Italy

Stromboli activity increases

The activity on the Stromboli volcano has shown a marked increase and is now categorized as "very high". After the violent explosion on 3 July, the volcano immediately returned to…

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Video footage released showing moment of deadly mid-air crash above the Alps

Italian police have released two videos of a crash between a helicopter and a light aircraft above the Alps in January that killed seven people, confirming their initial reconstruction. The…

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Sicily suffers from eurozone’s highest rate of youth economic inactivity

The Financial Times gives a detailed look at youth unemployment in Italy with emphasis to the situation in Sicily. One in four Italians aged 15 to 34 is not in…

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Bad weather alert in Italy

A bad weather alert has been issued for rain and storms in seven Italian regions - Lombardy, Trentino, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Piedmont and Tuscany. The weather will get worse…

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7 year old boy, saved from drowning by two dogs in Viterbo, Italy

A 7-year-old boy on Sunday risked drowning, while he was at sea with his grandparents in Tarquinia Lido, Viterbo. The boy, found himself swept away by the waves while playing…

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More migrants land in Lampedusa

More migrants have reached Lampedusa in the second landing in a few hours between Sunday and Monday. A small boat was intercepted about one mile from the coast with…

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VIDEO: Another close call for a cruise liner in Venice

There was another close call for a cruise liner in Venice, Italy, as it came too close to crashing into a dock and once more led to a chorus of…

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Mild earthquakes in Sicily and Udine

A minor earthquake has hit Sicily this morning. The epicentre was a kilometre from Adrano in Catania at a depth of 18km. The tremor was measured at 4…

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Rescue ship Alan Kurdi heading to Lampedusa

The German humanitarian group Sea-Eye has said one of its ships is on its way to the Italian port of Lampedusa with 65 rescued migrants on board and possibly another…

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Lion tamer killed by tiger in Italy

A lion tamer was killed by a tiger near Bari Thursday night. Ettore Weber, 61, was mauled to death in the Orfei Circus at Triggiano. Weber is said to be…

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Salvini wants to strengthen security at Italian land borders

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini on Friday said "we are controlling our borders by sea, and we also want to control them by land with all means necessary," referring to…

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Sea Watch captain to sue Salvini

The Sea Watch captain Carola Rackete announced she would sue Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for instigating hatred and crimes, after she received rape threats on social media.…

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Eurojust helps reveal fake organic food fraud in Italy and Serbia

In close cooperation with Eurojust, Italian and Serbian national authorities unraveled a transnational large-scale fraud in the production and trade of allegedly organic food and beverages from rotten apples. In…

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New controversy between Malta and Italy over saved migrants

The Italian NGO run Mediterranea migrant rescue ship carrying 54 migrants rescued off Libya Thursday has been stopped off Lampedusa according to a landing ban issued by Interior Minister Matteo…

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Photo Story: Tribute to Karl Lagerfeld

Italian model Mariacarla Boscono presents a creation during a fashion show of Italian luxury fashion house Fendi held in tribute of its former creative director, the late German fashion designer…

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Libya considering freeing all migrants, Italian coast guard saves 55 persons whilst others refused port of entry

Libya is weighing freeing all migrants from detention centres after the massacre at Tajoura detention centre after an airstrike on Tuesday evening. Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said that Libyan authorities…

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Photo Story: Putin Lands in Rome

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) disembarks from a plane as he arrives at Rome's international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, 04 July 2019. Putin is scheduled to meet with the…

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UPDATED: One person dead after volcanic eruption on the island of Stromboli off Sicily

One person was confirmed dead after the island of Stromboli was hit by a set of violent eruptions Wednesday. The Mayor of Lipari, the biggest of the Aeolian Islands off…

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No infringement procedure against Italy

The European Commission on Wednesday took the advice of its European commissioners' cabinet chiefs and decided not to recommend opening an infringement procedure against Italy for breaking the debt…

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Photo Story: The Palio di Siena

Jockey Giovanni Atzeni (below), aka Tittia, on his horse Tale e Quale from La Contrada della Giraffa competes to win the traditional horse race 'Palio di Siena, in Siena, Italy.…

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Entry fee for Venice postponed

The planned new tourist entry fee for Venice has been put off from September 1st to January 1st next year. The delay came following months of discussions between city hall…

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Sea-Watch ship captain moved to secret location after threats

Carola Rackete, the German captain of a rescue charity ship, has received threats and has been moved to a secret location, the German charity Sea-Watch said on Wednesday. An Italian…

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Swiss women’s international footballer Florijana Ismaili confirmed dead

Switzerland women’s international Florijana Ismaili has been confirmed dead. Ismaili, a female football player with the Swiss national team, has been declared missing after a swimming accident on Lake Como…

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Vatican court orders opening of 2 tombs in Emanuela Orlandi case

The Vatican court's ordered two tombs in the Vatican's Teutonic Cemetery to be opened after a petition from the family of a 15-year-old girl who went missing in 1983, Emanuela…

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Sea Watch: Over €1 million donated by supporters for captain’s legal costs as Germany asks Italy to release her

Supporters of Sea-Watch 3 captain Carola Rackete raised over €1 million to cover legal costs for the German skipper, who was arrested Saturday for docking in the Italian port of…

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Italian Guardia di Finanza issues video of the final moment as the Morandi Bridge collapses

The Italian Guardia di Finanza (GdF) issued CCTV video showing the moment the Morandi Bridge collapsed on 14 August 2018 in Genova, northern Italy, killing 43 people and injuring…

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Swiss footballer Florijana Ismaili missing in Lake Como in Italy

Florijana Ismaili, a female football player with the Swiss national team, has been declared missing after a swimming accident on Lake Como in Italy. Ismaili, 24, has played for the…

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Italy fines Facebook €1 million over Cambridge Analytica case

Italy's privacy regulator said Friday that it was fining Facebook one million euros for offenses related to the Cambridge Analytica case. The disgraced and now-defunct British company harvested the personal…

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Catania University dean, professors investigated

Nine Catania University professors and the institute's dean, Francesco Basile, were suspended by a preliminary investigations judge on Friday. The move relates to probe into the alleged rigging of…

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Photo Story: The Morandi Bridge demolition in Genova

A general view shows the demolition of the large towers '10' and '11' of the Morandi bridge using micro-explosive charges, in Genoa, northern Italy, 28 June 2019. Thousands of…

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Experts prepare to demolish Morandi Bridge in Genova

Demolition experts are set to blow up what remains of the Morandi bridge on Friday in the Italian city of Genoa nearly a year after the structure collapsed. Around…

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EU working on solution for Sea-Watch saga

European Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday that the European Union was working to find a solution for the 42 migrants on the Sea-Watch 3 ship but added that…

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Salvini considers border wall in northeast Italy

Italian Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he is considering the idea of erecting a border barrier in northeastern Italy. "The Balkan route (for migrant flows) has reopened,"…

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Sea Watch ignores orders to stop, anchors in front of Lampedusa

The Sea-Watch 3 migrant-rescue ship on Wednesday defied an order from a tax police motor launch to stop and pressed on until it came close to the port of…

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Italian Health Ministry issues heat alert for 6 cities, for 16 on Friday

The Italian health ministry has issued a heat alert for six Italian cities for Thursday and for 16 on Friday. The red alert indicates the maximum risk level for all…

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ECHR rejects Sea Watch appeal

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected a request presented by migrant search-and-rescue vessel Sea Watch 3 for the ECHR to implement interim measures asking Italy to allow…

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Sea Watch case taken to the European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said Monday it has received a request from the migrant search-and-rescue vessel Sea Watch 3 for the ECHR to implement interim measures asking…

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Italian doctors say leaving overflowing garbage in the streets in the heat is dangerous

Doctors in the Italian capital Rome highlighted the health dangers from overflowing street rubbish brewing toxic fumes in the summer heat. "With the arrival of the heat in a…

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Italy holds Netherlands, EU ‘responsible’ for Sea Watch 3 issue

Italy's interior minister Matteo Salvini said he is holding the Netherlands and the European Union "responsible" for the fate of 42 migrants on board the Sea Watch 3. The Italian…

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Tourists fined for cycling bare-chested in Venice

Two British tourists were fined a total of 350 euros for cycling bare-chested around Venice Friday. The incident happened in the busy square outside the church of San Simeon Piccolo.…

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Sea Watch kidnapping case against Salvini shelved

A Catania probe into Interior Minister Matteo Salvini for allegedly kidnapping migrants aboard the Sea-Watch3 NGO rescue ship in January has been shelved. About the case, Salvini said that…

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Italian top court decrees that a foetus is a ‘person’ during labour

Italy’s top court has declared that the foetus must be considered a person during its mother's labour. The decision concerns an obstetrician who was accused with negligence in the death…

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Salvini says will quit if government can’t cut 10 billion euros in taxes

Deputy Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini on Friday vowed to quit the government unless he was able to push through tax cuts for at least 10 billion euros. Salvini has…

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Italian writer Camilleri still in critical condition

According to the latest hospital bulletin, Italian writer Andrea Camilleri remains critical after suffering cardiac arrest. "The patient is having mechanical and pharmacological respiratory support and is under pharmacological sedation,"…

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About 5 million Italians live in absolute poverty

The number of Italians living in absolute poverty held steady in 2018 after three straight years of growth, though the problem remains at a record high. About 5 million…

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Franco Zeffirelli’s funeral to be held on the 18th June

The funeral of world-renowned Italian movie director Franco Zeffirelli will be held next Tuesday at the Duomo in Florence, his hometown. Before the funeral, Zeffirelli will be lying-in-state at…

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Italy lets 10 stranded migrants disembark, moves to ban rescue ships from its waters

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini allowed 10 of the 53 migrants stranded on the Sea-Watch 3 rescue ship to disembark but pressed ahead with plans to ban such boats…

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Ash emissions from central summit crater on Etna

The Etna volcano in Sicily once more is showing signs of activity after the recent, short-lived eruption ended last week Italian experts report that the volcano remains restless with dense…

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Tourist bookings in Italy drop for 1st time in 5 years

Tourist bookings to Italy this summer have dropped for the first time in five years, the Cst-Assoturismo Confesercenti business group said Thursday. Some 205 million tourists are expected to come…

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EU-wide operation against counterfeit products, Law enforcement agencies in Malta involved in the operation

More than 4.7 million counterfeit products seized, over 16 400 social media accounts suspended and 3 300 websites closed in the EU-wide operation Aphrodite II against trafficking of counterfeit goods.…

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Conte in favour of Merkel as the next president of the European Commission

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel would be a good candidate to be the next president of the European Commission, while adding that he does…

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Former senior Italian League party official arrested on corruption charges

Italian police on Wednesday arrested Paolo Arata, former League party energy consultant and former Forza Italia (FI) MP, and his son Francesco, on suspicion of corruption. The pair are accused…

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Italy shuts Mineo migrant camp in Sicily

Interior minister Matteo Salvini announced the closure of a reception centre for asylum seekers in Sicily. The decision to close the Mineo asylum camp in Sicily came after the number…

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Italian Police smash international alcohol smuggling group

Italian police on Wednesday smashed a huge contraband alcohol ring based in the UK and operating in 17 European countries. Police from Udine arrested 20 people in seven Italian…

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Boys who averted a tragedy on hijacked bus to get Italian citizenship

Italian news agency ANSA reports that the two Egyptian boys who helped avert a massacre on a hijacked bus near Milan in March will receive Italian citizenship. The citizenship proposal…

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Italy to start fining NGOs that rescue migrants at sea

A decree adopted by the Italian government would force non-governmental organizations to pay between €10,000 and €50,000 for transporting rescued migrants to Italian ports. Apart from that, the decree…

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Italian centre right win Ferrara in post-war first

The Italian centre right won the northern city of Ferrara, traditionally a stronghold for the left, for the first time in the post-War period after Sunday's runoffs for local elections…

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