Reports from Italy say that 163 migrants aboard a rusty ship that arrived in Sicily last night are in fairly good health and have been transferred to a reception centre in Siracusa.

The vessel arrived at the port of Pozzallo carrying migrants, including women and children, from Sudan, Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Iraq.

Its not clear how long they had been at sea but the reports said their last port of call is believed to have been the Mediterranean island of Malta.

Italy's long coastline is one of the main migration routes to Europe, but the people seeking entry are more often from western Asia rather than Africa.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service