Mediterranean migrant route

Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told visiting Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday that he was ready to stem “illegal immigration” to Europe, the European diplomat said.

Tunisian authorities recovered the bodies of 20 people who appeared to have drowned after a shipwreck off the country’s Mediterranean coastline, near a popular point of departure for migrants attempting to reach Europe by boat.

Greece says migrant arrivals have increased by up to 35 per cent since fall 2023 amid rising numbers setting sail from the Libyan coast.

Search off Greek island of Samos recovers bodies of two people reported missing overnight after a boat carrying 24 migrants ran into trouble.

Italian prosecutors have been accused of conducting a political witch hunt as they seek to jail Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini for six years over blocking an NGO migrant taxi ship in 2019.

Dividends have begun to pay off for Giorgia Meloni’s migration strategy as figures show a 64 per cent reduction in illegal arrivals.

The Italian coast guard has recovered 14 more bodies from last week’s shipwreck in the Ionian Sea off the southern Italian coastline.

An aid group said Saturday it recovered the bodies of 11 migrants off the Libyan coast and transferred them to an Italian coast guard ship.

The EU’s Frontex border agency said illegal migrant crossings of the West African route to the Canary Islands have hit a record high.

The network made money by charging families for providing them often false information about migrants who had died at sea.

Authorities are investigate eight bodies washed up in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, including two on a beach in a vacation resort.

A report highlights the danger migrants are put in by callous people smugglers, who grow rich on human suffering. 

More than 2,500 illegal boat migrants have drowned to death or have gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the U.N. reported.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni vowed “extraordinary measures” to deal with the migrant crisis, including calling anew for a naval blockade.

Italy has seen the number of illegal boat migrants landing on its shores double over last year, reaching nearly 90,000 in just seven months.

Forty-one migrants including three children are feared dead after being shipwrecked last week in the Mediterranean, UN agencies said.

Italy is on pace to see a record number of illegal boat migrants land on its shores as landings surged by 150 per cent.

Pakistan widens manhunt for human traffickers after a tragedy off the Greek coast last week that left more than 500 migrants feared drowned.

Germany and France are joining forces to try to curb deaths on dangerous routes across the Mediterranean Sea from countries like Tunisia.

The Greek coast guard said that a ship that went down off the country’s south coast left more than 500 migrants presumed drowned.

Nine Egyptian men, alleged to be people smugglers, have been arrested after a migrant boat capsized off Greece, leaving hundreds feared dead.

When they have larger boats, Med smugglers are staying in international waters as they pass by Greece to try to avoid coast guard patrols.

“We are ready to drown and die to improve our situation,” said a Syrian who identified himself only as Mohamed.

January to March of this year was the deadliest first quarter for migrants crossing the central Mediterranean since 2017, with 441 deaths.

“We have indications [Wagner] are very active and in contact with gangs of traffickers and militiamen… smuggling migrants.”

Govt figures reveal the number of illegals coming to Italy has nearly tripled this year compared to the same period in 2022.

An Italian intelligence report released this week says migrant “taxi” ship NGOs help people-smugglers and cause more deaths at sea.

Italian prosecutors have revealed that smugglers charged as much as 8,000 euros each for a voyage that led to the deaths of dozens of people.

An NGO migrant “taxi” ship has been fined 10,000 euros and placed into administrative detention for 20 days for violating a security decree enacted by the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

73 people are missing and presumed dead after people smugglers put them on an inflatable boat that sank off the coast of Libya. 

Three migrants died and 16 others were rescued after a dinghy transporting them from the nearby coast of Turkey hit rocks in high winds.

The bodies of eight migrants and 42 survivors have been recovered in the central Mediterranean off the island of Lampedusa, ANSA reported.

Italy has seen a total of 3,862 illegal arrivals in over two weeks so far this year, more than the same period in 2021 and 2022 combined. 

A 14-month-old baby was among three people led to their deaths by migrant smugglers after a boat sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Italian leftists are furious over Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni directing NGO migrant “taxi” ships to drop off migrants in cities run by leftist mayors.

NGOs operating migrant “taxi” ships have complained to the European Union about new Italian border controls, but the bloc has claimed it will not get involved.