The Catania prosecutor's office has declared that the NGO ship Sea Watch did not commit a crime in taking a route to Italy. However, it said the ship is "technically unsuitable" for performing migrant rescues at sea.
Music school students and migrants from hosting centers in Palermo, Sicily, are performing in a multi-cultural orchestra to promote integration.
Large migrant boats full of passengers have decreased in the Strait of Sicily, but there is a rising concern in Italy over the possible return of smaller vessels that can evade patrols and land autonomously on the country's shores.
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is reportedly being probed for his role in preventing migrants rescued at sea from disembarking in Sicily. Meanwhile, a deal has been reached to allow the migrants to leave the ship.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has announced that he will reduce the capacity of the Mineo migrant reception center in Sicily. The center is considered the largest in Europe, and has made headlines in recent years with episodes of serious violence and corruption scandals.
Rome had threatened to return the 177 migrants to Libya amid a standoff with Malta over who should take them. Local media reports suggested it would take some negotiations before the migrants are allowed to disembark.
The latest migrant arrivals in Italy have involved smaller, more modest boats and fewer passengers, in an effort to avoid being detected at sea.
At the Italian migrant hotspot of Pozzallo, the first house for migrant children helps them forget their traumatic past.
An Italian coastguard ship with around 522 migrants on board arrived at the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on Tuesday night. A number of the migrants had been rescued by the US Navy off Libya last week.
More than 900 migrants disembarked at the port of Catania after being transferred to an Italian Coast Guard ship following seven rescue operations in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. There were 200 children among the migrants.
Italy's new, right-wing anti-immigrant interior minister Matteo Salvini has drawn Tunisian anger over comments he made about migrants. More Tunisian migrants have reached Italy this year than from any other country.
An Italian investigation has identified a criminal organization that allegedly provided "luxury trips" for migrants from Tunisia to Sicily. Investigators in Palermo said they believed some of the members of the organization to be jihadist extremists.