PARIS/ROME - French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said on Friday that the type of deal Italy has struck to divert asylum-seekers to Albania for processing would not likely be feasible in France. Read more at straitstimes.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's five-year deal to send migrants rescued at sea to camps in Albania for processing has been dealt a significant blow by the courts, only days after the first arrivals.

The ruling represents an early roadblock to a five-year deal between Italy and Albania to address Europe's refugee crisis An Italian navy ship on Saturday took back to Italy the first 12 migrants from newly opened asylum processing centres in Albania following a court decision in Rome.

Twelve Bangladeshi and Egyptian men left Albania for Italy on Saturday after judges ruled against their detention in the non-EU nation under a controversial deal between Rome and Tirana. However, Italian judges on Friday ruled against the detention of the first migrants,

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has touted her plans to process migrants picked up in the Mediterranean Sea in Albania as a model for the rest of Europe. But a court in Rome blocked her scheme.

The first attempt at Italy's plan to process migrants in Albania has proved to be a failure. All 16 of the first cohort of asylum seekers are being returned to Italy following a court decision.