Protests were held as the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, held a cabinet meeting on Thursday in Cutro, the Calabrian town close to where at least 72 people died in a shipwreck last month.
The rightwing cabinet approved tougher laws against people-smugglers, including jail terms of up to 30 years for those who cause the death of more than one person, as well as measures to boost legal routes through which foreign workers can enter Italy.
