The Italian Interior Minister thanked the Albanian Government as the non-European Union country agreed to accept 20 of the 190 migrants who docked in Catania, Sicily, last week.

Speaking at a League party reception in the Italian northern town of Pinzolo, Mr Salvini argued the Albanian Government demonstrated to be "better" than the French one.

Ireland was the only EU member state to have agreed to welcome some of the migrants despite Emmanuel Macron's promises to Italy to share the burden of asylum seekers.

Speaking to League supporters Mr Salvini said: “Do you know where some of the migrants will end up as they disembark in the next few hours?</s>INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) — The Latest on Europe’s migrant crisis (all times local):

An Italian coast guard ship has docked in Sicily but is still awaiting permission to disembark its 67 migrants, after two of them were accused of threatening their rescuers if they were taken back to Libya.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Thursday he won’t let the migrants off until there is clarity over what happened after an Italian commercial tugboat rescued them over the weekend. Italy’s transport minister said some migrants made death threats against the crew. The threats prompted the Italian coast guard to board the migrants and bring them to Trapani.

Salvini said he wanted to know if the crew “exaggerated” in reporting the threats.

Speaking in Austria after a meeting of EU interior ministers about migration, Salvini said: “If someone lied, they’ll pay. If there was violence, it will be punished.”

Salvini said he hoped Italy’s hard-line position on migration becomes the European position, for the sake of the bloc’s integrity. He says “if you drastically reduce the departures and arrivals, the problems inside the EU among individual countries will also be reduced.”

France has taken in a group of 78 asylum-seekers, mainly from Eritrea and Sudan, after their charity rescue ship was blocked form ports in Italy and Malta.

The French Interior Ministry said the group arrived in France on Thursday from Spain, where the Aquarius rescue ship that saved them was allowed to dock last month.

The ministry said the 78 were identified as in need of protection as refugees and will be housed in regions in southeast and northern France while they go through the asylum process.

The Aquarius, carrying 630 migrants, drew wide attention after Italy and Malta refused the aid ship docking rights. Spain and France eventually agreed to accept the passengers.

France has taken in a much smaller share of migrants in recent years than neighboring Germany or Italy.

An Italian coast guard ship is in the waters off Sicily awaiting permission to disembark its 67 migrants, some of whom are accused of mutiny and threatening their rescuers if they were taken back to Libya.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has vowed to identify, jail and prosecute the “criminals” rescued over the weekend by a commercial tugboat off Libya. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli has said a few of the migrants made death threats against the tug’s crew, apparently fearing they would be returned to Libyan detention centers.

The tug alerted Italian authorities to the threats, and the migrants were transferred to the coast guard ship Diciotti, which remained off the coast of Trapani on Thursday.

On Trapani’s docks were activists protesting Italy’s hard-line position on migrants. Many wore the red T-shirts that have become a symbol of those favoring a broader welcome for migrants, many of whom dress their children in red to make them easier to spot in cases of shipwreck.

The top security officials of Germany, Italy and Austria are touting their hard line on migration issues, saying Europe needs to protect its exterior borders and crack down on human smuggling.

Germany’s Horst Seehofer held talks with his Austrian and Italian counterparts, Herbert Kickl and Matteo Salvini, Thursday morning ahead of a wider meeting of European Union interior ministers.

Kickl says the group wants “to send a clear message to the world, and especially to the traffickers, that it won’t be possible anymore in the future, shouldn’t be possible anymore to step on European soil if you don’t have a right to protection.”

Seehofer says the ministers, all hardliners on migration, are seeking European solutions, but “all three of us know that this is going to be a Herculean task.”

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, had been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the government refused to let them off the boat until other EU states agreed to take some of them in.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said Albania had offered to accept 20 of the migrants and Ireland 20-25, while the rest would be housed by Italy’s Catholic Church “at zero cost” to the Italian taxpayer.

“The church has opened its heart and opened its wallet,” Salvini, from the right-wing League party, told supporters at a rally in Pinzolo in northern Italy on Saturday evening.

Salvini, who has led a popular crackdown against immigration since the government took office in June, also announced that he had been placed under investigation by a Sicilian prosecutor for abuse of office, kidnapping and illegal arrest.

“Being investigated for defending the rights of Italians is a disgrace,” he said.

On Saturday, the United Nations called for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

“Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics,” the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

The agency appealed to EU member states to “urgently” offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime, urged Italy to allow “the immediate disembarkation of those on board.”

Rome had refused to back down, despite criticism from rights groups and the opposition, with Salvini saying he considered the attacks he received to be a “badge of honor.”

The only help from within the bloc came late on Saturday from Ireland, whose offer to take in 20-25 migrants followed a pledge from non-EU member Albania to take in 20.

Italy’s Foreign Ministry called Albania’s offer “a signal of great solidarity and friendship that Italy greatly appreciates.”

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte attacked the EU for its lack of support and said Italy may refuse to back the bloc’s multiyear budget currently under discussion.

He said on Facebook that Friday’s meeting in Brussels had been “a defeat for Europe”, and “a clear violation of the spirit of solidarity” that should be a founding principle of the Union.

Before the breakthrough late on Saturday, thirteen migrants - seven women and six men - were ordered off the boat by doctors after a check-up carried out at around midday.

They finally left the boat one-by-one some six hours later, stepping down a flight of steps to touch dry land for the first time since leaving Libya at least 10 days ago. The 13 were taken by ambulance to Catania’s Garibaldi hospital.

Italian media reported that among them there were three cases of suspected tuberculosis and two of suspected pneumonia. Medical officials on the spot did not confirm this.

The remaining 137 migrants disembarked in the early hours of Sunday to be taken to a reception center in the Sicilian city of Messina, from which they will be distributed to the Church dioceses as well as Ireland and Albania.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014, and even though the numbers have fallen steeply in the last year, Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

“The next ship can turn around and go back where it came from because our limit has been reached,” Salvini said.

Earlier this week, Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, another 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were allowed to disembark.

During their five days docked at Catania, the mostly young men on board sheltered from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covered around half the deck, with clothes hanging from it to dry. Some occasionally waved to reporters gathered on the quayside.

Around 200 protesters gathered at the port on Saturday, some waving left-wing flags, calling for the migrants to be allowed off. They later skirmished with police.

Meanwhile, in Rome, prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio questioned several Interior Ministry officials as part of his criminal investigation over the migrants being held against their will.

At that time, the investigation was said to be against “unknown persons”, but Salvini said he was responsible for his ministry’s actions, challenging the prosecutor to arrest him.

The 5-Star Movement, the League’s coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini’s hard line, and its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country’s ports, on Saturday renewed the government’s attacks on the EU.

“Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts”, he said. “The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence.”</s>CATANIA, Italy (Reuters) - Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a “positive solution” for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

“Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to “urgently” offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow “the immediate disembarkation of those on board.”

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

“I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution,” said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a “badge of honour.”

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania’s Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini’s Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants “isn’t particularly critical,” adding their problems “are more psychological than physical.”

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League’s coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini’s hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country’s ports, renewed the government’s attacks on the EU.

“Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts,” he tweeted. “The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence.”</s>ROME (AP) - Italy's Catholic bishops offered to care for a majority of 140 migrants the country's government had prevented from leaving an Italian coast guard ship docked for days in a Sicilian harbor because politics shouldn't be practiced at the expense of the poor, prominent churchmen said Sunday.

Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, president of the Italian bishops' conference, told Italian state TV the bishops worked with Italy's Interior Ministry "in a spirit of collaboration" to help end the stalemate over where the asylum-seekers the coast guard ship rescued would go.

Parishes will care for some 100 migrants, while Albania and Ireland each will accept about 20 under an arrangement announced late Saturday night by Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte. The majority of the migrants were disembarked from the Diciotti at a dock in Catania early Sunday.

The ship rescued 190 migrants on Aug. 16, most of them young men fleeing harsh rule in Eritrea, and docked in Catania four days later. Anti-migrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused to let passengers who were not minors or ill off the ship until fellow European Union nations volunteered to take the asylum-seekers.

Except for Ireland, none did. Albania is not an EU member, and Cardinal Bassetti expressed appreciation to leaders there and in Ireland, which Pope Francis was visiting over the weekend. Francis, who as pope also is the bishop of Rome, has used his papacy to stress the need for society to care for migrants and others in need.

On Sunday, Bassetti urged more "involvement by Europe, but also by the whole world" in addressing the needs of migrants and refugees.

In separate comments, another bishops' conference official, the Rev. Ivan Maffeis, told Sky TG24 TV that the Italian churchmen got involved because "you can't do politics on the backs of the poor."

A government office that safeguards the rights of people who have been detained determined last week that the migrants were being kept on the ship unjustly and without proper authorization. A Sicily-based prosecutor formally notified Salvini on Saturday he was being investigated for suspected abduction, illegal arrest and abuse of office.

Any prosecution of Salvini would be handled by a special tribunal for government ministers, and Salvini's fellow senators would have to vote on whether to lift his Parliamentary immunity if the case progresses.

Salvini staunchly defended his actions, saying he was keeping Italians safe. Much of his electoral base blames migrants for crime.

Frances D'Emilio is on Twitter at www.twitter.com /fdemilio</s>Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Investigated After Migrants Kept Aboard Ship For 6 Days

After six days, 134 migrants were allowed to disembark an Italian coastguard vessel docked in Sicily.

Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini refused to let the migrants off the boat until he was assured other European nations would help by taking in some of the migrants.

Salvini, who is also the country's interior minister and leader of the far-right League, is now under investigation for his role in the detention.

The Ubaldo Diciotti vessel originally picked up 190 people on Aug. 15 from an overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean Sea near the Italian island of Lampedusa. Thirteen people were evacuated for emergency medical treatment. Most of the migrants are from Eritrea, the BBC reports.

When the boat docked at the Sicilian port of Catania last Monday, Salvini initially allowed 27 children travelling alone to leave the vessel and then 16 more people, who doctors identified as needing medical care. The remaining migrants were not allowed off until Salvini was assured they would "go elsewhere," according to the Guardian.

Following the announcement of the formal investigation into his role in the standoff, Salvini granted permission for the remaining migrants to leave the boat on Saturday.

The Italian church will reportedly take in the majority of the migrants, while Albania offered to take 20 migrants and Ireland said it would take 20-25 migrants.

The resolution came as the U. N. appealed to EU members to "urgently" offer relocation places for the migrants.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi urged the European States to "do the right thing" and offer asylum for people "rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need."

"The time has come to end the back-and-forth that has seen countries competing in a race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea," Grandi said in a statement.

"It is dangerous and immoral to put the lives of refugees and asylum-seekers at risk while States engage in a political tug-of-war on long-term solutions," he said.

According to EU rules, people must seek asylum in the location they arrive, but Italy has started barring boats from docking.

The BBC's Danny Eberhardt told NPR that Salvini is being investigated for suspected illegal confinement and abuse of power but that Salvini shows no signs of backing away from his policy of blocking ports to migrants.

"I think it will be hard to stop us," Salvini said to a room full of his supporters on Saturday. "Because they can investigate me, they can arrest me. But they can't arrest the desire for change of 60 million Italians."

"The next ship can turn around and go back where it came from because our limit has been reached," Salvini said.</s>Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

CATANIA, Italy: Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

"Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board."

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

"I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour."

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical."

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU.

"Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted. "The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence."</s>ROME (AP) — Italy and Malta squabbled Friday over who was responsible for rescuing 450 migrants crowded aboard a fishing boat in the Mediterranean as the vessel, apparently not seeking help, headed toward a tiny island off Sicily.

Italian Transport Minister DaniloToninelli had tweeted that Malta was obliged under maritime law to rescue the migrants since they were in the Maltese search-and-rescue area earlier on Friday and also provide the fishing boat with safe harbor.

But Malta retorted that when Rome’s maritime rescue coordination center informed it about the vessel, the boat was already far closer to the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa than it was to Maltese shores. The Maltese interior ministry also said that persons aboard the vessel announced their intention to proceed to Lampedusa.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who’s leading the new populist’s government campaign to keep more migrants from reaching Italian shores, was adamant that the boat wouldn’t dock in any Italian port.

“This boat cannot, must not arrive,” Salvini tweeted. “We already have given, you understand.” Salvini was apparently referring to the costs that Italy has incurred in the last few years caring for some 600,000 migrants who were rescued at sea and brought to Italian shores.

On Thursday, Salvini was thwarted thanks to Italian presidential intervention in his determination that 67 migrants rescued earlier in the week by an Italian tug in the waters off Libya not set foot in Italy. The tug’s captain had told the Italian coast guard that the migrants were threatening the crew after it appeared that the tug would turn them over to the Libyan coast guard.

The Italian coast guard vessel Diciotti arrived in the port of Trapani, in western Sicily, on Thursday, but the migrants were kept aboard while Salvini vowed that “delinquents” among the migrants would be jailed, then expelled, leaving it unclear for hours if the other passengers would be allowed off to seek asylum.

After President Sergio Mattarella expressed humanitarian concerns about the migrants, authorities granted the Italian ship docking permission.

Salvini insists that the Libyan coast guard deal with migrants in waters off the largely lawless North African country. But U.N. officials and human rights advocates say migrants are at risk for torture, beatings, rape and other atrocities in Libyan detention centers.

Two African migrants were escorted off the Diciotti Thursday night by Italian police. The other migrants, including young children and women then came down the gangway to be taken to a center for identification.

Salvini had said a Sudanese and a Ghanaian among the migrants allegedly tried to hijack the tug so it wouldn’t return them to Libya.

Italian media quoted Trapani Prosecutor Alfredo Morvillo as saying the investigation would be carried out without bowing to any political pressures. No arrests were immediately made.

In an interview with Italian radio station RTL on Friday, Salvini insisted that no more “fake refugees” would arrive, referring to the large percentage of migrants who see their asylum bid fail.

The Italian news agency ANSA quoted a social worker for UNICEF, the U.N. children’s advocacy agency, and the aid group InterSos as saying the migrants recounted several minutes of “great confusion and fear.” Sahar Ibrahim was also quoted as saying that migrants said they were ready to dive into the sea to avoid being sent back to Libya.

Frances D’Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilio

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>CATANIA, Italy, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

"Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board."

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

"I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour."

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital. They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly. No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical."

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel. Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry. Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU.

"Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted. "The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence." (Writing by Gavin Jones Editing by Helen Popper)</s>CATANIA: Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

"Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board."

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

"I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour."

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital.

They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly.

No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical."

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel.

Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry.

Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU.

"Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted.

"The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence."
Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini is placed under investigation for possible illegal detention and kidnapping. He subsequently gives permission for the remaining 134 migrants to disembark. Ireland will take 25 migrants, Albania 20. The Italian church says it will take in the others.