Italy seizes 20 tons of cannabis from ship sailing off SicilyApril 18, 2013 - 19:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Italy seized more than 20 metric tons (22.046 tons) of cannabis on Thursday, April 18 from a ship sailing off the island of Sicily, Reuters said. Coastguard officers escorted the boat to the Sicilian port of Marsala and discovered the hashish resin in burlap sacks, police said in a statement. Six crew members of Syrian origin were taken into custody. "This is the most important operation in the Mediterranean Sea in the past 10 years," Cristino Alemanno, of the Guardia di Finanza, said. The ship had left the North African state of Morocco, one of the world's largest producers of illicit hashish, mostly shipped to Western Europe. Authorities said they had monitored the ship for two days as it entered Italian waters and officers boarded the ship after a request to the Comoros islands where the ship was registered was not answered. On Saturday, Italian authorities seized a tonne of hashish from a Turkish ship in a separate operation. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |