France eyes asylum centers:

France will set up processing centres in Libya for asylum seekers trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday.

“The idea is to create hotspots to avoid people taking crazy risks when they are not all eligible for asylum. We’ll go to them,” Macron said during a visit to a refugee shelter in central France, adding the plan would be put in place “this summer”, with or without other EU countries.

But officials in the French presidency cast doubt on whether the centres could be established that quickly, saying the security conditions were “not yet in place”.

Lawless Libya is the main launchpad for African migrants trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean in rickety boats operated by smugglers that frequently sink. (AFP)