Migrant arrivals to Italy soar by nearly 150 percent over the past year

Migrant arrivals to Italy increased by nearly 150 percent over the past year with an overwhelming majority arriving from Tunisia and war-riven Libya, Italy's interior ministry said on Saturday. Italy has been struggling to deal with daily arrivals of hundreds of migrants to its southern shores, a task further complicated by coronavirus-linked security measures. With frustration growing among local mayors, the government has chartered massive ferry ships to hold migrants under quarantine and called in the army in some cases after some migrants who tested positive for coronavirus escaped from reception centres. From the start of August last year to the end of July this year, 21,618 migrants...