MW is planned to be built some 25 kilometres off Pozzallo In a report presented on the 17 November to the Italian Parliamentary Commission Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) criticised the conditions of the First Aid and Reception Centre in Pozzallo and asked the Italian authorities to develop a concrete strategy for the reception of migrants  MSF called to ensure  adequate conditions and services and to provide better information on asylum procedures for the thousands of people crossing the sea after traumatic experiences in their home countries and in their journey "A centre that has sanitation facilities that are often out of order that does not offer an appropriate place to give treatments against scabies and where there is no guarantee of privacy does not provide decent reception conditions," says Claudia Lodesani we need a reception system that takes into consideration the needs of those who have suffered traumatic experiences From the first moment they arrive in Italy the services on offer should provide greater protection It is crucial that the most vulnerable people MSF has been providing medical care in the Pozzallo centre and asylum seekers and refugees on their arrival and during their stay in the centre MSF teams have often had to face an insufficient and inadequate response from the authorities in charge MSF’s report presented today documents and highlights conditions related to services offered and the protection of the most vulnerable people The report describes an inadequate and often overcrowded structure  in a state of progressive deterioration and requiring maintenance work that which has a maximum capacity of 220 people often has to contend with a much higher number of arrivals resulting in inadequate separation between men and women and no suitable protection for vulnerable people People staying in the centre often report that they do not have any access to legal information they can’t leave the centre or call their families because they do not have access to telephones or phonecards.  MSF is asking the Italian authorities to abandon an emergency approach and to develop a more structured response to guarantee adequate reception conditions and services “The right of people to health and psychological care has to be considered a priority and must be protected and guaranteed” “People hosted in the first reception system have to be treated humanely and with dignity those who want to ask for asylum must be enabled to do so through procedures to identify their vulnerability" MSF will continue to ask for adequate reception conditions and services in the centre in order to contribute to their improvement and to define a model that puts more emphasis on the needs of the most vulnerable people refugees and asylum seekers have arrived by sea in the port of Pozzallo The MSF team in Sicily – composed of doctors psychologists and cultural mediators – has supported the provincial health authorities in providing medical assistance during the landings and at the First Aid and Reception Centre More than 2,640 people have been seen by medical teams working in the first reception building MSF has also distributed hygiene and essential needs kits in the reception centre in Ragusa province MSF is providing psychological support and assistance to victims of traumatic events Thanks to a new team offering emergency psychological first aid and a team of cultural mediators and psychologists MSF is able to work in several Italian ports within 72 hours of a need being reported An Italian company has submitted an application requesting a 40-year concession for a site off Sicily where it plans to build a 660 MW floating wind farm in what is one of the latest of numerous such applications the Italian authorities have received over the past couple of years Company 3 Green filed the application in June requesting a maritime state concession to build a floating wind farm named Euribia in the Malta Channel and its associated export cable with a landing point located west of the Municipality of Pozzallo which is proposed to be located off the southern coast of Sicily approximately 40 kilometres off the coast of Pozzallo and in a water depth of between 131 and 140 metres is planned to comprise 44 wind turbines with a nominal power of 15 MW each The Euribia project is among several that have been proposed for waters off Pozzallo and in the Malta Channel Milan-based developer Ninfea Rinnovabili has also requested a maritime concession off Pozzallo for a 750 MW floating wind project Last year, an Italian company specialising in producing green hydrogen using renewable energy sources applied for a concession to build a 675 MW floating offshore wind farm in the Malta Channel Milan-based company Np Pozzallo Wind also requested a maritime concession with the Italian authorities to build an 800 MW floating wind farm offshore Pozzallo directly managed by the Italian renewable energy developer Blunova that is owned by the Carlo Maresca SpA Group filed an application for a 975 MW floating wind project that could use part of the electricity produced by the wind turbines for green hydrogen production renewable energy is key to the future of our planet we have over 60 years’ experience and an in-depth understanding of the power and temperature control needs of wind farms We have a dedicated Wind Energy Team whose innovative strategies […] 2013 at 10:19 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}  A touching video captured on Voices of New York chats with members of the Society of the Citizens of Pozzallo the self-described "last Italian club in Carroll Gardens" after years of gentrification and aging residents have dwindled membership to an all-time low of 200 Joe Igneri presides over the everyday card games serving espressos and Pellegrino sodas to his endearing group of elders While the club may be struggling to hold on to its heritage as immigrants from the fishing village of nearly 30,000 in Sicily other newer establishments such as Maybelle's and Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain say they would hate for the club to ever close and hope the younger generations can hold on to the traditional meeting place The latter even features a breakfast sandwich For more information on Pozzallo, read this series of articles by a local resident who traveled back to Sicily and found traces of Carroll Gardens abroad To watch the video, visit Voices of New York Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. cracked water bottles and scraps of discarded clothing litter the vessels I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The thousands of migrants who have lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean in a year of desperate bids to reach Europe have barely left a mark many of the dead are thrown overboard by smugglers who prove themselves ruthlessly disinterested in their passengers' welfare after taking payment in advance Any bodies brought ashore in Italy are buried quietly by the authorities often without a name to mark their gravestone or to help trace the hopeful relatives waiting for news at home a different kind of graveyard is marking the nameless migrants' passing Clustered together on the tarmac of the town's commercial dock they stand in silent tribute to the dead just metres away from families playing on the adjacent beach and oblivious tourists being ferried to and from Malta The tattered vessels lean against one another in a haphazard pile as the sunshine slowly erases the Arabic-inscribed names tracing them to North Africa The awkward angles forced by dry land have sent piles of faded life jackets spilling over the dock where they are dotted among traces of the passengers who once needed them A child's shoe sits on the deck of one wreck while a tiny padded jacket lies on the ground nearby whose doors and hatches were left open by surviving migrants desperate to escape their floating prison Locals have dubbed the vessels “ghost ships” but because of the tragedies that unfolded on board told me the migrant ships were barely seaworthy when they came ashore but have been preserved by local people as a memorial to the dead One vessel standing alone at the end of the graveyard was the scene of one of Pozzallo's worst ever tragedies last year Libyan smugglers had packed the boat with an estimated 600 migrants locking many of them in the hold below deck When rescuers from the Italian navy opened the hatch they found almost 40 dead bodies among the survivors Medics found that they had suffocated to death was at work on the day the boat was towed into Pozzallo in June last year “I will remember that day for as long as I live,” he said After watching migrants from around the world arrive for the last 15 years Giuseppe said he only wants to help the desperate people and believes most local people feel the same Now one or two boats are arriving every day and the situation is impossible to control More than 8,000 migrants have landed in Pozzallo so far this year according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) which treats people arriving in the province The figure is only a fraction of more than 100,000 who have crossed the Mediterranean this year More than 25 bodies have been recovered so far and survivors of the disaster are due to arrive in Sicily on Thursday. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies ShareSaveLifestyleTravelTaking The Overnight Ferry From Malta To SicilyByGeoffrey Morrison One of my tricks for travelling long term and with as little stress as possible is to book as little as possible in advance it means you're stuck with less than ideal transport options Malta certainly was lovely, but it was time for Sicily. Specifically, a return to the lovely town of Taormina so that leaves two options: Plane and boat There are a couple of flights a day between Malta and Catania My friend and I had arrived from Barcelona But the flights to Catania are either cheap and early about $150 per person (plus taxes and such) A few times a week there’s a ferry that leaves at 9:30 and gets into Catania at 6:30 the following morning Plus you don’t need accommodation that night so the price is even “cheaper.” Taormina would just be a few euros and minutes away I wasn’t expecting cruise ship lush for the cabin Yeah… it’s definitely a cargo ferry. Well, a “ro-ro” truck ferry to be more accurate Sure it takes cars and people but this isn’t a comfort cruiser with the front enclosed decks and a long open deck for trucks behind Under that is another deck that runs the length and it’s main purpose is to carry loaded and unloaded tractor trailer trucks between the islands We soft bits are frosting on the cargo cake The steep metal ladders (aka “stairs” on a boat) were the first giveaway plain beige passageways with plain beige hatches were eerie in their similarity The small saloon/rec room was something out of a movie about oil rigs with space between them about equal to another and a head (bathroom!) not much smaller than what you might find in a small hotel I went up on deck and watched the lights of Valletta disappear over the horizon and it seems there was something dangling (a hose maybe?) off the side of the boat and as the boat rocked We disembarked and walked to the train station and arrived in Taormina in time for breakfast I’d say this was an interesting experience Had I slept better (with no knocking hoses) that didn’t book a cabin and instead slept out on the rear deck Neither seemed a very appetizing option to me It was neat but I wouldn’t go so far as to say “enjoyable.” “Fine” would be a more accurate term Six Maltese tourists were injured in an accident on via Peppino Impastato, Pozzallo Sicilian health authorities and Maltese health authorities are in contact to coordinate transportation arrangements for the injured individuals who chose not to undergo the operation in Sicily Survivors’ accounts to Alarm Phone reveal Armed Forces of Malta directed migrants to Pozzallo You cannot stop migration! While European authorities do what they can to let them drown before they reach Europe, people continue to struggle across the sea. Today 101 people arrived in Pozzallo. Over the last days boats reached Lampedusa & Linosa & Pantelleria (67 & 80 & 5). https://t.co/MBwj584ip7 BREAKING: Malta's Dangerous Manoeuvres at Sea exposed!Witness testimonies and video evidence gathered by #AlarmPhone suggest that the Armed Forces of Malta (@Armed_Forces_MT) endangered the lives of 101 people in distress before facilitating their arrival in Italy. 1/12 pic.twitter.com/6QU87PMffm The 101 people arrived at Pozzallo harbour on 12 April 2020 and were taken into quarantine Two individuals out of six Maltese nationals involved in a collision in Sicily have been brought to Malta and are currently recovering at Mater Dei Hospital Eight individuals sustained injuries following a head-on crash on Via Peppino Impastato in Pozzallo The spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry explained that a man will return to Malta using the Catamaran the woman needs to be transferred to Malta in an air ambulance the man has been discharged but is still in Sicily waiting for his wife who was told that she could only travel back to Malta in air ambulance explaining that the discussions are between the couples themselves Mater Dei Hospital and their respective insurance companies The other two were a man who suffered a fractured shoulder and another man who was in a stable condition The remaining Maltese tourists were taken to a hospital in Modica These were the woman with a broken jaw and swollen leg We use cookies to ensure users are given the best experience on our website We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the various categories Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms The _cf_bm cookie is used by OneSignal to facilitate the delivery of web push notifications on this website Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors This cookie is installed by Marfeel Solutions Registers data on visitors' website-behaviour This is used for internal analysis and website optimization This cookie is installed by Facebook and identifies browsers for the purposes of providing advertising and site analytics services This cookie is installed by Google Analytics Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns The OAID cookie is set by our Adserver to deliver targeted ads on the  website It tracks user interactions with ads (e.g. impressions) to optimize ad delivery without collecting personally identifiable information This helps provide relevant ads based on browsing activity Other cookies are those that are being identified and have not been classified into any category as yet ‘We need to learn how to live together… in small overcrowded places The National Literary Agency is working to ensure migrants learn Malta and their children can go to schools in the afternoon to learn English and Maltese Three of the six Maltese nationals injured in a head-on collision in Pozzallo are in Malta with a fourth set to arrive via air ambulance on Sunday The three married couples were among eight individuals injured in the head-on collision in Via Peppino Impastato on Thursday Three of the casualties were taken to a hospital in Modica and the other three to a hospital in nearby Ragusa A foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed that one of the couples has since been transferred to Malta; they are presently recovering at Mater Dei Hospital Another man returned to Malta by catamaran on Saturday evening His wife remained in Sicily since medical staff determined that she should only be transferred via air ambulance but this transfer is set to take place on Sunday awaiting instructions from their insurers concerning their eventual transfer to Malta after searching a vehicle of two Maltese nationals who had just arrived on the ferry from Sicily “The species in question presented a threat to Malta’s biological identity since these could potentially establish populations in the wild or interbreed with locally occurring species,” ERA said adding the animals were seized for further investigations only identified by Ragusa’s Guardia di Finanza as F.J. is being held under arrest after he was caught with 231 kg of marijuana on a trailer as he was leaving Pozzallo towards Malta who works as a driver with a Maltese transport company was arrested on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday He was stopped by Guardia di Finanza officers and by Pozzallo customs officers following his suspicious movements a few moments before he was about to drive his trailer on the catamaran immediately drew the attention of the officers on the possible presence of drugs in the truck being driven by the Maltese man The Italian officers acted by unloading the trailer and during their search among packages The man was taken to a Ragusa prison in order to undergo criminal proceedings against him by Italian authorities the Guardia di Finanza and Customs of Pozzallo said that the seizure followed two other seizures in recent days exactly as two persons were about to leave Pozzallo for Malta on the catamaran A Maltese woman was found with 52 fake dresses of a renowned firm while a Pakistani was carrying 48 kg of contraband tobacco Fifty-eight people who were rescued from Malta's search and rescue zone entered harbour in Pozzallo on Sunday.  Voluntary organisation Sea-Eye said this marked the end of a rescue mission during which they observed Malta “failing to fulfill its duty to coordinate maritime emergencies several times” The group that landed in Pozzallo is made up of two rescues Sea-Eye carried out this month.  Sea-Eye rescued a group of 34 distressed migrants who were in need of immediate rescue in the Maltese search and rescue zone at the beginning of May.  When contacted at the time, an AFM official said there was no information on the matter.  After three days out at sea and Malta's failure to cooperate German authorities stepped in and coordinated a rescue.  Earlier this week, Sea-Eye rescued 24 'hypothermic' people who were stranded on a sinking boat in Malta's rescue zone for over three days.  Sea-Eye accused the Maltese rescue coordination centre of refusing to coordinate rescue efforts.  Sea-Eye 4 crew helping people who were stranded out at sea in Maltese SAR The SEA-EYE 4 was able to safely take all the people on board and the merchant ship's captain complained that the Maltese rescue coordination centre had been "partially unavailable" "That Malta refuses to coordinate maritime emergencies and does not respond to calls or emails is an unacceptable state of affairs The ongoing violations of duty must lead to legal and political consequences," Gorden Isler chairman of Sea-Eye said in a press statement "The pressure from other EU states must be greater and the criticism louder." Malta left a distress call from 50 people in its search and rescue zone unanswered which eventually led to the Italian Coast Guard coming to the aid of  the people in distress at sea.  A 40-year-old man has been arrested in Sicily after Italian Police officers found just under 18 kg of marijuana hidden in the car he was driving 143 packets containing 17.7 kg of marijuana were found in the car The man is being detained under arrest in Ragusa The drug and the vehicle have been confiscated Juża l-ħiliet tiegħu biex ikun komunikatur tajjeb You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience The fishing vessel was a 12 metre long wooden motorboat and it had started leaking The refugees are all safe and sound in Sicily after undergoing questioning Coast guard ship saves 408 refugees Malta-Italy business chamber claims Customs warning on non-EU cars has not been issued for ferry services from Catania It called on the authorities to address the issue promptly and ensure that future communications and regulations are developed and applied in a non-discriminatory manner in full compliance with the principles of the European Union Some 35 vehicles are stranded in Pozzallo after the Virtu catamaran was taken out of service following a collision with the pier as it docked at the Italian town yesterday A report on the extent of the damage is expected to between Sunday and Monday a spokesman for the company told the Times of Malta today The collision on the MV Jean de La Vallette took place yesterday morning and repair works are necessary before the catamaran can be used again The spokesman said repairs could take up to a week but it is only catering for  passengers no vehicles are being transported until "things are in order" Virtu Ferries is offering refunds to customers who had bought tickets for the coming days and has made arrangements for the 35 drivers stuck in Pozzallo to garage their vehicles in a car park close by please register for free or log in to your account A 47-year-old Italian national has been arrested at Pozzallo port in Sicily after 15 kg of cannabis resin were found in the suitcase he was bringing with him to Malta Officials from the Guardia di Finanza found the drugs concealed in a number of packets well wrapped in plastic The drugs were found after the Italian was noted to be acting suspiciously when he was at the port waiting to start his crossing to Malta After the Italian failed to convince the officers when they started questioning him a search was carried out in his suitcase and he was immediately arrested It is estimated that the drug has a value of 150,000 euro Owen Galea huwa l-Kap tal-Aħbarijiet ta' TVM Huwa nħatar f'din il-kariga fl-1 ta' Mejju 2024 Galea beda l-karriera l-ġurnalistitika tiegħu fl-2003 wara li ggradwa fil-Komunikazzjoni mill-Università ta' Malta A 32-year-old Maltese man has been caught with 231kg of cannabis in Pozzallo by the Guardia di Finanza of Ragusa He was caught as he was boarding the Jean De La Valette catamaran heading back to Malta the driver was said to work for a “well-known Maltese transport company” Kilos of frozen food items were removed from the lorry and hidden within five large packages were 114 packages of cannabis He will now be charged with the trafficking of a significant amount of cannabis in the Ragusa district An investigation is currently underway to discover the origin of the plant It is estimated that the street value of the amount found could be over 1.5 million euros Kindly check your inbox after sign-up to confirm subscription A group of 119 migrants at sea since Wednesday have been rescued by an NGO vessel and are now safe – but exhausted – in Sicily The plight of the migrants had been raised by Italy's new Home Affairs Minister Matteo Salvini who warned that the country will be adopting a far tougher stance towards Malta on migration issues than it did in the past He claimed that the NGO vessel with migrants was barred from landing on the island something that the Maltese government denied in a terse statement shortly afterwards Watch: "Malta cannot always say 'no'": Italy fires warning over migration The migrants had been saved from a rubbed dinghy by the NGO Sea Eye’s vessel the Seefuchs An earlier attempt to transfer them to another vessel The NGO's version of what happened afterwards tied in with the one given by the Maltese authorities saying that the Rescue Centre had offered the vessel was at that time in the wind and wave shadow of two ships – one of them a tanker He was reluctant to abandon the protection offered by the ships and was moving further away from Malta Malta was declared as no longer being the nearest safe haven a spokesman for the NGO Sea Eye told the Times of Malta The vessel eventually moved into the area monitored by the Italian rescue coordination centre “The 119 migrants – which include 11 women two of them pregnant - are doing well in accordance with the requirements In total the sea rescue organisation from Regensburg was able to take part in saving more than 14,000 people in the past two years are 60-year-old fishing vessels and have never been suited to transport many people “Being forced into transporting people puts the crew and everyone else aboard into enormous danger it is the third time in a few weeks that Seefuchs has people on deck for more than 24 hours – this time with the most challenging whether conditions so far,” he said lamenting that the intensity of defamation and vilification has grown again It has been confirmed that the 27 immigrants that were transferred to the vessel ‘Mare Jonio’ after spending 38 days stranded on the oil tanker ‘Maersk Etienne’ Their transfer to the ‘Mare Jonio’ that is run by the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans took place yesterday and they are expected to disembark at Pozzallo in an hour’s time The Maersk company had reported the situation on board its tanker was deteriorating with the immigrants threatening to go on a hunger strike The NGO Mediterranea had said the immigrants were not in a condition to remain on board the tanker and they expected them to disembark in Malta or somewhere in Europe Regarding this episode Prime Minister Robert Abela had said these immigrants were rescued in the Tunisian zone but the tanker captain instead of proceeding to his destiny decided to change course and head for Malta https://www.tvm.com.mt/mt/news/id-danimarka-tghid-li-t-tunezija-ghandha-tiehu-l-immigranti-salvati-mill-maersk-etienne/ Virtu Ferries passengers travelling between Malta and Sicily were forced to alter their plans or face being stranded on Monday after the operator changed its ferry schedule due to bad weather The Malta-Sicily ferry operator cancelled a 6.30pm route from Malta to Pozzallo and a 9.30pm trip from the Sicilian port to Malta the operator had scheduled extra crossings for Tuesday to make up for the Monday cancellations Ferries will now also depart Pozzallo at 8am and Malta at 12pm on Tuesday in addition to standard departures at 9.30pm and 5am respectively Those travelling over the weekend also experienced alterations to their scheduled trips including significantly earlier crossings and the departure from Pozzallo was brought forward more than 12 hours while on Sunday the scheduled crossing from Malta was delayed from 6.30am to 4.30pm The change in schedules is the result of weather forecasts that predict strong and gusty winds on Monday evening - and which forced four flights heading to Malta to be diverted to Sicily. A spokesperson for the airport's Meteorological Office told Times of Malta that it would be issuing a strong wind warning on Monday afternoon.  “Presently there is a low-pressure system to the south of Malta which caused the unstable weather and the dust in the air we experienced this morning The low pressure will track northwards and by evening will be over southern Italy,” they said “This will cause the wind to back to a strong West-Northwest direction with the weather expected to become unstable again as a cold front passes over the Maltese Islands this afternoon.”  Winds are expected to die down by Wednesday this May has not been an especially wet one this May sits below the average expected rainfall of 10.2mm for the month while the average wind speed of 10.1 knots is “mostly in line” with the 30-year average The wettest May on record was in 1993 with 31 mm of rainfall recorded.  Hundreds of migrants finally disembarked in Italy from two ships on Monday after other European Union countries agreed to accept more than half of them ending a diplomatic standoff that had left them stuck at sea The remaining migrants aboard the Italian ship Monte Sperone and the British naval vessel Protector which had picked up 450 asylum seekers from an overcrowded boat that left Libya on Friday shuffled ashore at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo At least eight suspected people smugglers were driven away in police cars while identification procedures were begun in the port for the other migrants who had insisted that EU partners should take them in said the offer by five countries to accept 50 migrants each had vindicated his hard-line immigration stance "Firmness and consistency pays off," Salvini who is leading a high-profile campaign to exclude humanitarian rescue ships from Italian ports Eight of the migrants in bad medical condition were allowed to land on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Saturday and another 27 women and children had disembarked in Pozzallo on Sunday to eradicate all the people-smuggling mafias will be to re-accompany the immigrants back where they came from," said Salvini Spain and Portugal each agreed to accept a share of the migrants that left the shores of Libya on Friday Read: Malta taking in migrants could prove useful in the future - Muscat Salvini argues that European countries should find a way to block the migrants before they leave Africa or send boats with asylum seekers back to the ports where they came from refugees cannot be returned to a place where their lives are in danger Both the United Nations and EU have ruled that Libya is not safe who is also deputy prime minister in the anti-establishment government that took office last month insisted on Monday the rules must be changed to allow migrants to be returned to Libya and their asylum requests be processed there "The EU has to understand that this is the only way to get out of this tunnel," he told reporters in Moscow where he went to watch Sunday's soccer World Cup final and meet Russian officials A Maltese man is under arrest in Sicily after police there caught him with almost 18kg of cannabis hidden inside a car he was driving.  was stopped for a search as he was about to board a ferry to Malta at Pozzallo revealed 143 packets of cannabis weighing a combined total of 17.74kg.  The man was arrested and taken to a police lock-up in Ragusa, Sicilian news outlet La Sicilia reported.   Six Maltese nationals were among the eight individuals injured in a head-on collision in Pozzallo The six tourists are currently hospitalised in Ragusa and Modica but are awaiting clearance to travel to Malta The woman has been informed that she could return to Malta to undergo surgery only if she is transferred by an ambulance and spends the entire trip lying down One of three other patients hospitalised in Modica Meanwhile two women – one who suffered a fractured jaw and another who sustained a hip fracture remain hospitalised This newsroom is informed that the woman who was diagnosed with a hip fracture needs to undergo surgery has expressed her wish to be treated in Malta the Italian medics have insisted that she can only be transferred to Malta if she spends the entire trip lying down in an ambulance The foreign affairs ministry explained that it is currently consulting with its Italian counterparts to facilitate the woman’s transfer the ministry said that two of the people involved will be returning to Malta via Catamaran on Friday evening is currently waiting for his wife’s discharge letter in order to leave Sicily this evening or tomorrow The third couple is also expected to return to Malta in the coming hours but they are currently waiting for the discharge release of the man Malta’s embassy in Italy and Malta’s honorary consul in Catania are closely monitoring the case The victims’ relatives have been informed an American windsurfer of Hungarian origin will be the foreign competitor to contest the special edition of the Pozzallo Windsurf Race being held this month Gabor has been actively windsurfing since 1982 but racing for only the last couple of years since his participation in the 2002 Puerto Rico Pan Am Cup He features in the Formula Windsurfing Class and based on recent racing history and results he is reputed to be one of the top five racers in Southern California in the Formula Class of the 2004 US National Windsurfing Championship He actually finished seventh in his Grandmasters Class out of a total of 16 Vagi has recently qualified to be in the Gold Fleet of the San Francisco Championship which in US windsurfing circles is regarded quite an accomplishment He is participating in the Nestea Professional Windsurfing Association Windsurfing Cup Event on Lake Balaton Following the competition he plans to travel to Malta for the Pozzallo Race arriving here on September 13 The Malta-Sicily Windsurf Race - 20 Years After is sponsored by the Bank of Valletta Each of these sponsors will also extend their professional resources and facilities towards the general organisation of the 93km classic race will serve as a platform to raise funds in aid of the Park of Friendship in Marsascala (Ir-Razzett Tal-Hbiberija) Search and rescue vessel Ocean Viking is currently heading towards the port of Pozzallo to disembark 274 rescued migrants after waiting for help for almost four days The charity operated boat was assigned a safe port to enter by the Italian authorities on Sunday at 1am, after an email requesting a place of safety was sent to the Maltese and Italian authorities on Wednesday Contacted by Times of Malta on Thursday, the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) stated they were unable to disclose any information on the rescued migrants were picked up by the Ocean Viking on three different rescue operations on Tuesday and Wednesday Médecins Sans Frontières medics on board had identified one man at risk of developing complications from injuries sustained while incarcerated in Libya An NGO vessel impounded in Pozzallo 10 days ago following the rescue of 218 has been ordered to remain in the Sicilian port The decision was taken by a judge of the Tribunal of Catania who decided to drop charges of “criminal association” against members of the NGO Proactiva Open Arms The Tribunal of Ragusa must now decide whether the activists should be prosecuted for aiding illegal migration The future of the vessel will also be decided by the same court According to charges issued by the Sicilian authorities the vessel should have disembarked the rescued migrants in Malta and not in Italy The Italian prosecutors insist that since Malta was ‘the closest safe port’ according to international rules the rescued migrants’ final destination should have been Malta not Pozzallo arguing that Malta did not offer to take the irregular immigrants Though admitting that they had disembarked a mother and her three-month-old baby in Malta they said the Maltese authorities did not offer to host the rest of the migrants The Maltese government has not reacted to the incident but only said that Malta had no responsibility in the entire operation because the migrants were rescued in the seas falling within Libya’s jurisdiction the migrants were picked up about 73 nautical miles off Libya Following a stand-off on the high-seas with a Libyan patrol boat Malta is the only EU Member State that does not respect the international principle that it must host all those rescued in its vast search and rescue region It says that is why it was left with no option but to take the migrants to Sicily Ragusa man arrested with car rented out in Germany before boarding catamaran at Pozzallo for Malta The police said the criminals acquiring the cars in Malta were also dismantling them to resell their spare parts.