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| Spain 'will accept' disputed Aquarius migrant ship | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Spain's prime minister has said the country will take in a rescue ship stranded in the Mediterranean, to help avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. | |
| Pedro Sánchez said he would give "safe harbour" to the Aquarius and the 629 people on board, after Italy and Malta both refused to let the ship dock. | |
| The UN refugee agency and the EU had both called for a swift end to the stand-off between the two countries. | |
| Mr Sánchez has said the ship will dock in Valencia. | |
| The migrants aboard the Aquarius were picked up in six different rescue operations off Libya's coast, according to the German charity SOS Méditerranée. | |
| Many are children, and pregnant women are also among them. | |
| Why didn't Italy or Malta take the ship? | |
| Italy's new Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused to let it in, saying: "Saving lives is a duty, turning Italy into a huge refugee camp is not." | |
| Mr Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, promised during Italy's recent general election to take a tough stance against migration. | |
| He said Malta should accept the Aquarius, but it refused, arguing that it falls under Italy's jurisdiction. | |
| Italy is the main entry point for migrants crossing from North Africa to Europe. | |
| SOS Méditerranée earlier said the Aquarius had been instructed by the Italian Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre to stand by in its current position, 35 nautical miles (65km) from Italy and 27 nautical miles from Malta. |