Italy

Italian PM’s former partner loses TV show over sexist comments

ROME, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Andrea Giambruno, the former partner of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has been taken off a television talk show he had presented before Meloni left…

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Italy likely to extend border controls with Slovenia into 2024

ROME, (Reuters) - Controls at the border between Italy and Slovenia will probably continue into next year, Rome's interior minister said, citing the risk of terrorists among the migrants in…

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Photo Story: Thunderstorm causes flooding in Rome

A thunderstorm caused flooding in Rome on Tuesday.Several streets were flooded and fire teas had to help stranded motorists. A metro station was also closed by flooding while several trees…

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Italy to approve measures to boost energy security as gas prices rise

Italy plans hub for floating wind power Tries to speed up work on LNG terminals Also supports carbon capture facilities By Giuseppe Fonte and Francesca Landini ROME, Oct 23 (Reuters)…

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Two new expulsions in Italy of persons considered a national security risk

A Tunisian citizen and a Kosovar citizen considered dangerous to national security because they were 'strongly radicalised' have been expelled, the Viminale intreior ministry announced. This brings to 56 the…

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Meloni’s first anniversary as Italy PM marred by economy, family split

By Angelo Amante and Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) - Weak economic growth and high interest on the country's huge debt are the main problems facing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni…

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Italy signs deal to take in migrant workers from Tunisia

ROME, (Reuters) - Italy signed a deal to take in some 4,000 workers from Tunisia, in line with pledges to help the northern African state stem the pressure from migrants…

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Milan to ban cars from city centre by middle of 2024

The financial capital of Italy, Milan, is set to banish cars from its city centre by the middle of next year, Mayor Giuseppe Sala said. "It is clear that the…

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UPDATED: Italy PM leaves partner after his sexist TV comments

ROME, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday she had separated from her television journalist partner Andrea Giambruno, who has drawn criticism in recent weeks…

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Italy reinstates border controls with Slovenia, cites attack risk

ROME, (Reuters) - Italy reinstated border controls with Slovenia as part of its strategy to improve home security against threats of terrorist attacks in Europe, the government said. "The intensification…

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Italy to earmark 12 billion euros for mega Sicily bridge project

By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte ROME, (Reuters) - Italy's government said it would set aside 12 billion euros ($12.65 billion) to build a giant bridge to connect Sicily to…

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Italy arrests two people in counter-terrorism operation

Italian authorities carried out a counter-terrorism operation early on Tuesday that led to the arrest of an Egyptian citizen and an Italian citizen of Egyptian origin, police said in a…

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Italy to charge foreigners 2,000 euros a year for health service

Foreigners who live in Italy will be able to use the national health service after paying a 2,000-euro ($2,109) annual fee, the government has announced. The charge, part of the…

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Italy to unveil tax-cutting 2024 budget amid debt worries

Italy's deficit-hiking 2024 budget due to be approved by cabinet on Monday will cut taxes for workers and increase benefits for large families, officials said, amid growing market concerns over…

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Italian Interior minister warns of ‘complicated months ahead’; Boosts security at sensitive sites

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi warned that the coming months will be "complicated" after the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel. "'Difficult, complicated months are certainly ahead of us, which…

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Anti-mafia author Saviano fined for calling Italy PM a ‘bastard’

Italian anti-mafia author and human rights campaigner Roberto Saviano was on Thursday convicted of libel and handed a symbolic fine for calling Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a "bastard" over her…

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Italy battles for flexible EU budget rules as bond spreads widen

Italy is lobbying its European Union partners with increasing urgency to approve more flexible budget rules, according to government sources, as bond spreads widen and Rome fears that deviations from its…

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Italy plans for possible evacuations from super volcano near Naples

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government is planning for a possible mass evacuation of tens of thousands of people who live around the Campi Flegrei super volcano near Naples, officials…

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Italy impounds migrant charity ship after multiple rescues

By Angelo Amante ROME, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Italian authorities have impounded a vessel operated by a Spanish charity, the group said on Saturday, after it carried out multiple rescues…

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Italy feels health sector pinch as Europe struggles post COVID-19

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government has warned that a shortage of doctors and nurses in the national health service represents a "real emergency". To help overcome the crisis, some hospitals…

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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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