INTERIOR MINISTER REJECTS CLAIMS OF KIDNAPPING

• Italy’s far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini has dismissed possible kidnapping charges over the detention of more than 100 migrants, saying the accusation gave him a “badge of honour,” as he geared up for a clash with the judiciary.

The group of 150 migrants finally left the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti Sunday, 10 days after they were first rescued, following an agreement that Ireland and Albania would take some of them in. Italy had refused permission for them to disembark.

Salvini and another highranking member of the Italian government have been placed under formal investigation by prosecutors for potential “illegal arrest, illegal confinement and abuse of office.”