Italy's anti-immigration government has intentionally provoked an European Union crisis by refusing to let a ship, the Aquarius, land African refugees.

This reminds me of what happened to the MS St Louis, which sailed from Germany in 1939 with 900 Jewish refugees. Cuba, the US, and Canada refused to allow them in, so they had to return to Europe, which proved to be a dangerous place for them.

I believe this was one of the events that inspired the modern treaties about the right to asylum.