Valletta - Five bodies have been found off Malta so far as rescuers continue with their search following one of the worst disasters involving would-be illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean.

A Maltese patrol boat and two German helicopters are continuing their search in an area between 50 and 40 nautical miles south of Malta.

Eight survivors from a half-sunken dinghy told the Maltese authorities that the boat on which they were trying to reach Europe had set off from Libya with 79 people aboard. After their engine stopped, they spent the next days adrift in heavy seas as their numbers gradually dwindled.

Valletta, Malta  - The UN refugee agency asked the Maltese authorities Thursday to broaden the search for those missing in what is believed to be one of the deadliest incidents involving would-be illegal immigrants in the Mediterranean.

In a statement, the UNHCR urged the Maltese authorities to provide medical care to eight African migrants rescued in an incident which is believed to have left at least 70 people missing and feared dead.

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.