Valletta  - A group of 105 would-be illegal immigrants were rescued by a Maltese patrol boat Tuesday, officials said.

The immigrants had requested help after their large rubber dinghy developed engine trouble during their journey north towards Italy.

An Armed Forces of Malta vessel, taking part in the EU's border agency Frontex patrols, was diverted to the area at once.

The migrants - 85 men and 20 women - were transferred to the patrol boat, which was due back in Malta later in the evening.  dpa

Valletta, Malta - The carcasses of more than 150 protected birds were discovered in a Maltese woodland on Monday by wildlife protection volunteers.

The dead birds were found in the Mizieb woodland in the north of the island, which is managed by the hunting federation.

The two-day operation started after volunteers from Birdlife Malta and CABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter) spotted hunters gunning down protected birds of prey that roosted in the trees on Sunday.

Valletta, Malta  - Sixty-eight migrants on board a dinghy were rescued by an Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat Tuesday evening and brought ashore, where they were immediately taken to a detention facility.

The military had been monitoring the dinghy's movements since Monday, when it was first spotted by a fishing boat, an army spokesman said.

The migrants were taken on board the army vessel after sea conditions deteriorated about 28 miles off Malta. The group of migrants included 14 women and seven children. According to the army spokesman all were in good health.  dpa

Valletta, Malta  - Malta's vocal hunting lobby was incensed Thursday after the European Court of Justice decided Malta had breached hunting regulations and would have to discontinue a decades- old traditional bird hunt.

For several years, Maltese hunters targeted turtle doves and quails in what was known as the spring hunt, even if the EU's Birds Directive clearly bans hunting during spring.

The directive only makes exceptions if a country can prove there is no other season to hunt apart from spring.

Valletta, Malta  - A group of 84 Somali immigrants were rescued off Malta early Wednesday, officials said.

The 53 men, 29 women and two children were in distress in inclement weather when they were picked up by a Maltese army patrol boat. They were expected to land on the Mediterranean island later Wednesday.

The army received reports that the group was drifting at sea on

Tuesday from the local UNHCR representative offices in Malta, following a tip-off by a Somali source on the island.

Valletta, Malta - A corpse, probably that of an immigrant, was picked from the sea off Malta, the army said on Saturday.

The corpse, which had a yellow vest and T-shirt but no life jacket, was first spotted by a fisherman.

The fact that the corpse was not severely decomposed was an indication that he may have been part of a group of 80 immigrants who landed in Malta last Wednesday in the same area, the army said.

That night, another male immigrant drowned after he jumped into the sea in celebration metres from shore.(dpa)

Valletta, Malta - A man died as 80 would-be illegal immigrants landed in two groups in Malta late Wednesday night, officials said.

The man died when he fell overboard as his dinghy was approaching the Mediterranean island.

The African migrants - 66 men and 14 women - including three who were heavily pregnant - landed in two groups in the Freeport area.

The passengers also included a 7-year-old boy.

The army said in a statement that it was notified by the police that some 40 immigrants had made it to shore on the rocky coastline and a rubber dinghy had also been spotted in the choppy seas just offshore.

Valletta, Malta - Malta had "no connection" with the Lockerbie disaster, Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg said Sunday, as the world comes to grips with the release of the man charged with planting the bomb at the island's airport in 1988.

Speaking to The Sunday Times of Malta, Borg, who is also foreign affairs minister, said: "Malta was not involved in this incident. The bomb never left from Malta."

Valletta, Malta  - Malta's army chief admitted Saturday his soldiers provided fuel to five Eritrean migrants who were stranded at sea but cast doubts on their claims that 73 people died on board the same dinghy.

The army sent a patrol boat to the area to offer assistance but according to army chief Carmel Vassallo the immigrants adamantly refused to be taken to Malta.

He told a news conference that the four men and one woman were looking "relatively fresh" and the dinghy appeared to be "good as new."

Valletta, Malta - An inspection for would-be illegal immigrants dashed an Italian yacht's chances of winning a race over the weekend, the Maltese army confirmed Wednesday.

The Este 31's hopes of winning the Hammamet-Malta Melita Cup evaporated when it was stopped for at least half-an-hour by a Maltese army patrol boat two nautical miles from the Mediterranean island.

Skipper Matteo Miceli told Italian media that soldiers boarded his vessel and asked those on board for their documents.

Valletta  - Some 115 African refugees were rescued from a sinking boat off the coast of Malta and brought to the capital Valletta, Maltese officials reported Sunday.

The 81 men and 34 women were said to be from Somalia and had set sail from Libya. (dpa)

Valletta - A total of 115 would-be illegal immigrants were being taken to Malta Saturday after being rescued from a sinking dinghy, officials said.

The drifting vessel was first reported by a fisherman and three Maltese patrol boats were sent to the scene some 20 miles south of the Mediterranean island.

According to initial reports, the group was composed of 81 men and 34 women. They were claiming to be Somali and had left from Libya. Some of those on board were seasick, according to officials.

Valletta, Malta  - Top Maltese footballer Luke Dimech has been axed from the national squad after he refused to change the colour of his hair, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Dimech, a stocky defender for the Valetta club, turned up for training on Saturday sporting a Mohican-hairstyle, dyed red, according to the Times of Malta.

Clearly not impressed with the 32-year-old player's new look, Malta's freshly appointed national team coach, John Buttigieg, asked Dimech to remove the dye before the team's next training session.

Valletta, Malta  - One man is believed to have died as 44 would-be illegal immigrants from Africa landed in Malta early Saturday, police said.

It is the second group of immigrants to land on the small Mediterranean island in 10 days after an unusual lull in human trafficking.

Police were alerted about the arrival by campers on the tourist village of Marsascala and the immigrants were arrested the minute they set foot on land.

Valletta, Malta  - A group of 28 Somalis, including six women, landed Tuesday in Malta - the first arrival of would-be immigrants on the Mediterranean island-nation in almost two months.

At around dawn, several residents of Malta's St Thomas Bay spotted the migrants' boat and alerted police who boarded the vessel and took the group to a detention centre, officials said.

In June no migrants landed on Malta, compared to the 575 who arrived during the same period in 2008.

Valletta - The Black Eyed Peas Wednesday defended themselves against accusations of plagiarism as the band prepared to perform at the Isle of MTV concert in Malta.

The American band is facing legal action from DJ Adam Freeland, who has claimed that the group used the beat from his track Mancry in Party All the Time, which featured on their latest album The E. N. D.

Speaking during a news conference, band member apl. de. ap played

Valletta  - The Catholic Church in Malta is to tell the faithful to receive Holy Communion by hand only after an outbreak of swine flu on the Mediterranean island.

The directive is to be read during all Masses Saturday evening in the predominantly Catholic island of 400,000.

The decision follows similar actions taken in other dioceses where swine flu has broken out. A total of 16 cases of swine flu have been reported in Malta since Tuesday. (dpa)

Valletta, Malta  - The first two cases of swine flu in Malta were confirmed Thursday, officials said.

Doctors are treating two 26-year-old men for the H1N1 virus, Parliamentary Secretary, Mario Galea, confirmed.

The two apparently contracted the virus which causes swine flu after travelling to Spain together with a group of 25 people.

Ten other members of the group which returned to Malta on Tuesday, are showing symptoms of swine flu, officials said.

All suspected cases and their families are under a voluntary quarantine.

Valletta, Malta - A group of 33 would-be illegal immigrants landed Wednesday afternoon on Malta's tiny island of Gozo, local officials reported.

The immigrants, 32 men and one woman, arrived in a small boat and were being held by the police.

The topic of illegal immigration is topping the list of concerns in Malta's opinion polls ahead of June's European elections. Malta has applauded Italy's decision of sending back to Libya any immigrants saved at sea.(dpa)

Valletta, Malta - Malta has turned down requests by an Italian ship to land 69 would-be illegal migrants rescued off Lampedusa early Monday.

The Spica is anchored off Malta's territorial waters but inside the island's search and rescue zone.

Malta is insisting that those rescued be taken to Lampedusa, which is the nearest port, sources close to the Maltese government have told the German Press Agency dpa.

The group of immigrants include 16 women. Their condition is unknown.