The leader of the right-wing League party, Matteo Salvini, will go on trial on June 9 on charges of defaming the former commander of the Sea-Watch 3 migrant rescue ship Carola Rackete when he was interior minister in 2019. He called her "litter braggart", "German criminal", "rich German outlaw".
The European Court of Justice has been advised that Italy was legally entitled to carry out inspections of private rescue ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea. The opinion is a blow to the German non-profit organization Sea-Watch.
247 people rescued from the Mediterranean by the Ocean Viking have landed in Italy, after spending days at sea. Another 129 migrants were rescued by the Sea-Watch 4.
Migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean took refuge on a Shell oil platform before being handed over to Tunisian authorities on Tuesday. Rescue charities have accused the oil giant of complicity in the 'pullback'.
440 people on board the German migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 have arrived in Sicily, southern Italy, on New Year's Eve. Two days later, the last of them disembarked in the port of Pozzallo.
The Greek and Tunisian coast guards have also reported successful rescue missions. Nonetheless, dozens of people have died in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the past several days.
The inquiry established that Rackete had "acted in compliance with the duty to rescue". In June 2019 Rackete decided to enter Italian territorial waters with migrants aboard the ship without prior authorisation.
The private rescue ship Sea-Watch 4 has been granted permission to dock in Sicily having waited for a safe port assignment since Monday. It has been carrying around 460 migrants rescued from distress in the Mediterranean in the course of the past week.
Libya's coast guard has threatened to hijack the privately-run Sea-Watch 4 rescue vessel over the weekend. The vessel reportedly was in international waters at the time of the incident.
A judge in Agrigento has shelved a case against Sea-Watch 3 migrant rescue ship skipper Artuto Centore for allegedly favoring illegal immigration over the landing of 47 migrants on Lampedusa in 2019.
The 406 migrants and refugees currently aboard the Sea-Watch 3 will be allowed to disembark in Pozzallo, Italy. They had been rescued in the Mediterranean on Sunday and Monday; several migrants have since been evacuated from the ship due to medical emergencies.
Late on Tuesday, October 19, the private rescue yacht Nadir was able to disembark the 34 migrants it had rescued almost two days before. Another 412 migrants are still waiting on board the Sea-Watch 3 ship to be assigned a safe port at which to disembark.