French police launched a major search and rescue operation Sunday after a solo flyer`s aircraft vanished in the English Channel.

French police launched a substantial search and rescue operation Sunday after a solo flyer`s aircraft vanished in the English Channel.

JAKARTA, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - About 30 people are believed to be missing after an Indonesian ferry sank off Sulawesi island last week, killing at least 31 people, an official said Monday.

The boat capsized last Thursday when passengers rushed to the roof to pick up a mobile phone signal as it approached the coast, officials have said.

'After synchronising reports from various parties, we have concluded that 30 people are missing after the Acita 03 sank,' said an official at the disaster management centre in Bau Bau, where the boat was supposed to have docked.

JAKARTA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - At least 31 people were killed and 125 rescued after a ferry sank off Indonesia's Sulawesi island in the latest of a series of transport accidents to hit the archipelago nation, officials said Friday.

Residents near the town of Bau Bau on southeast Sulawesi heard survivors screaming and pleading for help after the Acita 03 capsized at about 9:00 pm (1300 GMT) Thursday, ElShinta radio reported.

JAKARTA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - At least 29 people were killed and 125 rescued after an Indonesian ferry sank in high seas off the island of Sulawesi, officials said Friday.

Residents near the town of Bau Bau on southeast Sulawesi heard survivors screaming and pleading for help after the Acita 03 capsized at about 9:00 pm (1300 GMT) Thursday, ElShinta radio reported.

ElShinta's reporter said 151 people were believed to be on board. Indonesian ferries however are known for carrying more passengers than the number officially registered on their manifestos.

JAKARTA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - At least 29 people were killed and 125 rescued after an Indonesian ship sank in high seas off the island of Sulawesi, officials said Friday.

Residents near the town of Bau Bau on southeast Sulawesi heard survivors pleading for help after the ship sank at about 9:00 pm (1400 GMT) Thursday, just 500 metres (yards) from shore, ElShinta radio reported.

JAKARTA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - At least 29 people were killed and scores were missing after an Indonesian ship carrying 151 people sank off the island of Sulawesi, local radio reported Friday.

'There are 29 people dead but there is no information about who they are yet, the number of children, the number of adults,' an Elshinta reporter said, adding that 151 people were believed to have been on board.

BRUSSELS, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission announced Thursday a vast action plan to ease international freight traffic in Europe, by opening up priority rail corridors and cutting red tape for ships moving between EU ports.

Experts predict that freight transport will increase by half in Europe by 2020 compared to 2000 levels, and Brussels has decided to take steps to streamline procedures so that the EU economy can better take advantage.

BANJUL, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - At least 35 Senegalese are missing and feared dead after their boat capsized late last week off Gambia's shores, new figures released by rescue officials showed Wednesday.

Scores of Senegalese set sail from the western Gambian seaside village of Tanji towards the Senegalese town of Bassoul, when the boat sank overnight last Thursday due to bad weather conditions, Abdoulie Camara, a senior Gambian rescuer told AFP.

SALONIKA, Greece, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Greek coastguard vessels were on Wednesday looking for a Cypriot skipper missing after his cargo ship was rammed by a Panamanian-flagged freighter and sank, the merchant marine ministry said.

The accident happened near the northern Greek port of Salonika, as the Greek-flagged cargo ship Diamond I was leaving the harbour and The Dubai Guardian, a freighter loaded with coal, was approaching the dock.

SALONICA, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - A Greek ferry carrying 143 passengers was involved in a collision with a fishing boat in the North Aegean sea Friday morning, port authorities said.

No one was injured in the accident as the ferry returned to Salonica from the island of Lemnos, but the Salonica port authority has opened an inquiry.

ATHENS, Oct 6, 2007 (AFP) - A diver monitoring pollution from a sunken cruise ship near the Greek island of Santorini died in an accident on Saturday, the merchant marine ministry said.

The 44-year-old man, who was inspecting the wreck, is believed to have surfaced too quickly and apparently died from decompression sickness, a ministry source told AFP.

The diver was pronounced dead on arrival at the Santorini health centre, the ministry said in a statement.

OSLO, Oct 3, 2007 (AFP) - Norway plans to build the world's first osmotic power plant, a renewable energy source that makes use of the pressure built up between sea water and fresh water, Norwegian energy group Statkraft said Wednesday.

Osmotic power is based on the natural process of osmosis.

In an osmotic power plant, sea water and fresh water are separated by a membrane. The sea water draws the fresh water through the membrane, thereby increasing the pressure on the sea water side. The increased pressure is used to produce power with a turbine, Statkraft said.

MBAO, Senegal, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of Senegalese Muslims and Christians huddled together in pain and anger on Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of Africa's worst ferry disaster which claimed nearly 2,000 lives.

In front of a row of white tombs at a cemetery on the outskirts of the capital Dakar, an old man sporting an African gown recited the Koran under a blazing sun while a few metres away, a young Catholic woman fingered a rosary, meditating in silence.

ANKARA, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - A Panama-registered ship sank in the Black Sea off Turkey's northern coast in bad weather Friday, but all the crew and passengers were rescued, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The Sunny Day, a 4,970-tonne roll-on roll-off ship, got into trouble some 30 miles off the Turkish port of Trabzon from where it set out earlier in the day for the Russian port city of Sochi, the agency said.

All on board were rescued by coast guard helicopters before the ship finally sank, the agency said.

MORONI, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - Five people drowned in the Indian Ocean when a boat carrying illegal migrants from the Comoros to the French island of Mayotte capsized, officials said.

The boat capsized on Tuesday off the coast Bambao Mtsanga, a village on the eastern coast of the Comoros island of Anjouan.

'A shipwreck took place off Bambao Mstanga,' Anjouan transport minister Mohammed Abdu Mahdi told AFP.

MORONI, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - At least four people died and around 15 were missing Wednesday after a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized off the Comoros coast in the Indian ocean, officials said.

The boat capsized on Tuesday off the coast Bambao Mtsanga, a village on the eastern coast of the Comoros island of Anjouan.

'A shipwreck took place off Bambao Mstanga. Four bodies were recovered and buried but around 15 people are still missing,' Anjouan transport minister Mohammed Abdu Mahdi told AFP.

BANGKOK, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - A Thai boat captain was charged Wednesday with reckless manslaughter after an Israeli tourist died when his vessel capsized near the paradise holiday island of Phi Phi in southern Thailand, police said.

Suriyan Soison, 34, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to police Lieutenant Colonel Jakra Saowakhon.

The boat carrying 59 people, including five crew, capsized off Phi Phi island on Tuesday as Suriyan tried to escape an approaching storm, Jakra said.

BANGKOK, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - An Israeli tourist died and another was injured Tuesday after a boat carrying 59 people capsized near the paradise resort isle of Phi Phi in southern Thailand, police said.

Thai police identified the dead man as Nissim Lugasi, 26, who was among 54 foreign tourists on the boat carrying people around Phi Phi island.

'Lugasi died because his body was trapped under the roof of the boat after it was hit by huge waves and capsized at around noon (0500 GMT),' police Lieutenant Colonel Jampa Sawakhon told AFP by telephone from Krabi province.

ATHENS, Aug 31, 2007 (AFP) - The Greek coast guard on Friday found no sign of a reported collision between a ferry and a yacht in the Aegean Sea, the merchant marine ministry said.

'Three navy helicopters swept the area, and we still have a coast guard plane and rescue boat on the scene, but nothing has been found,' a ministry press officer told AFP.

The state channel Net said earlier Friday that the two vessels collided near the central Aegean island of Syros, and that an unspecified number of people had been thrown into the water.

ATHENS, Aug 31, 2007 (AFP) - The Greek coast guard was investigating Friday a report of a collision between ferry and a yacht in the Aegean Sea, the merchant marine ministry said.

'We have sent an aircraft to the area, but so far there are no reports from local port authorities or vessels sailing nearby, just from the media,' a ministry press officer told AFP.

The state channel Net said earlier Friday that the two vessels collided near the central Aegean island of Syros, and that an unspecified number of people had been thrown into the water.

ATHENS, Aug 31, 2007 (AFP) - The Greek coast guard mounted an emergency operation Friday to rescue passengers on board a ferry and a yacht following a collision in the Aegean Sea, state television Net reported.

It was feared there were casualties, the channel said, adding that an unspecified number of people were believed to have falled overboard.

The collision occurred near the Cycladic island of Syros in the central Aegean, it reported.

The nationality of the vessels was not immediately clear.

MADRID, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Experts at Spain's environment ministry have appealed for help abroad to track a potentially deadly virus that threatens a species of dolphins in the Mediterranean.

The morbillivirus, which causes measles in its human form, has been found in several striped dolphins washed up dead on beaches in Spain in recent weeks, said a ministry statement.

BEIJING, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Over 1,100 square kilometres (440 square miles) of land in economically booming southern China will be inundated by rising sea-levels by 2050 due to global warming, state press said Thursday.

'The Pearl River Delta area, a leading manufacturing hub, will be hard hit by climate change in the coming decades,' the China Daily quoted Du Raodong, an expert with the Guangdong provincial weather centre, as saying.

SYDNEY, Aug 23, 2007 (AFP) - A majestic Indonesian navy sailing vessel ran aground on an Australian beach as it headed to Sydney to participate in a tall ships show for 21 world leaders, police said Thursday.

The 18 naval officers on the 35-metre (114-foot) KRI Arung Samudera were found wet and shivering in their lifejackets on the road at Rainbow Beach north of Brisbane after the boat was driven ashore in wild weather.

WASHINGTON, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) - A Singapore shipping company Wednesday was sentenced to pay a criminal penalty of 10 million dollars after pleading guilty to a lethal 2004 fuel spill near an Alaska wildlife refuge, the US Justice Department said.

After engine failure left it adrift three days in heavy swells in the Bearing Sea, the Malaysian-flagged Selendang Ayu, belonging to Singapore's IMC Shipping Co., ran aground on December 8, 2004 near Unalaska Island, in the Aleutians.

GIBRALTAR, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - A cargo ship which collided with an oil tanker after leaving Gibraltar earlier this month is in danger of breaking in two, the British territory's port minister said Tuesday.

'The likely outcome is that the vessel will break in two due to the effects of swell and tides,' said Joe Holliday, adding the operation to salvage the Panamanian-registered New Flame had been halted as the vessel was unstable.

BANGKOK, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - A ferry carrying 42 people capsized Tuesday near the resort isle of Phi Phi in southern Thailand, but rescuers saved everyone who was on board, local officials said.

'A ferry, which had a capacity of up to 100 people, sank when a wave hit the boat during a storm,' police Colonel Somphob Kantasee told AFP by telephone.

The 38 passengers and four crew were all rescued shortly after the accident, he added. No foreigners were on board.

BANGKOK, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - A passenger boat carrying 38 people capsized Tuesday near the resort isle of Phi Phi in southern Thailand, but rescuers saved everyone who was on board, local officials said.

'All 38 people were rescued by police after the boat capsized while taking them from Krabi town to Phi Phi island. All of them are Thai, no foreigners were on board,' Krabi provincial governor Siri Sirisawaluck said.

The passengers were heading to the island to conduct religious ceremonies, he told local television.

BREST, France, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) - A fisherman died and six others were injured overnight when their boat got into trouble off Brittany, northwestern France, possibly after a collision with another vessel, officials said Friday.

The Sokalique, a 20-metre (65-foot) boat with seven men on board, activated its distress beacon at about 3:30 am (0130 GMT), about 100 kilometres (60 miles) off the Ile d'Ouessant, near Brest.

MADRID, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - Police in Gibraltar arrested Monday the skipper of a cargo boat that collided at the weekend with an oil tanker near the southern Spanish port of Algeciras.

The skipper, whose name was given as D. Konstantinos, has been remanded in custody and will appear in a Gibraltar court on Tuesday to face charges of endangering other ships, the government in the British territory said.

ISTANBUL, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - A Turkish passenger ferry and a Ukrainian-flagged cargo ship collided off Turkey's biggest city Istanbul on Monday, injuring 48 passengers, officials said Monday.

'A total of 48 people were injured in the collision,' the Istanbul mayor's office said in a statement.

It added that one man sustained serious injuries in the accident, while the rest were treated as outpatients.

Earlier, the Istanbul health department had put the number of injured at 40.

ISTANBUL, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - A Turkish passenger ferry and a Ukrainian-flagged cargo ship collided off Turkey's biggest city Istanbul on Monday, injuring dozens of passengers, officials said.

'Forty people were taken for treatment to various hospitals,' the Istanbul health department said in a statement.

Ahmet Paksoy, the general director of the municipality-owned company that operates the ferry, told the NTV news channel that none of the injuries was serious.

'Most of the people were treated as outpatients and some were taken to hospital,' he said.

MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - Seventeen people, including eight children, were confirmed dead and 19 missing Monday after a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized off the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, police said.

Four survivors were plucked from the waters and evacuated to a hospital in the east of Mayotte, while a land, sea and air rescue operation was under way to try to recover the rest of the passengers.

ISTANBUL, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - Some 30 people sustained slight injuries Monday when a Turkish passenger ferry collided with a Ukrainian-flagged cargo ship off Turkey's biggest city Istanbul Monday, officials said.

'Nobody sustained any major injuries,' Ahmet Paksoy, the general director of the municipality-owned company that operates the ferry, told the NTV news channel.

'Most of the people were treated as outpatients and some were taken to hospital,' he added.

ISTANBUL, Aug 13, 2007 (AFP) - At least 30 people were injured Monday when a passenger ferry collided with a cargo ship off Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, media reports said.

The cause of the accident in the Sea of Marmara, was not immediately known, the Anatolia news agency said.

The ferry managed to dock at a quay in Yenikapi, on the city's European side, the NTV news channel said. Several ambulances and fire engines were dispatched to the site.

MADRID, Aug 12, 2007 (AFP) - An oil tanker and a boat transporting scrap metal collided on Sunday near the southern Spanish port of Algeciras, a maritime authority spokesman said.

The tanker had limited damage and could make it to the Algeciras port on its own, the spokesman said, while the other vessel had partially sunk into the water.

Both vessels in the early morning accident were flying the Danish flag.

ROME, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - The body of a Russian scientist was found Monday in the galley of an Italian oceanographic research vessel that sank last week off the island of Sicily, the ANSA news agency reported.

The researcher, 53-year-old Petr Mikhejchik, was the only person missing following the sinking of the Thetis, which collided Friday with a 295-metre (973-foot) container vessel some four nautical miles off the Sicilian port of Mazara del Vallo.