Migrant tide still flowing

Following shipwrecks, Italy, EU step up refugee rescue operations; France also contributes vessel

Ships rescued 3,690 migrants from smugglers' boats in just one day on the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast, the Italian Coast Guard said on Sunday, after more than 3,400 were helped on Sunday.

The agency said 17 different rescue operations were carried out Saturday after smugglers took advantage of calm seas and warm weather to move the migrants out of Africa on motorized rubber dinghies and fishing boats.