Twenty-one rescue operations pick up more than 4,500 people off the Libyan coast, according to the Italian coastguard, as calm seas sparked a flurry of attempts at the perilous Mediterranean boat crossing.

Migrants stranded in Croatia are making renewed efforts to head north despite moves by Slovenia and Hungary to hold them back.

Hungarian riot police fire tear gas and water cannon to force back migrants who broke through gates at the now closed Serbia-Hungary border.

Ending the conflict in Syria and Iraq is key to solving the migrant crisis facing Europe, a senior US official tells the BBC.

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in a "day of action" in several European cities - and in Australia - in support of refugees and migrants.

Footage emerges of migrants being thrown bags of food at a Hungarian camp near the border with Serbia, amid criticism over their treatment.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has announced plans that he says will offer a "swift, determined and comprehensive" response to Europe's migrant crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the "breathtaking" flow of migrants into Germany will "occupy and change" the country in the coming years.

Austria says it is planning to phase out special measures that have allowed thousands of migrants to travel freely from Hungary to Western Europe.

Hundreds of migrants have resumed their journey through Austria to Germany after Hungary's decision on Friday to let them through.

Around 2,000 refugees have arrived at Austria's border from Hungary, and the numbers could more than double through the day, Austrian police say.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe is proof of the need for tough asylum policies.

Saudi Arabia’s recruitment offices have decided to stop hiring Bangladeshi workers claiming that a supply crunch has raised costs, reports an Arab English daily, Arab News.

Three people have been arrested in Libya on suspicion of involvement in launching a boat packed with migrants.

Eight Bangladeshi nationals were among those dead after two boats sank off Libya, confirms a Bangladesh’s embassy official based in Tunisia.

At least 70 people are estimated to have died at sea on ships abandoned in May this year from starvation, dehydration, disease and abuse by the crews, says UN refugee agency.

The international community's response to the biggest movement of refugees and migrants in Europe since the aftermath of World War II is inadequate and flawed.

About 50 people have been found dead in the hold of a boat carrying migrants intercepted off the coast of Libya, the Italian coastguard says.

The Italian navy organizes the rescue of around 4,400 migrants in waters off the Libyan coast, prompted by requests for help received from nearly two dozen boats, in one of the biggest multi-national operations so far.

At least 40 migrants have died after apparently getting trapped and suffocating in the water-logged hold of a boat in the Mediterranean.