BBC news with Jerry Smit.

The Italian Coast Guard has said that nearly 10,000 migrants were rescued in the last week alone as they tried to make the journey across the Mediterranean Sea. Nine hundred were rescued today. In the latest tragedy, 40 more migrants drowned as they tried to make their journey from Africa to Europe. Our correspondent Gavin Lee is monitoring developments from Brussels.“Every day since Friday, around 1,000 people have been saved, the majority who set sail from the coast of Libya. This number, according to aid agencies, was unprecedented. But the system isn't adequate, is a failing universally-acknowledged operation Triton with 6 ships, 4 planes and one helicopter, is 3 times smaller than the previous search and rescue operation Mare Nostrum, which is ran by the Italian military. The Italian government asked for more financial help from the EU. Here in Brussels, the European Commissions responded, saying it has no silver bullet or any kind of panacea. But it urged member states to invest more.”

In a separate development, Italian police arrested a group of Muslim migrants from Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal. They're accused of throwing Christians from Nigeria and Ghana overboard after a fight broke out over religion.

Fighting is underway for control of the western Iraqi city of Ramadi in Anbar Province. Tens of thousands of people are trying to flee. More from Paul Adams.“A small glimpse of the battle for the capital of Anbar Province, skirmishes around the northeastern edge of a city that's been in the sites of so-called Islamic State fighters for more than a year. 3 outlying villages fell to IS yesterday, triggering fears that Ramadi might soon be overrun. If that happened, it would represent the worst government defeat since the fall of Mosol last summer. Washington seems aware of the heightened sense of danger. US-led coalition aircrafts have launched air strikes today against the same villages. There are also reports that government forces, possibly backed by newly-arrived Shiite militiamen, are fighting back.”

As the campaign for Britain's general election gathers momentum, 5 opposition party leaders have taken part in a second line of television debate hosted by the BBC. The Labor leader Edward Miliband said he would put working families first, while the leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage said he would help small businesses. He also medicated for a referendum about leaving the European Union.“We can't be an independent state and be part of the European Union. My view is, we should be outside of that. My view is, we should govern ourselves. So for me, if you get isn't the position of influence in the next parliament, we would want the British people to have a full, free and fair referendum, so they can decide whether we have a trade deal with the EU or continue the membership of the European Union.”The leaders of the Scottish National Party, the Wales Party Plaid Cymru and the Green Party were also taking part.

News from the BBC.

A prominent Ukrainian journalist has been shot dead in Kiev by masked gunmen. Oles Buzina was known for his pro-Russian views, and he worked for a publication with close links to the government of the deposed president Viktor Yanukovych. His death comes a day after a pro-Russian politician Oleg Kalashnikov was killed in a similar attack. Dmitri Kuleba, ambassador-at-large of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, told the BBC why these murders might be happening.“These people knew a lot about the criminal habits and criminal orders of Mr. Yanukovych-regime-maneged team. They could have been presuming bearabel weaknesses to investigations being carried out to find out the truth about all the crimes committed by President Yanukovych and members of his team.”

Polls have closed in Sudan's presidential and parliamentary elections. With President Omer Elbashir expected to extend his 25 years in power after most of the opposition parties bycotted the vote. Results are expected towards the end of the month. Nearly 13 million people were registered to vote, but on Wednesday, polling was extended following a low turnout.

Spanish tax officials have searched the home in Madrid of a former International Monetary Fund Chief Rodrigo Rato. He's already under investigation for fraud connection with his time as chief executive of the Spanish Bank Bankia, which had to be bailed out by the government. Mr. Rato, who also served as Spain's economy minister, has denied any wrongdoing.

The financial authorities in Saudi Arabia have announced that from mid-June, foreign investors will be allowed to trade shares in the country's 500-billion-dollar stock market. For our nationals from outside the Gulf States, can currently only buy Saudi stocks indirectly. Fund managers say that once the liberalization is implemented in June, tens of billions of dollars are expected to be invested in Saudi Arabia.

BBC news.