A ship chartered by the German NGO, Jugend Rettet, was blocked overnight off the southern island of Lampedusa by the coastguard as part of a ‘routine check’.
The organisation was among those which refused to sign a ‘code of conduct’ on migrant search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean imposed by the Italian government. Source TheLocal.it
Banning social media trolls from voting could help reduce the amount of abuse faced by politicians, the election watchdog has said. The Electoral Commission says legislation around elections should be reviewed and new offences could be introduced. Source The Guardian
Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov has called on the US-led international coalition and the opposition supported by it not to hamper the actions of the Syrian government forces against terrorists. Source Tass
Official figures published last week found that oil production increased by 2.9 per cent last year following a recovery in the price. However, capital expenditure dropped by around 20 per cent and it has emerged there were 60,000 job losses in the industry last year, 20,000 more than expected. Source The Telegraph
