Italy again refuses entry to refugees
ROME — Italy transferred 451 migrants from a large fishing boat onto two border patrol vessels Saturday in the Mediterranean Sea, but the migrants’ ultimate destination remained uncertain after Italy’s hard-line interior minister insisted they should be sent to Malta or Libya.
Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has forced migration to the top of Europe’s agenda by refusing to let rescue boats dock at Italian ports, vowed to remain firm Saturday as he created yet another standoff with hundreds of migrants stranded at sea.