Italy impounds migrant rescue ships; charities claim harassment

Italian coastguards have impounded two charity rescue boats at the port of Palermo citing "technical and operational" irregularities, which the owners denounced as an excuse to block life-saving missions at sea. The seizure of the German-flagged Alan Kurdi and Spanish-flagged Aita Mari followed a sharp rise in the number of migrants reaching Italy, which has angered and embarrassed the government as it battles the coronavirus epidemic. Italy used to be a prime route into Europe for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and other migrants, but the numbers fell sharply in recent years because of a crackdown in Libya against smugglers.