Record migrant rescues, deaths

Nearly 10,000 desperate refugees were rescued from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean this week, a record high, but another 400 are believed to have drowned when one of the boats sank, also a record.  Most of the migrants were from Syria or sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing war and poverty.  European Union officials said some half-million people are massed in Libyan ports waiting to get a spot on a boat to Europe, and plans are underway to relieve Italy of the responsibility for rescuing and processing the human flood. “The unprecedented influx of migrants at our borders, and in particular refugees, is unfortunately the new norm,” said Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU commissioner for migration.