Migrant shipwreck in southern Italy kills at least 58, including children.

The tragedy reignited a discussion on immigration policies in Europe, particularly in Italy, where a recently elected right-wing government passed strict new regulations targeting migrant rescue organisations that had drawn criticism from the U.N. and others.

Italy gives the go-ahead for a crackdown on migrant rescue ships

EU aims to tighten borders to deter unauthorised immigrants

Factbox: Despite the danger, the number of migrants entering Italy is rising.

Italy's STECCATO DI CUTRO and Rome, February 26 - Authorities said that at least 58 people perished early on Sunday after a wooden sailing boat carrying migrants from Turkey to Europe collided with rocks close to the southern Italian shore.

The tragic episode reignited a discussion on immigration in Europe, particularly in Italy, where a recently elected right-wing government has enacted strict new restrictions for organisations that help migrants in need, drawing condemnation from the UN and others.

Officers from the Carabinieri stand at the beach in Cutro, Italy, on February 26, 2023, where bodies thought to be those of refugees were discovered following a shipwreck.

In Cutro, on the eastern coast of Italy's Calabria province, where bodies of suspected refugees were discovered following a disaster, shipwreck debris can be seen along the beach.

Many migrants were killed when a boat capsized off the coast of southern Italy, bringing attention to the treacherous trek thousands of people take to reach Italy across the Mediterranean.

Most leave from North Africa, however others do so from Turkey. Italian governments have tried in the past to reduce the population. Below are some details regarding the predicament.

A total of 105,129 immigrants entered Italy in 2022, up from 34,154 in 2020 and 67,477 in 2021. 2016 set a record for the most arrivals in a calendar year with 181,436. In 2022, 13,386 migrants were listed as unaccompanied kids.

According to the UNHCR, in 2022, Libya accounted for 51%, Tunisia for 31%, and Turkey for 15% of the migrant sea crossings to Italy. Only a few people departed from Syria, Algeria, and Lebanon.

China lethal aid to Russia would come at real cost, U.S. says.

On February 22, 2023, in Moscow, Russia, President Vladimir Putin meets with Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of China.

On November 10, 2022, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan gives a statement during a daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that China has not taken any steps towards offering deadly assistance that would aid Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and that the United States has made it plain behind closed doors that such a move would have catastrophic repercussions.

Beijing will have to decide for itself how to proceed and whether to offer military support, but Sullivan warned that China would suffer significant costs if Beijing chose to go that route.

According to Sullivan, American officials have quietly cautioned their Chinese colleagues about potential implications, but he declined to go into further detail.

In recent days, the United States and its NATO allies have been frantically trying to talk China out of such a course of action by publicly expressing their suspicion that Beijing is considering giving Russia lethal equipment. According to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China has been helping Russia non-lethally through its businesses.

In a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last Monday, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden pledged $500 million in fresh military assistance to Ukraine. The Russian invasion's first anniversary was on Friday. By far, the main provider of military aid to Ukraine in its efforts to fend off better-equipped Russian soldiers has been the United States. Ukraine anticipates an imminent large new Russian attack.