Italy's populist, anti-migrant interior minister said Friday that Malta should allow a Dutch-flagged rescue ship carrying hundreds of migrants rescued from rubber dinghies off the Libyan coast to make port there because the ship is now in Maltese waters.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, migrants wave from aboard ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
"We ask humanly and politically that Malta finally opens one of its ports and lets these desperate people disembark," and then seize the ship, Matteo Salvini said.
Malta responded that it would "act according to the laws and applicable conventions," without further explanation. International law states that Malta must respond if they are the nearest safe port at rescue or if requested by the ship's captain.
The dynamic is similar to the standoff over the Aquarius, operated by French aid groups, which eventually sailed an additional 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) last week to deliver 630 migrants to Spain after both Malta and Italy refused to let the rescue ship access their ports. Salvini is making good on an election promise to go after rescue ships run by aid groups, which he has likened to taxi services that help the migrant smugglers.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline rescues migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
Salvini on Thursday said he would not allow the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline to enter Italian ports, saying that it had acted improperly by taking on board the 224 migrants that the Italian coast guard had assigned to the Libyan coast guard to rescue. Salvini said the rescue was in Libyan waters, which Lifeline denies.
Mission Lifeline said Friday that it still has not been assigned a port, despite its requests. It said it picked up additional migrant passengers during another rescue overnight, and currently was heading north with 234 on board. It said it had responded to a request for help by a merchant vessel to help rescue 113 people.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, migrants on a rubber boat are being rescued by the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
Lifeline referred to reports that as many as 220 people were missing at sea and presumed drowned, according to survivor statements to the U.N. Refugee agency.
"The latest drownings show how important our sea rescue efforts are, and that not a single rescue ship can be missed," said Mission Lifeline founder Axel Steier. "The rescue of human lives must be prioritized before border control."
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the ship operated by the German NGO Mission Lifeline is reached by a Libyan Coast Guard boat after they rescued migrants from a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea in front of the Libyan coast. (Hermine Poschmann/Mission Lifeline via AP)
More than 640,000 migrants have arrived in Italy since 2014, many of whom made their way northward to join family or to countries perceived as providing more assistance until Italy's neighbors enacted stricter border controls. Arrivals are down some 80 percent this year to around 14,500, as migrants have turned to other routes.
DETROIT (AP) — The NFL draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities around the country a chance to be in the spotlight.
Detroit is on the clock.
The Motor City, which was once one of the nation's largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013.
Fans driving and flying into town from the league's other 31 teams will see signs of progress from the symbolic to the significant.
DETROIT is spelled out, each letter standing 10 feet off an embankment alongside a freeway between the airport and downtown, in an art installation that made its debut earlier this month.
A few miles away, the long-abandoned Michigan Central Station has undergone a renovation funded by Ford Motor Co. to transform the 18-story, 113-year-old train depot from an eyesore into a gem.
In the heart of downtown, where the NFL draft will begin Thursday night, a 685-foot-high tower represents the largest construction project in the city in more than a half-century as it rises from the site of the former Hudson’s department store.
With more than 50 million viewers and an expected 400,000 visitors over the three-day event, there will be a chance to change the conversation about the city.
Lions President Rod Wood pitched the city as a draft destination in 2016 and teamed up with the Detroit Sports Commission a year later to submit the formal bid to land the NFL's annual event that gives fans from each team a jolt of hope.
The Lions and the local sports commission also partnered with Visit Detroit, Dan Gilbert’s real-estate company, Bedrock, and the Detroit Police Department to make the most of the opportunity.
"The draft here in Detroit is going to make a big step for us in making that old image go away and people having the new image of the city," Gilbert told The Associated Press. “We’re going to be able to showcase Detroit like never before.”
That's part of the NFL's plan, and it has led to 20-plus cities vying for a future draft. Green Bay will host next year's draft.
After the league had its last draft in New York a decade ago, it envisioned giving cities — particularly those in colder climates that may not host a future Super Bowl — a chance to have a signature event that would have a lot of benefits, including an economic impact.
Chicago was the first tour stop in 2015 and it generated $81 million for the community. Kansas City had it last year, sparking $164 million in economic impact.
“Another opportunity for our franchise and our city and just for the world to kind of migrate to downtown Detroit,” said Lions general manager Brad Holmes, who has turned around a franchise that is coming off its best season since winning the 1957 NFL title. “I expect it to be pretty packed. I’m excited for all the businesses."
Detroit's draft is expected to bring in at least $160 million, giving small businesses a boost from fans flocking in and around Campus Martius Park.
One longtime business is looking forward to more than just an increase in foot traffic.
Lauren Stovall, the business lead at Hot Sam’s, and two others representing the 103-year-old men’s clothing store and tailor shop will be onstage during the draft’s final day Saturday.
“There’s a perception of Detroit that comes from people who actually have not been here,” Stovall said. "What’s so great is when people actually come to Detroit, they are blown away, because Detroit is not what they might have thought.”
There are new hotels, high-end and trendy restaurants and bars along with a skyscraper nearing completion. Challenges continue to exist in some neighborhoods as the city continues to demolish abandoned houses, including more than 25,000 over the past 10 years. Crime has been trending down and homicides are the lowest since 1966.
“We’re not going to lose our balance patting ourselves on the back,” Detroit Police Chief James White said.
Hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes officers from Detroit, county, state and federal agencies will patrol the greater downtown area. White said all the city’s police officers will work shifts during the draft, some downtown, others in neighborhoods.
Bomb-sniffing dogs and other K-9 teams will be flown into Detroit by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which also has pledged to have its tactical team on standby. Intelligence agents are monitoring social media for any threats.
Mayor Mike Duggan devoted some time during his annual State of the City address Wednesday to talk about the importance of the draft turning a lot of eyes on Detroit. Visitors for the draft are “going to see a very different city,” the mayor promised.
“We have a chance to reintroduce Detroit to America,” Duggan said.
Associated Press writers Corey Williams and Mike Householder contributed to this report.
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FILE - The refurbished Michigan Central Station is viewed Monday, March 18, 2024, in Detroit. The NFL football draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities a chance around the country a chance to be in the spotlight. A few miles from the draft which starts Thursday, the long-abandoned train station has undergone a remarkable renovation funded by Ford Motor Co. to transform the 18-story, 113-year-old old train depot from an eyesore to a gem. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
An NFL football draft jersey is displayed on the Spirit of Detroit statue Friday, April 19, 2024, in Detroit. The draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities a chance around the country a chance to be in the spotlight. The Motor City, which was once one of the nation's largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
FILE - The new 685-foot tall tower under construction on the former Hudson's site is viewed Friday, July 7, 2023, in Detroit. The NFL football draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities a chance around the country a chance to be in the spotlight. The Motor City, which was once one of the nation's largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
An NFL football draft cleat is displayed near the Spirit of Detroit statue, Friday, April 19, 2024, in Detroit. The draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities a chance around the country a chance to be in the spotlight. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta shows off the NFL football team's home jersey during an unveiling at Ford Field, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
FILE - Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, March 1, 2023. The Lions have the No. 29 pick overall in the NFL and if they do not make a move to pick sooner, it will mark the latest the franchise has made a first-round pick. Holmes has led one of the more impressive turnarounds in the league. He took over a laughingstock of a franchise three years ago and turned it into one of the NFL’s best last season. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
General Motors future headquarters is seen, Monday, April 15, 2024 in Detroit. GM plans to move its iconic Detroit headquarters to a new downtown office tower and redevelop its home office site. In addition, Bedrock, which owns multiple office buildings downtown, will join GM in studying redevelopment of the seven-building Renaissance Center now owned by GM. The new building is on the site of the old Hudson's department store in the heart of downtown. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
