On Wednesday, a baby boy was born on board the migrant rescue ship Geo Barents in the central Mediterranean. The baby’s mother fled Libya with her three other sons. A second woman on board was also nine months pregnant. Both have now been evacuated.
Several hundred migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean in the last few days. The migrants were picked up by private rescue ships and the Italian coast guard. Four people are missing after a boat sank off Lampedusa.
Italy has welcomed more than 300 migrants via humanitarian corridors over the past two weeks. The new right-wing government has said it says 'yes' to the corridors and 'no' to traffickers and "illegal immigration".
Maïmouna, a 33-year-old Ivorian, always dreamed of starting her own business in the Ivory Coast. Lacking funds, she decided to migrate to Europe to work. She hoped the money she'd earn could enable her to return home to realize her dream and help her family. But the journey through Libya, marred by kidnapping and imprisonment, killed all her hopes.
Last week 500 migrants landed in Greece on a rusty fishing vessel, revealing a new and until now rather discreet route: From eastern Libya to southern Italy.
A common myth told by migrant smugglers is that crossing the Mediterranean Sea is easy. Evidence shows that this is false. Here's a look at the facts.
Smugglers tell refugees and migrants lies and distorted versions of the truth to convince them to take dangerous irregular journeys to the European Union. The fact checking team debunks common claims.
The Greek coast guard says it has temporarily transferred the nearly 500 migrants it rescued in a dramatic operation this week to a ferry for processing. The migrants, picked up off the island of Crete, had reportedly set sail from Libya. Seven of them have reportedly been arrested for alleged migrant smuggling.
Politically divided Libya has reportedly sent more than 200 irregular migrants back across its land borders with Egypt, Sudan and Chad. A recent UN report suggests that migrants in Libya are often "compelled to accept 'assisted return' to their home countries," possibly in inhumane conditions.
The European Commission has announced an 'Action Plan' to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe. The move follows a bitter dispute between France and Italy over states' responsibility for rescued migrants.
A Bangladeshi man, suspected of migrant smuggling and human trafficking, has been arrested in Bangladesh. The man is accused of smuggling Bangladeshis to Europe through Libya.
When Fati decided to return to Ghana instead of trying to battle against the odds in Europe, she encountered a hostile reception back home. The choice she made is the focus of an award-winning documentary by Fatimah Dadzie, which was shown in Berlin this week.