Sometimes humanity is in short supply. News has eventually filtered out that in the past 10 months 3,300 people have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Malta or Italy. The news only emerged when the Italian government said it was downgrading Operation Mare Nostrum, its very effective sea rescue operation which has helped to safety tens of thousands of migrants in small boats on the Mediterranean.
It is being replaced by a border patrol force from the European Union known as Triton, which is a European Frontier Agency patrolling up to 30 miles along the coasts of EU member states, with the aim of preventing any migrants landing in Europe.
