So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The positive publicity surrounding the Naval Service’s role in saving trafficked migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea was responsible for an increase in people joining the force.

Karen Murray visited the island which is the smallest country in EU.

Italy's hard-line interior minister Matteo Salvini has threatened legal action after 47 migrants rescued at sea landed on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, despite an explicit ban.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators opposed to right-wing populism and nationalism took to the streets in different European cities today, ahead of the European Parliament elections.

So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

As many as 70 migrants have drowned after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a UN migration official and Tunisia's state news agency.

On the issue of climate change, the Extinction Rebellion exposes much of the Irish left, usually first up on the barricades, as a vanguard for counter-revolution.

Irish Naval patrol ship captains are being forced to seek ‘volunteers’ to crew their vessels due to decreasing numbers available.

The Department of Defence has not replaced the only psychiatrist working in the Defence Forces Medical Corps since he left the job earlier this year, leaving a void in treatment for soldiers and sailors who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

LÉ Samuel Beckett’s crew saved 106 migrants from drowning, revived an unresponsive baby, searched ships for suspected gun-running and, at night, watched gun battles rage on the shore between rival militias fighting for control of Libya.

Pope Francis is to meet members of the Naval Service when he visits in August so he can acknowledge their role in saving thousands of migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.

A former Naval Service ship, auctioned off to a private broker, has ended up in Libya under control of a man who has been described as his country’s most potent warlord.

The Cabinet will today approve the redeployment of the Naval Service to the Mediterranean Sea to hunt down people-smugglers to ‘search and destroy’ their pipelines from Libya into southern Europe, while still saving the hapless men, women, and children who are sent out to their near-certain deaths in leaking dinghies.

A right-wing extremist suspected in the shooting rampage that wounded six Africans in central Italy was "lucid and determined, aware of what he had done" and exhibited no remorse for his actions, an official said.

Many tears of joy and a surprise proposal were among the reactions as the crew of a naval ship returned home just in time for Christmas.

This week I’m focusing on the Languedoc and largely the wines of Domaines Paul Mas which is imported by Cork-based Karwig wines. I toured all their vineyards a few weeks ago and was once again charmed by this part of France.

The volunteer historian who uncovered details of a mass grave at the former Mother and Baby Home in Tuam has been honoured as a "fearless campaigner for human rights".

Latest: Malta has appealed to the FBI and to European forensic experts to help investigate the car bomb death of the country's leading investigative journalist.

A VIP passenger will be onboard LÉ Niamh when she departs her base next week for a three-month migrant rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea, writes Sean O’Riordan of the Irish Examiner.

The Naval Service will make history on October 6 when it joins an EU-led taskforce which is taking a more aggressive role against people-smugglers and gun-runners operating in war-torn Libya, including IS fighters.

A VIP passenger will be onboard LÉ Niamh when she departs her base next week for a three-month migrant rescue mission in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Naval Service has successfully tested a revolutionary new radar system which it is hoping to market globally.

The Department of Defence has been accused of ‘Yes Minister’ style answers to key questions about changes to how the naval services are deployed in the Mediterranean.

Spain says it has rescued some 600 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Morocco in the past 24 hours, making it one of its busiest days so far this year.

A combination of factors, including the deliberate sinking of wooden fishing boats, has resulted in a significant fall-off in the number of migrants being rescued by the Naval Service.

The Naval Service is set to expand its use of drones after their first deployment on an operational mission captured critical footage of a people smuggler changing his clothes to blend in with migrants.

Amid a sea of human misery there were heartwarming moments: The arrival of a new life and migrants singing happy birthday to a 21-year-old sailor who was happy to forego celebrating his milestone day to ensure they were safe.

The Naval Service is set to expand its use of drones after their first deployment on an operational mission proved an outstanding success, capturing critical footage of a people smuggler changing his clothes to blend in with migrants.

The Naval Service made its first migrant rescue this year as the weather improved off the coast of Libya yesterday, prompting people-smugglers to push thousands of frightened refugees, corralled for weeks in holding compounds, into deathtrap vessels onto the Mediterranean Sea.

A request under the Freedom of Information Act has been lodged with the Department of Defence in an attempt to establish why a Naval Service ship was delayed by more than three weeks from leaving her base to save migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Dutchman who purchased former Naval Service ship LÉ Aisling for the bargain price of €110,000 got an added bonus — there was €16,000 of fuel onboard.

Naval service ships operating in the Mediterranean Sea could soon be adopting a more robust role in the fight against Islamic terrorists and people-smugglers.

The Dutchman who purchased former Naval Service ship LÉ Aisling for the bargain price of €110,000 got an added bonus — there was €16,000 of fuel onboard.

The organisation that represents the vast bulk of Defence Forces personnel is “preparing to go to war” in the new round of pay talks, writes Sean O'Riordan and Stephen Rogers.

The organisation that represents the vast bulk of Defence Forces personnel is “preparing to go to war” in the new round of pay talks. It wants treatment comparable to the Garda representative associations, which have clawed back pay and allowances.

More than 500 migrants who were trying to cross the Mediterranean in several small boats that were in danger of capsizing have been rescued at sea, a Spanish aid organisation said today.

The Department of Defence has been embroiled in further allegations that it failed to provide necessary paperwork for clearance into a foreign country after claims emerged that an Air Corps plane was prevented from entering Swedish airspace. The plane barely had sufficient fuel for the return trip to Ireland.

French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron has paid homage to the tens of thousands of French Jews killed in the Holocaust with a sombre, simple message to voters: Never again.

A total of 125 migrants trying to make night-time crossings from Africa to Spain have been rescued.

Naval Service personnel, who have saved more than 15,000 migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean Sea, are to get an allowance they were entitled to after a two-year battle.

A newly-formed organisation is planning a series of nationwide protests outside constituency offices of government TDs to highlight the poor pay and conditions being endured by frontline members of the Defence Forces.

THE report from the International Organisation for Migration yesterday that something around 6,000 migrants have been rescued in the central Mediterranean Sea, the stretch of water between North Africa and Italy, in the last few days, is another reminder of the scale of the humanitarian crisis facing Africa and the scale of the impact it will have in Europe. 

Sinn Féin has said there is an urgent need for a referendum on Irish unity as the British government has "refused to listen" to the majority of people in Northern Ireland over Brexit.