The Italian Interior Ministry advised that a total of 1,200 migrants had arrived by sea in September to date. Meanwhile, arrivals by small boat continue unabated, in particular on the islands of Lampedusa and Sardinia.

Malta has rescued 45 migrants attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing. Among those saved was a pregnant woman at risk of miscarriage, who had to be airlifted. Later, the Italian coastguard picked up another 28 migrants.

France and Italy have agreed on a new system to distribute migrants across the European Union. It comes ahead of an interior ministers meeting in Malta next week.

French police have evacuated at least 800 migrants from a makeshift tent camp that had sprung up outside a gym near the northern port city of Dunkirk last spring. A court had ruled that the camp in Grande-Synthe was becoming a healt1