Italy has given permission for 140 migrants to disembark the Spanish rescue ship Open Arms. Over the past two days more than 100 migrants jumped off the rescue ship stranded off Sicily and tried to swim to shore.
The humanitarian rescue ship Open Arms rescued a further 77 migrants on Thursday night. Among those rescued were 11 women and two children. The ship was already carrying 83 previously rescued migrants.
The Italian Senate has revoked former interior minister Matteo Salvini's immunity, thereby paving the way for another trial over his harsh migrant policy. A conviction might spell the end of the former interior minister's political career.
In an unprecedented case, the captain of an Italian commercial vessel is to be taken to court for returning migrants he rescued in the Mediterranean to civil war country Libya. The man is accused of violating international law, under which Libya is not a safe harbor.
A Senate immunity panel in Italy rejected a request to send former interior minister Matteo Salvini to trial for allegedly 'kidnapping' rescued migrants in the Open Arms case.
The Spanish rescue organization Proactiva Open Arms rescued 365 migrants in the Central Mediterranean in several operations last week. After receiving permission to disembark, 363 people stepped ashore in the Italian town of Pozzallo on Sunday. Two migrants had been evacuated earlier for medical reasons.
Boats operated by non-profit groups have saved over 600 migrants in the Mediterranean within a week. Now, the 403 migrants rescued by the Ocean Viking have disembarked in Italy. Meanwhile, navy boats brought 77 migrants from the vessel Alan Kurdi to Malta.
The humanitarian rescue vessel Open Arms picked up 158 migrants in two rescue operations off the coast of Libya overnight. Since Thursday, three NGO ships have rescued nearly 640 people. Over 400 migrants on board the Ocean Viking will be allowed to disembark in Taranto, Italy.
Italian authorities have assigned NGO rescue vessels Sea-Watch 3 and the Open Arms with almost 240 rescued migrants on board the ports of Taranto and Messina, respectively. Four EU countries agreed to receive the migrants, yet a binding quota system for the distribution of migrants rescued at sea is still not in place.
The Spanish humanitarian organization Proactiva Open Arms rescued 73 migrants from a distressed boat in the Mediterranean early Thursday morning. Some of the migrants were severely injured, the NGO said.
US actor Richard Gere on Monday was honored by the Italian city of Florence for his humanitarian work in favor of migrants and human rights.
The Spanish non-profit organization Proactiva Open Arms has rescued 44 people from a wooden boat in the Mediterranean. The chief of mission of the rescue boat says Malta told him not to help the group, which included a young child and a baby.