DOCTORS Without Borders rescue ship the Geo Barents saved 258 refugees in two operations in the Mediterranean today.
The refugees, mainly Egyptians and Syrians, were en route to Italy as European leaders clashed over proposed reforms to the EU’s asylum process.
The first rescue was of a wooden boat with “an engine but no system of navigation” just 23 feet long but carrying 162 people, including 29 children.
While Italy’s communist tradition remains fragmented and politically marginal, France’s party is attempting to re-establish itself as an independent force rooted in working-class organisation, says NICK WRIGHT
NICK WRIGHT continues his series analysing the trends in European politics
Italians reject controversial judiciary reforms in a referendum that boosts the left, reports NICK WRIGHT



