More than 40 people have died in a migrant shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Four survivors told rescuers the vessel had set off from Sfax in Tunisia, a hot spot in the migration crisis.
The metal boat overturned during bad weather last Thursday night, according to a joint statement from the UN agencies for refugees, children and migration.
The seven-metre vessel was carrying 45 people when it began to take in water after reaching the open sea. The survivors told the coastguard that the boat sank a few hours into its journey after being overwhelmed by a giant wave.
The four managed to survive the shipwreck by floating on inner tubes, before reaching another boat at sea.
They were eventually rescued by a merchant ship in the Straits of Sicily and then transferred to an Italian coastguard vessel, which took them to Lampedusa on Wednesday.
The Sea-Watch charity rescue group said one of its surveillance planes spotted them being rescued.
“They said they were among the few aboard [the boat] with a life jacket, and [after the shipwreck] they remained in the water until they found another empty boat,” Sea-Watch said in a statement.
Alessandra Filograno, a spokeswoman for the Italian Red Cross, confirmed four survivors arrived at the Lampedusa reception centre on Wednesday morning: two men, a woman and a 13-year-old unaccompanied boy from Ivory Coast and Guinea. The charity said the four were in generally good health.
The migrants arrived in Lampedusa exhausted and in a state of shock, and were due to be questioned by police, local prosecutor Salvatore Vella said. They were believed to have spent several days adrift with no food or drinking water.
A press officer for UN migration agency, the International Organization for Migration, Flavio Di Giacomo said Wednesday the migrants who died in the latest tragedy would have had little chance given the bad weather.
"Sub-Saharan migrants (leaving from Tunisia) are forced to use these low-cost iron boats which break after 20 or 30 hours of navigation," he said.
"With this kind of sea, these boats capsize easily. It is very likely that there are many more shipwrecks than those we know about, that is the real fear."
He said people traffickers who send migrants to sea in such conditions are "more criminal than usual... totally without scruples".
The local prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the incident.
It came after the coastguard recovered the bodies of a woman and a toddler on Sunday, following two shipwrecks off Lampedusa.
There were 57 survivors of the shipwrecks, with more than 30 believed to be missing. Survivors said the boats had set off from Sfax and sank in rough seas.
One boat was carrying 48 passengers, of whom 43 were rescued by the coastguard. The second vessel had 42 people on board, 14 of whom were rescued.
An investigation into Sunday's shipwrecks has been opened in Agrigento, on the Italian island of Sicily.
Agrigento's chief of police Emanuele Ricifari said the traffickers would have known bad weather was forecast.
"Whoever allowed them, or forced them, to leave with this sea is an unscrupulous criminal lunatic," he told Italian media at the weekend.
He added that it had been "sending them to slaughter with this sea".
A source said it was unlikely that the four survivors picked up on Wednesday were from one of these two earlier shipwrecks.
Lampedusa is Italy's southernmost island and is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland. The island is about 130km from Sfax.
It has become a key European entry point for migrants, mainly originating from Libya, since the early 2000s, and has seen its migrant holding centre repeatedly overcrowded with new arrivals this summer.
Last year the Italian navy relocated 600 asylum seekers from the tiny island, which is home to about 6,000 people, after its refugee reception centre became overwhelmed with new arrivals, and photos circulated of filthy conditions.
Italy has registered about 93,700 migrant arrivals by sea so far this year, according to Interior Ministry data last updated on Monday, compared with 44,700 in the same period of 2022.
Most of those arriving are from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Tunisia.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing government includes the anti-migrant League party, has galvanised the European Union to join it in efforts to coax Tunisia to crack down on smuggling operations, but the boats continue to set off.
In their statement, the UN agencies for refugees, children and migration on Wednesday renewed their call for "coordinated search and rescue mechanisms" in the Central Mediterranean, and for countries to increase resources to better meet "their responsibilities".
They also called for more safe legal routes for migrants and refugees into Europe, "to avoid people having to resort to dangerous journeys in search of safety and protection".
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Key facilities
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
FINAL SCORES
Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs
(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)
Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs
(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)
Match info:
Wolves 1
Boly (57')
Manchester City 1
Laporte (69')
