Dead Newborn Among Migrants; Italy Under ‘Unsustainable Pressure’

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

ROME (Worthy News) – Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says the nation is under “unsustainable pressure” due to an influx of migrants fleeing war, persecution, and poverty as a dead newborn baby has been recovered.

A dead newborn infant was seen in an overcrowded boat carrying migrants during a rescue operation off the Italian island of Lampedusa, authorities said.

The mother is thought to have given birth during the journey from North Africa, and the death is being investigated.

More than 8,000 migrants have arrived in Lampedusa over the past three days.

The head of the European Union’s executive European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit the island Sunday after Italy asked for EU help.

“President Von der Leyen will be traveling to Lampedusa tomorrow on the invitation of Italian PM Meloni,” EU Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Meloni on Saturday, with Macron reiterating France’s support for Italy in facing the surge in migrant arrivals, the French presidency said.

France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin will visit Italy in the coming days to meet his counterpart, the government confirmed.

The French and Italian ministers also held a call on Saturday with their German counterpart and EU representatives, Darmanin said in a post on X.

Nearly 126,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, almost double the figure by the same date in 2022. Lampedusa has recently borne the brunt, with thousands of landings this week, more than the island’s permanent population.

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