Italy

Venice bus crash investigation focuses on possibility driver may have fallen ill

By Claudia Greco VENICE, Italy, (Reuters) - Italian authorities were investigating the cause of the horrific crash of a bus carrying foreign tourists on the outskirts of Venice which killed…

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Italy police take down Chinese shadow network laundering mafia cash

By Emilio Parodi MILAN (Reuters) - Italian police arrested 33 people on Wednesday in a new crackdown on a network of Chinese money brokers who allegedly laundered over 50 million…

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UPDATED: Shock in Italy after bus carrying tourists falls from Venice overpass killing 21

VENICE, Italy, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Italian authorities on Wednesday were investigating what caused a horrific bus crash near Venice a day earlier, in which 21 people died including several…

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Florence bans new short-term rentals in historic centre

FLORENCE, Italy, (Reuters) - Florence, one of Italy's most popular tourist destinations, has banned new short-term residential lets on platforms such as Airbnb in its historic centre, in the latest…

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Italy weighs auto incentive scheme to cut Chinese EV price advantage

By Giuseppe Fonte and Gilles Guillaume ROME, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Italy is considering new incentives for car purchases that would factor in carbon emissions in the manufacturing and distribution…

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UN migration chief voices concern over Mediterranean deaths, pledges new solutions

GENEVA, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The new head of the UN migration agency on Monday voiced concern that the deaths of migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean were being "normalised"…

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An entry fee may not be enough to save Venice from 20 million tourists

Venice’s history, art and architecture attract an estimated 20 million visitors every year. The city, a Unesco World Heritage site, is often crammed with tourists in search of special memories.…

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Milan introduces bus and lorry sensors to reduce cyclist accidents

By Alvise Armellini and Federico Maccioni MILAN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The city of Milan is forcing buses and lorries to install blind spot sensors in a bid to reduce…

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Italy agrees steps with retailers to control prices of staple goods

ROME, (Reuters) - Italy signed off a deal with distributors' associations to try to control the prices of essential goods in the last quarter of this year, though the last…

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More than a third of Italy’s population will be over 65 in 2050

ROME, Sept 28 (Reuters) - More than a third of Italy's population will be over 65 by 2050, up from about a quarter last year, the country's statistics office ISTAT…

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Italy’s top court removes block to Regeni murder trial

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's top court ruled that the trial of four Egyptian security officials over the disappearance and murder of an Italian student could go ahead, despite concerns the…

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Italy business and consumer morale fall again in September, as economy weakens

ROME, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Morale amongst Italian businesses and consumers continued to slide in September, data showed on Thursday, amid growing signs of weakness in the euro zone's third…

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Aim to start Messina Bridge work summer 2024 – Salvini

Deputy Premier and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said that he is hopeful work will start next summer on a bridge across the Strait of Messina to connect Sicily…

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Earthquakes hit Italy super volcano, raising spectre of evacuations

By Crispian Balmer ROME, (Reuters) - A leading volcanologist has warned that mass evacuations might be needed in a town close to Naples, which sits on a so-called Super Volcano…

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Flight disruptions in Italy on Friday due to 24h baggage handlers strike

Air passengers in Italy are facing major disruptions on Friday due to a 24-hour nationwide strike by baggage handlers over a delay in renewal of their collective contract agreement. ITA…

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Italian FM Tajani: We want Albania in EU before 2030

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told visiting Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at the foreign ministry Wednesday that Italy wants to see the Balkan country join the EU even ahead of…

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Private Sicilian funeral for Italian Mafia boss Messina Denaro

CASTELVETRANO, Italy, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Italian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, who once claimed to have murdered enough people to fill a cemetery, was laid to rest on Wednesday…

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Italy’s energy authority expects rise in electricity bills

MILAN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Italy's regulated household prices are expected to rise in the next quarterly update, the head of the country's energy authority ARERA said on Wednesday. "There…

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Italy to allow migrant expulsions on public order grounds – draft

ROME, (Reuters) - Foreigners who live legally in Italy could in future be kicked out of the country if they pose a threat to public order or national security, according…

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4.2 magnitude tremor shakes the Campi Flegrei in Naples

An earthquake swarm on Wednesday morning shook the Campi Flegrei area, near Naples. The strongest tremor was of magnitude 4.2, occurred at 3.35 am and was clearly felt in some…

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Napolitano laid to rest in Italy’s first secular funeral for president

Italy held its first non-religious funeral for a head of state on Tuesday with a secular service in parliament for Giorgio Napolitano, a two-time president who died last week aged…

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Italy learned with “astonishment” of German funding to migrant charities

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has written to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz telling him she learned with "astonishment" of a German government initiative to finance migrant charity groups operating in…

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Italian Mafia boss Messina Denaro dies of cancer months after capture

Italian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, who was convicted of multiple murders and was arrested in January after spending 30 years on the run, has died of cancer, officials said…

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EU, Italy talk tough on migration but action won’t be easy

By Alvise Armellini ROME, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Three years ago, when EU naval mission "Sophia" was shut down after rescuing 45,000 migrants in the central Mediterranean, Italian opposition leader…

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Former Italian president Napolitano dies aged 98

ROME, (Reuters) - Former Italian president Giorgio Napolitano, a onetime communist who helped to steer his country through a debt crisis in 2011, died on Friday aged 98. Condolences poured…

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Asylum seekers in Italy told to pay to avoid detention

By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Asylum seekers in Italy will have to pay 4,938 euros ($5,259) to avoid detention while their request for protection is being processed, the government…

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Cosa Nostra superboss Messina Denaro in irreversible coma

One-time top Mafia fugitive Matteo Messina Denaro, caught after 30 years on the run in a Palermo cancer clinic in mid-January, is now in an irreversible coma, sources at L'Aquila…

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Council of Europe expresses concern at Italy’s violence-against-women data

The Council of Europe said Friday that it was worried about Italy's figures regarding violence against women. The human rights body's Committee of Ministers said that it "notes with concern"…

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More than 50 arrested in latest Italy raid against ‘Ndrangheta mafia

MILAN, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Over 50 people have been arrested in a new police raid against the 'Ndrangheta mafia in Italy, Carabinieri police said in a statement on Friday.…

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Over 30,000 pigs culled in Italy’s north to counter swine fever

MILAN, (Reuters) - Almost 34,000 pigs at 12 farms in the northern Italian region of Lombardy have been culled to counter the spread of African swine fever (ASF), a spokesperson…

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I won’t let Italy become Europe’s refugee camp – Meloni

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that "I will not allow Italy to become Europe's refugee camp" in New York, where she is taking part in the United Nations…

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UPDATED: Pope hopes critically ill Napolitano finds ‘comfort’

Pope Francis said on Wednesday that he was thinking of former Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, whose already serious health condition has deteriorated over the last few days. "I urge you…

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Italy to pass tougher measures to deter migrant arrivals

By Angelo Amante ROME, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Italian government, struggling with a surge in migrant arrivals, will pass measures on Monday to lengthen the time migrants can be…

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Migrant situation is not explosive, it has exploded: Italian FM Tajani

Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday that the situation regarding the arrival of migrants from Africa "is not explosive, it has already exploded". Speaking to reporters at…

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Italy investigates if acrobatic plane struck birds before it crashed

The Italian Air Force said it was investigating whether an aircraft of its acrobatic team, Frecce Tricolori, struck birds before it crashed near an airport, killing a child on the…

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UPDATED: Earthquake jolts parts of Northern Italy

ROME, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck early on Monday near Florence in central Italy, but regional authorities said it did not seem to have caused significant…

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Berlusconi heirs accept will, agree five-year freeze on stakes

MILAN, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The five children of the late media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi this week accepted "in full harmony" their father's will, the former prime minister's heirs said,…

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UPDATED: Von der Leyen presents 10-point plan to address the migrant emergency Lampedusa

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday presented a 10-point action plan to address the migrant emergency during her visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa with Premier…

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Italian Frecce Tricolore jet crashes during exercise, killing 5-year-old girl

TURIN, (Reuters) - An Italian military jet crashed during an exercise in Turin, hitting a car in which an entire family was travelling and killing a five-year-old girl, Defence Minister…

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Italy’s Lampedusa overwhelmed after thousands of migrant arrivals

By Yara Nardi Island sees 7,000 migrants arrive in 48 hours Lampedusa has population of just over 6,000 Arrivals to Spain's Canary Islands more than treble LAMPEDUSA, Italy (Reuters) -…

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Italy’s PM says migration won’t solve Europe’s demographic crisis

Some legal migration can benefit European economies, but migration is not the solution to the continent's demographic crisis, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday as she met right-wing…

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Italy poised to shake up Treasury with new unit for state-run firms

Influential Treasury department to be split up Italian audit court approves plan Former banker Sala approached to lead new unit By Giuseppe Fonte ROME, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Italy is…

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Red fire ant colonies found in Italy, fear they could spread across Europe

An invasive non-native ant species has become established in Italy and could rapidly spread through Europe to the UK with global heating, a study warns. The red fire ant, Solenopsis…

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Migrants protest at Lampedusa port, Meloni says priority to stop arrivals to Italy

There were moments of tension at Lampedusa port on Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of migrants and refugees who had recently disembarked on the island demanded to be allowed to leave…

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Italy’s Lampedusa island hit with record migrant arrivals

LAMPEDUSA (Reuters) - The Italian island of Lampedusa is struggling with a record number of landings from boat migrants, local officials said, describing the situation as "dramatic." Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost…

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Ryanair’s O’Leary says Italian price decree “illegal and unenforceable”

Ryanair group CEO Michael O'Leary said an Italian government decree to cap the price of flights to Sicily and Sardinia was "illegal and unenforceable" and confirmed the budget airline had…

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EU cuts Italy GDP outlook, crimping room for Meloni’s budget promises

The European Commission on Monday cut its forecasts for the Italian economy this year and next, following a slew of weak data which limits Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's scope to…

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Meloni pushes EU to give thumbs up to Lufthansa-ITA airline deal

ROME, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is putting pressure on the European Commission to back an agreement where German airline Lufthansa would take over a minority stake in the Italian…

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Fresh upsurge in Italy of COVID cases, up 44% in a week

There has been a fresh and largely unexpected upsurge in COVID-19 cases in Italy which have risen by 44% in the last week, the weekly bulletin from the health ministry…

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Italy, France agree to postpone closure of Mont Blanc tunnel by a year

MILAN, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Key maintenance works on the Mont Blanc tunnel between Italy and France have been postponed until September next year, Italy's transport ministry said, after the…

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Nationwide airport ground staff strike in Italy causes flight disruptions

Sixty flights have been cancelled at Milan Malpensa airport and 20 at Linate in the same city as a result of the nationwide strike of ground staff workers, according to…

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Italy delays regional plan to limit diesel cars after protests

ROME, (Reuters) - Italy's government postponed a plan by one of the country's most polluted regions to ban old diesel vehicles from towns and cities during working hours, an initiative…

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Italy government targets violent teens and parents in “Baby gang” crackdown

By Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini ROME (Reuters) - Parents of Italian children who drop out of school could face jail sentences under new steps to counter juvenile delinquency in…

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Photo Story: Italian interforce anti-Mafia operation in Rome and Naples

Special police units, financial police and carabinieri, take part in the joint operation with 'High Impact' mode, in the Spanish quarters of Naples, Italy, 07 September 2023. In total, 800…

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Italian government to meet supermarkets, small retailers to address high prices

By Giuseppe Fonte ROME, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Italy's government will meet with supermarkets and small retailers' associations on Wednesday to address stubborn inflation in the prices of consumer staples,…

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Italian ex-PM appeals to France must come clean on 1980 Ustica mystery plane crash

ROME, (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron must say whether his country was to blame for an Italian air disaster that killed 81 people more than 40 years ago, former…

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Venice to start charging visitors €5 entry fee next year

VENICE, Italy, (Reuters) - Venice plans to experiment with an admission fee of 5 euros($5.35) for day trippers next year to try to manage the flow of tourists drawn to…

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