Italy has rescued 4,000 migrants from boats trying to reach European shores in the past 48 hours in a deepening immigration crisis, the interior minister said on Wednesday, according to Reuters. 'The emergency is getting worse and there is no halt to the boats arriving,' Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told state-owned RAI radio. 'This issue is serious and Europe must take it in hand, immediately, because this is not a Mediterranean border but a European border.' Rome has repeatedly urged the European Union to take a greater role in policing the seas as two-thirds of migrants who reach Italy travel onwards to other countries in the region. The interior minister said 15,000 migrants had arrived in Italy by sea since the start of 2014.
