Rome
- Police in Sicily have detained six alleged human traffickers as suspects in the deaths of 25 African migrants aboard an overcrowded boat trying to reach Italy from Libya.
The men picked up on Friday were identified as citizens of Somalia, Morocco and Syria.
Authorities said they were operating the boat that was boarded on Monday by the coast guard off the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is near the coast of Africa and has been the destination of scores of rickety and overcrowded boats carrying would-be immigrants.
The coast guard said the 50-foot (15-metre) boat carried 296 people, many packed in the hold. - Sapa-AP