Italy Migrant Influx

Austria will "very soon" impose border checks and deploy soldiers on its frontier with Italy if the influx of migrants across the Mediterranean does not slow, Vienna's defence minister was quoted as saying Monday.

Some 6,500 migrants were saved off the Libyan coast in 40 separate rescue missions on Monday, the Italian coast guard said on Twitter, in one of the largest influxes of refugees in a single day so far this year.

The "crossing season" for migrant boats from Libya to Italy has not yet begun, yet arrivals are already up on last year's count, raising questions about where the new wave of tens of thousands will be housed.

Plans by Italy's government to scrap a measure making illegal immigrants subject to a hefty fine was at the heart of a fierce debate Saturday in a nation that has seen a huge influx of migrants.

Some 562,355 people desperately fleeing war and misery reached Greece's shores, while around 140,000 arrived in Italy this year.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy came under fire in France and Italy on Friday over comments he made comparing the influx of migrants into Europe to water gushing from a burst pipe.

The Italian navy on Friday said it had rescued around 2,500 asylum-seekers from 17 boats in the past 24 hours as good weather conditions in the Mediterranean further boost the influx of asylum-seekers trying to reach Europe.

Austria will "very soon" impose border checks and deploy soldiers on its frontier with Italy if the influx of migrants across the Mediterranean does not slow, Vienna's defence minister was quoted as saying Monday.

Some 6,500 migrants were saved off the Libyan coast in 40 separate rescue missions on Monday, the Italian coast guard said on Twitter, in one of the largest influxes of refugees in a single day so far this year.

The "crossing season" for migrant boats from Libya to Italy has not yet begun, yet arrivals are already up on last year's count, raising questions about where the new wave of tens of thousands will be housed.

Plans by Italy's government to scrap a measure making illegal immigrants subject to a hefty fine was at the heart of a fierce debate Saturday in a nation that has seen a huge influx of migrants.

Some 562,355 people desperately fleeing war and misery reached Greece's shores, while around 140,000 arrived in Italy this year.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy came under fire in France and Italy on Friday over comments he made comparing the influx of migrants into Europe to water gushing from a burst pipe.

The Italian navy on Friday said it had rescued around 2,500 asylum-seekers from 17 boats in the past 24 hours as good weather conditions in the Mediterranean further boost the influx of asylum-seekers trying to reach Europe.