Thousands of men, women and children die trying to cross the Mediterranean every year. They leave from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria or Morocco in the hope of a better existence in Europe.

Thousands of men, women and children die trying to cross the Mediterranean every year. They leave from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria or Morocco in the hope of a better existence in Europe. This often ends in tragedy and the Mediterranean Sea being dubbed the world's largest open-air cemetery. FRANCE 24's Céline Schmitt, Armelle Exposito and Sarah Morris report.

Ships in the Mediterranean Sea rescued stranded migrants trying to reach Europe, with the Italian island of Lampedusa facing a surge in new arrivals. Five migrants have been found dead, however.

It's a Mediterranean melting pot with a culture, language and identity all of its own. Fought over and conquered by neighbouring Italy and mainland #France, Corsica's tumultuous history has left its mark on the population of this mountainous island. We meet the people for whom arts and culture are the vectors of Corsican identity, as FRANCE 24's Olivia Salazar-Winspear heads to the city of Ajaccio for this special show.

More than 100 people were adrift at sea in rubber boats trying to reach Europe. Hundreds of people have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year in their search for a better life.

After coming to the precipice of an open military conflict last year, the two Mediterranean neighbors will hold talks on Thursday. Officials will discuss access to natural gas reserves.

Three people have jumped into the Mediterranean near Malta from a stranded tanker. They were later rescued by the ship's crew, who first picked them up a month ago and have since struggled to find a place to disembark.

Designed to shield us from the health crisis, the number of masks and gloves discarded in public spaces are contributing to another epidemic: plastic pollution. France has just doubled fines for littering face masks from €68 to €135. This comes after disheartening underwater images of surgical masks and latex gloves on the Mediterranean seabed. Designed to shield us from the health crisis, the number of masks and gloves discarded in public spaces are contributing to another epidemic: plastic pollution. France has just doubled fines for littering face masks from €68 to €135. This comes after disheartening underwater images of surgical masks and latex gloves on the Mediterranean seabed.

Germany's top diplomat Heiko Maas is to hold a conference with his Mediterranean counterparts to discuss plans for the summer tourism season. Countries like Greece and Croatia have weathered the pandemic relatively well.

In one day, sea rescue vessel Ocean Viking received distress calls to come to the aid of two boats carrying displaced people across the Mediterranean. DW reporter Miodrag Soric witnessed the rescue operations firsthand.

Mako sharks have practically disappeared from the Mediterranean, and their numbers have plunged in other seas, too. Japan and China opposed a global initiative to save them from extinction but most countries endorsed it.

The migrants were plucked from several inflatable boats in the Strait of Gibraltar and returned to Morocco. The rescue came a day one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean this year.