Ticker
Italy to send soldiers to Niger to stop migrants
By EUobserver
Italian leader Paolo Gentiloni has said it would send a "non-combat" military mission to Niger to help stop people smugglers from taking people to the EU. Three hundred and seventy people came to Italy from Libya on 24 December. But sea crossings have dropped sharply ever since Italy and the EU began working with the Libyan coastguard to intercept boats in an effort criticised by human rights groups.