A pig of a sea

Available for over a year

More and more migrants are trying to cross the Mediterranean, setting off from North Africa in the hope of reaching Italian islands. Some say the new force charged with rescuing those in danger of drowning isn't up to the job. Emma Jane Kirby's been to Europe's southern shores to see how it's coping. Tea, cakes and soothing piano music in a luxury hotel in Ethiopia provide comfortable surroundings for the peace negotiators from both sides in South Sudan's bitter civil war. Tristan McConnell finds there is little urgency among them, while their countrymen back home suffer violence and the threat of famine. President Putin attended another peace conference, this one in Minsk - Bridget Kendall has been considering how his standing at home is being affected by the worsening conflict in eastern Ukraine, and finds that attitudes have become more polarised. And our Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen has a face to face interview with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria -- but was it really the BBC audience the president was hoping to reach with his answers? Presenter: Pascale Harter Producer: Arlene Gregorius Photo: Iceland"s patrol vessel Tyr in the port of Pozzallo in Sicily. Iceland is participating in the Frontex Joint Operation Triton in the south eastern Mediterranean. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTEFILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images