Italy bans rescue ship from its waters

ROME: Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has signed a decree to ban a migrant rescue ship operated by the German charity Mission Lifeline from accessing Italian waters, the ministry said yesterday.

A succession of charity vessels have struggled over the past year to bring migrants rescued at sea to Italian shores as Salvini, leader of the far-right League, takes a tough line. He is maintaining that line even though the coalition government that includes the League is locked in a political crisis.

The ship dubbed Eleonore is carrying 101 refugees rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.