Libya

Authorities in the port city of Kalamata have made nine arrests following the sinking of a fishing boat southwest of the Peloponnese that killed at least 78 migrants, a Shipping Ministry source has said.

All those arrested, who are said to be from Egypt, will face charges of forming a criminal organization and illegal migrant trafficking.

Relatives of passengers who were aboard a trawler crammed with migrants that went down in the Mediterranean Sea early Wednesday have begun arriving in Kalamata, where the survivors have been taken, in the search for their loved ones.

People have come from Cyprus, the Netherlands and Germany, according to state broadcaster ERT.

Rescue ships fanned out Thursday in search of hundreds of migrants feared missing after their overcrowded boat capsized and sank as they tried to reach Europe. At least 78 people died.

Wednesday's deadly shipwreck off southern Greece, involving a large boat carrying migrants that capsized after apparently rebuffing offers of help, is just the latest case of smugglers packing vessels full of desperate people willing to risk their lives to reach continental Europe.

Greek authorities cannot confirm reports that a fishing vessel that sank off Greece on Wednesday on its way from Libya to Italy had 700-750 people on board, the spokesman for Greece's caretaker government, Ilias Siakantaris, told state broadcaster ERT.

The Greek Coast Guard on Wednesday stated that at least 78 migrants have been found dead after a fishing boat was wrecked off Pylos, Peloponnese. So far, 104 migrants have been rescued.

A rescue operation took place in the early hours of the morning in international waters 47 nautical miles southwest of Pylos.

A large search and rescue operation has been launched off the southern coast of Greece after a fishing boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized and sank.

More than 80 individuals were rescued in the early hours of Wednesday in the sea area located 47 nautical miles southwest of Pylos in the southwestern region of Peloponnese. The incident took place within international waters when a fishing vessel, carrying an unknown number of undocumented migrants, capsized.

Kuwait has concluded a contract worth $367 million with Turkish defence firm Baykar to buy its TB2 drones through direct negotiations between the two governments, the Kuwaiti army said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement did not reveal how many drones would be delivered to Kuwait or when.

BELGRADE - State Secretary at the Serbian Ministry of Economy Darko Mitrovic and Libyan Ambassador to Serbia Mohamed Galboun met on Wednesday to discuss opportunities for advancement of economic cooperation.