EU chief to visit Italian island hit by migrant arrivals

BRUSSELS: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will visit the Italian island of Lampedusa with the country's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni this weekend after migrant arrivals surged, an EU official said Saturday.

Meloni has called on Brussels to help relieve the pressure after some 8,500 people landed by boats over three days this week on Lampedusa, just 90 miles (145 kilometres) off the coast of Tunisia.