Open Arms ship with 256 migrants on board anchors off Italy

The Murat 729, carrying 400 mostly Afghan migrants and refugees, sent a distress signal after its engines failed. Turkey failed to respond to a request to take back the vessel, despite a 2016 EU deal worth billions.

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Since August, thousands of migrants have been trying to cross the Polish border from Belarus. They have come from Yemen, Syria, Iraq or the Democratic Republic of Congo, hoping to enter the European Union. Poland has accused Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko of instrumentalising migrants in a feud with the EU, and has opted to deport them. Turned away from both sides, men, women and children find themselves stranded along the border in the middle of the forest.

91 illegal migrants from Nigeria are being repatriated back to their home country, in what security officials say is a voluntary return from Libya's International Misrata Airport to the Nigerian capital Niamey.

The room containing three beds and one window was excavated in a villa buried by the 79 A.D. volcanic eruption. Officials say it offers "a very rare insight into the daily life of slaves" in the ancient city.

The 'ndrangheta organized crime network took over from the Cosa Nostra as the wealthiest and most powerful Italian Mafia in the world. Another 355 people will be tried and face sentencing in coming years.

The Sea-Eye 4 rescued more than 800 people from the central Mediterranean this week — including 200 minors and five pregnant women. The overcrowded ship was stuck at sea for days before getting permission to dock.

Greek officials claim Turkey is acting like a "pirate state in the Aegean Sea" in regards to migrants. Athens has called on the EU to put pressure on Ankara to meet its international obligations.

Since 2018, Portugal has seen a boom in farming, made possible in large part due to cheap labour from Asia run by mafia networks. Migrant charities estimate that around 30,000 Indian, Nepali, Thai and Pakistani labourers work on broccoli fields, pick berries and tomatoes in greenhouses or pick grapes in vineyards. In return they receive poor salaries and face difficult living conditions. Our regional correspondents report.

In this special edition, we focus on the migrant crisis brewing on the European Union's eastern border. Thousands of people from the Middle East have travelled to Belarus in the hope of entering the EU. Now they are trapped on the border with Poland, desperately trying to survive in freezing conditions. We take a closer look and speak to Kinda Youssef from our InfoMigrants website.

Polish security forces report multiple attempts by migrants to cross the border and detain over 100. A migration policy expert says Poland is flouting EU law.

Activists who took part in search and rescue operations off Greece now face charges including human trafficking, espionage, and money laundering.