Valletta, Malta - Two rescue helicopters on Thursday were searching for as many as 70 illegal migrants reported missing off Malta.

They were reported missing by eight of their companions who were found floating on a half-submerged dinghy some 40 miles south of the Mediterranean island.

Initially there was some confusion about the number of missing migrants, with the survivors telling a fishermen who rescued them that they were in a group of 18. The number was revised late Wednesday after a top official from the UN Commission for Refugees interviewed the survivors.

Valletta, Malta  - A German company is in advanced talks to set up a factory in Malta to produce dietary supplements to assist people suffering from immune system problems, group CEO Edmund Krix sa

Valletta, Malta  - Two would-be illegal immigrants, including a baby, were airlifted to hospital in Malta from a fishing boat early Thursday morning.

Singapore - Singapore and Malta have signed an Open Skies Agreement (OSA) allowing for full flexibility on air services operated by carriers of both countries, the civil aviation authority said on Friday.

The OSA becomes fully effective on December 1, 2010.

"The OSA will enable our carriers to capitalize on market opportunities that arise in (the) future," said the authority's chief executive officer Lim Kim Choon.

Valletta, Malta  - A boat carrying 120 would-be illegal immigrants was stranded Thursday without fuel or water in Libyan- controlled waters 150 miles south of Malta, a person on board the vessel told United Nations refugee officials by satellite phone.

So far, no country has sent any rescuers to provide assistance, according to the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malta, Neil Falzon.

A UNHCR representative on the Italian island of Lampedusa received the emergency call regarding the stranded would-be immigrants, including 25 women and six children.

Falzon said the Libyan, Italian and Maltese authorities had been informed.

Valletta, Malta  - A total of 56 would-be immigrants were rescued off Malta early Thursday morning and brought to shore following two separate operations.

In the first, the owner of a tanker vessel alerted Maltese officials that his crew had come across a group of Africans on board a rickety boat who were asking for fuel and food.

A Maltese rescue vessel was dispatched to the scene, bringing 26 would-be immigrants, including two women to shore.