Valletta, Malta - Some 150 would-be illegal immigrants remained in a watery limbo off the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa on Saturday as Italy and Malta traded accusations of failure to live up to their international obligations.

The group of African immigrants was rescued from two separate boats by a Turkish cargo ship near Lampedusa on Thursday in an operation coordinated by the Armed Forces of Malta.

Valletta  - Malta has refused to take in 154 would-be illegal immigrants shortly after Italy also denied them permission to land in Lampedusa, officials said Friday.

The immigrants had been picked up by a Turkish cargo ship just over 40 nautical miles off Lampedusa.

Malta is insisting that in terms of international conventions, the immigrants were to be brought to the nearest safe port, which in this case was Lampedusa.

Valletta - A 60-year-old lawyer was voted in as Malta's next president Wednesday, amid rare consensus in the politically-divided island.

George Abela was unanimously voted in by parliament as Malta's eighth president, and the first ever from an opposition party.

A former deputy leader of the Labour Party, last year Abela contested the top post for a party trailing from three successive electoral defeats.

Washington, March 26 : A tunnel network has been uncovered beneath the historic heart of the Maltese capital of Valletta, which according to rumors, had been constructed by the crusading Knights of the island of Malta.

According to a report in National Geographic News, the newfound tunnels date back to the 16th and early 17th centuries, when the knights—one of the major Christian military orders of the 11th- to 13th-century Crusades—fortified Valletta against Muslim attack.

Valetta, Malta - At least one person was injured Monday during clashes at a migrant detention centre in Malta, officials said.

An undisclosed number of would-be immigrants fled from the centre during the disturbances, in which rioters also started several fires, the officials said. Reporters saw one detainee being carried toward a waiting ambulance. Information on the person's condition was not immediately available.

The two hour-long rampage was brought under control following the intervention of riot police backed by military reinforcements, officials said.

Valletta, Malta - Malta and Libya have signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding on search and rescue, the Maltese Foreign Ministry said Friday night.

There has been a steady increase in tragedies caused by boatloads of African immigrants leaving Libya's shores en route to Europe.

The memorandum of understanding is inspired by the desire of Malta and Libya to further promote friendly relations between the two countries and the necessity of improving the safety of life at sea in the Mediterranean basin, the ministry said.