TRIPOLI: At least five migrants died and an unknown number were feared missing after their boat capsized off western Libya on Monday, Libyan coast guard officials and a charity said.
The rubber boat was carrying about 140 people when it overturned close to the border between Libyan and international waters, Libyan officials said. The Libyan coast guard rescued 45 survivors and brought them back to Tripoli harbor.
Seawatch, a German non-governmental organization that has a rescue vessel in the Mediterranean, said at least five migrants had died including a toddler. Seawatch rescued 58 people, the group said in a statement.
The survivors brought to Tripoli were from West African countries including Nigeria and Senegal.
On Sunday, the UN refugee agency said the bodies of 26 female migrants who apparently drowned have arrived at the Italian port of Salerno as rescues intensified on the Mediterranean Sea.
The bodies were transferred to the Italian mainland aboard a Spanish naval ship carrying another 400 migrants rescued during four operations in the central Mediterranean.
Twenty-three of the dead women were on a rubber dinghy that sank off Libya two days ago, Marco Rotunno, a spokesman in Italy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman, said. Another 60 people were pulled to safety, but more may have perished at sea, Rotunno said. The other three women died in a separate shipwreck.
Humanitarian groups say some 2,500 migrants were picked up at sea in recent days, making it the most intense period for rescues on the Mediterranean since Italy reached a deal with Libya this summer to slow departures of smugglers’ boats carrying migrants.
The number of migrants arriving in Italy so far this year is 30 percent lower than last year, 111,716 through Friday compared to nearly 160,000 in the same period of 2016, according to Interior Ministry figures.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration put the number of dead in the center Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy at over 2,600 through Nov. 1.
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5 dead after migrant boat sinks off Libya
5 dead after migrant boat sinks off Libya
New Riyadh Air route to boost Dubai airport’s growth projection
- World’s busiest travel hub adding more routes to Saudi Arabia
- Dubai Airports forecasts 99.5 million passengers in 2026
DUBAI: Dubai International Airport (DXB), the world’s busiest travel hub, is expected to handle close to 100 million passengers this year, its operator said on Wednesday, building on a record performance in 2025.
Dubai Airports forecasts 99.5 million passengers in 2026, it said in a statement, as demand strengthens across several major markets.
DXB handled 95.2 million passengers last year, up 3.1 percent from 2024. India, Saudi Arabia and Britain remained among its largest markets, while China, Egypt and Italy recorded double-digit growth.
“We’ve had some pretty good growing markets … and those, I think, are the markets where there’s going to be considerable potential,” Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said in an interview, mentioning countries including China and Russia.
“We’re adding more routes to Saudi Arabia,” he said, adding that Riyadh Air, which is owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and commenced operations last year, will start operating a route to and from DXB “over the next few months.”
Dubai, home to the world’s tallest tower and palm-shaped islands, is the Middle East’s biggest tourism and trade hub. It is also a key connecting point for flights between Europe and Asia, and last year welcomed 19.6 million international overnight visitors, according to government data.
DXB had its busiest day, month, quarter and year on record in 2025, operating “at the edge of physical capacity,” Dubai Airports said.
Griffiths said investment to roll out advanced hand baggage screening machines was helping to smooth the flow of traffic.
To meet rising demand and a fast-growing population, the emirate has announced a major $35 billion expansion at its second airport, Al Maktoum International, also operated by Dubai Airports.
That airport reported 30 percent growth in flights over the last year and handled 1.4 million passengers.
The expansion is designed to allow it to handle 150 million passengers per year over the next decade, before reaching an annual capacity of 260 million passengers when complete.
Dubai Airports forecasts 99.5 million passengers in 2026, it said in a statement, as demand strengthens across several major markets.
DXB handled 95.2 million passengers last year, up 3.1 percent from 2024. India, Saudi Arabia and Britain remained among its largest markets, while China, Egypt and Italy recorded double-digit growth.
“We’ve had some pretty good growing markets … and those, I think, are the markets where there’s going to be considerable potential,” Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said in an interview, mentioning countries including China and Russia.
“We’re adding more routes to Saudi Arabia,” he said, adding that Riyadh Air, which is owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and commenced operations last year, will start operating a route to and from DXB “over the next few months.”
Dubai, home to the world’s tallest tower and palm-shaped islands, is the Middle East’s biggest tourism and trade hub. It is also a key connecting point for flights between Europe and Asia, and last year welcomed 19.6 million international overnight visitors, according to government data.
DXB had its busiest day, month, quarter and year on record in 2025, operating “at the edge of physical capacity,” Dubai Airports said.
Griffiths said investment to roll out advanced hand baggage screening machines was helping to smooth the flow of traffic.
To meet rising demand and a fast-growing population, the emirate has announced a major $35 billion expansion at its second airport, Al Maktoum International, also operated by Dubai Airports.
That airport reported 30 percent growth in flights over the last year and handled 1.4 million passengers.
The expansion is designed to allow it to handle 150 million passengers per year over the next decade, before reaching an annual capacity of 260 million passengers when complete.
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