Dealing with issues concerning migration, especially relations with Libya and the renewal of an EU anti-smuggling operation in the Mediterranean: Those are some of the difficult tasks Italy's new Minister of Defense Lorenzo Guerini is facing.
A boat with 36 migrants and two alleged Ukrainian smugglers was intercepted by Greek coast guards on Monday. Because the camps on Lesbos and other Greek islands overcrowded, more migrants are trying to reach Italy with the help of smugglers.
An Italian police car and a vehicle carrying 10 undocumented migrants and an alleged smuggler were involved in a high-speed car chase in the Trieste area.
A boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya on Tuesday. At least 40 people are missing and are presumed drowned.
Italian authorities arrested and charged a man and woman with facilitating illegal immigration in Italy. The couple allegedly charged thousands of euros to drive illegal migrants to Italy.
British and French campaigners are warning about the dangers of migrant Channel crossings after an Iranian woman who reportedly fell into the water while trying to reach England went missing last Saturday. It could be the first case of a migrant death in the Channel, a relatively narrow strait with strong currents. But according to testimonies of survivors and community activists, several people have already disappeared.
Tunisia has prevented 53 Ivorian and Sudanese citizens from illegally entering the country, according to the country's defence ministry. Meanwhile, an unverified video on Facebook claims that the migrants were left in the desert without any food or water.
Cyprus, a peaceful island in the middle of an unstable region and split by a demarcation line not recognized as a border, is seeing rising numbers of migrants entering the island to gain access to the Greek-speaking southern part of the island which is an EU member state. The island’s proximity to Turkey and Lebanon is leading smugglers to offer risky crossings to Syrians.
Smugglers are turning to perilous routes through the desert, or even dumping those hoping to reach North Africa. DW visited the transit hub of Agadez where efforts are being made to rescue migrants lost in the Sahara.
Europol set up a new task force in charge of combating human trafficking networks. Its head Robert Crepinko said that in addition to addressing new ways of smuggling, the task force would also deal with the use of fraudulent documents, money laundering and the role of social media in illegal migration. He also stressed that there is a rise in violence among smuggling gangs as a means to maximize profits.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR has issued a warning that Mediterranean sea crossings have become increasingly dangerous for migrants. Analyzing statistical data, a representative of the UN refugee agency says that drownings have become much more likely to occur in recent years, partly due to changing refugee policies in the EU.
In the past few months, smugglers seem to have established a new clandestine route to bring African migrants to Europe. An increasing number of Cameroonians now find themselves 'trapped' in Cyprus after being sold a 'smuggle package' to Italy. Although Syrians still top the list of asylum seekers in Cyprus, Cameroonians are quickly catching up, and a growing number of other Africans are joining them. InfoMigrants went to Nicosia to investigate.