The bodies of five refugees were recovered while more than 100 were rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Libya on Monday, an officer from the country’s navy told AFP.

After several exhausting days at sea, more than 600 people have arrived safely in Spain following Italy’s refusal to allow a rescue ship to dock at its ports.

Leader of the Italian conservative party Fratelli d’Italia “Brothers of Italy” Giorgia Meloni has urged for a naval blockade on Libya to stop immigration boats from heading to European southern coasts.

French charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said the European response to accepting hundreds of refugees trapped in Meditarranean limbo over the weekend was “not a victory”. Both Italy and Malta refused to allow the Aquarius, carrying 629 migrants rescued off the coast of Libya, to dock, before Spain offered safe harbour …

Spain’s prime minister said the country will accept hundreds of migrants on a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) rescue ship, who were stranded in the Mediterranean after Italy and Malta shut their ports. Pedro Sanchez said he would give “safe harbour” to the Aquarius and the 629 refugees on board, who …

Italy’s new populist government will refuse to let a humanitarian boat carrying more than 600 refugees and migrants dock at any of its ports and has asked the tiny Mediterranean country of Malta to open its doors to the vessel, according to media reports.

Libyan coast guards have rescued 152 undocumented migrants, including 19 women and three children, off the country’s western shores, according to the Libyan navy on Sunday. The migrants were rescued in two separate operations on Saturday, the navy said in a statement.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) welcomed the Security Council’s decision to impose international sanctions against Libyans involved in human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.

The spokesman of the Libyan Navy Force, Ayoub Qassim, called on the dubious NGOs’ vessels at the middle of the Mediterranean to leave, saying they are profiting off immigrants’ suffering.

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday sanctioned six people for involvement in human trafficking and smuggling of migrants in Libya after Russia lifted a hold on the request for action against the individuals in question.