Malta to take in migrant rescue ship – Italy’s PM

Malta will let the rescue ship Lifeline dock after Italy refused it entry, Italy’s prime minister said on Tuesday. The move would end the vessel’s near week-long wait in the Mediterranean with more than 230 migrants on board. The offer resolved a standoff with Rome, where a new government said it would no longer let in ships operated by charities that rescue migrants. Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat told him about his decision in a phone call, reuters reported. The Lifeline has spent five days stuck in international waters. After reaching Malta, the migrants will be divided up among EU members who are willing to take them in, Conte said. He did not say when it would arrive.