A Spanish maritime rescue patrol last week intercepted a makeshift vessel carrying 52 would-be immigrants off the southern coastal town of Motril.  The boat was barely three kilometers from the shore when it was intercepted.  Five on board required treatment for hypothermia, according to the police.

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According to the Associated Press, former world chess champion Bobby Fischer has appealed Japanese plans to deport him to the US and hopes to find political asylum in a third country.  Fischer was detained by Japanese immigration officials last week after trying to leave the country for the Philippines.  His passport was determined invalid.  Fischer is wanted in the United States for playing a chess match in Yugoslavia in 1992.  Yugoslavia was under international sanctions at that time, and U.S. citizens were banned from doing business there.